We don’t have cable. We had it for a couple of years (which is the only time in my life I’ve had cable except when basic cable was included as part of rent in my second year of grad school), but ditched it about 4 years ago. I don’t watch much TV, and generally I don’t miss it.
We do have Amazon Prime, and there’s pretty much always something to watch. Someday I think about adding Sling TV or something, but so far haven’t bothered. Someday we may get around t replacing the Roku box, but we figured that buying a Blu-Ray when the old DVD player died was a lot cheaper than paying for cable. (And finally got around to buying our own cable modem, too, so we’re not paying rent for that anymore.)
Suggestion: Save more money. Replace all your old light bulbs around the house with LED light bulbs - saves quite a bit on the electric bill! (10 years ago I had two outside 150 watt flood lights - just replaced with two 13 watt (75 watt equiv.) “daylight” bulbs. Seems like just as much light to me.)
While I’m not cutting the cord, I am doing some testing.
I re-installed an oldish tuner card in my server and have been trying to set up NextPVR on it over the last several days. It’s not going well. An incredibly number of mysterious errors, reboots, etc.
(Plus a 30+ year old attic antenna that I hadn’t used in a looong time.)
For one, I seem to be able to set the config so I can do only one of record or watch live TV. (And I don’t mean at the same time.) So I can tune channels, watch stuff, etc., but when I set up a recording it fails. Or I can get recordings to (sometimes) work but watching live TV I get no video, just sound. And there’s the EPG (program guide) stuff that’s still not working. All the listings show the first channel’s schedule for all of them.
OTOH, the number of channels available is amazing. Although most are SD. Lots of movies. But edited and with commercials. One could get by with that and suitable online accounts, I think.
We were relatively late cable adopters - not doing so until after the kids were away at college. Even tho we only wanted to watch a few shows, we preferred to doing it on our TV instead of computers, and preferred the time-shifting of a DVR.
As prices have increased, we’ve considered cutting the cable. Even went to a program on how to do so at the local library. Our conclusion, altho cable prices are outrageous, we are fortunate to be easily able to afford them, and we justify it as one of relatively few luxuries we afford ourselves, with the aim of providing ourselves some minimal convenience. The alternatives just impress us as involving much more hassle, and at relatively limited savings when you start adding on multiple devices and services to get what we want - access to the few shows we want, and DVR ability.
I’d probably be fine with a digital antenna and a VCR. But since I earn/have enough that I can readily afford the ridiculous couple hundred per month, and because it gives me some minimal convenience/entertainment, I simply choose to do so.
Another thing, I do not enjoy learning how to use different electronic devices/processes. Even a new TV remote control can frustrate me greatly. Or finding my way around different websites. So continuing to pay what I do for a system I am adept at using, is of some value. I often think that folk who upgrade products and offer alternative technologies do not seem to appreciate how much that can distress stick-in-the-muds like me, whose needs are adequately being served, who appreciate some degree of standardization and predictability, and who have no interest in learning new commands and procedures for what we consider basic practices such as watching TV, using a cellphone, sending an e-mail, writing and saving a document…
I don’t want to sound like a complete Luddite, and I’m not so stupid as to deny the multiple benefits of technological advances. But we are both 55, and often think how much easier - and cheaper - it was when we were becoming adults - and for our parents - when you did not have the complexity and expense of today’s telecommunications services. An increasingly fast life with increasing options, in some respects adds stresses which I think are often not adequately acknowledged.
Quick question for those of you who have cut the cord - Hulu used to have a free tier and a paid tier. When I went looking for something on Hulu yesterday, it seems like it’s now a lower paid tier & a higher paid tier, no free content. Is that correct? Is free Hulu gone altogether?
We dumped it ages ago and just stream everything though, uh, ways of streaming things.
Honestly, I don’t miss it in the slightest. We have almost every TV show ever made at streaming disposal; there is not enough time left in my life to watch all the TV and movies available. It would be nice to have live baseball on TV, but the opportunities to sit down and watch a game are themselves few and far in between, and on the few occasions we do have such an opportunity it’s an occasion to go to the local pub and have some drinks while we watch.
As far as I know the free stuff is still available. The lower tier keeps more shows available. The higher paid tier gives you commercial free programs. I jumped on that as soon as it was offered.
Well, I’ve got a few years on you. And I’ve had no problem with the tech. My lovely Vizio smart TV makes it easy to use Netflix, Amazon, Hulu–and a bunch more. Plug in a cheap antenna (which I’ve found works best with the flap thingie taped to a window) & a bunch of broadcast stations appear.
A basic model Roku lets me watch even more “packages” on my older TV. (Plus Tune-In Radio!) I prefer “older” shows & movies there—because the square picture matches the square screen.
Then there’s the other old TV in the kitchen. No internet–just the All Region DVD player (from the days when you had to order* Sherlock* from Amazon.UK.) And the built in VCR–for the AbFab & Blackadder sets I inherited from Mom.
I’ve still got the old Digital TV conversion/Rabbit Ear antenna. Surely one of the old TV’s could use it. Should I try to find an Old Guy at RadioShack who can fix me up with a switcher doohicky?
I come from a long line of Fiddlers with Media. (Uncle Jim was a pioneer of crystal radio.) If that’s not your thing, there’s nothing wrong with Cable. But don’t use your “advanced” age an an excuse!
My new GF lives in Somerset NJ. She did not have cable. I bought her a MOHU leaf 50-mile model. CBS comes in great–maybe 95% of the time. NBC maybe 20-30% of the time. FOX maybe 20-30% of the time. I moved it around to try to optimize. Unfortunately the tv is on the west side of the house and most of the stations are toward the east–in NYC. A few other channels come in, including one or two that have shows from the 50’s. This is fine if you’re not really a tv watcher, and just want to see the news–or if you’re a big fan of CBS.
Guess I didn’t realize I was using my age or anything else as an excuse. To say I am not a media fiddler is an understatement. Which strikes me as odd, as I was HUGELY into stereo in college, and used to enjoy working on mechanics and electronics on my Corvair.
But I never really got interested in computers or cellphones, and things just seem to have passed me by. My wife and I see commercials, and don’t even have a clear idea what they are advertising, or why anyone would want what it appears to be.
If I were looking for something to spend my time and attention on learning, I’d study a new language, or a new musical instrument. Just my personal preference.
The free stuff is still available, but it is almost impossible to find from their home page.
Go to the very bottom of the home page. In the very faintest light grey type if you squint very hard and enlarge the page size, you’ll see a link to “Terms of Use.” To save you the trouble, it leads to here:
Click on it. You will see a black bar across the top of the page. In the black bar, there is a search box. From that search box, you can search for the free program you want. Or, if you want to browse, you can click on “TV” at the left end of the search bar. You’ll get to free content like this:
You’ll note that ABC lets you watch the last 5 episodes of its programs starting a week after they air. To watch earlier episodes or the most recent episode, you have to subscribe. So, for example, to watch Mistresses for free, you have keep pressing the right arrow to the right of the list of episodes until you get to Season 4.
