Getting rid of cable

alithebull1

I believe I have read that a number of the ladies on this board have done away with cable.  I would love to try this as we have Xfinity now and I think it is overpriced crap.

 

So I would still like to watch tv.  Do you get antennas, watch hulu, and Netflix?  What have you found to be the best combination. 

AugustBrideCO

I think we're getting rid of it in January. We've been thinking about it for a while. We're going to get a Roku and Hulu+. There are no monthly fees with Roku - you just buy the box, but I'll pay the $8/month or whatever it is for hulu+. You can also stream netflix from it. We'll be able to watch most of what we want on there and anything else will be watched online.

swinsto3

AugustBrideCO:

I think we're getting rid of it in January. We've been thinking about it for a while. We're going to get a Roku and Hulu+. There are no monthly fees with Roku - you just buy the box, but I'll pay the $8/month or whatever it is for hulu+. You can also stream netflix from it. We'll be able to watch most of what we want on there and anything else will be watched online.

This is us too. My parents are getting DH the Roku box for Christmas, and we have streaming Netflix already. I haven't decided yet if we'll get Hulu+. We can hook our computer up to the TV too, so between Roku, Netflix and online we should be fine. We have an antenna for local channels, so I don't think we'll really need anything else. 

alithebull1

Never heard of this Roku box so I will have to do some research unless maybe my husband has.

Ok so does anyone know if there is a way to watch the shows on the Bravo netwrok without cable?

Psalm_23

We don't have cable (Got rid of it when we moved into DH's apartment after we got married).  We use the antenna and get about 15 channels.  I watch CW, CBS, NBC, ABC, Universal Sports, Create, and Fox mostly.

We also have a Wii that we can stream netflix through.  This works well for us. 

I don't watch Hulu because there aren't really any shows I'm dying to keep up with.  I used to watch all that TLC/MTV stuff, but I can't say I'm missing anything.  I have so much more time for reading and knitting and I'm loving it!

coloradogirl06

Just a heads up, the Roku doesn't work with the older projection screen TV's. So if you have an older TV, check the compatibility first. DH looked into it when we switched and found it didn't work.

We have a blu-ray with streaming Netflix and an antenna and box for the on-air channels (the blu-ray also supports Hulu, etc.). I was a little irritated by Netflix recently when they actually removed the number of episodes of a show they had (went from like 48 to 31 or something), but I also think it was their agreement with CBS, since the show is still on through CBS, though it hadn't been when Netflix originally loaded it.

FYI, there are no current CBS shows on Netflix or any streaming system, CBS thinks that people will be willing to buy the DVD's instead for past seasons.

I miss being able to watch HGTV whenever, but as rarely as we watch TV, this is a good deal for us.

alithebull1

Our tvs are newer and they both stream netflix on their own I believe.  I mean on the one I could get on facebook if I wanted, lol. 

 

Ok so antennas for the local channels.  Then, from there we need to look into Hulu and Netflix.

swinsto3

alithebull1:

Our tvs are newer and they both stream netflix on their own I believe.  I mean on the one I could get on facebook if I wanted, lol. 

 

Ok so antennas for the local channels.  Then, from there we need to look into Hulu and Netflix.

We stream Netflix straight from the TV too - I love it. We use it a ton for DD, and DH has a bunch of his shows in the instant queue too. If your TV is new enough to have internal internet, you can hook a laptop up to it with just a USB cable. Then anything online can be watched on the tv. 

alithebull1

Ok so can you explain thie Roku box?  What would I use that for if I can get Netflix and anything from the internet straight to the tv?

swinsto3

Roku is a streaming tool, but it has channels - over 300 of them, all with different content. There's tons more options - sports, kids, movies, seriously, tons. Here's a list of the channels:

http://www.roku.com/roku-channel-store#15

It kind of fills a content gap. Netflix is great, but their library isn't massive. Network internet tv is very selective in what they show. Roku fills in a lot of the spaces. DH is ridiculously excited about it! 

stella_blu

We don't have cable either. We just got a bluray player for the bedroom that streams both Netflix and Hulu+ and has a few different options for renting video as well. In the living room we use an xbox to stream from both services. I pay for Hulu+ and we share a Netflix account with my mom so I'm only paying $8 a month for tv. We had Blockbuster through the mail but are dropping it now that the store closest to us closed. I've been really happy with decision.

CholeCO2006

We did away with cable a year and a half ago and haven't looked back (although DH is convinced I may want cable again when I go on maternity leave and will be looking for entertainment during late night feedings).  We just have a digital antenna and that's it.  We don't do Netflix or stream in any shows as we find plenty to watch on the 6 main network channels we get through the antenna.  We'll occasionally watch shows online via Hulu or directly through the network's website.  But honestly, there isn't anything I follow enough to really watch online on a regular basis.  We have a Redbox near us that we use when we want to see a movie.  But otherwise, we usually can find something to watch or else just occupy ourselves on the internet or by reading or doing things around the house.  We still have our internet through Comcast but by doing away with cable and our DVR, we save over $120 a month.

shanbrite2

We haven't had cable in years, so there really aren't any shows I miss. We've gone the Netflix route, and we have an AppleTV that we use to stream Netflix. It does a few other things (like our iTunes) but it doesn't have extra channels like it sounds like Roku does. It works for us, though.

If you do get an antenna, there is a site somewhere that you can plug in your location and it will tell you the channels you want to make sure you get. The new digital antennae are different than the old school ones and the signals you can get depend on your location, etc. We started with a cheap $10 one (or something) and ended up getting a much better $80 one because I was dying not being able to watch the Oscars & the Olympics. But a one-time $80 investment has been well worth it because many channels are in beautiful HD for FREE!

DownToEarthGirl

alithebull1:

Never heard of this Roku box so I will have to do some research unless maybe my husband has.

Ok so does anyone know if there is a way to watch the shows on the Bravo netwrok without cable?

We got rid of cable also and you can stream some of the Real Housewives shows off Bravo, but as far as Top Chef the ONLY way to watch that without cable/sat is to buy the season or episodes off i-tunes.  It sucks, but they are the only channel that is so limited like that.  (I love Top Chef and had to resort to paying $30 this season to watch it at home, which is still cheaper than our cable would have been for the month, but not really cheap). 

sixtwelve

Like the others we use an HD antenna for network TV.  We, however use a Tivo to access other programming.  Primarily we purchase and download content (including Bravo shows - Housewives, Top Chef, etc) from Amazon (still an expense but way cheaper than cable).  We also can stream netflix via the tivo (and there are other services we can access w/ the tivo but we don't use them). 

KeepingItLowKey

I've never had cable- except in college. I have network and use hulu but don't really watch a whole lot.

WonderRed

I get all the regular channels  just by plugging my TV in to the cable plug.  I don't have an antenna at all.   I do 90% of of my watching on the TV itself but if I miss a show will watch it on Hulu.

DownToEarthGirl

sixtwelve:

Like the others we use an HD antenna for network TV.  We, however use a Tivo to access other programming.  Primarily we purchase and download content (including Bravo shows - Housewives, Top Chef, etc) from Amazon (still an expense but way cheaper than cable).  We also can stream netflix via the tivo (and there are other services we can access w/ the tivo but we don't use them). 

Crap - I looked everywhere and ended up spending $29.99 on i-tunes, but it looks like it's closer to $20 to get all the Top Chef episodes on Amazon! 

bethanyturon

I just use Blockbuster Online, which has unlimited exchanges in the store.  For me that keeps me from spending too much time in front of the TV, but I still have entertainment for when I need a little break

d.f

We haven't had cable/satellite since the Summer before last.  We have netflix streaming on the Xbox.  We ended the DVD portion of Netflix and replaced it with Hulu Plus.  I don't regret breaking up with satellite at all.