Cutting the cord

[Seanpcola]

Update: week 1, no cable, no loss. I bought digital antennas for the sun room and bed room. Bedroom works awesome with a $30 antenna mounted on the wall. That room is upstairs with big windows. Sunroom has issues. I bought a very expensive indoor antenna but I can't even get a single channel to run reliably. Apparently the problem is that room has a decorative sheetmetal ceiling inside, lots of windows but metal in all of them. So, back to Wally World for a better outdoor antenna. I'll run it about 12 feet up a pole and run the coax through the wall. I think that will solve everything. I don't care myself but wife likes channel 3 local so I need to get that reliable.

Chromecast setups working perfect except I found a glitch with casting Fox Networks. Video is perfect but no audio. I surfed the net and found out that some people have had luck just rebooting the Chromecast. Google says they're aware of the problem and working on a patch.

Loving Netflix, gonna add Hulu Plus tonight on a free trial to see if it's worth keeping full time.

I'm also gonna trial Sling TV, $20 a month. It will add about 13 channels including HGTV and AMC (The Walking Dead) and some cable news channels.

Overall I'm lovin'it. $100 a month savings minus subscriptions, $40 if I keep the Sling and Hulu scrips. However, my viewing choices have made a tremendous leap. Now, instead of 300 channels I don't care to watch I probably have 30 pertinent, interesting ones, thousands of movies and complete TV series, more documentaries than I'll ever get too. Also, I've gotten my sound systems all optimized, turned my dumb TVs smart, have Web browsers on big screen in every room, Sirius satellite radio piped into my surround sound system and every sound bar in the house. I mean, this is getting awesome. I can come in, and with the touch of a button I can watch what I want or jam and boogie my ass off with clear, powerful audio.

Only regret is that I didn't do this crap earlier but some of the stuff like Chromecast is fairly new when you consider their time getting the bugs worked out. More services and free viewing choices popping up every week so who knows what the future will bring.

 

[Seanpcola]

Another update (trying to document for anyone thinking about doing this):

Well worth it to have both Netflix and Hulu Plus. If anything, too many choices, not enough hours in a day.

Decided against Sling TV for now. Just nothing I'm personally interested in. I'll keep an eye on their expanding lineup and probably join once AMC and Fox news comes up. They do have ESPN 1 and 2 for those that watch sports. I don't so that's why I'm not interested.

As per Gendoc's suggestion, I extended the cable going to my sunroom digital antenna and moved it to the Southwest corner which gave me the closest to line of sight placement for all of the local TV towers near I-10 and Wilcox Rd. Picked up a couple more stations plus 3, 5 and WSRE (about 10 channels total) are now glitch free, no interruptions or pixelation.

It's a tiny bit clunky learning what buttons to push on the remotes but actually no worse than when I had cable boxes and those additional remotes sitting around. You just have to remember different sequences, after that it's perfect.

On that last point: probably sounds a little silly for the younger guys on here. You younguns grew up with video games, smart phones, computers and overall electronic automation. Though I have always been a bit of a techno geek myself, I don't do much in the last decade involving computerization. Still prefer to use my phone as a phone only. People my age and older have been programmed by a lifetime of "turn on TV, watch whatever the powers that be decide you can watch at xx time on whatever channel on whatever day of the week". I'm still having to remind myself that everything is on demand, I can start, pause, stop, back up anything (except local broadcasts) at will. My problem before was sitting down, pulling up the guide and not seeing anything interesting. The problem now is sitting down, pulling up menus and being confounded by an overwhelming list of choices. You think it's bad when the wife wants to go out for dinner and you two can't decide where to go? It's as bad if not worse staring at the viewing list and going brain lock over deciding what to watch.

Cost: I did have to buy a few things, lots of nickel and dime stuff but I was due for some upgrades anyway so I'm not going to count that. I'll guess probably $150 in high end indoor antennas and the odd cable. I lowered my bill by $100 a month, add back in the $18 for Netflix and Hulu+ so it's still a solid $80 back in my pocket at this point.

 

[madeSICC88]

Nice, I use Netflix as well for most of our viewing needs. We tried Hulu plus a couple years ago do a while but it seemed that most the stuff we were interested in was "computer view only".

I haven't paid a cable subscription for about 7 years haha, I had cable when I first moved out of my parents house after Highschool but after about a year I cut it off after realizing I never watched it. I use a antenna as well to get local channels for news and sports but other than that I use Netflix or Xbmc. I use my Inlaws account for Netflix too so I don't even have to pay for that haha. I'm just a cheap ass

 

[Seanpcola]

I love to save money too but this was more than lowering monthly bills. I was pissed off because in this day of endless choices I felt I was being dictated to by paying for a bunch of crap I had no interest in. To me, it's almost like you're subsidizing a bunch of channels that no one wants to watch anyway.

 

[SAWMAN]

Brighthouse Mo Fo's

Sean,as we talked about FTF,I am about ready to be done with BH and will settle with anything but. Every time I drive past their building it pisses me off. Glad to seperate from their computer BS ......... NOW ......... to get their TV shit outta my house.

I completely agree with your above post #24.

I will just probably go with a satalite TV provider. --- SAWMAN

 

[FrankT]

Sean that really sounds like more hassle than cable. I got all I need at Direct TV for 64 a mo and if I did not add on that last pkg for the outdoor shows it would have been $50, I know still tied down but I am old and cannot remember all the sequences, heck my VCR still flashes the time! I am proud of you getting rid of it all, so what is your total mo cost?

 

[Droshki]

I will just probably go with a satalite TV provider. --- SAWMAN

If you decide to go with DirecTV, please let me know, so I can give you my account number. With a referral, we each would get $10 off per month, for 10 months.

 

[Seanpcola]

No hassle at all Frank, just a learning experience. When it's all done it's easier to sit down and watch TV than it is to log on here and load photos. I enjoy learning new things . Like I said before, it's not about making it complicated, it's about getting control over my choices.

When you say $64 a month, you're talking TV only, no internet?

Here's where I'm at:

Recurring monthly charges:

Previous Brighthouse bill: about $165 a month, TV basic and internet.

New bill $63 a month Brighthouse -internet only, plus the $3 is for an "Echo" module which is a modem repeater hardwired to the actual wifi upstairs, used to amp up signal downstairs without losing any speed.

Netflix $7.99 a month
Hulu Plus $8.99 a month.

Call it $80 a month.

Non recurring charges

What I spent to get up to speed. Two Chromecast units: $70
Two digital antennas $80

Before: 300 or less channels, maybe 5 worth my time watching

Now: 10 or so broadcast "real time" local channels. Virtually every single tv show past and present, watch when I want, pretty much commercial free, ability to start, stop, pause, rewind all of them. Movies: thousands. Documentaries, on and on. Also, internet tv stations from around the world. Dozens of music channels, talk radio and various other formats.

To each his own. I would have stayed with cable TV if I had more input.

DVR for recording and playback on cable? More hassle than pointing at a menu like I do now.

It's the future. I spent more time at BestBuy talking to other cable cutters about how happy we are than I did buying antennas.

 

[Seanpcola]

Sean,as we talked about FTF,I am about ready to be done with BH and will settle with anything but. Every time I drive past their building it pisses me off. Glad to seperate from their computer BS ......... NOW ......... to get their TV shit outta my house.

I completely agree with your above post #24.

I will just probably go with a satalite TV provider. --- SAWMAN

Yep Saw, you know how much I want to kick everyone associated with Brighthouse in the crotch. Problem is that they are the ONLY game in town for Internet at my house. No AT&T, nothing. I got nasty with them, hammered them for a while, laid it out, showed them the proof of where I spanked the shit out of the last company that treated me badly and tried to take me for a ride. I demanded certain things, showed them my records and gave them one choice - do it my way or lose me completely. The day after you were at my house I had two technicians and the regional manager at my place. They took the boxes, wired in my Echo system, went over every connection from my bedroom, to the sun room, to the bar, outside, down the line to the pole out front and all the way to Beulah Rd. Installed filters, talked sweet to me and agreed to everything. New, dual band high speed router too on both frequencies. I did say that the moment they effe up I'm shutting thatt down too, told them I'm OK with Verizon data but I'll give them one more chance.

Got my updated bill yesterday. They credited me for last month ($165 savings) everything free this month ($63 savings) and reconfirmed on the statement that my bill will not exceed thst amount for a year. I told them I expect a slight increase after the year is up but if it's unreasonable, to the curb goes Brighthouse equipment. I'm positive we'll have more ISPs in the near future anyway.

That $268 savings more than pays for my cost of new components.
I think you have more choices for Internet where you live?

 

[FrankT]

Well Sean we are close, all the channels, not a few and internet 90 a mo was 192 w cox. and I gave nothing up but some speed w cox internet...I am too old to learn a new system unless you come, hook it up, teach me and are on call 24/7 for questions...lol...I got beer!

 

[Seanpcola]

If you were closer Frank I would amaze and dazzle you plus, drink your beer and troubleshoot.

 

[Brandon_SPC]

Sean this what I have at my place. Cox internet which is $50 a month then I have a roku. It has Huluplus, Netflix, ALOT of FREE hunting, fishing,and shooting channels, a lot of free channels in general. Kids shows. Just about what you can find on TV. It is a neat little thing. I never knew about it until my friend had one. Honestly I will probably never have cable again.

 

[Seanpcola]

I started studying the Roku setup for my house Brandon but I had already bought the Chromecast setups. I would like to see a Roku 3 in action, maybe get one at some point too but I "think" it doesn't do much more than what I already have. I may be wrong. I do plan on continuing researching this stuff as time goes on and maybe upgrading and swapping systems.

One feature on the Roku 3 that sounds great is the ability to plug ear phones or buds into the remote and listen privately. Would be good in bed if the better half wants to crash and you want to listen or when I want to listen to my rocky rolly music thst disgusts momma.

 

[Brandon_SPC]

I started studying the Roku setup for my house Brandon but I had already bought the Chromecast setups. I would like to see a Roku 3 in action, maybe get one at some point too but I "think" it doesn't do much more than what I already have. I may be wrong. I do plan on continuing researching this stuff as time goes on and maybe upgrading and swapping systems.

One feature on the Roku 3 that sounds great is the ability to plug ear phones or buds into the remote and listen privately. Would be good in bed if the better half wants to crash and you want to listen or when I want to listen to my rocky rolly music thst disgusts momma.

The ear buds adapter on the remote makes it wonderful. Don't worry my lady does the same. It is a cool little thing. I have never heard of Chromecast. Man I am behind in the technology field.

 

[Seanpcola]

Here's some info on the Chromecast.

http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromecast/learn.html

I don't know much about the Roku system but I suspect they do pretty much the same thing.

 

[FrankT]

Sean, I am closer now! Just was in Pens at NAS to pickup the Granddaughter for Liberty!

 

[RackinRay]

Here's some info on the Chromecast.

http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromecast/learn.html

I don't know much about the Roku system but I suspect they do pretty much the same thing.

Just read and refreshed on the Chromecast. Biggest difference is that the Roku connects directly to the net, no feeder device needed so no your phone or tablet is not tied up to feed the stream to the TV. Roku does the streaming for you. The remote and ear plug on the Roku 3 is pretty cool. Have used it a few times to let me watch SCI-FI while the wife slept soundly.

 

[Seanpcola]

Yeah Ray, I figure the Chromecast is not going to be around long in its present state. It does work as advertised but we all know how fast tech moves. My two smart TVs are hard wired to the net, one through the router upstairs and one downstairs through the Echo setup. Those two don't need anything to get on line. I do like the Chromecast for casting my tablet screen through the TV but that'll probably go the way of gas lamps soon. Eventually all of the TVS in the house will get replaced with smart versions. I'm due for a new one in the sun room anyway. Wife cleaned the screen too hard one day and the dreaded shadow is beginning to appear.

I am liking the idea of the headphones through the remote on the Roku but I tend to get paranoid having one of my senses blocked. Weird huh? Maybe if my wife wasn't such a heavy sleeper.

One glitch I've noticed with the Chromecast is that it works 100% flawlessly on Hulu Plus but Netflix sometimes looses it's casting icon on boot up. I'm assuming that's a glitch with the Netflix app.

Overall, I haven't missed cable TV, not for one second.

I will be posting some stuff for sale on here soon and some giveaways. I just had to organize and see what I have. Things like a nice sound bar, computer parts and pieces, nice monitor, lots of cables, things related to that.

 

[Seanpcola]

Just read and refreshed on the Chromecast. Biggest difference is that the Roku connects directly to the net, no feeder device needed so no your phone or tablet is not tied up to feed the stream to the TV. Roku does the streaming for you. The remote and ear plug on the Roku 3 is pretty cool. Have used it a few times to let me watch SCI-FI while the wife slept soundly.

One thing I want to clear up about casting is that it doesn't tie up your pc, tablet or phone. I cast nightly, once I get my TV stuff in the que I flip over to the forums, FB or whatever and there is zero lag or over processing. Heck, I've watched TV casting through my pad and watched youtube videos at the same time and still posted on here, no interference or slow down.

 

[DSPLCD1]

This is all jibbrish to me. Casting? I would be interested in saving a few bucks, but don't want to be a slave to my PC. I like watching TV on the wall, when I do.