Finally ditching cable

[CMBrowning]

Been Cable free for almost a year. I enjoy it and im saving money.

Do not stick with one content provider (ie Hulu, Netflix, ect) I have seen them all to be a compromise on their content. Ill change who I subscribe to ever now and then.

Find your favorite shows on their network's web site. Depending on the network, you can find new episodes the day to a week after they air.

Go get yourself a quality antenna to get stations over the air. they can be found for under 50 doll hairs. make sure it is near a window. if you are able to, get an antenna that will mount outside of your house. its very simple and anyone can do it with simple hand tools.

like mentioned above, hard wire your device that you are streaming from. it will help keep the buffering to a minimum.

Oh and make sure your Internet provider works all of the bugs out of your system. Demand a "dedicated home run" to your modem if possible. Your devices will not run well online if their source is having issues to begin with. take it from me, these days, internet should not drop. I have not lost my broadband or service light since it was installed.

DO NOT OVER PAY FOR YOUR INTERNET SPEED. I do all of my streaming with 6m of internet. My speeds do not bog, my system is not stressed, I do not loose connection. Paying for anything over 12m to watch content online and regularly use the internet is overkill.

[w55]

Got rid of pay TV, just have the "free" antenna TV, don't miss it at all. Thinking ditching internet.

They are both money drains my parents generation never had...no smart phone either.

Saves me about easy 200 a month I figure.

[SMR510]

You can legally watch XMBC streams. You just can't save the data legally.

The onus of legality resides with the offshore servers that are dishing the data out. No issues for end users.

That is what everyone says but I feel like there is no actual basis for this position. I tried to look into it and all I could find are forums where random people who have no credibility with me say exactly what you said. Is there some position somewhere from someone who matters that says this?

I don't think that it is very likely any consumer who just watches it will be prosecuted or anything but that does not make it legal. How you view something like this morally will also come into play. While I don't really care to support HollyWeird execs and "Stars" there are certainly regular people like you and I who make all their money by working on films/shows in one way or another.

[pronstar]

That is what everyone says but I feel like there is no actual basis for this position. I tried to look into it and all I could find are forums where random people who have no credibility with me say exactly what you said. Is there some position somewhere from someone who matters that says this?



I don't think that it is very likely any consumer who just watches it will be prosecuted or anything but that does not make it legal. How you view something like this morally will also come into play. While I don't really care to support HollyWeird execs and "Stars" there are certainly regular people like you and I who make all their money by working on films/shows in one way or another.

Tough to prove that no law exists...so I would ask what law one would be on violation of?

The moral dilemma you mention is real, at least for me. I don't mind paying for PPV and my cable bill...just wish it was smaller LOL

[CityHunt3r]

you can try Downloading hulu or netflix for tv shows and movies or if you want specific channels try roku

http://blog.roku.com/blog/2014/09/24/sports-channels-on-roku/

used to pay 84 bucks amonth for basic channels and some othe rmisc channels like the cooking channel... been cable free for a year now.

I have hulu and netflix and am very happy with both srvices 7.99 and 8.99 I think, both apps are availible to download on most smart tv interfaces.

heres some info on hulu

http://www.hulu.com/tv/genres/sports

also use digital antenna that uses power to give you local channels exmaple ch2- 13, 18, 55 PBS misc.

[SMR510]

Tough to prove that no law exists...so I would ask what law one would be on violation of?

The moral dilemma you mention is real, at least for me. I don't mind paying for PPV and my cable bill...just wish it was smaller LOL

Is there an absence of law though? I'm no lawyer but if I go ride around with you in a car I know you stole wouldn't I be an accessory or something?

I have been watching lots of Foreign shows lately (don't look at me like that they are all in English haha) but some of them are simply not available to me at all without some "sketchy" methods. I can't feel bad about watching something I would be willing to pay a few bucks for if I had the option.

[pronstar]

Watching me ride around in a stolen car is a lot different than being in the stolen car with me.

It's a gray area that the law doesn't address. Google "illegal to stream movies online" and you'll get a ton of results.

[SMR510]

Watching me ride around in a stolen car is a lot different than being in the stolen car with me.

It's a gray area that the law doesn't address. Google "illegal to stream movies online" and you'll get a ton of results.

Seems like you are right, just needed the right string of words in Google.

[pronstar]

Well, I'm no lawyer...LOL

[SMR510]

Well, I'm no lawyer...LOL

No but experts in this area agree that it is a gray area with little to no enforcement possible. Plus, how are they going to get your IP or anything? Torrents are easy because they simply login and can see who is DL/UL the torrent.

[Infiniti87]

I'm trying to convince myself to get rid of cable. I don't like change. However i do like saving money. I spend about $220 a month total from Cox for cable/phone/internet. It's ridiculous. We don't even have a house phone but it was cheaper to have the phone service. We do have 2 DVR's and feed 2 tv's.

My issue with ditching cable is I like to plop down on the couch and turn on the tv and something comes up on the screen. Also, whatevernmethod i use after dropping cable, I will need a second setup for the tv in our bedroom. Gf stays home with our daughter so she watches a lot of tv but she said she is fine without cable. She will just watch Netflix/hulu. I do have a big outdoor antennae still on the house from the old owner so I will use that if I do get rid of cable.

A few coworkers of mine use the Digi Stream HD boxes and have nothing but good things to say about them. $200 cost up front but that's only a month worth of cable for me. I don't know. I'm scared to make the change but I'm so tired of paying these ridiculous cable rates every month.

[AgentAK]

Go to the link above and try on your PC first.

http://www.tvaddons.ag/

[AgentAK]

Here's a video from someone selling boxes. It's for reference only so you can see what's possible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2ZTphzBZ5Y

[bsg]

i'm paying $87.00 otd per month for basic cable (179+ channels/no premium), internet and home phone w/Time Warner. that's a little over $100.00 per month decrease from what i was paying Verizon for a bundle package w/Direct TV that had no premium channels.

[Satex]

Going with internet only, any pointers? I would like to be able to see some sports and channels such as TBS, TNT, History, Discovery and some of the regular networks. What do you guys recommend? I have a smart TV and that's about it.

I don't get it. People cancel cable and keep Internet, so they pay $50 for internet. Then they get hulu, amazon, netflix, each costing about $10. So now they are paying $80 a month for crappier service than they had before.