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I Cut the Cord, finally

post #1 of 7
11/9/11 at 10:54am
Thread Starter 
I turned of my Directtv saving $146 a month, I now have My HD Locals via antenna, an Apple TV , and a Roku for Amazon and Netflix. Anything else I'll get from iTunes, glad to have cut cord I think I can do it.
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post #2 of 7
11/10/11 at 2:25am

Not me brother, I'm too much of a sports nut to do what you've done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crawdaddy

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post #3 of 7
11/10/11 at 4:50am
I did the same thing in February.
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post #4 of 7
11/10/11 at 6:16am
I did the same thing back around 2005. The Philadelphia area had more than the average number of stations broadcasting in HD (usually only in prime time). The HD box was more expensive back them, I think I paid nearly $300 for it. I've been pretty pleased about this decision for quite some time (actually, I approach insufferable at cocktail parties).

The one big drawback was indeed sports. But since that is mostly baseball for me, my wife and I just go out once a week to watch a game at a local sports bar. It negates a huge chunk of the savings, but it means we get out of the house together regularly; and that's a great exchange for us. (Watching a game as you do other things isn't as much fun as talking and being focused on the game.)

An extra bonus of not having cable was that the kids had to watch good movies instead of crappy ones (and crappy TV); but that only lasted until they got in their teens and found YouTube and then Hulu.
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post #5 of 7
11/10/11 at 8:49am

OTA HDTV was the best thing to happen for me. I had digital cable (pre HD) for a couple years, then bought a house and canceled to save money. But SD recpetion was horrid, so I got lifeline cable for a few years. But the digital transition let me switch to OTA. I now pay about $20/mo for two Tivo subs.

 

But it seems like broadcast signal strenght or my reception is getting worse. I've had more signal disruptions this year than previously. I either need to install an attic or roof antenna or switch to cable.
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Scarpa View Post

I turned of my Directtv saving $146 a month...


What does $146 / mo get? When I've looked into cable / dish subs, it's usually about $70/mo. I've considered "uncutting the cord ", so to speak, next year to get better reception and shows I can't watch. But not if it's going to cost $150 / mo for TV.

 

 

Of course, in all this, there's no cord-cutting for internet. I still pay $50-ish / mo for cable modem. And now the smartphone data plan. One step back, two steps forward...

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post #6 of 7
11/10/11 at 11:43am
About a year ago, I decided the only show I watched on cable (and all of TV for that matter) was Mythbusters (don't judge me). Actually the Discovery Channel in general is all I would ever actually turn on. Otherwise it was some random movie I owned or didn't like. So I did a little research and dropped it.

I found some network TV shows that I could watch and found Amazon for Mythbusters. Not thrilled with the Amazon service but it works for now.

In the end, I put in a Win7 machine for recording/watching OTAHD that also plays Bluray/DVD and Amazon, and that was it. Once in a while I miss just turning on Discovery but other than that, I am thrilled with it.

But I also dropped mobile phone service as well. Havent really looked back on that decision either. All said, I am saving around $250 a month.
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post #7 of 7
11/11/11 at 2:45pm
I cut the cord years ago. Here in Boise the OTA transmitter towers are up on a peak in the Rockies, about 5,000 feet above the valley floor in direct line of sight. I get really solid OTA DTV.
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