Cutting The Cord

[jyl]

Well, I cut the cord! Turned off Comcast TV and TiVo, upgraded Comcast Internet to 50 MB/s, signed up for Hulu Plus in addition to Netflix.

This is old hat to many of you, but a big leap for me :-)

I don't think it will save hardly any money, but I'm we've basically stopped watching traditional cable TV so I don't see why I should keep paying for it.

The only thing I watch on cable TV anymore is racing. I've figured out how to watch bike racing online (all the races are on Eurosport via pirate feeds; also the "Hola" proxy server plugin to the Google Chrome browser lets you get around geo-restriction and watch directly via Eurosport, RCS, etc.). I guess I'll either find F1 online (any ways? official or otherwise?) or forgo it. The kids consume TV programs via Netflix, they never watch via traditional TV.

I need to get a PC and hook it to my TV to get all this on the big screen. Or should I get a Roku?

Any tips and hints for this?

(Comcast only resisted my "service downgrade" for a couple minutes. They said I was on a two year contract; I told them they were lying; they caved immediately.)

[jyl]

Hoping Google Fiber comes to my area of Portland someday. I can get 50 MB/s on Comcast Internet for $95/mo, thinking Google might beat that.

[Gogar]

Awesome!!!!!!!!!!

I'm almost 18 months Comcast-Free!

I have a Roku 3 with Netflix and HuluPlus being my only paid stuff.

To be honest, I hardly EVER find myself on Hulu Plus, I also think it's sort of a rip that they make you pay a monthly but you have to watch commercials anyway. Whatever. It does get a lot of stuff that Netflix misses.

I do recommend a Roku, it's elegant and cheap and simple. no messes like having a computer around. You can also play games and there's even a headphone jack in the remote, if you want to watch at night and the Missus wants to sleep. Neat!

I also got a SimpleTV with my home (air) antenna, so I can watch OTA stuff like football and other sports through the ROKU. It does TiVo of OTA programs too if you like. SimpleTV seems like a struggling company though so you might look at the other ones, like Tablo or ChannelMaster.

Anyway, instead of about $100 a month, I'm down to $16, after the initial $200 or so investment. I love it!

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Good job!

When TV is out of your life you'll find you spend a lot more time on hobbies and more important pursuits. In a few months you won't miss it at all.

All the best!

[jyl]

What's a simple indoor OTA antenna you like?

[LeeH]

Chromecast?

[Gogar]

I don't know,

I installed an outdoor antenna on the electrical mast of my house and spliced it in where the cable used to come into the house.



Oh PS there is an app on Roku called "Twonky Beam", which will stream many (not all) video from a website right to the Roku. It might work for some of the live sports things...

[ASD]

Chromecast works great. We did the no cable thing from June to Oct. Gotta have SEC football so we went with Directv.

[TimT]

My GF lives in a new apartment complex in Flushing,Queens.... no roof antennas allowed.

She got a Flatwave antenna... its great, you use some velcro dots and mount it to the wall. Its paintable if your wall is not white, I pulls in something like 35 stations, many are just affiliates of the big broadcasters, in smaller cities...they also offer a boosted for people in more rural areas.

She uses the google chromcast and her ipad a lot to get Chinese language programming from the homeland...

I've been thinking of cutting the cord too...

[biosurfer1]

Look into XBMC (currently changing their name to Kodi)

You'll thank me later

[TimT]

Look into XBMC

I unlocked the Apple TV at my Vermont house and installed XMBC....sweet!!!

Problem is we are served by some sketchy DSL in rural Vermont..... The wheel on the train goes round and round.....

[masraum]

Wow, seems like 50MB is overkill. You could save some money by going to a lower BW contract and still watch streaming stuff.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Yah I have 15 mbps and it's perfectly adequate for HD streaming. Best part is it's supported via ADSL so NO cable line required. Small bill from the telco - NO Comcast or any other cable provider required.

[jyl]

Uh oh, maybe I didn't need the 50 MB/s.

First challenge: my son says "how can I watch the current season of Doctor Who?" Hulu and BBC America have past seasons, not current season 9. Any ideas?

[Gogar]

I agree that 50 is too much, (well, it's not too much, but it's not necessary.)

Keep in mind that nowadays Netflix takes up about 35% of ALL INTERNET TRAFFIC in the evenings, so occasionally a glitch or slowness in the download could be in another upstream area of the path, not necessarily your particular pipeline from your provider.

Check out speedtest.net to see if you are actually getting 50, also.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Yah I have 15 mbps and it's perfectly adequate for HD streaming. Best part is it's supported via ADSL so NO cable line required. Small bill from the telco - NO Comcast or any other cable provider required.

Yep, I've got 12 MB

[masraum]

Originally Posted by jyl

First challenge: my son says "how can I watch the current season of Doctor Who?" Hulu and BBC America have past seasons, not current season 9. Any ideas?

The same way you're watching the Euro bike races and getting around the geo-restrictions. I think BBC or ITV or whoever makes them streams them online. I've watched a few episodes of Dr Who when Matt Smith was leaving using a free proxy that made me look like I was out of the UK.

[Jim Richards]

Welcome to the cable TV-free crowd, John. We the cord back in April, and don't miss it at all. We use a small antenna (Leaf) and a Roku. We didn't upgrade our internet, and it's fine for streaming Netflix movies. We'll never return to cable TV.

[jyl]

Hmm. Our telco offers 25 and 40 MB, much cheaper for the introductory period but after that, not much cheaper than Comcast. They want $115 for the modem and a 1 year contract. Still might do it. Asking around about reliability. I will say that Comcast's Internet has been very reliable for me. And I've been getting more or less the advertised speed (on 25 MB/s plan, was testing 19-26 MB/s).

[jyl]

Originally Posted by masraum

The same way you're watching the Euro bike races and getting around the geo-restrictions. I think BBC or ITV or whoever makes them streams them online. I've watched a few episodes of Dr Who when Matt Smith was leaving using a free proxy that made me look like I was out of the UK.

Well, hot darn - works perfect. Thanks! Now I just need to connect the MacBook to my TV.