Is There A Good Way To Cut The Cable?

[BrownOut]

I was just reading **broken link removed** about someone who cut their cable TV, and the $90 monthly bill. I've been thinking about my own $120 bill, and how to get rid of it. Problem is, I'm a Discovery and History channel addict. I just can't get enough of Howe&Howe Tech, Modern Marvels, Extreme Engineering, Man V. Wild, River Monsters, American Chopper, Myth Busters, Dirty Jobs, etc. And if I could get the science channel, I'd be a hopeless case. How can I get all this quality entertainment without the exorbitant price?

 

[HarveyH42]

Well, there use to be places, called 'libraries', which had printed materials called 'books', which you opened, and read. Admission was free, though a small fee, if you were late returning borrowed materials. The internet costs a lot less than cable TV, free, if you have a generous neighbor or hotspot nearby, for which you might find a few episodes of your favorite cable shows. Broadcast TV isn't so bad, since the digital conversion, you might get to like some of the PBS programming, which seems to be the majority of the English speaking stations, though there are quite a few religious channels too (hide you wallet, or you won't save anything). I've never had pay TV, so can't comprehend the addiction, but I can't really get in to sitting through a program or movie, first commercial, and I usually find something more interesting to work on... There's a FOX channel, but don't think it's the same as your favorite news channel, seems to be mostly sports here.

 

[BrownOut]

I haven't a single clue what any of that has to do with my question. I'll repeat it for clarity:

How can I get all this quality entertainment without the exorbitant price?

I'm not asking about libraries or alternatives. See, the purpose of responding to a thread is to read the post, and then write something helpful, or at least relevant.

I was hoping someone more informed would know of an internet service similar to one refered to in the article, but would have the mentioned programs available.

But never mind. I'll ask on a more reasonable forum.

 

[shortbus=]

I have Directv $57 a month, get all the channels you want plus the Science Channel, Investigation Discovery(ID),National Geographic and etc.

 

[BrownOut]

$57!!!! And the science channel??? Holy Cow! I'll have to check that out, if I can get it up in the mountains. I already have trouble getting cell phone service.

 

[transistor495]

This post won't be anything helpful, but can't resist myself from posting this.

$120 or $57 a month for cable TV? Absolutely unbelievable.

We pay around 4-5$ a month for cable TV and still all that channels available. I don't watch TV much but I was a regular viewer of Extreme Engineering before, like your favourite.

 

[cr0sh]

Any of the so-called "edutainment" channels anymore, from what I hear, are light on the "edu-" side, heavy on the "-tainment". Even there, that side seems to be filled with serious amounts of woo. There's more to life than woo. I ended up dropping cable TV, and instead boosted my internet speed (Cox) - currently:

Last Result:
Download Speed: 62771 kbps (7846.4 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 13265 kbps (1658.1 KB/sec transfer rate)
Latency: 24 ms
Sat 22 Jan 2011 11:36:04 AM MST

Of course, this is straight to the Cox servers, so MMV - but overall its pretty good (not as great as some providers, and certainly not as good as certain Asian countries, but what can you do? Not bad for sand-land, I guess).

Anyhow - I tend to find my entertainment on the internet, in my hobbies, etc. If you absolutely must have your woo and manly shows (I like Dirty Jobs and Mythbusters too), I would suggest Netflix, or purchasing the DVDs direct (or used), or going for one of the streaming internet TV boxes out there. There's also Hulu, of course. You might also look into streaming from various sites in other countries that put up streams of cable TV channels (you might find something that way - not entire "legal", tho - but there's interesting international fare out there as well).

Really - drop the cable TV - its only a matter of time (and for me and my wife, we are already there) before -everything- is delivered via the internet. Spend the extra money on faster internet (and/or electronic components!).

 

[cr0sh]

This post won't be anything helpful, but can't resist myself from posting this.

$120 or $57 a month for cable TV? Absolutely unbelievable.

We pay around 4-5$ a month for cable TV and still all that channels available. I don't watch TV much but I was a regular viewer of Extreme Engineering before, like your favourite.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if that wasn't pirated in some manner (and you're paying a "pirate" - who just happens to look legit, and operates like a legit business) - then again, different markets, different prices. As I mentioned in my previous post, I know there are web sites in India that stream cable TV, mainly for those expats who have high-speed connections in other countries, and want something from "back home"; but that doesn't mean an American can't do the same! Provided, of course, they don't mind the India-"flavored" commercial breaks (always entertaining to see what the latest Bollywood flicks and such)...

 

[killivolt]

If you can get internet this might be the way to go.

Roku XDS

 

[blueroomelectronics]

I cut the cable two years ago.

I built an OTA DVR (PC running Sage TV with HD ATSC tuners and multiple antennas) wonderful device I get all the major networks in Canada & US all in HD & DD5.1. For the rest I have an AppleTV (movies, music, photos, rentals and my HD video library)

 

[Birdman Adam]

We've always used free over-the-air channels. Since the switch to digital, the quality is better than cable! Our channels tripled, about 70% of them in HD, 5.1 surround sound! We are changing our TVs to flatscreen plasmas and LCDs. The quality is amazing. I think I read somewhere that OTA HD is actually better quality than satellite and cable because they don't compress it as much.

Now obviously, this provides the major networks, local stuff, and movie channel (older movies).

To supplement this, I use a fairly old computer hooked up to the TV to play back favorite shows from Hulu and the like. I can watch pretty much any show I want.