For the record: I am not being compensated in any way by Netflix, PlayStation, or anyone else to write this post. I am just sharing our setup, and I welcome your tips and recommendations in the comments for how you get around paying a cable bill.
Once upon a time, cable television was one of our only planned indulgences. We knew it was expensive, but we liked it. We thought it saved us money by keeping up entertained at home, and we liked having something to watch in the evening.
In September, we finally cut the cable, and we cut $60 out of our monthly entertainment budget. Around Christmas time, our future brother-in-law gifted us a Playstation 3 that he wasn’t using, which enabled us to stream Netflix to our television. Using a simple rabbit ear antenna, our television picks up all of the network stations in perfect digital HD. Now there is very little we could get from cable that we’re not getting from our current setup.
Current television shows
For our favorite TV shows that are currently on the air, we have two options. Sometimes if we’re home at the right time and we’re not busy, we just tune in live. We’re busy, though, and we’re reformed DVR addicts. So what do we do if we miss the network broadcast of 30 Rock or Lost? We stream it on Hulu or the network’s website whenever we want to watch it.
TV on DVD
One of our favorite things about Netflix Instant Play is that we’ve been able to catch up on TV shows we never watched. For instance, after listening to the hype about “Lost” for years, we discovered that all six previous seasons were available on Netflix in December. Beginning around Christmas and continuing until February, we caught up on all six seasons in a few months. Bonus? No annoying cliff hangers.
Movies
For movies, we have also two options: Netflix Instant Play, which offers a huge list of movie and TV show options, or Netflix by mail, which is where we get newer releases. If we decide to watch a new release at the spur of the moment, there’s always Redbox.
If you’re considering kicking cable, I promise: you will not miss it. Thanks to all of the entertainment technology available today, you have plenty of options to keep yourself entertained.
Netflix Instant Play is also available on XBox and (soon) Wii. If you’re not a gamer, or you don’t want to drop a few hundred dollars on a video game console, you could also get a Roku player for $100. It will work the same as a video game console for streaming movies, but you won’t have the option to play games.
I have cable because I record everything on MythTV (a free Tivo-like interface that also allows you to skip through commercials.) But once I get my own place, I won’t have the MythTV computer (will miss it dearly) and probably won’t get cable. Question: are you able to get affordable internet? It seems like so many companies want to bundle things together. How do you get a good deal on internet without other services?
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Netflix started streaming via a free disk they send out for Wii’s about a week ago!
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My wife wants to keep cable. She is the boss. So, I can’t get rid of it yet – not yet. I am working on it though. I think she will come around soon….keep your fingers crossed!
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I am still paying for cable because COM to the AST is so stupid. I have my internet through them. Combined, my bill is $40/month.
I tried to get rid of my basic cable, but my overall monthly bill would go up! Does that make any sense at all?
Didn’t to me, but that’s just the way they explained it on the phone.
Oh well.
COM to the CAST. Duh.
Ours is all bundled together- home phone, internet, and cable. I called to get our bill lowered and I don’t think we’d save a ton if we just cut the cable. I really want to! My hubby is not a fan, though. :(
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Okay! So, yes, I am paying more for Internet now than I was paying when I had cable, too. BUT. My overall bill is $50 cheaper.
What happened to me is that my “promo” price ended. I was paying $100 for all three. Then after 12 months they raised the price to $120. I called, they wouldn’t lower it, so I said eff you, Time Warner. So now instead of paying $120 for cable and Internet, I am paying $60 for Internet. That’s fine with me, though!
I’d love to rid my life of Cable as well – I never watch it. But my wife does so we have to keep it. I download most of my favorite shows. We have something called a WDTV that lets us hook up hard drives filled with video up to the TV. Picture is great – can get pretty much any TV show or movie over the internet. It’s a great setup.
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We have media center on our computer. It acts as a dvr so we can record network television. You could also record cable but we don’t have it. We love hulu, and media center has a neat internet tv program that has lots of shows and pod casts.
I have cable because it’s $3 a month (bundled with my cable internet) and not all the home shows I’m addicted to are available online. I had thought about dropping it until I saw just how cheap it actually is. Not gonna happen.
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