billay Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 We just did away with cable this week, for many of the same reasons you mention. We had bundled cable, phone, and internet with Time Warner Cable and getting rid of just cable wasn't going to be worth it. Our cell signal was not reliable enough at the house to rely on however. We ended up getting a cell signal booster for the house, which allowed us to ditch both cable and phone, dropped our TWC bill by over $100. First of all, cable was too expensive given the amount of time we spent watching it. Second, 85% of the programming is garbage, for which the quality 15% cannot make up for. There are just some things on TV I don't want my son exposed to, and there no longer seem to be any rules pertaining to what content is appropriate at certain times of the day. Third, you cannot watch tv without being inundated with the commercials. Most of them are pointless. That ad executives get paid top dollar to come up with some of this stuff just baffles me. Like many of you, we stream stuff on Netflix. For about $9, you get unlimited viewing with no commercials, and you are in total control. I also picked up a new antenna and DTV box so we can pick up the (free) over the air broadcast signals. We get all of the major networks and PBS through that, so I can still see most sporting events. I will probably subscribe to an internet service to be able to watch the UNC basketball games through the net, since most of those will be broadcast on ESPN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 You, sir, are taking away my lively-hood. You, sir, are destroying people's brains. Fully one third of all program hours are commercials. DVR usage enables me to reclaim one third of total viewing time. It's either that or a complete stoppage of TV watching altogether because I flatly refuse to watch any one hour program with six separate three to four minute breaks in it. If that isn't a breeding ground for ADD, I don't know what is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millerx Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 You, sir, are destroying people's brains. Fully one third of all program hours are commercials. DVR usage enables me to reclaim one third of total viewing time. It's either that or a complete stoppage of TV watching altogether because I flatly refuse to watch any one hour program with six separate three to four minute breaks in it. If that isn't a breeding ground for ADD, I don't know what is. Well I don't have a problem with... ummm... uuhhh.... what is the topic again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chavez Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 You're hilarious. It's my g/f's house that I go to. If you get cable from her for Christmas, don't say we didn't warn you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawks21 Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Without TV I'd have to like, talk with my wife, or, like, read. Eww. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billay Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Incidentally, we returned our cable box 1 week ago today, but they have yet to cut off our access. I can't decide if this is a tactic, or they are just lazy and lack follow through. I have mixed feelings about it. 1. I told them I didn't want their service any longer, and yet I still have it. 2 I can't help but have the reaction "Hey, free cable!" 3. If I can get cable for free, then why have I been paying so much for it for so long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Anybody else tried the no tv thing? no, but then again I haven't tried living in a cave with dirt floors, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Incidentally, we returned our cable box 1 week ago today, but they have yet to cut off our access. I can't decide if this is a tactic, or they are just lazy and lack follow through. I have mixed feelings about it. 1. I told them I didn't want their service any longer, and yet I still have it. 2 I can't help but have the reaction "Hey, free cable!" 3. If I can get cable for free, then why have I been paying so much for it for so long. FWIW, I bought a new car in Aug. 2010. It had XM radio w/ a 90 day trial. I don't put a lot of miles on my car, but when they called to sign me up they offered it (after some haggling) for $6.95 a month for a year. I countered w/ $5/month for life. They declined, haven't called in the last 8 months, and I still have it for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egret Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 So I got rid of broadcast TV about two months ago. I got tired of the crap that was on and the fact my kids were watching too much. We still have DVDs and stream Netflix and Hulu, but don't seem to use them much. I do miss football. Other than that, it's been great. I read a lot more and the house is much more peaceful. Kids all brought home great grades - not that they were bad before. Anybody else tried the no tv thing? My wife is actually suggesting we pick up basic cable or something - and she watched tv less than any of us. Buy a TiVo, plug an antenna into it and record all the network shows in hd. We've done this for almost two years now. The only football I miss is Monday night. I can watch all the rest through the antenna or Espn3 streaming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Cornelius Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Buy a TiVo, plug an antenna into it and record all the network shows in hd. We've done this for almost two years now. The only football I miss is Monday night. I can watch all the rest through the antenna or Espn3 streaming. I would love to do that but i cant get 1 tv channel at my house with out dish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billay Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 You can go to dtv.gov and check reception at your home, based upon location and topography. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westvirginia Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Jimmy, we did the exact same thing a couple years ago. The only thing I missed was 24 (and now that's gone) and Sons of Anarchy and football. There was a big difference in the kids, since we allowed very little netflix, and tried to do it as a family thing when we could. I had wanted to do it ever since I read a Claire Wolfe book (highly recommended for us libertarian/anarchist types - she's awesome) and she recommended taking it to the shooting range (back when they still had glass tubes). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billay Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 We just did away with cable this week, for many of the same reasons you mention. We had bundled cable, phone, and internet with Time Warner Cable and getting rid of just cable wasn't going to be worth it. Our cell signal was not reliable enough at the house to rely on however. We ended up getting a cell signal booster for the house, which allowed us to ditch both cable and phone, dropped our TWC bill by over $100. First of all, cable was too expensive given the amount of time we spent watching it. Second, 85% of the programming is garbage, for which the quality 15% cannot make up for. There are just some things on TV I don't want my son exposed to, and there no longer seem to be any rules pertaining to what content is appropriate at certain times of the day. Third, you cannot watch tv without being inundated with the commercials. Most of them are pointless. That ad executives get paid top dollar to come up with some of this stuff just baffles me. Like many of you, we stream stuff on Netflix. For about $9, you get unlimited viewing with no commercials, and you are in total control. I also picked up a new antenna and DTV box so we can pick up the (free) over the air broadcast signals. We get all of the major networks and PBS through that, so I can still see most sporting events. I will probably subscribe to an internet service to be able to watch the UNC basketball games through the net, since most of those will be broadcast on ESPN. Despite canceling both our TV and phone service back on 11/2, Time Warner Cable managed to bill us for them anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Neutron Posted November 18, 2011 Author Share Posted November 18, 2011 I was traveling this week for work - it was good to catch some football at the hotels. Everything else I watched was mind-numbing - especially all of the coverage on that POS at Penn State. Nice to know Rachael Madcow and Hannity are still stark raving mad. Home now and really enjoying the quiet. Boys are playing Halo with the sound turned all the way down - I think they like the quiet too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Neutron Posted November 18, 2011 Author Share Posted November 18, 2011 Jimmy, we did the exact same thing a couple years ago. The only thing I missed was 24 (and now that's gone) and Sons of Anarchy and football. There was a big difference in the kids, since we allowed very little netflix, and tried to do it as a family thing when we could. I had wanted to do it ever since I read a Claire Wolfe book (highly recommended for us libertarian/anarchist types - she's awesome) and she recommended taking it to the shooting range (back when they still had glass tubes). Headed to the library tomorrow - duly noted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazinib1 Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 You, sir, are destroying people's brains. And getting paid very well for it too....although I don't really do too many commercials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skilly Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Never have turned off the TV in our house. My daughter was always a good student, we never had to tell her to "Turn it off" (pre-cell phone days).Currently the wife and I have "Our Shows". Every night we sit down and watch something. We DVR everything! Understand the cost thing, but we don't go out to see movies, no Netflicks, etc.. We also like a lot of the same network shows. But then we are old retired people living off the state. It works for us. +1 We are pretty much homebodies, and I don't think I would ever get rid of cable. I'm not going to drag myself down to a bar everytime I want to watch a sporting event...and living on the east coast, most of those start late at night anyway. We try to DVR everything as much as possible to skip the commercials. I abhore commercials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby's Hubby Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I'm sure they're collecting for Christmas to end that. funny, that is what I was thinking. that and they probably hide all the food and beer when he comes by Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Neutron Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 No pro football on Thanksgiving... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
efi4eye Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 I ditched mine after last football season, haven't missed it one bit. Like others, we stream a lot on Netflix, I also bought a $40 signal booster and can watch most football games in HD, except MNF. I have the NFL app on my phone, so I can watch Redzone and MNF there. I don't miss cable one bit. If there's something I want to watch badly enough, I'll download it later and watch it from my PC through my PS3. Sure don't miss the cable bill! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otis29 Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Ok, need a little tech geek guidance here. My wife had it out with the DirecTV guys the other day, and she's ready to cut the cord completely. So we're looking at some options. Couple of questions to get me started (for people who might be in the know). We are currently in a rental, and our landlord isn't really keen on having a roof antenna, although we could do an attic antenna. I'm curious about having a feed to our three televisions (main, bedroom, kid's playroom) for an over the air feed off one antenna...can we splice off one feed to three televisions without a significant loss of signal, or would it require an amplifier? Secondarily, could we use the existing DirecTV cable runs for this? Unfortunately, we are about 40 miles from all the TV transmitting towers, and in the foothills at that - so the signals can be a bit sketchy. I actually bought a Muho Leaf antenna just to try it out on our three televisions - and on the main television we get all the locals, but had mixed results on the others. Nifty little toy though, it's a credit card thin antenna about the height and width of a sheet of paper and only costs about $30. One thing we'd like to have is the ability to DVR some of the network stuff off the antenna. Is TiVo the only real option in this regard? Spending the money to set up three televisions sort of defeats the purpose of us trying to minimize our costs, plus I've read online that their tuner actually tends to affect some additional signal loss. I've probably got a ton more questions, but I'm looking for a bit of starting direction from someone who might have run through this in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egret Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Ok, need a little tech geek guidance here. My wife had it out with the DirecTV guys the other day, and she's ready to cut the cord completely. So we're looking at some options. Couple of questions to get me started (for people who might be in the know). We are currently in a rental, and our landlord isn't really keen on having a roof antenna, although we could do an attic antenna. I'm curious about having a feed to our three televisions (main, bedroom, kid's playroom) for an over the air feed off one antenna...can we splice off one feed to three televisions without a significant loss of signal, or would it require an amplifier? Secondarily, could we use the existing DirecTV cable runs for this? Unfortunately, we are about 40 miles from all the TV transmitting towers, and in the foothills at that - so the signals can be a bit sketchy. I actually bought a Muho Leaf antenna just to try it out on our three televisions - and on the main television we get all the locals, but had mixed results on the others. Nifty little toy though, it's a credit card thin antenna about the height and width of a sheet of paper and only costs about $30. One thing we'd like to have is the ability to DVR some of the network stuff off the antenna. Is TiVo the only real option in this regard? Spending the money to set up three televisions sort of defeats the purpose of us trying to minimize our costs, plus I've read online that their tuner actually tends to affect some additional signal loss. I've probably got a ton more questions, but I'm looking for a bit of starting direction from someone who might have run through this in the past. Yes you can use your existing cable runs for the antenna. You should be able to splice without too serious of a signal loss. TiVo is what I've used and is easiest for everyone in my house. I also have a home theater computer. I didn't pay much for it and I use Windows 7's very nice DVR features in Windows Media. The Windows DVR has no monthly fees. Try out an antenna and see what works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otis29 Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Thanks for the replies! I guess I need to do some research on a decent attic antenna. We've been looking at the Roku as well as an option for the one television - we have a BluRay player on one television with internet apps and my daughter's television has a WII with Netflix and I believe they are supposed to be adding Hulu at some point. The most difficult part of doing this for us is the ability to record shows and the loss of most sports (agggggghhhhhh!!!). I like the PC idea, I'll have to check into that - my current PC is pretty old though, so I'd likely need to upgrade. As an aside, I was doing some research for my local area (Sacramento) on antennas, etc. There were a couple of general electronics stores that had items for sale, but they didn't specialize in this kind of thing. Made me think that there's probably a decent market out there for small business startups - a niche for people looking to "cut the cord"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesVikes Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 There's a few Amish families that don't have any televisons. They always seem to have big families too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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