Anyone else planning on doing this or has anyone done this yet? With Netflix, Hulu and other sources for video content, I hope more people dump cable TV service.
Cable TV - Dumping Service
- Thread starter mike_s104
- Start date
- Status
I dumped it a while ago due to terrible pricing and poor customer service. But with cable internet, I'm still getting most cable channels flowing through the line to each TV. :lol: I've considered dropping the cable internet through the same cable company as well, but unfortunately it's about 4x faster than the DSL in my neighborhood (12 Mbps vs. 3 Mbps). I don't spend much time watching TV on the TV, I watch everything on Hulu for TV shows and Netflix Instant/Blu-Ray for movies. I wouldn't find it feasible for me to go with satellite either since I don't watch much TV other than that.
We planned for about a month and took our boxes in yesterday. In preparation, we bought a FTA receiver and dish (just need to get it aimed correctly) and 2 WD TV Live Plus units ($119 each). For the WD Live TV Plus units, I setup a PC (already had) with PlayOn ($30) to stream Hulu and a ton of other shows to them. We also have Netflix and can stream that to the WD units as well. I have on the Windows 2008 server shares setup on a 1TB drive for shows I've downloaded. Soon, I want to add a 2TB drive for more. Last night I connected all the TV to the cable directly and am getting a bunch of channels, most of which we normally wanted anyway. A little investment upfront will save a lot later.
One issue I have it the PlayOn services uses a lot of resources and has trouble streaming more than one session at a time. For $30, I'll use another PC and dedicate it only for a 2nd PlayOn PC. If we use it a lot and need more robust hardware, I'm prepared to in the future build a dual processor 8 or 12 core AMD server with a ton of RAM and a RAID5 drive array with (4) 2TB drives. BUT, this is last resort.
Same reason as you...poor customer service, crappy selection of programming and way overpriced service. We were paying $184 a month for 6MB internet, 2 regular boxes, 2 HD DVRs, and all premium channels. Yeah, we could have cut out some channels but if we changed our plans we would end up paying more for internet which would make it about the same price. Now, it'll be $38 for internet.
We need more people need to this and maybe eventually they will get it. But, I doubt it.
If Hulu didn't have so many outdated/cheap copyrighted stuff, it be my go to source. I use Hulu quit often,but it doesn't carry the cable news, Mil channel, etc. Comcast has their own Hulu-like service and most television networks, like CBS have joined in at providing an online TV show service. But your kinda stuck with cable. Here recently Comcast even made basic a digital service. Which means you need a flipping box in order to receive it. Probably to alleviate pirates.
A couple years back the idea of cable TV a la carte was presented, but Congress shot it down.
Could thing you don't have to pay for a licensee to own a TV.Television licensing in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A couple years back the idea of cable TV a la carte was presented, but Congress shot it down.
Could thing you don't have to pay for a licensee to own a TV.Television licensing in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There are other ways to get some of the shows that we like to watch other than Hulu and Netflix. For news we're just using an old discone scanner antenna in the attic and get about 5 channels until the real antenna comes in which will go outside on a mast.
Tommahawk
Member
I've dumped all services including Cable TV, Telephone service, and Internet Services. I pay one of my neighbors who is endentured to the Verizon FIOS Unlimited plan $10.00 per month to use his High Speed FIOS service through his connection, as it is a win-win situation for us both since he only uses his High Speed Connection for e-mail and checking the weather. DD-WRT is your Friend!!!
I hooked him up with Linux on his older computer and replaced his dying hard drives, along with upgrading the RAM so he is happy........
Oh yeah... Telephone service is SKYPE and I watch HDTV with antennas........... Whatever goes over the air comes to me...
I do have the Netflix service as well. Gotta say it was a great choice. Plus I download my favorite shows off the net using various other services such as Bittorrent, Miro, and others.
For a total of around $20.00 a month I'm gettin a lot of bang for my buck.... I was paying close to $200.00 a month when I had cable/FIOS.....
I hooked him up with Linux on his older computer and replaced his dying hard drives, along with upgrading the RAM so he is happy........
Oh yeah... Telephone service is SKYPE and I watch HDTV with antennas........... Whatever goes over the air comes to me...
I do have the Netflix service as well. Gotta say it was a great choice. Plus I download my favorite shows off the net using various other services such as Bittorrent, Miro, and others.
For a total of around $20.00 a month I'm gettin a lot of bang for my buck.... I was paying close to $200.00 a month when I had cable/FIOS.....
Last edited:
I think as more and more people dump CATV because of poor overpriced service, they (cable companies) might get the hint.
ComCrap has called me twice since we discontinued their TV service asking us to try other packages like triple-play, VOIP, and their other specials. The last time they called, I told them that we despised Comcast and if we had another choice for internet, we would switch. I then said we didn't want to give Comcast a penny more then we already do. The guy said "Thank you for your time" and promptly hung up. I guess he knew he wasn't going to make a sale on that call.
ComCrap has called me twice since we discontinued their TV service asking us to try other packages like triple-play, VOIP, and their other specials. The last time they called, I told them that we despised Comcast and if we had another choice for internet, we would switch. I then said we didn't want to give Comcast a penny more then we already do. The guy said "Thank you for your time" and promptly hung up. I guess he knew he wasn't going to make a sale on that call.
Depending on the contract, you might not be able to mooch from you neighbor like that.
DSL · Cable · VOIP · Security · Satellite · Fiber · News · Reviews · Forums · Tools - dslreports.com
DSL · Cable · VOIP · Security · Satellite · Fiber · News · Reviews · Forums · Tools - dslreports.com
Last edited:
Ohh come on, people do it all the time. You're telling me you don't EVER do things you're not supposed to? I didn't start this thread to have people judged. I'm sure there are posts that both of us have made that others could judge us by. The neighbor probably pays enough for the service and I'm sure Verizon isn't hurting. If providers like ComSuck and Verizon didn't over charge for any of their services, it might be different.
pendletonjohn
Member
been cable free for going on 7 years. i have more content to watch now than i ever had with cable. ota hd antenna, networked tivos, rokus, ooma phone. went from $205 month for cable, phone, fax line and internet to $23 month for internet, ooma phone and faxage line combined. good technology saves you money, you wont look back after cutting the cord, its just not worth it.
- Status
Similar threads
