My Experience With Cutting The Cord

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I'm not a cable cutter just yet, but articles like this sure make me wish I was.

It’s been a little over a month since I disconnected my AT&T U-verse TV service. I’ve never been a huge television or movie buff and although I occasionally get sucked into a good series, most current shows can be found online. What has kept me coming back to cable is college football. Last February, however, Sling TV launched the first over-the-top service to deliver live sports from the ESPN family of networks. I’m now an official cord cutter and this is my experience.
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I just cut the cord again last week. We went years with out cable and then my wife got into SoA and couldn't wait for the next season to on disks. Obviously that show has ended and so we just waited for our contract to expire.

The one thing I have always told people is that the only current drawback is sports. But lately that is changing so I really do not see any reason not to cut the cord.
 
I've been with and without cable for 7+ years. I had it recently but only because it was bundled with my Internet package for the same price. While I had it, I rarely watched anything unless it was streamed though Hulu or Netflix. Now that our city provides fast/reliable Internet, I'm without it completely and enjoying my $60.00 a month savings...
 
Depending on what you like to do to relax, cutting cable can be really easy. I'm more of a gamer than a passive watcher so I found it pretty damn easy to get rid of cable. Right now I have Netflix & Youtube for my watching and that's it. I don't really find myself caring too much. Most network TV right now is garbage anyway, I suppose I could just get an antenna, but I'm not sure I'd even bother using it. I could also probably watch TV on the various network's websites, but once again...

I feel like I'm spoiled for choice. Why is anyone paying $100 a month just to watch 20 minutes of content interspersed with 8 minutes of commercials and 2 minutes of credits/intro. What a rip-off!
 
I guess I am a cord never, but I watch cable elsewhere on occasion, and the only thing I wonder is why its something we are still expected to pay for. It boggles the mind why millions pay for that ad-laden crap.
The one thing I miss is my DVR (HTPC-based ) for the OTA channels.
I am not building another HTPC.
Been checking out the TIVO roamio for OTA. Anyone used it? It does require TIVO's 15 a month 'service' but it looks like it would make a good box for netflix/hulu/amazon if I wanted to. More important I can skip +30 and reviews mention it has a good remote to work with. Its a 4-tuner box. Entry price is 50$ which I don't think its bad.
Has anyone here used this product by any chance?
 
I decided to cut the cord a while back too. I never watched anything on my DirecTV except sports. I recently signed up with Sling TV and it's pretty much what I wanted out of my cable subscription with a few exceptions.

I'm a big MMA fan, so Spike TV for Bellator is missing, Fox Sports for some UFC events is missing, and I also can't watch some of my favorite shows on FXX like It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia and Archer. Aside from that, I can still catch almost every football game during football season since I have an antenna and ESPN on Sling TV. Those Thursday night games are usually crap anyway.

Netflix fills in a lot of the gaps that not having cable leaves, and I love having AMC for Better Call Saul on Sling TV.

There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that I would ever return to paying $50+ for cable or satellite television.
 
Uvaman said:
I guess I am a cord never, but I watch cable elsewhere on occasion, and the only thing I wonder is why its something we are still expected to pay for. It boggles the mind why millions pay for that ad-laden crap.
The one thing I miss is my DVR (HTPC-based ) for the OTA channels.
I am not building another HTPC.
Been checking out the TIVO roamio for OTA. Anyone used it? It does require TIVO's 15 a month 'service' but it looks like it would make a good box for netflix/hulu/amazon if I wanted to. More important I can skip +30 and reviews mention it has a good remote to work with. Its a 4-tuner box. Entry price is 50$ which I don't think its bad.
Has anyone here used this product by any chance?
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I just finished cutting the cord myself. I looked into the Tivo Roamio but didn't want to pay the subscription. I opted for Tablo (4-tuner) model. So far it is working very well. The Roku 3 app for Tablo is supposed to be getting a major facelift soon as well.
 
Sling TV is getting a lot better. But, some things need work. The new channels (A&E, Lifetime) has some shows that are locked out, as they aren't licensed to be streamed.

Stability and quality are improving weekly, so that's less of an issue.

OTA, Sling TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other free streaming sites give me everything I really need or want to watch. I'm still under $30 a month.
 
Elitism incoming...most people who claim they're cutting a cord are just replacing it with a different box that does the same thing. In other words, they're being little content zombies with Roku, Netflix, or Hulu instead of being cable TV zombies. Super smart cat owners, on the other hand, don't waste their time with video at all; even dumb YouTube stuff.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
Elitism incoming...most people who claim they're cutting a cord are just replacing it with a different box that does the same thing. In other words, they're being little content zombies with Roku, Netflix, or Hulu instead of being cable TV zombies. Super smart cat owners, on the other hand, don't waste their time with video at all; even dumb YouTube stuff.
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Kind of this. I know people that will sit and watch an entire season of a show on Netflix / Hulu / etc. Sad shit there.

I cut the cord in 2009, haven't looked back. Guess that makes me a hipster... hehe. We found ourselves really only watching maybe three channels every so often. We found Netflix more to our liking as we could actually find something to watch when we had the time, because we don't have a lot of "sit and watch TV" time, and don't neither of us like to be tied to a specific day / time for a show. The big thing was the cost savings. Why pay for something you don't use?

It's really more of a lifestyle - when we are home, we're doing other things; she's a writer, I'm involved with various organizations so have a bit of side work / web stuff that I do.
 
I'm sorry, but I simply don't have time to watch a ton of TV. We have a couple shows we watch, but that's *maybe* a couple hours per week.

Life's too short to spend it vegging on the sofa.
 
somecallmeTim said:
Kind of this. I know people that will sit and watch an entire season of a show on Netflix / Hulu / etc. Sad shit there.

I cut the cord in 2009, haven't looked back. Guess that makes me a hipster... hehe. We found ourselves really only watching maybe three channels every so often. We found Netflix more to our liking as we could actually find something to watch when we had the time, because we don't have a lot of "sit and watch TV" time, and don't neither of us like to be tied to a specific day / time for a show. The big thing was the cost savings. Why pay for something you don't use?

It's really more of a lifestyle - when we are home, we're doing other things; she's a writer, I'm involved with various organizations so have a bit of side work / web stuff that I do.
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Good for you! I apologize for liking TV shows, and watching entire seasons at once.
I am a horrible human being.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
Elitism incoming...most people who claim they're cutting a cord are just replacing it with a different box that does the same thing. In other words, they're being little content zombies with Roku, Netflix, or Hulu instead of being cable TV zombies. Super smart cat owners, on the other hand, don't waste their time with video at all; even dumb YouTube stuff.
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I couldn't spend $80 a month or more for 2 or 3 shows. I watch less than 5 hours of TV a week, if that. Agents of SHIELD, Agent Carter, news, Continuum. That's it for me, other than the occasional special. So, cutting the cord was cost savings and I still get to watch some good shows. I cut the cord to replace it with something more versatile, lower cost, no contract, and is giving me the content I want. My family watches more TV than I do, though. So, they get some good content, too. Elitism? Is it elitism when you drop something that you don't see a value in? I don't think so.

DUMB YouTube stuff?! HAVE YOU SEEN ALL THE CAT VIDEOS?! You're missing out on some quality cat videos, man.
 
Uvaman said:
Good for you! I apologize for liking TV shows, and watching entire seasons at once.
I am a horrible human being.
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I binge watched Continuum. I didn't get to watch it live, and just found out about it last fall. New season (final season) coming up. I watched the first few seasons in about a week or so. It's one of those few shows that I got into after it aired. With all the shows lined up like that, and the cliff hangers and such, it's easy to get sucked in.

Now, I rarely have time for TV. Great weather. Gardening, beer making, lawn care, fishing...

So, yea, you do suck. Ever watch Fringe? Want to waste a good 120 hours of your life on an excellent show? :D
 
Hi All

It's been 3 years since we've cut the cord. For us it was a financial move as much as dissatisfaction with cable. We only use OTA, Amazon Prime, and Netflix. All of the money saved from the cable bill goes toward our kids college fund, as we don't want them starting their adult lives with a crippling debt.

There was a little adjustment, however, with what we have now, when time permits we watch what we like & aren't paying for channels that we never watched.
 
Uvaman said:
Good for you! I apologize for liking TV shows, and watching entire seasons at once.
I am a horrible human being.
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Yeah, you suck. Every evening after work, I hit the gym, then climb a mountain, and hang glide off it to land near the club where I pick up chicks.
 
l33th41 said:
I just finished cutting the cord myself. I looked into the Tivo Roamio but didn't want to pay the subscription. I opted for Tablo (4-tuner) model. So far it is working very well. The Roku 3 app for Tablo is supposed to be getting a major facelift soon as well.
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I second the tablo. I've only got the 2 tuner, but it works great. The only complaint's I've seen from people are related to wifi. I have mine hardwired and it's pretty freaking awesome. Before the tablo I tried the OTA tivo, but it sucked. It was just plain massive in side and then $15/month for one tv was rediculous. I bought the tablo for under $200, and I already had a usb hd collecting dust and my antenna. Used the free month and liked it so much (even got the rare wife's approval), I bought the 150 lifetime membership.

Most of the time I use it via ipad/iphone and then airplay to appletv's. I do have a roku3 and tried it there but the interface is lacking. But as mentioned that is supposed to get a major overhaul soon.

I'm hoping I can get the wife to agree to drop hulu, because with the tablo, you really don't need it. However currently I have netflix, hulu plus, and then amazon which I never watch. I'm out maybe $20/month since the tablo is paid for.
 
Ur_Mom said:
Elitism? Is it elitism when you drop something that you don't see a value in? I don't think so.
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I actually meant that I was being an elitist by looking down my nose at all the people who claim to be cord cutters but are really just changing service providers from a cable company to someone else.

DUMB YouTube stuff?! HAVE YOU SEEN ALL THE CAT VIDEOS?! You're missing out on some quality cat videos, man.
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Cat videos...that is a really valid point. But I have the most cutest kitty evar so I don't really need to watch those kinda of videos because I can hug a kitty anytime I want (aaaand be enslaved by feeding her too).
 
jtm55 said:
Hi All

It's been 3 years since we've cut the cord. For us it was a financial move as much as dissatisfaction with cable. We only use OTA, Amazon Prime, and Netflix. All of the money saved from the cable bill goes toward our kids college fund, as we don't want them starting their adult lives with a crippling debt.

There was a little adjustment, however, with what we have now, when time permits we watch what we like & aren't paying for channels that we never watched.
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You need a lot more money for college than just cutting your cable bill.
 
Steve said:
I'm not a cable cutter just yet, but articles like this sure make me wish I was.

... Last February, however, Sling TV launched the first over-the-top service to deliver live sports from the ESPN family of networks. ...
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Ironic because expensive sports channels are a main cause of rising prices of cable, with cable cost a reason often given by cord cutters.
 
I moved to KC 3 years ago and moved in with some friends who were cable cutters.
Luckily my friend had a large media collection and so did I, so we compiled our collections together and BAM we have more media than we know what to do with.

Now that KC has Google fiber we have the ability to download and stream more content than we could ever figure out what to do with.

Sometimes I do miss the ability to "surf" whats on TV, but alas, I can just turn on Netflix.
I am still strangely amused whenever I go back and visit my rents and surf the tube after they go to sleep. Its like finding an old friend again haha
I find myself getting incredibly frustrated with those things called "advertisements" though... LOL

As others mentioned i do miss live sports, but I have enough friends around with Cable/Dish that like sports so I can meet up with them to watch the games I want, otherwise I go to a bar.
My friend and myself have toyed with purchasing MLB package and NFL package, but blackout dates piss me the fuck off and make no sense. So instead we stream sports games via the internet, MLB and NFL can suck it
 
Mohonri said:
I'm sorry, but I simply don't have time to watch a ton of TV. We have a couple shows we watch, but that's *maybe* a couple hours per week.

Life's too short to spend it vegging on the sofa.
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Says the person posting on [H] that could be doing other things..but instead vegging in front of a computer to tell people stop vegging.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
I actually meant that I was being an elitist by looking down my nose at all the people who claim to be cord cutters but are really just changing service providers from a cable company to someone else.
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Ah, one of those people. :)

Yea, it's basically switching from one big company to another (Sling is done by Dish).

But, you're going away from the traditional model to a more 'ala carte' style. You pick and choose what services and channels you want. Sling has a good selection, plus a few $5 add-on's. Netflix library, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Crackle, Vudu, etc... All have their own merits. Rather than pay $90 for 5 channels, you can subscribe to 2 services and get those plus a lot more for $15 or so (Hulu/Netflix).
 
I cut the cord it lasted me about 2 months. Then instead I made an HTPC with cablecard tuners. So I'm able to save $40 a month or so on receiver fees. I'm big into sports. I'm also lazy and want my own shit, so going to friends or family to watch something isn't high on my list. Sling TV does seem like something that would interest me. If the channel lineup expands I may consider it then.
 
Doesnt this sling TV service come bundled with several channels, making it kind of non-cordcutter like? It's more like switching from one carrier to another.
 
Mohonri said:
I can only assume that's not the only money they're setting aside.
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Hi All

You are correct. The money saved from cutting the cord is in addition to what was already being set aside for our kids college education.
 
McFry said:
Doesnt this sling TV service come bundled with several channels, making it kind of non-cordcutter like? It's more like switching from one carrier to another.
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It from Dish. You get a $20 base package and can add other $5 packages. It's still adding channels. So, it's like going from one carrier to another, but still under the same name. Just a different delivery method (over the internet instead of satellite). Lower cost, more options. So, in a way, it's less of a cordcutter option. But, it fits in as it's an alternative to the other things. Not quite the same as the old method, not quite the cordcutter, but it just gets lumped in as a cordcutter option...
 
I've cut the cord for about a year now, I stuck w/ high speed internet netflix/amazon prime. Don't really miss channel surfing at all :D
For sports and fights I just head over to a bar.
 
I cut the cable nearly 2 yrs ago. No regrets other than nfl football but in too busy to watch anyway
 
Cutting the cord hasnt even been an option where I've lived in the past 15 years.
There hasnt been a cord to cut.
Havent felt like I'm missing out on anything :)
 
Sling launched post-football season right? I'm curious if it'll be good enough to catch all the NFL games this year. Else i'll have to sign up again for cable rabble rabble
 
chockomonkey said:
Sling launched post-football season right? I'm curious if it'll be good enough to catch all the NFL games this year. Else i'll have to sign up again for cable rabble rabble
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ESPN is only channel on it that airs NFL games. So you would only monday night football. So you would need to use OTA antenna for the sunday and thursday games.

It doesn't have any DVR service so thats a deal breaker for at the moment. Sports is the only thing I watch live everything else I always watch recorded.
 
Haven't had cable for about 10 years and doing well so far. Replacement is Netflix, Hulu and renting movies from itunes etc. Didn't watch a lot of shows before then too though.
 
Trepidati0n said:
Says the person posting on [H] that could be doing other things..but instead vegging in front of a computer to tell people stop vegging.
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LOL I was waiting for that :) HF only requires a small fraction of the time I would spend watching shows.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
Elitism incoming...most people who claim they're cutting a cord are just replacing it with a different box that does the same thing. In other words, they're being little content zombies with Roku, Netflix, or Hulu instead of being cable TV zombies. Super smart cat owners, on the other hand, don't waste their time with video at all; even dumb YouTube stuff.
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Antenna. Most TV's can use them. The picture is better and I don't think cable sends thru the HD sub channels. If I could only find a viable option for internet service I'd say good bye to Comcast forever.
 
I haven't had cable/satellite TV in roughly 15 years.
My inner television addict has found something MUCH better.
Archive binging on various streaming services!

I, occasionally, abuse my parents' place for some things (like Doctor Who specials).
But, outside of that, I don't really miss television at all.
 
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