# How do I "cut the cord"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 22, 2017, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-the-cord/796940 "2017-09-22T04:19:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Michael\_Mercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@Michael\_Mercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Mercy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-the-cord/796940/21 "2017-09-23T12:22:12Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > I just paid my Cox bill, and I’m really irked. > I’m paying nearly $100/month for TV, and we only watch a few channels. I could probably forgo it completely, but my wife likes HGTV and a few other programs. > > We never, ever watch any of the sports channels, Spanish-language channels, shopping channels, etc. > > What do I need to replace it? A Roku box? Sling? Can we record shows and transfer to an iPad (NOT wirelessly connected - dowloaded to it, so they can be watched off-line). > > We already have Netflix, and I have Amazon Prime, although I haven’t tried it for video yet. You could forgo all TV services for a while. My wife and I cancelled our TV a while ago and just pay for internet now. There’s so much content on Netflix, it easily fills the void and as for shows that aren’t on Netflix, they’ll eventually show up there, or we can get them for free at our local library. We live in an age where impatience is taken advantage of, and those with patience get to save a lot of money. If you haven’t been to your local library in a while, check it out. You may be surprised at the selection. Ours has hundreds of movies and shows on blu-ray and dvd, plus video games. Even PS4 games! And it’s all free. I think we’re at the point now where most of the money people are paying is for the ability to not have to wait. Those with patience get to save quite a bit of dough. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-the-cord/796940/22 "2017-09-23T16:58:33Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Can you watch live news channels? No, and that’s probably the biggest downside for me. No CNN/MSNBC/CSPAN. But I can check online sources for current news. I watch the PBS News Hour on my local channel daily for the national news, and I listen to several podcasts that discuss current events (The Daily, Rachel Maddow, On Point, etc.). There are some news apps on Roku (Newsy is one) but I don’t think they’re all that great. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-the-cord/796940/23 "2017-10-03T04:15:09Z")
I canceled Cox TV today. To throw them a bone, I upped our Internet speed from 50Mbps to 100, for an extra $5/month. The new monthly cost is $83, down from $164. I am looking at getting Sling Blue + News Extra, for $30month. Even with that, I will still come out $600/year ahead. I haven’t installed the Yagi TV antenna up on the roof yet. Inside, I get 20 or so channels, so I think that I’ll be able to get all of the Phoenix channels when the antenna is mounted outside. The whole TV/streaming/on-demand/app-based system is a total mess. It’s extremely difficult to decide what service is best, and what devices it works with. As an example, the 100Mbps Cox Internet comes with an enhanced “Contour” App, but it currently only runs on iOS and Android devices, which makes it pretty useless as a TV replacement. I realize that Cox probably considers that a feature, since they want you to buy their TV service, but it’s a bug to me. ETA: no cancellation fee, and surprisingly little hard-sell to stay, although they did try to talk me into dropping some of the crap that I never watch. That would have brought the monthly cost down to $50, which, if they had made that offer to me a year ago, I might never have decided to take this step. Oh well, too little, too late. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-the-cord/796940/24 "2017-10-03T13:00:46Z")
I found Sling to be unwatchable- we have a very good internet connection but it was constantly stopping and because it doesn’t really work on-demand, I had shows I had to watch 3-4 times from the beginning (Fargo was the one I remember most) just to see the end. Asked them what was the deal and they gave me an elaborate multi-step process that I spent half a day on and it still didn’t help. I still have my cord cut and I got a free Roku out of it so it wasn’t a huge loss. I have Hulu,Netflix & Prime with a couple of premier add ons and we are still about $80 less a month than we paid with our previous satellite service. If I really need something I would have watched on Sling, I just buy the season at Prime for $20. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-the-cord/796940.md?page=1)