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Think about cutting the cable cord

deuce said:
We bought PlayOn, which has a Roku channel. If you can wait 24-48 hours to watch some shows, then the Roku will work just fine. If your shows are on HBO, Shotime, or other premium cable channels you'll be out of luck. Things on ABC, NBC, CBS, etc can be found in the PlayOn channel though.
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Awesome info. I started looking thru the Roku channel list last night. And, ya, some channels offered the epicsodes. But, it was for $1.99 a pop. Craziness!
 
I've often considered this myself, as my home is fully wired, including streaming of over 200 DVDs and BluRays anywhere I like. There are things that have always held me back from cutting that cord, though:

  1. Like others, Sports. My move may have changed this a bit, however, as now I can't get my Bears games anyway. The Bears is my #1 with a bullet for sports watching.
  2. DIY, HGTV, Food Network and other wifey shows. These have been poor in their streaming capabilities whenever I've looked. Not many of these make it to the streaming services, and their websites suck for it as well.
  3. Kids stuff - Disney, Nick and the like are the same boat as above. There is plenty of kids' programming on Netflix, but not the latest stuff.
  4. Browsing - You still can't replicate the browse experience when you go full Netflix and the like. It's great that you watch what you want when you want to, but there is something to be said for channel surfing at times, which isn't possible streaming.
 
Im getting ready to cut the cord at the end of this week. Ive found places to get most of the shows I watch, except for a few shows on the Discovery Channel. Has anyone come across a good way to get this channel?
 
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ:AMZN)—Amazon.com, Inc. today announced a content licensing agreement with HBO, making Prime Instant Video the exclusive online-only subscription home for select HBO programming. The collection includes award-winning shows such as The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Wire, Big Love, Deadwood, Eastbound & Down, Family Tree, Enlightened, Treme, early seasons of Boardwalk Empire and True Blood, as well as mini-series like Band of Brothers, John Adams and more. Previous seasons of other HBO shows, such as Girls, The Newsroom and Veep will become available over the course of the multi-year agreement, approximately three years after airing on HBO. The first wave of content will arrive on Prime Instant Video May 21. This is the first time that HBO programming has been licensed to an online-only subscription streaming service. This programming will remain on all HBO platforms.
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Link

One show in particular is missing [cough]GoT[cough], but it is a start to streaming HBO without a subscription.
 
Jank said:
Link

One show in particular is missing [cough]GoT[cough], but it is a start to streaming HBO without a subscription.
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I dont really see this as a huge deal. If there wasnt a 3 year delay then maybe I would but honestly who cares about a show you have never seen 3 years later? I understand wanting to rewatch something already but this was meh to me.
 
DevRickus said:
I dont really see this as a huge deal. If there wasnt a 3 year delay then maybe I would but honestly who cares about a show you have never seen 3 years later? I understand wanting to rewatch something already but this was meh to me.
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It's not a huge deal for me, but it is a little bit of if extra incentive to order prime. I've never had HBO and would like to go back and watch shows like the Sopranos and the Wire.
 
Wake said:
It's not a huge deal for me, but it is a little bit of if extra incentive to order prime. I've never had HBO and would like to go back and watch shows like the Sopranos and the Wire.
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Oh absolutely. I love Prime and get my moneys worth. Just isnt a big enough deal in the scheme of cutting the cable cord.
 
Direct tv is way way over priced and the golf channel is basically a joke. , along with 80 other channels that are the same movies over and over again . I strictly love the history and travel channels .. I watch 0 golf , and only focus on my golf game not the pros game . For local college football , I could easily just use a converter box to get all notre same football . Very tempting , very tempting .
 
Anyone thinking about cutting cable but worried about live sports. One suggestion:

Wiziwig.tv
 
Dish network is supposedly launching an online-only TV service this summer. They've got Disney on board (so that includes ESPN). Prices and details haven't been released yet though
 
All these cable companies are strictly greed. Just like data charges on the cell phones. They just stink of greed

should never have to pay for TV. What a messed up world this is becoming
 
I've thought about cutting the cable a lot of times, hell its only Liz and I here, but we have become tv-aholics. I just can't see us doing without, we'd have to talk to each other or something!
 
The wife and I cut cable a little over a year ago and bought a digital antenna. Aside from the occasional sporting event I am missing, I don't really mind it at all. We have 2 young sons, so that helps fill much of our time. Other than that, if there is a game on I want to watch, I have been able to either find it on the internet or head to a friend's house. We saved a little over $1K last year, which is nice.
 
I have almost cut-the-cord a couple of times. To start with, I would save around $100/month, but that would get down to around $75/month, by adding a couple of pay services (like Hulu+). I have not ever subscribed to premium channels like HBO/Showtime/etc, so I'm not missing-out on those as-is. Still some savings, though. I might re-visit sometime this summer, when I'm watching less TV and spending more time outside. If I were in a more temperate climate, it would happen much faster, I think. Thanks, Winter. You suck!

Mystery Meat said:
All these cable companies are strictly greed. Just like data charges on the cell phones. They just stink of greed

should never have to pay for TV. What a messed up world this is becoming
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Hmmm... A complete response is probably more apropos for another thread/location, but this is a touch short-sighted, IMO. Why have to pay for anything, when someone is offering a service beyond what is available "for free" (i.e. OTA channels/offerings)?
 
we've been on a trial run for the last month. I subscribed to Netflix, and we have Amazon as well (i've always had just for the shipping...the video's are just an extra perk). Basically, my kids would never know the difference, they are perfectly happy with netflix. My wife as well...now it's just down to me... i am going to be adding an antenna outside and seeing what kind of reception i get on NBC/CBS/ABC & FOX. If those channels come in decently, then i've solved my football and weekend golf concerns, and then I'll be officially cutting the cord next month. Yes, no sportscenter, no golf channel...but i would not pay $75/mo just for those two channels, which is pretty much my answer.
 
Martsy said:
we've been on a trial run for the last month. I subscribed to Netflix, and we have Amazon as well (i've always had just for the shipping...the video's are just an extra perk). Basically, my kids would never know the difference, they are perfectly happy with netflix. My wife as well...now it's just down to me... i am going to be adding an antenna outside and seeing what kind of reception i get on NBC/CBS/ABC & FOX. If those channels come in decently, then i've solved my football and weekend golf concerns, and then I'll be officially cutting the cord next month. Yes, no sportscenter, no golf channel...but i would not pay $75/mo just for those two channels, which is pretty much my answer.
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Did this going on 3 years now. Tough convincing the wife at first but now she doesn't even miss it. Got a good antennae and get over 30+ channels including a few canadian ones. Have netflix, chromecast and stream a lot. The OTA picture is actually better than cable or satellite for ABC, NBC, CBS & FOX.
Try solidsignal.com for antennas.
 
I have been a Roku and Mohu user for 3 years and haven't missed anything except the outrageous cable bills. I can watch virtually anything a traditional cable subscriber can get and I pay $62.22 per month including internet. I have Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu, WatchESPN and many more. Sports seem to be a big reason a lot of people overlook this technology. I can watch the NBA playoffs, MLB games almost at will, college football and basketball, NFL, soccer, and many more. The Golf Live Extra app is terribly inconsistent but all major tournaments are online so I stream it to my tv. Doing this gives me more golf and less fluff, which is 75% of Golf Channel content anyway.

I have an excellent home wifi network pulling an average of 50+ Mbps down and 12+ up. Don't overlook this area in terms of what quality stream you get. I received an email from NFL Network a few days ago stating they would be releasing a new app this summer fo NFL games and other content on demand. This app will be available on all streaming devices.
 
Well, mark today as the day I officially did it. Once I hooked up the $40 Mohu Leaf antenna and saw I could get crystal clear HD of ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX (and some others), it was a no brainer. As of today I'm saving $75/month. That's $900/year...and I think justifies the occasional golf purchase now :p
 
Big news for those thinking about cutting the cord:

http://www.examiner.com/article/hbo-will-launch-stand-alone-streaming-service-2015

HBO will launch stand-alone streaming service in 2015
The days of having to steal your parent’s cable account information are over. Yesterday while speaking at a Time Warner Inc. investor day meeting, the chief executive of HBO, Richard Plepler, announced that HBO would launch an online streaming version of their paid channel next year, the Wall Street Journal reported this morning.According to the WSJ, the reasoning behind going the standalone route is because of the large majority- 10 million- of U.S. residents who subscribe to broadband but aren’t necessarily watching television. In 2010 HBO launched their streaming app dubbed HBO GO which features all current and former programs, but viewers were only able to access the app by buying into a more expensive cable package.Plepler, who called the announcement, “the most exciting inflection point, both domestically and internationally in the modern history of HBO” did not go into detail of service or cost to the consumer, but did mention three potential scenarios for the upcoming HBO live stream. Those models included selling the online-only service through HBO’s existing cable providers, distributing online-streams through new partners (Amazon, Goodge or Microsoft), and lastly a situation on the style of Netflix where HBO streams directly to the consumer.“It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO. So, in 2015, we will launch a standalone, over-the-top, HBO service in the United States,” Pleper said on Wednesday. “We will work with our current partners. And, we will explore models with new partners. All in, there are 80 million homes that do not have HBO and we will use all means at our disposal to go after them.”Richard Plepler has been the CEO and Chairman of Home Box Office, Inc. since January 2013. Under the eye of Plepler, HBO has produced some of the most honored and watched programs including Silicon Valley and True Detective.
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I will never cut the cord. Just cannot see doing it. Too much stuff on TV I enjoy watching. With Google Fiber it isn't all that much more to throw in the cable on top of the Gigabit internet service.

I do think it is interesting that so many are going away from cable.
 
texashacker34 said:
i will never cut the cord. Just cannot see doing it. Too much stuff on tv i enjoy watching. With google fiber it isn't all that much more to throw in the cable on top of the gigabit internet service.

I do think it is interesting that so many are going away from cable.
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ehhhhrmagerrrd gerrgle ferberrrrr
 
Wife and I considered it. I don't mind but she's really not sure about it yet. She's got too many of her reality tv shows she likes to watch so heaven forbid those go away. Actually I find it funny as I make fun of the people on these reality tv shows and I'll randomly say "OMG...REALLY?~ NO SHE DIDN'T! CAN'T BELIEVE HE DID THAT TO HER!! :p

So I guess for me its fun making fun of whatever program it is she has on. I like adding to the drama.
 
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