We've cut the cable

[Addai's Adidas 1]

We are cheap and poor, not your typical FBG.

We've finally done it. 2 months ago we turned off our TV cable service, got an indoor OTA antenna, and used our Wii for Netflix, which we had been using for sometime. Then got a Roku (HD version much better than Wii) for another TV in the house. Got the cable bill the next month and the phone portion was still $62 a month including taxes.

So I went out and got the MajicJack at BestBuy last week. Had to tweak my host PC a bit to get it to run well all the time. It worked great, but the one place (so far) that couldn't call my new number was every phone from work. I had to contact the phone carrier that my work uses because they did not have the new prefix working. I think what happens is YMAX (MajicJack)has some prefixes in area codes and they do no get setup in certain telecom's exchanges, for whatever reason.

So that's over $100 a month saved, and really more over time because they are always upping the charges (and taxes). Now that I no longer use phone or cable, I can shop internet service. Looks like I can get that for $20/month for 8Mbps, which is $10 a month cheaper that we are paying now.

I know the MajicJack seems a little chintzy, but it works! Plus we still have our work cell phones.

Who else?

Edited March 24, 2011 by Addai's Adidas

[TobiasFunke 29,546]

I would love to do this. The big thing holding me back is sports programming. I watch more sports than any human being really should, and ESPN3's picture quality sucks the big one. Plus I'm not sure how I'd get the cable-only games of my local teams, because the NHL and MLB packages available on Roku black out the local games, and I don't even think they have an NBA package yet.

[Addai's Adidas 1]

I would love to do this. The big thing holding me back is sports programming. I watch more sports than any human being really should, and ESPN3's picture quality sucks the big one. Plus I'm not sure how I'd get the cable-only games of my local teams, because the NHL and MLB packages available on Roku black out the local games, and I don't even think they have an NBA package yet.

Agreed. ESPN is the one channel I would pay for ala carte if I could without the huge cable bill that come with it. But really, how many times do you watch ESPN an say " This is ####. I can't stand Mariotti. Turn it off!".All I really watch is football games, and most of them are on OTA broadcasts. It means I miss one NFl game a week. Did I mention how much better the games look OTA without all the compression that cable companies use?

[TobiasFunke 29,546]

I would love to do this. The big thing holding me back is sports programming. I watch more sports than any human being really should, and ESPN3's picture quality sucks the big one. Plus I'm not sure how I'd get the cable-only games of my local teams, because the NHL and MLB packages available on Roku black out the local games, and I don't even think they have an NBA package yet.

Agreed. ESPN is the one channel I would pay for ala carte if I could without the huge cable bill that come with it. But really, how many times do you watch ESPN an say " This is ####. I can't stand Mariotti. Turn it off!".All I really watch is football games, and most of them are on OTA broadcasts. It means I miss one NFl game a week. Did I mention how much better the games look OTA without all the compression that cable companies use?

For me, I'm a big college basketball fan and I watch the local teams in all four sports. So I just can't part with ESPN's college basketball and the Comcast/Fox Sports and baseball-team owned networks that air like 300+ games a year that I can't get anywhere else. Until there's way to get those games without cable, I'm screwed.But I don't understand why 95% of people don't do what you're doing. Even if you like to watch first-run programming, it's available a la carte from Amazon On Demand pretty much as soon as it airs, and much of it is available for free (after $8 a month subscription) at Hulu Plus. I honestly think most people just don't know how easy and cheap it is. I remember the first week or so after we plugging in our Roku, my wife and I were amazed that there's not one in every household in the country. Edited March 3, 2011 by TobiasFunke

[ren hoek 4,995]

Where on earth can you get 8mb/s internet for $20 a month? I pay like $45 after taxes/surcharges for Windstream DSL. Which clocks in at an amazing 1.2down/0.3up.

Edited March 3, 2011 by Ren Hoek

[azgroover 11]

I foresee cable companies simply dropping the cost of phone & tv and increasing the price of internet. Is it going to that easy for them, or are all of the network contracts too costly/complicated?

[Addai's Adidas 1]

Where on earth can you get 8mb/s internet for $20 a month? I pay like $45 after taxes/surcharges for Windstream DSL. Which clocks in at an amazing 1.2down/0.3up.

Charter. Do you rent the modem? I've owned mine for 7 years or so ( time to upgrade). They called and asked why we turned off our cable. I told them, quite honestly, the price. They asked what they would have to do to get my business back, and since they couldn't give it to me for the price I wanted they just said sorry. I then told them I'll probably be canceling my phone too cause the $50 charge plus the $12 in taxes every month was too high for as much as we used it. I asked them about getting just the internet service and he said $20/month for 2 years, 8Mbps, which is 2MBPS faster than what we have now. Edited March 3, 2011 by Addai's Adidas

[Random 382]

Did this 6 months ago and couldn't be happier. Antenna (free), Netflix ($11/mo) and Hulu+ ($8/mo) gives us all the tv we need. Our ISP is $29.99 for 7mbps.

[azgroover 11]

I'd love to explore this option, but my 1st grader would go berserk if he couldn't watch Monday Night Raw live every week.

[offdee 1,410]

Why do you need a home phone line if you have a cell phone?

[Addai's Adidas 1]

Why do you need a home phone line if you have a cell phone?

It's a work phone. I try not to use it unless I have to outside of work.

[Jaysus 4,697]

so... what is Roku?

[Dr. No 2]

can't do it as a sports and financial news fan.

no cnbc, no tennis channel, no tnt/tbs for baseball and nba, no espn or espn 2

forget it.

if i didn't want to watch those things, i wouldn't need a TV really at all.

[Slapdash 16,232]

If I could get my soccer games without cable I'd be right there with you.

[Random 382]

I'd love to explore this option, but my 1st grader would go berserk if he couldn't watch Monday Night Raw live every week.

can't do it as a sports and financial news fan.no cnbc, no tennis channel, no tnt/tbs for baseball and nba, no espn or espn 2forget it.if i didn't want to watch those things, i wouldn't need a TV really at all.

If I could get my soccer games without cable I'd be right there with you.

Amazing what people will pay $1,000+/yr for.

[TobiasFunke 29,546]

so... what is Roku?

Roku

I rave about the thing all the time around here. There's probably people who think I'm pulling a Mr. Ham and my wife works for them.

Best entertainment purchase I've ever made.

[Addai's Adidas 1]

I'd love to explore this option, but my 1st grader would go berserk if he couldn't watch Monday Night Raw live every week.

can't do it as a sports and financial news fan.no cnbc, no tennis channel, no tnt/tbs for baseball and nba, no espn or espn 2forget it.if i didn't want to watch those things, i wouldn't need a TV really at all.

If I could get my soccer games without cable I'd be right there with you.

Amazing what people will pay $1,000+/yr for.

Agreed. Plus Spongebob is on Netflix.

[Statler & Waldorf 1]

I got rid of my cable two weeks ago and so far I don't miss it at all. I thought about my TV watching habits and I realized that most of the stuff I watch is on Network TV. With the antenna I get all the same channels not to mention better picture quality. I have a Blue Ray that gives me access to my Netflix, and I also bought a Mac Mini and I'm using that solely as a TV computer. I think the two things I miss the most are the clock that was on the cable box that told me the time and the guide function. I'm just going to buy a wall clock for my living room and I ordered the Elgato Eyetv to give me the guide as well as DVR functionality on my Mac Mini.

But I agree, if I watched a ton of basketball/baseball/hockey, I'd be real hesitant to cancel it. But I mostly watch football. I am thinking about investing in a slingbox to be able to watch some of the games though.

[Slapdash 16,232]

I'd love to explore this option, but my 1st grader would go berserk if he couldn't watch Monday Night Raw live every week.

can't do it as a sports and financial news fan.no cnbc, no tennis channel, no tnt/tbs for baseball and nba, no espn or espn 2forget it.if i didn't want to watch those things, i wouldn't need a TV really at all.

If I could get my soccer games without cable I'd be right there with you.

Amazing what people will pay $1,000+/yr for.

Around $600, but yeah that is certainly worth it to be able to see every match of my favorite teams plus any other matches that look interesting. It is BS to have to pay for the other 1000+ channels I hardly use, but much better than not being able to watch sports.

[Addai's Adidas 1]

I got rid of my cable two weeks ago and so far I don't miss it at all. I thought about my TV watching habits and I realized that most of the stuff I watch is on Network TV. With the antenna I get all the same channels not to mention better picture quality. I have a Blue Ray that gives me access to my Netflix, and I also bought a Mac Mini and I'm using that solely as a TV computer. I think the two things I miss the most are the clock that was on the cable box that told me the time and the guide function. I'm just going to buy a wall clock for my living room and I ordered the Elgato Eyetv to give me the guide as well as DVR functionality on my Mac Mini.

But I agree, if I watched a ton of basketball/baseball/hockey, I'd be real hesitant to cancel it. But I mostly watch football. I am thinking about investing in a slingbox to be able to watch some of the games though.

LOL. We bought a clock to put next to the TV after we got rid of the cable box.

[Tom Servo 6,764]

I took the cable box back a couple weeks ago. I've got a blu-ray player with netflix/hulu plus, and frankly, the best part about it is that I watch less TV. Hulu plus/netflix is strikingly easy though. Only thing I'm really going to miss is football and beisbol. That sucks, but I'll do something constructive instead.

You're in Seattle; this shouldn't be a problem as you're not missing anything. :goodposting:

[azgroover 11]

I'd love to explore this option, but my 1st grader would go berserk if he couldn't watch Monday Night Raw live every week.

can't do it as a sports and financial news fan.no cnbc, no tennis channel, no tnt/tbs for baseball and nba, no espn or espn 2forget it.if i didn't want to watch those things, i wouldn't need a TV really at all.

If I could get my soccer games without cable I'd be right there with you.

Amazing what people will pay $1,000+/yr for.

I could pitch a tent somewhere and save on a mortgage payment too. Edited March 3, 2011 by azgroover

[Jaysus 4,697]

so... what is Roku?

Roku

I rave about the thing all the time around here. There's probably people who think I'm pulling a Mr. Ham and my wife works for them.

Best entertainment purchase I've ever made.

do you have a review or something that I could take a peak at? I am intrigued.

[cstu 6,086]

I'd love to explore this option, but my 1st grader would go berserk if he couldn't watch Monday Night Raw live every week.

Tell him they changed it to Tuesday Night Raw.

[Statler & Waldorf 1]

I got rid of my cable two weeks ago and so far I don't miss it at all. I thought about my TV watching habits and I realized that most of the stuff I watch is on Network TV. With the antenna I get all the same channels not to mention better picture quality. I have a Blue Ray that gives me access to my Netflix, and I also bought a Mac Mini and I'm using that solely as a TV computer. I think the two things I miss the most are the clock that was on the cable box that told me the time and the guide function. I'm just going to buy a wall clock for my living room and I ordered the Elgato Eyetv to give me the guide as well as DVR functionality on my Mac Mini.

But I agree, if I watched a ton of basketball/baseball/hockey, I'd be real hesitant to cancel it. But I mostly watch football. I am thinking about investing in a slingbox to be able to watch some of the games though.

LOL. We bought a clock to put next to the TV after we got rid of the cable box.

It's funny that's thing I miss the most. Ha! The guide is huge too. I used to like seeing what the show was about as well as what was on next. I suppose I could just look it up online, but I'd rather just have a button on my remote.

[E-Z Glider 2,572]

so... what is Roku?

Roku

I rave about the thing all the time around here. There's probably people who think I'm pulling a Mr. Ham and my wife works for them.

Best entertainment purchase I've ever made.

can you watch hulu in hd on a large widescreen with this thing?

[Addai's Adidas 1]

so... what is Roku?

Roku

I rave about the thing all the time around here. There's probably people who think I'm pulling a Mr. Ham and my wife works for them.

Best entertainment purchase I've ever made.

can you watch hulu in hd on a large widescreen with this thing?

Yes.

[-jb- 958]

I am thinking about investing in a slingbox to be able to watch some of the games though.

I thought you still needed to pay for TV service with a slingbox. Splain please.

[belljr 10,351]

so... what is Roku?

Roku

I rave about the thing all the time around here. There's probably people who think I'm pulling a Mr. Ham and my wife works for them.

Best entertainment purchase I've ever made.

can you watch hulu in hd on a large widescreen with this thing?

PS3 is close to carrying all the same stuff as roku BUT if you don't have one of those this is a much better/cheaper option

[george 3]

[Addai's Adidas 1]

so... what is Roku?

Roku

I rave about the thing all the time around here. There's probably people who think I'm pulling a Mr. Ham and my wife works for them.

Best entertainment purchase I've ever made.

do you have a review or something that I could take a peak at? I am intrigued.

How about this one?

engadget review

[jwb 2,337]

I'd love to explore this option, but my 1st grader would go berserk if he couldn't watch Monday Night Raw live every week.

can't do it as a sports and financial news fan.no cnbc, no tennis channel, no tnt/tbs for baseball and nba, no espn or espn 2forget it.if i didn't want to watch those things, i wouldn't need a TV really at all.

If I could get my soccer games without cable I'd be right there with you.

Amazing what people will pay $1,000+/yr for.

I'm pretty sure we could pick apart anyone's spending habits and come up with all kinds of "amazing what people will pay x for" stuff. If one can easily afford it, what's the harm?

[Addai's Adidas 1]

And really, using the majicjack as our primary phone is the hardest part.

[jwb 2,337]

And really, using the majicjack as our primary phone is the hardest part.

My brother has it. It's definitely not all that great in terms of quality, etc, but if you have cell phones and need to be mindful of the budget, it seems like a decent way to still have a landline.

[TobiasFunke 29,546]

so... what is Roku?

Roku

I rave about the thing all the time around here. There's probably people who think I'm pulling a Mr. Ham and my wife works for them.

Best entertainment purchase I've ever made.

do you have a review or something that I could take a peak at? I am intrigued.

How about this one?

engadget review

They've added Hulu since that review. Of the three primary content sources- Netflix, Hulu and Amazon- Hulu is the one we watch least. It does have current episodes of network shows, but that's really about it.

We use the Amazon On Demand far more than I would have predicted. Being able to buy or rent, at a very reasonable price, almost any TV show or movie you can name, without having to go to a store, wait on the mail or even own a DVD player and DVDs is great. Every so often we just decide to start on a new show- right now we're doing Sons of Anarchy, and once it's there you own it without having to worry about storing and caring for the DVD or waiting for the next disk to come in the mail. We can watch five episodes in a day, or none for six months.

[Addai's Adidas 1]

And really, using the majicjack as our primary phone is the hardest part.

My brother has it. It's definitely not all that great in terms of quality, etc, but if you have cell phones and need to be mindful of the budget, it seems like a decent way to still have a landline.

Our quality is fine. I called my mom in Florida this week and she says its better than anything else she's heard form our house. Buddy in town said the same thing. It's heavily reliant on the way your PC is setup.

[Dr. No 2]

I'd love to explore this option, but my 1st grader would go berserk if he couldn't watch Monday Night Raw live every week.

can't do it as a sports and financial news fan.no cnbc, no tennis channel, no tnt/tbs for baseball and nba, no espn or espn 2forget it.if i didn't want to watch those things, i wouldn't need a TV really at all.

If I could get my soccer games without cable I'd be right there with you.

Amazing what people will pay $1,000+/yr for.

i'd agree with teh monday night raw guy and the soccer guy, but com'on... i'm talking about literally hundreds of hours of programming that I'm watching between:Monday night footballthe four tennis majorsMLB playoffs (just about everything but the world series is on cable now)NBA playoffs (over half the nba playoffs is on cable)several major college basketball and bowl games.I don't watch actual TV shows, or local news.So yes... I pay $1000 a year to watch the TV that I actually want to watch.Since that represents less than 1% of my yearly budget it barely registers.

[E-Z Glider 2,572]

so... what is Roku?

Roku

I rave about the thing all the time around here. There's probably people who think I'm pulling a Mr. Ham and my wife works for them.

Best entertainment purchase I've ever made.

can you watch hulu in hd on a large widescreen with this thing?

PS3 is close to carrying all the same stuff as roku BUT if you don't have one of those this is a much better/cheaper option

why doesnt this POS WDTV Live Plus (that I paid more for) have Hulu capability? it worked through PlayOn when I first got it, but they updated the firmware and now it doesnt. this is part of my problem with this, the whole technology seems to change too often... do you need to update firmware all the time on the roku?

[lumpy19 8,172]

I'd love to explore this option, but my 1st grader would go berserk if he couldn't watch Monday Night Raw live every week.

can't do it as a sports and financial news fan.

no cnbc, no tennis channel, no tnt/tbs for baseball and nba, no espn or espn 2

forget it.

if i didn't want to watch those things, i wouldn't need a TV really at all.

If I could get my soccer games without cable I'd be right there with you.

Amazing what people will pay $1,000+/yr for.

I wish....my tv bill is 3x that....add on 2 internet connections(one for home and one mobile).....2 cell phones and a home phone line. right now it's just me and my wife using these things, when my kid(s) get to tv cell phone age i can't even imagine what my monthly bills are going to look like

[Addai's Adidas 1]

Also, if you google "cutting the cable" almost all of the reviews say not to do it, especially the newspaper reviews. As if Time/Warner owns the cable AND newspapers.

Oh wait...

[E-Z Glider 2,572]

Is there a simple Tivo or DVR equivalent solution for network shows that you watch with OTA antenna?

[rascal 1,684]

What exactly is Roku? I looked at the website but I'm technologically stupid.

Also, how do you use your computer for your TV?

[Statler & Waldorf 1]

I am thinking about investing in a slingbox to be able to watch some of the games though.

I thought you still needed to pay for TV service with a slingbox. Splain please.

I haven't really looked into it too much because I don't think I want to inconveinence anyone, but I think you just need someone who pays for TV to use this. If you have a family member or friend with a cable box in a room that they don't use, you can just hook it up there.

[TobiasFunke 29,546]

What exactly is Roku? I looked at the website but I'm technologically stupid.Also, how do you use your computer for your TV?

Roku basically allows you to watch online programming on your TV. It answers your second question, in part. You can watch all the programming on Netflix and Hulu, and you can rent/purchase new movies and TV shows from Amazon On Demand. There's some other "channels" as well, but for the moment those are the big three content sources.

[belljr 10,351]

I am thinking about investing in a slingbox to be able to watch some of the games though.

I thought you still needed to pay for TV service with a slingbox. Splain please.

I haven't really looked into it too much because I don't think I want to inconveinence anyone, but I think you just need someone who pays for TV to use this. If you have a family member or friend with a cable box in a room that they don't use, you can just hook it up there.

Well yeah, but someone needs cable. If it's a box they are not using then sure but if you change the channel on the slingbox, you change the channel on the cable box.They have more expensive models with dual tuners to prevent this.

[Statler & Waldorf 1]

Is there a simple Tivo or DVR equivalent solution for network shows that you watch with OTA antenna?

If you have a Mac, you can use the Elgato EyeTv.

[Addai's Adidas 1]

What exactly is Roku? I looked at the website but I'm technologically stupid.Also, how do you use your computer for your TV?

The Roku is just a box that connect to the internet (wirelsessly if you wish) and "streams" content to your TV, or whatever you have it connected to. It does not store movies etc, just plays them real time. It uses a remote. Exactly how the "On-Demand" service works that we had with Charter.

[rascal 1,684]

What exactly is Roku? I looked at the website but I'm technologically stupid.Also, how do you use your computer for your TV?

Roku basically allows you to watch online programming on your TV. It answers your second question, in part. You can watch all the programming on Netflix and Hulu, and you can rent/purchase new movies and TV shows from Amazon On Demand. There's some other "channels" as well, but for the moment those are the big three content sources.

So basically it is a cable box that utilizes those three content providers and uses your internet connection instead, correct?I'm intrigued by this and will start recording what we typically watch and see if it is available (wife is big on food network)Based on previous comments you can't watch sports that are not OTA?Can you get HBO or are you required to use a provider?Why can't somebody break the monopoly these companies have and provide exactly what we want instead of forcing people to get all of this crap. Edited March 3, 2011 by rascal

[desert rose 49]

Where can you get internet for $20?

[Addai's Adidas 1]

Let your dollars walk away. They will change. If I could get HBO for $5/month and ESPN for $5/Month I'd prolly would. Until then, I'm not paying over $100 for a bunch or crap I don't watch anyway.