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Message
How to save money - ditch your cable TV
Posted on 9/8/08 at 4:16 pm
Posted on 9/8/08 at 4:16 pm
Hard economic times call for getting rid of luxuries. One of the first ones we got rid of was cable TV. But, we still have internet as its more or less a necessity for both of our jobs.
I thought not having cable would really suck. But as it turns out, you can get pretty much anything you can get on cable for free on the internet. I'm watching the live CNN internet station right now. It isn't the same station that's on the cable - its actually better. Far less opinion related news and far more plain old reporting.
We can watch the Daily Show and the Colbert report the day after they come out on hulu.com, and there are tons of other shows on that site. There are P2P programs for streaming TV now. Its actually possible to find most of the big college football games online and live for free, though the image quality is a bit lower than cable. Better quality streams are available for purchase from sites like cstv.com for far less than the cost of cable TV (and I know alot of folks only keep their cable for sports)
In the future, higher bandwidths and greater availability of internet TV programming will make getting rid of cable even more tempting. Cable TV will be a thing of the past soon.
So get the right cable to hook your computer to your TV and ditch the cable TV.
I thought not having cable would really suck. But as it turns out, you can get pretty much anything you can get on cable for free on the internet. I'm watching the live CNN internet station right now. It isn't the same station that's on the cable - its actually better. Far less opinion related news and far more plain old reporting.
We can watch the Daily Show and the Colbert report the day after they come out on hulu.com, and there are tons of other shows on that site. There are P2P programs for streaming TV now. Its actually possible to find most of the big college football games online and live for free, though the image quality is a bit lower than cable. Better quality streams are available for purchase from sites like cstv.com for far less than the cost of cable TV (and I know alot of folks only keep their cable for sports)
In the future, higher bandwidths and greater availability of internet TV programming will make getting rid of cable even more tempting. Cable TV will be a thing of the past soon.
So get the right cable to hook your computer to your TV and ditch the cable TV.
This post was edited on 9/8/08 at 4:17 pm
5
Posted on 9/8/08 at 4:33 pm to ArkansasDon
Not worth it for me. I get the $11/mo comcast cable and with 8 or 9 HD channels tuned in through the QAM tuner on my LCD tv, I'm pretty darn happy. I think anyone can afford $11/mo.
The dirty little secret is that cable is mandated by the FCC to provide local channels on the regular cable as FREE QAM so you get teh regular, digital and HD version of the local channels even if you have one analog cable poking out of the wall thats been there for 50 years. Nothing else to buy.
My biggest regret is that ESPN is not clear QAM. Its scrambled and the only channel I want that I don't get for my $11/mo..although I do still get the SD version.
This is comcast in TN so ymmv.
The dirty little secret is that cable is mandated by the FCC to provide local channels on the regular cable as FREE QAM so you get teh regular, digital and HD version of the local channels even if you have one analog cable poking out of the wall thats been there for 50 years. Nothing else to buy.
My biggest regret is that ESPN is not clear QAM. Its scrambled and the only channel I want that I don't get for my $11/mo..although I do still get the SD version.
This is comcast in TN so ymmv.
Posted on 9/8/08 at 4:35 pm to CAD703X
PS And I get AT&T's $10/mo DSL. ANyone who didn't take advantage of that deal is crazy. No tax, no extras..just a $10 charge on my credit card once a month.
Posted on 9/8/08 at 5:02 pm to ArkansasDon
quote:
So get the right cable to hook your computer to your TV and ditch the cable TV.
I have worked at this. Only problem is that the wife's tv station cannot be found free on the net, so we have to be able to watch it.
But until last year I have been cable/satellite free since 1995.
Posted on 9/8/08 at 5:05 pm to MileHigh
quote:
But until last year I have been cable/satellite free since 1995.
What about HD? Do you get any OTA HD broadcasts in your area? The area of TN I am in is in a valley so even with an antenna I can't pick up local channels OTA HD. The clear QAM on the $11 comcast is my next best choice.
PS I gotta watch my tigers in HD :)
This post was edited on 9/8/08 at 5:06 pm
Posted on 9/8/08 at 5:29 pm to CAD703X
quote:
What about HD?
Until last year, I didn't have HD. But when we had to get a satellite for the wife's new job and I got a nice bonus, I broke down and bought a plasma.
I have 100+ HD channels now.
And yes, we have all the networks OTA in HD.
Posted on 9/8/08 at 10:14 pm to ArkansasDon
quote:
How to save money - ditch your cable TV
agree completely....we as a society spend a shocking amount of money on telecom....we've all been brainwashed into believing that every individual must have a cell phone for safety reasons, etc.....
Posted on 9/8/08 at 11:43 pm to ArkansasDon
Cable is the last thing I'd ever drop. I'd would just starve myself to pay for it. you gotta use money to enjoy life..
Posted on 9/9/08 at 12:12 am to ArkansasDon
We went without cable for about 3 or 4 years. Wanted to encourage the kids to read more and do other things. Used to check out loads of movies from the library for free. Still do this and just have basic cable.
Posted on 9/9/08 at 1:16 am to lsubandmom
I recently cut back on cable and lowered my grade of internet. Cut my bill in half and I still watch all the same programs on tv 
Posted on 9/9/08 at 3:09 am to lsubandmom
We didn't have cable till I was 13 or 14 or so because there just wasn't any cable where we lived. After we got it our parents definitely tried to keep us off it and mom had no problem with walking out in the yard and literally cutting the cable wire with pair of pruning shears if thought we were watching too much of it.
But until I cut it off recently I admit I was quite addicted. There's not so much available on the internet that I can still feed my addiction - but there's enough, everything I want the most - news, football, and the daily show.
But until I cut it off recently I admit I was quite addicted. There's not so much available on the internet that I can still feed my addiction - but there's enough, everything I want the most - news, football, and the daily show.
Posted on 9/10/08 at 3:26 pm to ArkansasDon
CAD703X,
What the hell plan do you have with ATT to only pay 10$ for DSL? I have DSL and it's 42.95 a month. Granted, it's the next to best tier, but 10 dollars??? How?
What the hell plan do you have with ATT to only pay 10$ for DSL? I have DSL and it's 42.95 a month. Granted, it's the next to best tier, but 10 dollars??? How?
Posted on 9/11/08 at 12:10 am to The Cable Guy
LINK
You're being rippped off.
You're being rippped off.
quote:
NEW YORK - Without any sort of fanfare, AT&T Inc. has started offering a broadband Internet service for $10 a month, cheaper than any advertised plan.
The DSL, or digital subscriber line, plan introduced Saturday is part of the concessions made by AT&T to the Federal Communications Commission to get its $86 billion acquisition of BellSouth Corp. approved last December.
The $10 offer is available to customers in the 22-state AT&T service region, which includes former BellSouth areas, who have never had AT&T or BellSouth broadband, spokesman Michael Coe confirmed Monday. Local phone service and a one-year contract are required. The modem is free.
This post was edited on 9/11/08 at 12:12 am
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