[Bear]

We bought a Roku for $50. It has loads of free channels and private channels. Palladia, netflix etc.
We then downloaded http://www.playon.tv/ for $49, lifetime. It has all the channels you find on cable, sattelite etc. With it's app playmark, we stream video and movies from the net to the Roku. Youtube, etc. any video basically.

Our cost? 7.99 a month.

Palladia does not appear to be available based on the playon.tv website?

Never mind, my mistake...you were referring to Roku.

Ok, I do not see Palladia on Roku?

[mcgsxr]

Perhaps I will get my hand slapped for asking, but I will ask.

What about sites like FreeTVProject?  Anyone touching those with their streaming devices?

[ctviggen]

Sports was the only reason I hung on to Cable. I'm hoping I can get most of my sports fix through Aereo since I'm in the Atlanta market.

Sports is the reason cable TV costs so much.  Those channels by far cost the most in a bundle.  Personally, I'd love to be able to select channels. I'd dump every sports channel, every channel that sells me something, etc.  I haven't stopped getting cable, as I'm not sure how I could get some of the channels (HGTV, animal planet, some kids' shows). 

[Letitroll98]

I would love to cut the cable cord, if someone can assure me I can watch The Walking Dead in realtime so my roommate can watch while computer syncing, I might be able to sell it.  Plus, what does a good HD OTA antenna cost?  Can you do that from inside antennas in major market areas?  Also can you get on demand programing from netflix, hulu, etc?  Or do you have to watch last season's shows?  I suppose the decision to cut or not is based on what conveniences one is willing to give up.  We pay $139 for a triple play package including HBO, minus the $50 outlay the OP detailed, we pay $89 extra for that added convenience.  I would guess you could buy a good indoor HD antenna for a month or two of the added cost and amortize the cost over 5-10 years of use.

What about video quality from Hulu et al?  Streaming 720p, about the level of HD comcast delivers, could be a problem?  Yes, no?  And no ESPN for Monday night football, no NFL channel for Thursday night football. 

I'd love to do it, but can't see cutting the convenience cord.  Yes, I know all the "You'll adapt" arguments, and the "How much do you really need those shows" arguments, but it's not my decisions alone anymore.  Tell me how I convince "her" it's all so much better?   What we need is real competition in the cable TV market, or local governments that would institute real price controls instead of taking kickbacks.  I should be paying about $75 for what I'm paying $139 for.  Dish and Direct TV are no help, they line up with the price gouging as well.  Otherwise we would see difference in the pricing, yet what we see is the package costs are nearly identical.  Speaks of illegal price fixing and payoffs, it all should be investigated.  I need another cup of coffee, more later.       

[mcgsxr]

I have decided I will buy one of the streaming devices and use it in the basement, and see what I can pull down vs my satellite use on the other TV's.

So, to start, I will carry both and see what is not available via the net.  Then I will decide what to do about the "cable".

[Phil A]

An HD antenna is cheap.  Depends on the type of antenna and where your are - go to antennaweb.org and it will give you info. I get Baltimore and DC from where I am now with a big attic antenna and a preamp for it.  titantv.com can also tell you what stations (cable or over-the-air) you can get from your area

[ctviggen]

An HD antenna is cheap.  Depends on the type of antenna and where your are - go to antennaweb.org and it will give you info. I get Baltimore and DC from where I am now with a big attic antenna and a preamp for it.  titantv.com can also tell you what stations (cable or over-the-air) you can get from your area

If I thought I could get channels from an antenna in the attic, I would consider this (although finding a way to router a cable from the attic to the basement where my gear is might be a challenge).  Do you have trees around your house?  My house is completely surrounded by tall trees.  Think three times as tall as the house.  Also, I'm going to have solar cells on half the roof and will one day have spray foam or other insulation added to the underside of the roof.  I'm afraid the combination of all of that might yield a pretty weak signal.

[lokie]

My house is completely surrounded by tall trees

Mine too.

I was thinking about putting an antenna up in one of them.
But I thought the run would be too long for the signal... and the whole lightening issue.

[Elizabeth]

In the city where I am having a direct line of sight to the transmitting towers for antenna is important.
Living on the wrong side ofan apartment building really kills using an in room antenna.
Anyway I ony get my internet from Time Warner. No other cable. i watch a few dozen over the air channels.. No problem.
I do not watch much TV anyway..

I know people who have several hundred dollar a month cable bill.. Insane. 'Specially because they hardly watch any TV anyway!!

[WireNut]

We bought a Roku for $50. It has loads of free channels and private channels. Palladia, netflix etc.
We then downloaded http://www.playon.tv/ for $49, lifetime. It has all the channels you find on cable, sattelite etc. With it's app playmark, we stream video and movies from the net to the Roku. Youtube, etc. any video basically.

Our cost? 7.99 a month.

What else is needed to do this?
Just a PC, or do I need a streaming compatible devise (Blueray / TV) that the RoKu hooks up to?
I'd like to hook it up to my old CRT unit but it only has an analog screw on type of connector for cable or an antenna, no HDMI inputs, would that type of connector work?








 

[WC]

What else is needed to do this?
Just a PC, or do I need a streaming compatible devise (Blueray / TV) that the RoKu hooks up to?
I'd like to hook it up to my old CRT unit but it only has an analog screw on type of connector for cable or an antenna, no HDMI inputs, would that type of connector work?

Well the Roku connects to your TV. Most versions use HDMI connections, but some have composite connections. It would connect to your WiFi network to get streaming content.

[Phil A]

btw I'm not ready (in process of moving) but the Roku 3 is $99 and is currently $89 and today (at least earlier) woot.com had refurb Roku 3s for $64.  I may get one to try out when I'm temporarily (I'm back and forth and won't be there full time until mid Feb) in the new place in a few weeks

[WireNut]

Well the Roku connects to your TV. Most versions use HDMI connections, but some have composite connections. It would connect to your
WiFi network to get streaming content.

I don't have WiFi but I have a fast internet connection. It's hard wired rather then wireless and I go thru a hard wired router, would that setup work with RoKu?

Looks like I just found my answer. RoKu 3 is the only unit that works with Ethernet (hard wired connections) and works with HD TV's only so my old CRT unit won't work due to no HDMI inputs, bummer.

[Phil A]

I don't have WiFi but I have a fast internet connection. It's hard wired rather then wireless and I go thru a hard wired router, would that setup work with RoKu?

Looks like I just found my answer. RoKu 3 is the only unit that works with Ethernet (hard wired connections) and works with HD TV's only so my old CRT unit won't work due to no HDMI inputs, bummer.

If you have a receiver (see page 18 of this manual as an example - http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/StaticFiles/Manuals/Home/VSX-823-K_OperatingInstructions011713.pdf) that allows for HDMI audio and a TV that does not have HDMI video, you can use it that way.  There are converter boxes, but they more than a few dollars.  I use an VGA to composite one for my music server and the cheap stuff did not work and that was $80 and probably not worth an investment unless you are going to keep the TV for a bit.

[chip]

Here are a few articles -
http://lifehacker.com/tag/cable-cutting

I dropped cable back in 2009 and don't miss it. When I cut it I went to a Tivo as I still needed the dvr capabilities as we watched mostly local stations/TV Shows.
After a few years I was hooking my laptop up to my TV to stream sports that were available - espn3, MLS Live soccer, etc.
This made me look at other options. Now I have a PC in my main room running windows 7 with Media Center for TV/DVR capabilities. I also can stream Netflix as well.

Chad

[Phil A]

Right now I do limited stuff - have done ESPN3 on both the PC and the Google TV (although the 1st generation thing is subject to crashes) hooked to a projector.  Lots of good info here (thanks to everyone) and I will likely use it down the road when I supplement over-the-air stuff.  Between Play On TV and Roku and over-the-air, there's probably more stuff than I'll ever watch and if I do something like Netflix or perhaps one of the sports networks, I don't see where I'll ever feel the need to bother with cable.  I've already made the decision that when I'm ready to do a home phone (which probably won't see tons of use) I'm going to get Ooma (and I'll make my decision between the deluxe and regular when the time comes, the has no monthly fees and the deluxe has a couple of extras but is $9.99/month).  IP telephony (which is basically what the cable TV company offers anyway) has already shown how to cut the cable cord a bit.

[chip]

I forgot to add that part as well. I have ooma and pay like $4.00/month for the service. I have had that for a while now as well with no issues. I don't use the extra features as they are not needed as this phone has very light use.

[Phil A]

I forgot to add that part as well. I have ooma and pay like $4.00/month for the service. I have had that for a while now as well with no issues. I don't use the extra features as they are not needed as this phone has very light use.

Thanks for the feedback.  I don't expect heavy use and I'm not sure I'll need deluxe version (will be retiring for the 2nd time in a couple of mos. and I did work for a telephone company where most of my local service is rebated and I've kept the 2 lines with consecutive numbers as I had dial-up up until about 10 years back).  It's just nice to be able to have an alternative if something happens to the cell phone or to be able to hook up a fax (granted I probably only use that infrequently but the couple of times a year the conventional fax comes in handy).  I will keep the cell phone number I have now (which is a different area code) and mainly use it for local calls (as I do now with the landline) and it's nice to be able to forward calls back and forth if one is out or just hanging out in back of the house.

I think this has been a very helpful thread (at least for me).  I'll be fully moved in a couple of months and probably a couple of months after like I may want to have more than local TV  stations.  Where I am now I get local TV from 2 major markets and am also much business (work, back and forth between two house) than I will be in a few months. So having fewer TV stations available with more time will be good to supplement over-the-air.

[ctviggen]

If you want the premium service with ooma, I'd recommend vonage instead.  The transcription, for instance, is much better.  I think the sound quality is better, too.  I've had vonage, then comcast's, then ooma, and am back to vonage.  If you want just generic phone, then ooma is OK. 

[Gnomatic]

This is a great thread!  As many others have said, if it wasn't for sports, I'd have done it long ago.

The next best thing I have found, is to stay "in the churn."  Fortunately for me, I have three cable providers competing against each other here in my area.(TWC, WOW!, and U-Verse)  Every now and again, one of them will offer a great "win back" promotion for me to switch providers, and subscribing to their cable service on top of their internet service actually becomes fairly reasonable.  So about every 1-2 years, I end up switching providers when the right promo comes along.

But, yeah.  At some point, I can envision myself cutting the cord as well.