Is Anyone Here Cable Free?

DowagerCountessofNJ

How did you do it?  Do you use Hulu and/or Netflix to watch shows?

MrsOjoButtons

Stan is!  She does Hulu, Netflix, and some sports package "to go" or something like that.

We've been kicking the idea around for the last year, but can't seem to pull the trigger.  We'll reevaluate around Christmas. 

Pumpkin701

We were for almost a year and a half and then went back to cable. We did (and still do) Netflix discs and Instant, Hulu, and Sidereel. Netflix Instant has gotten a lot better since we were cable free. It was a lot of D level, low budget movies at the time. 

DH doesn't watch any kind of televised sport except for UFC fights so he just does boys night out at a local sports bar for that.

K&C2005

I used to do it with Netflix, but the house we just moved to has satellite included in rent. I got really used to watching TV without commercials and now they annoy me way more than they used to.

mrsredrox

We don't have cable OR Netflix. We just redbox or use Amazon Instant. We get our news online and the paper and for sports it's just an excuse to go to a bar to watch

We're never home anyway so we figured cutting cable and netflix would work. So far, so good!

kyrgyzstan

I got my parents to add NFL Sunday Ticket To Go for 50 bucks. They added it to their existing DirecTV subscription though. Most glorious thing ever. I've found that going out to bars for football ended up being more expensive than cable, and last year I had NFL Rewind (online watch every game, but not until the end of the day), and pretty much every game was ruined for me. The stress of avoiding fb, my phone, and humanity was too much.

DowagerCountessofNJ

WishIcouldbeinthe'stan:

I got my parents to add NFL Sunday Ticket To Go for 50 bucks. They added it to their existing DirecTV subscription though. Most glorious thing ever. I've found that going out to bars for football ended up being more expensive than cable, and last year I had NFL Rewind (online watch every game, but not until the end of the day), and pretty much every game was ruined for me. The stress of avoiding fb, my phone, and humanity was too much.

Do you know if there are sports packages I can buy online to stream?  I'm a big Phillies fan and T is a big Flyers fan so we must be able to watch the games.  NFL and NBA I could take or leave.

What about streaming to our TV upstairs?  Is there an adapter or something I can get so I can stream from my laptop (or his) without having to plug it in every time?  Our family room TV has the Wii so that's not a concern.

kyrgyzstan

To stream wirelessly, you have to have an internet tv, I think. I knew you guys were hockey people, so I forgot to mention I listen to the Sharks radio online. You might ask over on Money Matters, a lot of them are cable free.

DowagerCountessofNJ

Thanks for the info ladies!

Fancy3Face

We are!  I responded on your fb   We stream netflix through our wii.  The only downside is having to watch sports online on our laptop.  The savings is more than worth it though. 

We also watch nbc/abc/mtv online and hulu. 

ErikandAfton

We are seriously considering this. Especially since when E is home we normally have it on the Netflix streaming anyways. If we do cut it out we might get the rabbit ear things just so we can get the local channels still.

heyimcortney

Netflix! I watch a lot of movies or go to my library and check stuff out.  It's free and so much better for your anyways! Try reading too

corbinsmine

Cable free and love it... I get basic local channels with bunny ears lol, but they arent really bunny ears its a box so no one can really tell. I also have netflix for movie and stream them with my xbox 360, honestly we really dont pay much bc we pay 50 for the internet service, and ten a month for netflix. Its about 80 for internet and cable where we are at. We also watch some shows on the internet like MTV ext...

meltoine

We are. We have Netflix streaming and we use Sidereel to watch most TV shows. We got used to using Sidereel in Egypt and didn't really see a need for cable when we moved back. 

Amaristella

There are different ways to get streaming content onto a TV. (It helps if your TV is a bit newer though) We use the Xbox 360 to stream Netflix and recently discovered that our Blu-Ray player is capable of streaming Amazon Prime stuff. If I remember correctly, DH also uses Hulu with his Xbox. We also like Redbox. It's funny actually, the video store closest to our house closed down and within 3 days there was a Redbox within 25 feet of the old video store.

I've heard good things about Roku.  Supposedly it's most helpful to people who have no other way of getting instant content to their TV.

BLT20051

*raises hand*

We pay for Netflix and I use Hulu(free version). Occasionally we buy some things on Itunes but it's only if we can't get it other places. We pay $50 for higher quality internet but beats $150 for cable + internet. 

ETA - We typically have to go out to watch football anyway since the Steelers are rarely ever aired locally in Bears country. 

Amaristella

Bacon+lettuce+tomato:

*raises hand*

We pay for Netflix and I use Hulu(free version). Occasionally we buy some things on Itunes but it's only if we can't get it other places. We pay $50 for higher quality internet but beats $150 for cable + internet. 

That reminds me. Sometimes to supplement we buy an entire season of a show on Amazon or iTunes. The episodes are usually delayed a couple hours compared to TV, but it's not been a problem for either of us. We like to watch on our own schedule anyway.

kyrgyzstan

heyimcortney:

Try reading too

LOL. I'm sure none of us ever do such a thing! 

K&C2005

WishIcouldbeinthe'stan:

heyimcortney:

Try reading too

LOL. I'm sure none of us ever do such a thing! 

 Exactly what I was thinking when I saw that.

Sibil

Yes, and I did it for years before hulu and netflix existed. Crazy, but people can survive without cable. I do use hulu now, but before I just used antennas. When overseas, I masked my ip so I could watch the networks online. In the last decade, I've literally only had cable one year, in 2006. It comes with my building now, but I've only lived here a few weeks and haven't yet replaced the tv that broke in our move to japan, 4 years ago.

Ilumine

When you are stationed overseas, you sorta have to be.  AFN is NOT even like having the basic channels either.

While there is the option of SKY, our little area cannot get the sattelite. And unless you buy an IP masking router/program you cannot use HULU or any of the TV Stations either.

Sibil

Ilumine:

When you are stationed overseas, you sorta have to be.  AFN is NOT even like having the basic channels either.

While there is the option of SKY, our little area cannot get the sattelite. And unless you buy an IP masking router/program you cannot use HULU or any of the TV Stations either.

I bought one for $10/yr, but mostly I used the free kind.  We had terrible AFN (about 5 channels rather than the full lineup I've seen at other bases), and SKY wasn't even an option.

Really what most people do is torrent.  Not that I'm recommending that route... 

rlpointer

We got rid of our cable a long time ago. We never really watched it except the very basic questions so it was a waste of money. We plug our TV directly into the wall and we even get HD channels now. All basic (NBC, ABC, CW, CBS, Fox) for the most part and public channels, but it's perfect for us. We do have netflix that we use instant through the PS3. I probably will never actually go back to cable.