TV - Anyone usin HuLu or Netflix instead of cable?

Molissa10

For Christmas DH and I treated each other to a new LCD 3D TV and now we are thinking of canceling our metrocast cable service. We now have access to internet and HuLu & Netflix do we really need cable too? We will be saving over $100 monthly and we can always get local news online.  What are your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks!

One Sweet Shannon

I still have cable TV, but I've been trying to move away from it and will in fact be discontinuing service in a few short days.  We have Xbox 360s on both our TVs, and already use that for Netflix viewing.  We love the service and the quality through the Xbox is terrific.  (We also have a Wii that we could get Netflix through, but I've heard the Xbox service is superior, so I haven't even tried.) 

Supposedly, Hulu+ is also coming to the Xbox sometime in March or April.  I am anxious for that, as I am expecting the picture quality to be as good as the Netflix-on-the-360 quality.   Once that happens, then other than local news (which I don't watch anyway, I read online already) or live sporting events, cable will be obsolete for us.  Most of the shows we watch now will be available, although I think there is some Lifetime or Bravo programming I like that may not be.  (And I can always catch up on those on the computer.)

I did a free trial of PlayOn.tv recently, which allows me to stream hulu and other "channels" through my gaming system (either the 360, the Wii, the PS3, even on the iPod touch/iPhone).  So technically I can watch hulu on my tv with my 360 now, but the picture quality is lacking (again, why I'm anxious for hulu+ to come to the 360 already.)  The price is something like $39 for the first year, $19 each year after, or $79 one-time.   When my 14 day trial ended I was still on the fence, even though any of those options would be significant savings from my cable bill and without me having to purchase any additional equipment.  After a few weeks, PlayOn sent me an offer for $19.99 for the first year, so I went ahead and subscribed.  This is what I will be using when cable goes off in a few days.

Through PlayOn, I can access hulu, my Netflix instant-queue (if I didn't already have that capability through my xbox live membership), my amazon digital library, my youtube account, Comedy Central (including current episodes of the Daily Show),  channels for CBS, PBS, and many others.  You can use (free) plug-ins to get even more channels, like the Food Network.  If your ISP subscribes, then you can get ESPN and ESPN3 (I'm a Time Warner customer, unfortunately, and while they have recently subscribed, I believe you have to have a cable plan and not just internet cable plan in order to access them.)  You can also buy subscriptions for NFL, NHL and MLB viewing, which is still cheaper than a year-long cable plan. 

 I don't care much about picture quality other than for certain movies, so PlayOn will be fine for me.  At least until I can stream better quality with my xbox live membership.  If we wanted we could get a digital antenna to open up our local stations, but we want to do this with no other expense than the PlayOn.tv yearly subscription and the hulu+ and Netflix monthly subscriptions (which we already carry.)    

AmyRI

We currently only pay the cable company for the local channels that you could get with an antennae, for the plain and simple reason that we don't get good enough reception without a rooftop antennae and that is not high on my project list. Any shows we miss on network TV we watch on Hulu. We don't watch much, so we don't even have netflix currently, but it is a great option.

The only thing I would suggest is maybe getting an antennae for the local stations. Not sure where you're located, but around here we get first updates to forecasts of things like blizzards on TV, and then a while later they update the websites. I wouldn't want to be without some way of actually watching a live, local broadcast. If you go to this website, put in your address, it does a pretty good job of telling you what type of antennae you would need to get signals for different local stations.

http://www.tvfool.com/modeling/index.php

ilovehouses

We have the wii so we can stream Netflix through.  We also get the DVDs from Netflix.  Hulu is easy to hook up and stream.

Then a lot of things are sent in HD now on basic stations.  So you can just use an antanne. 

The only thing I miss from cable is HGTV.  However, I totally need to just start streaming video from hgtv.com to my t.v. (which can be done, but just not as easily as changing the station).

 

AmyRI

One Sweet Shannon:

I did a free trial of PlayOn.tv recently, which allows me to stream hulu and other "channels" through my gaming system (either the 360, the Wii, the PS3, even on the iPod touch/iPhone).  So technically I can watch hulu on my tv with my 360 now, but the picture quality is lacking (again, why I'm anxious for hulu+ to come to the 360 already.)  The price is something like $39 for the first year, $19 each year after, or $79 one-time.   When my 14 day trial ended I was still on the fence, even though any of those options would be significant savings from my cable bill and without me having to purchase any additional equipment.  After a few weeks, PlayOn sent me an offer for $19.99 for the first year, so I went ahead and subscribed.  This is what I will be using when cable goes off in a few days.

Thanks for mentioning PlayOn! I haven't looked into it before. We aren't into any gaming systems, so for all the streaming stuff we'd have to either buy a gaming system or connect the computer directly to the TV. The PlayOn website mentioned the Netgear EVA2000, which is exactly what I've been looking for with it's wireless add-on. So thanks for solving one of my problems with no cable!

MrsJetSet

We haven't had cable for 6 mos and I don't miss it a bit.  We plug our computer into our hdtv and watch everything off the internet.. hulu and what not.  As for weather alearts, I get text messages from the weather service anytime there is something in the area.. I actually prefer it that way so if I am out and about I know what is going on!

bunnybean

We've been cable free for about 4 years. We love it! We have Netflix streaming and we download lots of shows that we watch with our AppleTV. I have to recommend it now that it's $99! It's a bargain compared to paying monthly for so many channels you don't watch.

This day in age, it's so easy to watch tv without cable. Go for it! 

Molissa10

One Sweet Shannon:

I did a free trial of PlayOn.tv recently, which allows me to stream hulu and other "channels" through my gaming system (either the 360, the Wii, the PS3, even on the iPod touch/iPhone).  So technically I can watch hulu on my tv with my 360 now, but the picture quality is lacking (again, why I'm anxious for hulu+ to come to the 360 already.)  The price is something like $39 for the first year, $19 each year after, or $79 one-time.   When my 14 day trial ended I was still on the fence, even though any of those options would be significant savings from my cable bill and without me having to purchase any additional equipment.  After a few weeks, PlayOn sent me an offer for $19.99 for the first year, so I went ahead and subscribed.  This is what I will be using when cable goes off in a few days.

Through PlayOn, I can access hulu, my Netflix instant-queue (if I didn't already have that capability through my xbox live membership), my amazon digital library, my youtube account, Comedy Central (including current episodes of the Daily Show),  channels for CBS, PBS, and many others.  You can use (free) plug-ins to get even more channels, like the Food Network.  If your ISP subscribes, then you can get ESPN and ESPN3 (I'm a Time Warner customer, unfortunately, and while they have recently subscribed, I believe you have to have a cable plan and not just internet cable plan in order to access them.)  You can also buy subscriptions for NFL, NHL and MLB viewing, which is still cheaper than a year-long cable plan.    

 

I also had not heard of PlayOn.Tv - Thank You!

And Thanks everyone for your input! 

 

estherandgeoff2

I just looked on their PlayOn website and according to the FAQ they don't stream HD video yet. That is a dealbreaker for me as we have a 55" plasma HDTV. We have a PS3 and we could stream Netflix through there but I heard the streaming selection is a lot smaller than the regular program and the HD streaming is even less. I would love to switch from our DirecTV but for now I don't think we can. Also, Hulu+ doesn't have CBS and we're big fans of Amazing Race. Even if we had an antenna to catch local channels we'd need some way to record shows bc we don't want to see it live with all the commercials etc.

MrsJetSet

esther - CBS streams the Amazing Race free on their website a week later.  DH and I are also big fans!

wldktz10

Hulu has something like Hulu prime which is a box you buy for monthly service. It works with your internet the same way Netflix streaming to your TV does. You might want to look into that.

One Sweet Shannon

Just an update if anyone is still following this thread.   It's been a month without cable, and I am surprised by how happy I've been with PlayOn (and my $7.99/month Hulu+ subscription.)  For starters, the picture issues may have been with my older TV, and they weren't as bad as I had been remembering from my free trial.  It's not HD, but for regular TV programming I don't really care about HD.  Also, I ditched my older TV for the TV we used to have in our bedroom and we got a new TV for the bedroom.  The new setup with the newer (but still not new) TV is even better, and I really don't notice that the picture isn't perfect at all.

As for available programs to watch, I haven't had any issues.  I would go back to paying outrageous amounts for cable before giving up How I Met Your Mother, but I don't have to worry about that, because there is a CBS channel on PlayOn.  I get to watch HIMYM, The Good Wife, The Amazing Race, The Big Bang Theory -- all my CBS favorites.  With Hulu+ I get to watch my Grey's Anatomy, House, The Office, Modern Family, Glee, etc., etc., etc.  There are few programs that I can't stream to my TV, and I can always catch up on those on my computer (or just wait until the season comes to Netflix.)  Actually, I don't even know if any of my regular shows are only available on PC -- I haven't come across any yet.  I set up subscriptions to my favorites so the newest episodes are automatically put in my queue. 

There are commercials on Hulu (and the other "channels" like CBS, CNN, etc.), but generally very few.  On Hulu it's usually 1 or sometimes 2 (max), lasting 30 seconds in total (combined) a few times through the episode.  Barely enough to time to grab the remote to try to FF through them.  (I used to FF through everything when playing back through the DVR, so I haven't quite gotten used to not reaching for the remote yet.)  On CBS, it's even less -- usually just an occasional few seconds spot advertising other CBS programs, over and back to your show before you know it.

I have not run out of things to watch yet, and the picture quatity is fine.  I still am anxious for when Hulu+ comes to the 360 so I can watch that in HD and presumably have a better interface, but the PlayOn one isn't so bad.  For kicks, I also tried streaming via PlayOn through my Wii.  It only takes a minute to open the Internet Channel, navigate to the PlayOn site, set a bookmark, and that's it.  I think I may even like the PlayOn menu interface on the Wii better than on the 360.  Picture was good as well.

To make sure I didn't miss any programs, I signed up at  http://www.mytvrss.com/ to get alerted when my selected shows air.  I have alerts delivered to my google reader, but you can also have them sent via email. Totally not necessary, but just an easy way for me to know if I'm up to date or missed an episode because I accidently removed it from my Hulu queue or something.

Anyway, I am thus far very satisfied.  I'm saving over $80/month by getting rid of Cable.  That factors in dropping my lowest Cable plan and DVR and accounts for the $8 I spend on my Hulu+ subscription.  If I had a more expensive cable plan to begin with, I'd be saving even more.  I'm not counting the addition of Netflix, because I had that before while I still had cable.  The one year special for the PlayOn was $19.99.  $20 annually plus $8/month, no new equipment (we already had our 360s and wii), and this TV addict is a happy woman.