All The TV You Want Without Paying A Cable Bill

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If you are thinking about cord cutting, TIME has laid out a few different ways of getting your TV fix without paying a cable bill. :cool:

The notion of getting all the video entertainment you want without paying a massive cable bill—a.k.a. cord cutting—has gone from a tech-world fantasy to a viable mainstream option in what seems like a matter of months.
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I did this and haven't regretted it. Cut the cord and just stream Netflix to my tv and haven't looked back.
 
Same as Zion. I used to be paying $140/month for cable. 6 years ago I cut the cord. Half the savings money went to my pocket, the rest goes towards retirement. I wish I discovered this sooner in life but oh well.
 
I've been living without TV in my apartment for 9 years. If there is a show, event, whatever that I absolutely need to watch then I'll watch it at a friend'S house.
 
Cut out subscription TV service (cable/sat) back in 2011. Went back to cable in mid-2012 for a "promo" pricing package valid for 1 year: home phone, broadband, cable TV with DVR and HD, plus HBO, Cinemax, and ShowTime for $145/month. After the promo expired, I called and asked what specials they were running for existing customers. Nothing. Nadda. Zip. Zilch.

They were going to make us pay $277/mo and lower the HSI speed tier we had, cut out Cinemax and HBO, replace the whole-home HDDVR system with a regular HDDVR, but give us free nationwide long distance calling (never used our landline for that because...cell phones). :rolleyes:

Our current services and monthly costs:
Netflix (standard)
$9

Hulu Plus
$8

Amazon Prime IV
$8.25

Monthly Total: $25.25

Savings per month over cable: $251.75
Saving per year over cable: $3021

I'm going to go with "fuck you, cable and sat TV service"
 
£140 per year tv license
£5.99 netflix
£5.99 prime
£12.99 20mb broadband - used to be £5 but I moved into new house with partner, and cancelled the wrong package by mistake.
 
DejaWiz said:
They were going to make us pay $277/mo and lower the HSI speed tier we had, cut out Cinemax and HBO, replace the whole-home HDDVR system with a regular HDDVR, but give us free nationwide long distance calling (never used our landline for that because...cell phones). :rolleyes:

Our current services and monthly costs:
Netflix (standard)
$9

Hulu Plus
$8

Amazon Prime IV
$8.25

150/50 cable internet speed
$72


Monthly Total: $97.25



Savings per month over cable: $179.75
Saving per year over cable: $2157
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Forgot to add in price if broadband service...
 
We haven't completely cut the cord. For us, we just dropped back to locals only from Comcast, since we still needed the Internet. It was $2 more for locals and Internet vs. just Internet.. so actually comes out cheaper than subscribing to Hulu Plus :p We don't rent a STB though.. I've been using SageTV as a PVR, tried to switch to Windows Media Center.. and have come back to SageTV since it was announced that it would be going open source. Unfortunately, we live in a OTA dead zone (at least according to TVFool and Antennaweb), and I know an indoor antenna won't work because I tried it a couple years ago.

Here's my issue with these articles though. The most I've ever paid for cable + Internet was $150.. and that was my fault for not watching my bill. Every year I call Comcast and they can't give me a good offer to stay.. so I go into the local store and they end up giving me a deal. My last "deal" was $99 for internet + extended basic. By dropping to "locals only" I've reduced that to $65, which for me is fine.. but in the grand scheme of things only gives about $35 play room for figuring out Amazon/Netflix/etc. to supplement. So, there is no way to "cut the cord" and get all the shows we normally watched (Syfy channel, TNT, AMC, TLC, locals, blah blah blah). For us.. we decided we could cut back and live without some.. but the idea that cutting the cord is a viable alternative isn't as rosy as they make it seem.
Let's take my example and try to fit it into the "basic cable junkie" category for example. Because I'm keeping locals.. I don't need Hulu or CBS, but SlingTV would give me back access to TNT, AMC, etc for $20 month. So adding that back I've only really reduced my bill by $15.. and lost Syfy, Comedy Central, TLC, and several other "extended basic" channels with the only option being to buy the seasons from Amazon or Apple. Doesn't seem like a huge savings at that point... not to mention the limitations of SlingTV (no timeshifting/dvr option for at least some of the channels/shows). Plus, once I add Netflix + Prime back to the equation (which is part of the reason we wanted to cut costs first), I'm back to the same price.

We're still happy we cut back.. but there are other options. How many homes have an XBOX and a computer? Add and HDHomeRun Prime, record via WMC, and drop the DVR/STBs and save money that way. Heck, even something like a NUC can handle the recording requirements. Sure, cutting the cord sounds great if you are dropping a "whole home" DVR setup with all the rental fees, Showtime/HBO/Cinemax (only HBO can be replaced for these at the moment), and whatever top-tier of channels you were paying for. For the households that just had basic or extended basic and no premium subscriptions.. the gap is drastically smaller.
 
AceGoober said:
I've been living without TV in my apartment for 9 years. If there is a show, event, whatever that I absolutely need to watch then I'll watch it at a friend'S house.
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Heck, I totally quit watching TV for nearly a decade and didn't start up again watching -some- TV until I got married. It was shocking how much TV programming went from bad to garbage. News programming went from -The news- to liberal propaganda+Enquirer type news segments. Really; showing a Youtube video of someone busting their ass on a bicycle is what they call NEWS. "Oh, it's trending! Its trending!" :mad:
 
I've been cable free for about 5 years now. It's funny because when I fly out to my friends place 4 or 5 times a year we are usually chilling on the couch drunk and watching random crap. Then a commercial for something comes on and I'm like WTF when did taco bell come out with the Volcano taco he said , WTF dude 3 years ago lol... That literally happened a few years back and then when I was visiting 6 months ago I said lets go get some Volcano tacos, and he shook his head in shock and said they don't have them anymore, something about Fiery locos tacos... I tell him I just visit to catch up on all the commercials now lol....
 
I could cut out TV in a heartbeat but can't really convince my wife to do it. I guess if she say how much we'd save on paper and then what we could do with that money she might come around. I'd be perfectly fine with broadcast channels and netflix.
 
"cord cutting—has gone from a tech-world fantasy to a viable mainstream option in what seems like a matter of months."

Interesting. I "cut the cable" and have been downloading ALL of my TV shows and movies for over 12 years.
 
I think it's easier just to not bother with watching TV at all either from a cable company or trying to fuddle with substitutes to fill in the gap. After a couple of months, all the TV-addiction withdraw symptoms go away and you emerge as a better person without the background noise dependence. When you look down at lesser people all scrambling around and squabbling with one another over watching some meaningless show that's littered with commercials targeted at the lowest functioning members of society, you get to laugh in a quiet, snooty way that lets them know that you think they're inferior for still being addicted to moving pictures.
 
I've not had cable in my house for over 4 years. We have been using OTA, Netflix, Hulu Plus, and YouTube.
Last week, TWC informed me that my internet (30.0) was going up. I called to bitch about this - and got the same price. But, I had to add basic cable.
So, I'm now getting 30.0 internet, some cable package (which I think includes about 50 channels), and internet phone for .83 cents cheaper per month than what I was getting. If I refused cable, it was going to go up by about 10 bucks.
As much I as I hated going back, I now have a cable box again. My kids hate it already.
We are keeping Amazon Prime (duh), Netflix, and of course have YouTube. I'm going to drop Hulu Plus as I have no need for it right now
Has anyone else had similar offers? I am wondering if they are losing so many customers that they are making deals like this? I have no clue if my theory is correct.
 
Honestly there is so much content available that you'd hate to not have a job and sit on your ass all day to justify cable unless you are a sports die hard.

I cut cable in 2011 or so and have 110/30 Comcast Internet for 50 bucks a month, Netflix, free Hulu and the WWE network (free).

I just wait for those services to offer free months and use them then. I watch maybe an hours worth of TV usually Cooking related stuff.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
I think it's easier just to not bother with watching TV at all either from a cable company or trying to fuddle with substitutes to fill in the gap. After a couple of months, all the TV-addiction withdraw symptoms go away and you emerge as a better person without the background noise dependence. When you look down at lesser people all scrambling around and squabbling with one another over watching some meaningless show that's littered with commercials targeted at the lowest functioning members of society, you get to laugh in a quiet, snooty way that lets them know that you think they're inferior for still being addicted to moving pictures.
Click to expand...

Wow, how's the air up there?
 
steakman1971 said:
I've not had cable in my house for over 4 years. We have been using OTA, Netflix, Hulu Plus, and YouTube.
Last week, TWC informed me that my internet (30.0) was going up. I called to bitch about this - and got the same price. But, I had to add basic cable.
So, I'm now getting 30.0 internet, some cable package (which I think includes about 50 channels), and internet phone for .83 cents cheaper per month than what I was getting. If I refused cable, it was going to go up by about 10 bucks.
As much I as I hated going back, I now have a cable box again. My kids hate it already.
We are keeping Amazon Prime (duh), Netflix, and of course have YouTube. I'm going to drop Hulu Plus as I have no need for it right now
Has anyone else had similar offers? I am wondering if they are losing so many customers that they are making deals like this? I have no clue if my theory is correct.
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Just curious.. but if you already had what you needed.. why install one of their cable boxes? You're not being charged a rental fee for it are you? Can't you get the cheaper price.. but just not use the cable part?

At least with Comcast I'm not required to have any of their devices (first cablecard doesn't cost, only need one for recording 3 channels at a time). I realized last summer I was getting charged $2.50 for each digital adapter they sent me several years ago for free... and never hooked up. Took those in to get those fees removed, and they weren't even DVR devices, just converters required for their encryption.
 
I do have cable but I only signed up for the cheapest basic cable they had so I could have a discount for having internet and tv together.
The lucky thing is when the installer came he went to the back room for the apartments where the cable is turned on and off and then came back 2 minutes later and said "Ok I turned on your service, the cable setup for the apartment building is horrible so I just turned yours on and didn't mess with anything else, so you will probably get expanded basic too."
I turned on my tv and set it to scan for channels and now I have everything (many in HD) except for movie channels like HBO and Showtime. :D
 
farscapesg1 said:
We haven't completely cut the cord. For us, we just dropped back to locals only from Comcast, since we still needed the Internet. It was $2 more for locals and Internet vs. just Internet.. so actually comes out cheaper than subscribing to Hulu Plus :p We don't rent a STB though.. I've been using SageTV as a PVR, tried to switch to Windows Media Center.. and have come back to SageTV since it was announced that it would be going open source. Unfortunately, we live in a OTA dead zone (at least according to TVFool and Antennaweb), and I know an indoor antenna won't work because I tried it a couple years ago.
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I haven't cut the cord partly for this very reason -- basically, I can't get internet locally that is actually fast enough for streaming without going through Comcast. And, once you figure in the cost breaks for the Triple Play with land line phone service (which we have to have for other reasons) then it actually comes out CHEAPER to keep cable service than it does to drop it.

The other problem is that there are many shows/networks that are still not (legally) available for streaming without cable service -- and until Lifetime, Hallmark, UP, etc are all available that way, there is no way I can cut cable service (i.e. I'm married and cutting those channels would NOT be good for household harmony). There are also a lot of shows that I like to watch on networks that are generally not readily available otherwise unless you already subscribe to the cable (TNT, SyFy, etc). The same goes for access to live sporting events -- which are often quite difficult to find in HD online without cable subscription. And, my mother-in-law would NOT be happy without her DVR -- and hasn't really mastered Netflix, etc.

SlingTV is interesting and ALMOST there in terms of content (LMN, Hallmark, TNT, but no SyFy, etc) but can't be used as a DVR without serious effort (Roku-->HDMI/Component Adapter-->Hauppauge HD-PVR; i.e. not practical). And, it is only good for one device at a time -- which is nuts as we may be watching things in different rooms (and when I'm watching Falling Skies, my wife is usually watching something on Hallmark, etc). It's possible to get it to multiple screens using hacks like the one above (transcoding via an HD-PVR and routing over ethernet, or notching out a frequency on coax and then retransmitting it clearQAM [which I have also played with, but most other people don't have Sencore DTA-111's on hand]).

And, the option of using a OTA ATSC antenna isn't viable where I live due to lack of reception (down in valley, no LOS to towers -- we can get exactly ONE channel OTA that is watchable).

That said, I've done somewhat similar to what you have for our own TV viewing and have ditched all my cable boxes in favor of two HDHomeRun Primes and one Ceton, one primary 7MC box that records pretty much everything (and is used on our main TV in the living room), one secondary 7MC box that hosts ServerWMC and MediaBrowserServer (and runs the TV in our kitchen), an couple of ECS Liva's running 8MC and Kodi (on the TV's in my office and bedroom), and then a few RPi2's running Kodi on the TV's in the guest bedrooms (setup to pull from ServerWMC). I also have a couple of Venue 8 Pro tablets that get used with Kodi for accessing stuff we have recorded and also live TV via ServerWMC -- (my wife's elliptical has a nice tablet mount on it that the V8P fits on nicely).

The RPi2 has made finally ditching the last of the crappy DTA boxes from Comcast feasible and cost effective (and makes me happy that I actually took the time to run Cat5e to all the guest rooms when I remodeled everything 16 years ago).

I just wish that there was a decent 10' interface for Windows for things like Netflix/HBOGo/etc. I can access them from my Liva via Comcast's website, but not without having to resort to a full browser interface and have a mouse/keyboard -- and having to have a separate Roku and/or FireTV in addition to the main WMC/Kodi boxes is a pain. The same problem is true with RPi2 -- no Netflix, etc -- and none of the standalone boxes really work well for live TV:

Amazon FireTV - functionality is nice, default Amazon home screen is terrible. Rooted and replaced launcher, works much better now. Unfortunately, for live TV, HDHomeRun view basically sucks, HBOGo and ShowTimeAnytime are both blocked by Comcast on FireTV, and while Kodi works pretty well on it, it is unable to decode 1080i MPEG2 streams from the HDHomeRun without jerking or pixelating (720p channels work, barely).

Roku3 -- Netflix, HBOGo, ShowTimeAnytime, etc all work flawlessly and the 10' interface is nice. Live TV from a newer HDHomeRun Plus that can transcode works quite nicely, but that means OTA ATSC channels only (since Comcast turned off all clear-QAM). For viewing stuff from my Prime, MPEG2 is a no-go on the Roku. And, sadly, for transcoding, HDHRFling doesn't work well enough and Media Browser Server usually works right but has a terrible UI on the Roku for accessing live TV.

It really irritates me that I can't cut the cord and still keep access to all the shows and networks that I want (and I'm not in favor of using apps that download stuff illegally, as I do believe the studios are still owed something -- though at times it gets REALLY tempting).

So, to cut the cord, I want:
1) It needs to be cheaper than I am paying per month now.
2) Access to the major networks, major sports channels, and the major cable networks that we watch regularly.
3) Ability for EVERY TV or viewing device in my house to access live video at the same time and to simultaneously access different shows/streams.
4) Ability to (preferably) record everything to my DVR or, at the least access everything "On Demand". And, if it's "On Demand", I want the option to pay an extra fee to NOT have to watch the blasted commercials (which I have my 7MC boxes setup to auto-excise via ComSkip).
5) The ability to record and keep stuff for posterity for my own archives -- i.e. I still have VHS recordings of the Challenger disaster, the 1986 UT vs Miami Sugar Bowl, etc. that I have converted over to H.264 and I still have live HD recording of 9/11 coverage that I captured on my first AccessDTV card, way back when).

So, while cord-cutting is getting better, it still ain't there yet. At least for me.
 
PS...

To any potential "cord cutters" looking for decent media boxes for use with Kodi, etc:

1) RPi2 is the best cheap Kodi platform I have found, though it's lack of Netflix apps, etc. sucks. It works great with both MP4 videos off a home server and (with the MPEG2 license) does great for HDHomeRun Prime access using their new Kodi specific add-on (and even better if you have ServerWMC or other tuner backend it can pull from).

2) For the money, the ECS Liva is a wonderful little media center box. It's PLENTY fast for about anything media related (way faster than the RPi2), runs Windows 8.1 nicely, and Kodi running on top of it is NICE. Plus, although it takes a mouse and keyboard, the W8 Netflix app is fairly nice, and you always can get to just about everything via a browser.

3) The dedicated OSMC boxes and the Solidrun CuBox/Hummingboard boxes, I really do NOT recommend. I've played with them heavily (and do barebox and kernel development for the iMX6 core in them as part of my day job). While Android runs on them, it runs rather slowly and a lot of major apps (e.g. HBO Go) are quite glitchy. With OpenElec, Kodi works pretty well on the platform but has issues with decoding high bitrate H.264 streams off my local server. It works fairly well for live TV via my HDHomeRun Prime but does occasionally drop frames on 1080i content (and if you turn on de-interlacing it grinds to a virtual halt and totally loses audio sync). These boxes also tend to run hot enough to cook an egg -- especially under heavy load -- and I've had my CuBox pixelate and lock up after watching an HD MP4 movie for 2 hours or so (when the cpu temp hit approx 90C). If I throttle it or lock it to fewer cores, it doesn't over heat -- but it has trouble with more videos then and the UI gets noticeably slower.
 
Option: Don't pay for tv. Period.

Seriously, how do you guys even have time for tv? If I ever really want to see something it ends up on youtube or other video sites. Seems like a major waste of money every single month, it's not like you watch all of the channels, just the few shows..
 
My dilemma and I'm sure its for a lot people also is... Sports channels. All local sports besides football is on cable TV now and it looks to be that way for a while since all these sports franchises have signed these huge lengthy licensing deals. Sure each league has their streaming services but the local stuff is usually blacked out (I know you can circumvent that with VPNs, proxies, GPS spoofing) but sometimes those don't always work. If I could just get ESPN, Comcast Sportsnet, and NBCSN ala carte, I would be a happy camper.
 
If you live in the US then it is a far more viable option to "cut the cord" than living outside the US. Many of the services used to legally get the content don't exist, or are seriously gimped, outside the US. Yes, if you want to download illegally then anyone can do it for free but that's not an option for the majority or the content would stop getting produced.
 
Free is only Free until someone figures out how to monetize it.
 
greenman said:
Option: Don't pay for tv. Period.

Seriously, how do you guys even have time for tv? If I ever really want to see something it ends up on youtube or other video sites. Seems like a major waste of money every single month, it's not like you watch all of the channels, just the few shows..
Click to expand...

You must not be married or have kids :)

I'd drop the extended cable channels if it was just me, although I'd still need cable for the local channels as I'm in a dead zone and could only get a couple over the air channels.
 
AeonF1 said:
My dilemma and I'm sure its for a lot people also is... Sports channels. All local sports besides football is on cable TV now and it looks to be that way for a while since all these sports franchises have signed these huge lengthy licensing deals. Sure each league has their streaming services but the local stuff is usually blacked out (I know you can circumvent that with VPNs, proxies, GPS spoofing) but sometimes those don't always work. If I could just get ESPN, Comcast Sportsnet, and NBCSN ala carte, I would be a happy camper.
Click to expand...

I'm the opposite.
I never watch sports, and hate paying extra for it. I'd gladly drop ESPN (the most expensive channel in the cable package) and the other sports channels, but due to bundling, I'd also loose several other channels that we watch. I'd do without or just download the 1 or 2 shows I wouldn't get, but that doesn't work for the wife/kids.
 
Sports fans probably need not apply...

Been cable free in my house for ~7 years.

Antenna + HDHomeRun, Netflix, Youtube, and Plex fill in the gaps.
 
DejaWiz said:
Cut out subscription TV service (cable/sat) back in 2011. Went back to cable in mid-2012 for a "promo" pricing package valid for 1 year: home phone, broadband, cable TV with DVR and HD, plus HBO, Cinemax, and ShowTime for $145/month. After the promo expired, I called and asked what specials they were running for existing customers. Nothing. Nadda. Zip. Zilch.

They were going to make us pay $277/mo and lower the HSI speed tier we had, cut out Cinemax and HBO, replace the whole-home HDDVR system with a regular HDDVR, but give us free nationwide long distance calling (never used our landline for that because...cell phones). :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

This is the fundamental problem with the current pricing structure of cable services. The whole practice of one year "promo" rates and then doubling a customer's bill just pisses people off and pushes them even more to other solutions. In my area the way cable fights back is to double up on the amount of spam they send to people without cable. I've had this conversation with TWC multiple times...

Oce: "Ok and then how much is that package in a year"
TWC rep: "This promo rate is good for 12 month at a low rate of $89"
Oce: "Ok that what happens on month 13?"
TWC rep: "The rate will go up to the standard rate"
Oce: "What is the standard rate going to be in a year?
TWC rep: "We don't have that information, you can cancel your service at any time after 12 months"
Oce: "Ok forget it then"
TWC rep: "Sir you would qualify for new promotions in a year and you could switch to one of those"

The whole thing is just bullshit to me. I don't want to play the "Call TWC every 12 months and bitch" game with them. I am already doing that with them over my internet bill and it pisses me off to no end.
 
AeonF1 said:
My dilemma and I'm sure its for a lot people also is... Sports channels. All local sports besides football is on cable TV now and it looks to be that way for a while since all these sports franchises have signed these huge lengthy licensing deals. Sure each league has their streaming services but the local stuff is usually blacked out (I know you can circumvent that with VPNs, proxies, GPS spoofing) but sometimes those don't always work. If I could just get ESPN, Comcast Sportsnet, and NBCSN ala carte, I would be a happy camper.
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat! I currently pay <$100 a month for internet (50/10) and Cable TV, including HBO. I don't think that's that bad. I really only want sports channels. That's it. I'd rather not break the law (anymore).
 
nutzo said:
You must not be married or have kids :)

I'd drop the extended cable channels if it was just me, although I'd still need cable for the local channels as I'm in a dead zone and could only get a couple over the air channels.
Click to expand...

IMO, Cordcutting has been mostly a singles movement. Couples & families pay for Cable service since it's easier for all members to consume the content and it's more affordable on dual incomes. One of Cordcutting's biggest proponents can't cut because his wife won't let him.

But if you're single, technically savvy and you're paying over $1000/year for cable that only you alone are accessing, it makes more sense to amputate and go OTA and VOD services like Netflix, HULU and Amazon. You can buy season passes to cable shows like The Walking Dead, Archer or Mad Men and still pay less than you would for a single month of cable.
 
If it wasn't for the NFL Sunday Ticket thru DirecTV I would cut the cord a while ago.
 
ocellaris said:
You can buy Sunday Ticket as a streaming option now:

http://nflst.directv.com/DTVAPP/nfl...ONY&cid=entertainment-nfl-badge-01-us-23oct14
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Yeah I guess I should have specified that I record a butt load of games and then watch them off the DVR thru the week.:cool:

And then there is this, you apparently have to qualify for the streaming...

The service is only available to those who: 1) live in apartment buildings where DirecTV service is unavailable; 2) live in metro New York, Philadelphia or San Francisco; or 3) attend college at Michigan (Ann Arbor), Alabama, Washington, Texas (Austin), USC, Florida, Colorado (Boulder), Syracuse, Ohio State or Harvard.
 
Puterguru said:
The service is only available to those who: 1) live in apartment buildings where DirecTV service is unavailable...
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Oh jeez, never mind that then. Apparently they really want people to get satellite dishes.
 
Yawn! I've had my HTPC with streaming-whatever hooked up to my living room TV since 2006. Get off my lawn Time magazine! :)
 
ocellaris said:
This is the fundamental problem with the current pricing structure of cable services. The whole practice of one year "promo" rates and then doubling a customer's bill just pisses people off and pushes them even more to other solutions. In my area the way cable fights back is to double up on the amount of spam they send to people without cable. I've had this conversation with TWC multiple times...

Oce: "Ok and then how much is that package in a year"
TWC rep: "This promo rate is good for 12 month at a low rate of $89"
Oce: "Ok that what happens on month 13?"
TWC rep: "The rate will go up to the standard rate"
Oce: "What is the standard rate going to be in a year?
TWC rep: "We don't have that information, you can cancel your service at any time after 12 months"
Oce: "Ok forget it then"
TWC rep: "Sir you would qualify for new promotions in a year and you could switch to one of those"

The whole thing is just bullshit to me. I don't want to play the "Call TWC every 12 months and bitch" game with them. I am already doing that with them over my internet bill and it pisses me off to no end.
Click to expand...

Yeah it's annoying. I actually even have a repeating annual calendar reminder to "call comcast and threaten to quit" every year. (This is just for internet, nothing else.) I am awaiting the day they just say "OK quit then."
 
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