I'm getting rid of Directv next month and just using Netflix and OTA. With the money I save from cable I'll upgrade DSL to 10 MBs so I can get HD content, 3 MBs isn't cutting it anymore.

I canceled cable last year, and we use Roku (with Netflix and Hulu+ subscriptions), OTA, and downloads. I miss it less every day, and save about $70/month.

I can envy you guys cutting the cord. As long as Sports are not available (ESPN, etc.) and my OTA in my area very limited channels, this household will have to wait a little longer.

I know the good series we have seen on FX and USA, TNT, etc., are becoming available on the Net but so far I can't see how to replace sports, particularly Football.

Oh, well, one can dream..............someday.................

microlady wrote:

I can envy you guys cutting the cord. As long as Sports are not available (ESPN, etc.) and my OTA in my area very limited channels, this household will have to wait a little longer.

I know the good series we have seen on FX and USA, TNT, etc., are becoming available on the Net but so far I can't see how to replace sports, particularly Football.

Oh, well, one can dream..............someday.................

Yeah I never liked sports so it's not a problem. That and the fact I don't watch many tv shows anymore. I think the only one I watch last year was the Walking Dead and I can always get that on Amazon VOD.

microlady wrote:

I can envy you guys cutting the cord. As long as Sports are not available (ESPN, etc.) and my OTA in my area very limited channels, this household will have to wait a little longer.

I know the good series we have seen on FX and USA, TNT, etc., are becoming available on the Net but so far I can't see how to replace sports, particularly Football.

Oh, well, one can dream..............someday.................

I canceled my cable right after baseball season ended, and it hasn't started yet, but I'm sure I'll be missing it soon. MLB.tv doesn't show live in-market games, so that's a no-go for me. I have a limited cable signal that still comes through, but the picture isn't great on the sports channels. I wish my team was on OTA, but alas, it's Fox Sports West, or nothing.

I've reduced my cable TV subscription down the lowest package which gives me the local channels plus a few others. The only thing I'm waiting on to completely cut the cord is for our local CBS station to increase their transmission power so I can receive them with my antenna. They are expecting to have increased power in about two months. Then I can receive all the major networks over-the-air and will completely cancel cable TV. I have SageTV to record TV shows and the Roku to provide Netflix and other online content. That's plenty of entertainment for very little cost.

We currently only have OTA plus Roku

It will be two years next month I have been without cable/sat, I get 12 local stations OTA and I pay $20 per month for DSL. I don't miss the sports because I can listen to the local games on the radio. It saves me $90 per month, that's $1100 a year....I bought a new HDTV and took a vacation with the savings.

Ironically, just as I bought a HDTV and a BlueRay player, I'm now canceling my DishNetwork subscription. It was an old standard definition box anyway, nearly 10 years old, but still going strong. I work a lot of hours many months out of the year so I really only have about 2 hours a night to devote to watching TV. Having Netflix and now all the other channels available via my Roku (and my BlueRay player which is capable of streaming stuff too), I find I just don't turn it over to the Dish much anymore. Heck, the one thing keeping me stuck on Dishnetwork was NASA-TV, which I've enjoyed since the mid-1980's, first via a big dish, then the little dish. But now that Roku has it as a free channel (and in HD too!) I can easily give up my subscription. I'm not a sports nut, so it is fairly easy for me. I know ESPN keeps a lot of people paying those high cable bills, but I watched my fill of college sports when I was in college and for a few years after. I can get OTA HDTV of all the major networks and PBS (and the 720p and 1080i being broadcast is beautiful), so I still have enough sports to watch if I feel the need.

Anyway, by cutting out my dish and killing my land line telephone service (I'm using a Nettalk Duo instead, which to my mind is better than MagicJack because it plugs directly into my router so my PC doesn't have to be on all the time), I can save almost $700 a year (and that is even figuring in AT&T charging me an extra $10 a month to get a 6.0 Mbps service instead of my 3.0 Mbps current service. I don't think I'll ever look back unless I get married again and my wife demands ESPN for her sports (the current girlfriend is a big football and basketball fan).

The only thing I miss to a small degree is Fox News, but I can get my relatively unfiltered news fix from the Internet just fine.

It is a "brave new world", and it is great that the old communication dinosaurs are no longer in the driver's seat.

What scares me the most now, is the FCC pushing ideas and an agenda that sound good on the surface, but could have terrible intended and unintended consequences for those of us putting most of our eggs in the Internet streaming basket. Time will tell.

Killing my Dish service was made easier by the games both Dishnetwork and Direct-TV play with their pricing where they give better deals to new customers than they do to their loyal ones. I think they will find the axiom that it is far easier to keep existing customers than finding new ones to be a true one, and they are being foolish in not offering existing customers the same deals they would for new customers.

Either one is a much better deal than the local cable franchise with their inflated prices (some friends of mine at work have cable bills of $140 and more per month). That is just plain crazy for freakin' TV.

I think their business model is broken, but they just don't want to face the music (similar to how the music industry felt about the Internet). To me, the future is providing "a la carte" channel choices, and letting the free market reign. I had that with my old 1984 vintage 12 foot dish. With my Roku I finally have MY choices again.

Ross

I haven't cut the cord, but I have nicked it. I got rid of DirecTV last year, went with basic cable and upgraded my broadband service from 12 to 25 Mbps; easily saving ~ $100/month. Between basic cable, my Roku players and PS3s, I get most of what I need. I would probably cut the cord completely if I was single. There are enough programs on Bravo, HGTV, TLC, etc. that the interest the wife which can't be easily obtained without cable.

KennyJ wrote:

We currently only have OTA plus Roku

Still using Sezmi? I haven't heard much from/about them lately.

Cut the cable within a day of getting Roku!! We absolutely love it, have netflix, Hulu plus and several private channels I discovered here, My fav is youtube! Still us OTA antenna for the locals, and with the exception of CBS all are working fine. I feel like a kid again, anxious to come home and "watch tv", have not had this feeling in years! I can guarentee to never look back!!

mikebdoss wrote:

I canceled my cable right after baseball season ended, and it hasn't started yet, but I'm sure I'll be missing it soon. MLB.tv doesn't show live in-market games, so that's a no-go for me. I have a limited cable signal that still comes through, but the picture isn't great on the sports channels. I wish my team was on OTA, but alas, it's Fox Sports West, or nothing.

Check the high cable chs for a second feed in HD of the limited basic chs you are receiving. Many cable systems do not block or scramble the QAM feeds at all. If they are available then you can use a USB tuner and something like Next PVR to record what you want.

I have not had cable or any other "regular" TV service for over two years and the ONLY thing I miss is the opportunity to complain about the higher and higher bills. Now I have to be much more creative in finding something to bitch about. But, THEY CANNOT TAKE AWAY MY GOD GIVEN RIGHT TO BITCH!!.

Maybe I should jump on the "I hate HULU Plus" bandwagon. ... Nah, too easy a target with many too many people, and others, taking shots at it.

I guess I will just have to hunt further for a suitable target for my self righteous indignation.

hn333 wrote:

I'm getting rid of Directv next month and just using Netflix and OTA. With the money I save from cable I'll upgrade DSL to 10 MBs so I can get HD content, 3 MBs isn't cutting it anymore.

I only have broadband.........(no tv)............ I may get rid of Netflix as HuluPlus is better for me (Leno, current shows saved for me). I cut the cord in early 2010. If you take advantage of the private channels, you can watch almost everything including live "tv".

I do have HDMI on my laptop so I can also connect laptop to HDTV and watch anything that you can't get via Roku.

I wish I can cut my cable, but I can't at this time w/out Cartoon Network, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon for my kids...