Getting rid of cable TV

[audiosceptic]

I've decided it's time to get rid of cable TV. I'm currently paying Time Warner $190.00 per month for HD cable, 2 DVR's, Phone service and 7 MB Roadrunner service. For now I'll keep Roadrunner and the phone service but plan on transitioning to the following:

Mac Mini hooked up to our 2 TV watching areas in place of the DVR. I already own one and just bought another. I have an Elgato Hdhomerun box on the network and I'll watch and record OTA HD broadcasts through that. We have all the major TV networks available in our OTA broadcast area. I've been using Hulu for shows I can't get OTA and that seems to be acceptable. You can also go to the broadcasters direct web sites to watch free content. We're big Brewer baseball fans so I'll subscribe to MLB.TV to get those broadcasts. We'll try iTunes for movie renting like we did with Time Warner OnDemand. We also have the cheap Netflix service.

Has anyone else made this change? This biggest challenge I see is getting my wife used to using a computer to watch TV. There is a remote available for the Elgato system that will allow channel changes but Hulu broadcasts will have to be chosen via mouse and keyboard.

[manaox2]

I never paid for cable. I also canceled my roadrunner subscription, I just don't like Time Warner because they are a hassle to deal with, unorganized, and overpriced. They still owe me $30 after three separate calls and promises they would send it to me (eight months ago).

[acidbasement]

We have never had cable, and find it a lot cheaper to buy DVD sets of shows we like, though we do stay behind the times a bit with that strategy. However, a big benefit is that we have a lot more control over what and how much our kids watch. If we had the bandwidth to do computer-based TV, that might be tempting, but we live in a rather remote location with low/mid-speed wireless being the fastest option. It's frustrating enough to drive a man outside to enjoy the lack of neighbours.

[cetoole]

I have never had cable, I do pretty much what you describe, with the emphasis on netflix. Bit of Redbox, bit of Amazon VOD (both usually when I get free coupon codes). Really don't miss it, and greatly prefer the on demand aspect of internet based viewing.

[Driftwood]

I basically have the same setup you describe with the Mac mini, Eyetv and the hdhomerun, supplemented with Netflix. I don't really take advantage of hulu or iTunes for other shows though as I've found I'm less interested in watching TV since I've made the switch. I watch way more movies now though.

[jpelg]

Anyone run into download limits from your ISP? I've heard that Comcast, for one, clamps down on this hard.

Edited February 28, 2011 by jpelg

[Driftwood]

Anyone run into download limits from your ISP? I've heard that Comcast, for one, clamps down on this hard.

Verizon doesn't have any limits for FiOS.

[audiosceptic]

Well this didn't turn out well. We went for a week without cable and decided we'll keep it. The biggest problem is lack of convenience and poor picture quality. Having to use both a mouse and a remote was frustrating for my wife. The picture quality was great for OTA broadcasts but Hulu was horrible. I even tried the Hulu plus trial subscription and was disappointed. The kicker was realizing that local Brewer baseball games were blacked out unless we paid for the subscription with an out of state credit card and used an IP proxy service to make our IP address appear to come from out of state.

So I guess we're keeping cable. I did get them to lower my bill by threatening to leave so that was a bonus.

[blessingx]

Why watch TV at all when you can just read the reviews?