Since part of my 2013 goals is to significantly reduce my debt load, I am considering dropping the TV part of my ‘entertainment’ plan that currently includes TV, internet and landline phone that runs me about $150/month. I have the most basic TV plan they offer, no BBC America for me:(, so dropping down a level won’t save me much. The phone only runs about $7/month when bundled into the triple play, but that will go too if I get rid of the TV portion.
The TV I watch is mostly network plus The Daily Show and Colbert Report. Otherwise if my TV Is on it is likely on Discovery ID for all the true crime I can tolerate, but I don’t generally pay strict attention to what is on. Assuming the Digital Antenna gets me coverage in the outer 'burbs of DC that will cover me for Network TV. Are my only options for TDS and CR paying for it on iTunes? What, if anything, would Hulu plus or Netflix offer for me? Would I need to buy a Roku or similar?
Hulu Plus has both The Daily Show and Colbert report. Yes, you would need a Roku or the like, or you can just access it on a computer. If you already own a blu-ray player, check to see if you can access them through that - most of the recent models do, although the interfaces are generally lackluster.
I would think paying for shows on iTunes would quickly become expensive even at 99 cents an episode.
Roku is nice, it has a decent interface that is fast and rarely crashes. It does Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, and a bunch of free stuff like Crackle, YouTube, and various classic, religious, gadget, Asian, and general International programming.
Netflix streaming has plenty of good shows and movies, but next to nothing that is current. My advice on Netflix streaming is you can’t necessarily go there expecting to find something in particular, but if you go to their site and start browsing you will find a lot of stuff you want to watch.
None of this stuff is like channel surfing, you have to get used to a very broad but limited selection, and watching everything on-demand instead of live.
You’d have to watch it from your computer, but both CR and TDS can be watched for free on comedy central’s website.
For a landline, you might be able to get away with not having one at all. I can say that I haven’t had one for over five years and haven’t missed it once…my cell is good enough for what I need.
Something else that has worked for me in the past, I’ve been able to get a price discount just by starting a new commitment. If you’re not already on a contract, it might be worth calling up verizon and seeing what they’re willing to do.
My daughter has gone back to school (and on a tight budget). She has FiOS internet only ($42) is getting by on Roku (with Hulu+ and NetFlix subscriptions) and a pair of rabbit ears.
Well, according to FIOS’ site I am 6 months in on a 2 yr commitment, but I will have to call BS on that. Dropping my commit shouldn’t have re-started a new 2 year contract, but that does explain the random rebate card I got <doh> However, if I drop it, the cancellation fee would be offset pretty quickly by not having any TV charges.
I don’t personally know anyone that has a ROKU so this has been re-assuring.
Thanks everyone!
Oh, and I am not worried about not having a landline, but at $7/mo it was nice to have.
The cool thing about FiOS is no caps on downloads, stream all you want. AppleTV is good too, about the same price as the high end Roku. No Amazon Prime streaming like Roku, but AirPlay is pretty cool to watch iPhone videos on your TV.