F* Cable, what to do now?

[emsalex]

http://www.amazon.com/Paper-Thin-Lea.../dp/B004QK7HI8


This is an amazing HDTV antenna. I live in Alhambra and works great.

Be sure to use the Calguns Amazon link

If anyone wants this

http://www.amazon.com/Terk-Amplified-High-Definition-Antenna-Reception/dp/B0007MXZB2/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1341992634&sr=1-3&keywords=HDTV+antenna

Shoot me an offer. It definitely doesn't work as good as the Leaf for me.

Plus one for the leaf. My wife picked it out and I was sceptical but it is better than the huge ant. That was 20 feet above our house when we bought it.

I run leaf/Pc/ps3 in the living room and roku/Dvd Vhs combo in the bedroom. I subscribe to hulu+ and amazon prime. Been cable free for 4 or 5 years. I get confused by commercials when at other peoples houses

[1911Operator]

i went a month without cable... then decided to shut it off. i watch stuff on youtube and netflix

[stix213]

i went a month without cable... then decided to shut it off. i watch stuff on youtube and netflix

I did this exactly. Best thing I ever did. I'm hit with so much less advertising now it is really crazy once you realize it. I haven't even heard of any of the movies in the theaters beyond batman right now, and it is awesome.

[akcooper9]

Good thread guys. Here is what the Wife and I did a year ago as we started cutting the fat in preparation for her staying home full time with the new baby.

Bought two boxes:

1. Roku 2
2. WD TV Live

We bought two for a couple reasons (1) While there is some over lap in functionality and available online content, neither does it all. (For example...Roku does not have YouTube...WD does) (1) Local based content...While the Roku is pretty much hand downs the better unit with the most functionality, it is missing this one MAJOR piece.

The WD has the ability to play content on your local network. Which means we pretty much can watch anything we want with the help of http://www.extv.it (Im sure there are other TV Torrent sites)

The above site always has up to the hour TV shows. We might not catch the show the day it airs but the next day no problem. The commercials are always removed (no fast forwarding!) and the quality is AMAZING. We never once had a an issue with skipping or crappy play back.

My wife is a TV person...There was no way the cable was going to be turned off unless I was able to find an acceptable alternative...Guess what guys...I did and She is the one who brags about what we did!

For those looking to cut the cord, you will loose your fox news etc and your sports. Neither of these were and issue for use.

[JCM]

been wanting to do this for a long time as well... I pay like $200 a month for TW cable and internet.

But I gotta have HBO's Game of Thrones...

And I have a wife who loves to watch HGTV and the remodeling shows....

And kids who love to watch Cartoon Network, Boomerang, etc.

Are those all available on the alternative sites?

[glassparman]

I just use what's available by antenna. I get about 22 channels and it's good enough for me. All that other junk and most of what's on antenna is just a waist of time anyway. Plus it saves me money

[Horton Fenty]

been wanting to do this for a long time as well... I pay like $200 a month for TW cable and internet.

But I gotta have HBO's Game of Thrones...

And I have a wife who loves to watch HGTV and the remodeling shows....

And kids who love to watch Cartoon Network, Boomerang, etc.

Are those all available on the alternative sites?

Every TV show ever made is available, on multiple different sites.

[Hoshnasi]

The wife and I have been witout cable for going on four or five years. We use over the air HDTV and Netflix these days. What I have found is that we seldom find ourselves on the TV networks schedules. We rarely "tune-in" to any one show week to week these days. The most we do is a new show will hit Netflix and we'll spend a week or so working through all the episodes. There is something imensly more enjoyable about being able to consume a whole season quickly, but at our own pace with no comericals (netflix).

My recomendations,

Get and Xbox 360, Apple TV (best option if you have an iPad or iPhone) or Roku box.
Check out: http://uhfhdtvantenna.blogspot.com/ for building a cheap and powerful OTA antenna.

Last but not least. The one downside is when people ask you "Did you see <Insert Some Show Here> last night?" You won't know what happened.

[brix]

been wanting to do this for a long time as well... I pay like $200 a month for TW cable and internet.

But I gotta have HBO's Game of Thrones...

And I have a wife who loves to watch HGTV and the remodeling shows....

And kids who love to watch Cartoon Network, Boomerang, etc.

Are those all available on the alternative sites?

There are ways to download shows. I am a big GoT fan too and haven't missed an episode yet.

Over the Air has the Living Well Network. Not as many shows as like HGTV but what can you expect for free

As far as the kiddos. I switched mine to PBS and Kubo. More educational and Kubo plays cartoons that I grew up with that he really likes, like He Man.

If that is still a hard sell, Netflix is your friend and at $8 a month and internet (depending on which package you get) a great alternative to TW cable

[brix]

Every TV show ever made is available, on multiple different sites.

This is so true, you can stream or download. There are a ton of blogs that have links for direct downloads.

[JCM]

did some research, found this:

http://www.totalhtpc.com/the-complete-guide-for-setting-up-sabnzbd-sick-beard-couchpotato-and-headphones/

Looks like I'll be able to feed it a list of my shows and it'll find and download them for me automatically.

I'll see about giving that a shot.

[Tyson]

How about shut the cable off for good and go live your life, works for me.

[drifter2be]

How about shut the cable off for good and go live your life, works for me.

As he types furiously living his life posting on Calguns...

[black_pacer_56]

Has anyone thought building a DVR PC with Windows Media 7? I use a Shuttle Intel H67 PC, Intel 2500K CPU, 1 to 2TB HDD storage, 2 ATI 650 PCI-express or Ceton Cable Card ready Quad Tuner, LG Blu-Ray Drive, 8Gb of Ram, and USB Wifi adapter.

I can pause, record, not miss all my local TV shows, and stream HULU and Netflix! The only thing a pay for is Internet!