Dropped Cable TV Today

[ERD50]

I have a 1997 Sony TV that has been gathering dust since I dropped cable in 2012. I guess there's nothing useful it can do unless I subscribe to cable again. Some year soon (when my weathered patio furniture collapses) I will call 1-800-got junk and get rid of it.

They make converter boxes. I got a few for our old TVs, I think there was some kind of coupon program here in the states (~ $25 off IIRC), 2 per household or something. The converters are cheap.

The Mediasonic unit that I've been using as an OTA PVR also acts as a converter - in addition to HDMI, it has analog outputs for older TVs:

Amazon.com: Mediasonic HW-150PVR HomeWorx ATSC Digital TV Converter Box with Media Player and Recording PVR Function/HDMI Out (Black): Electronics

-ERD50

 

[Meadbh]

They make converter boxes. I got a few for our old TVs, I think there was some kind of coupon program here in the states (~ $25 off IIRC), 2 per household or something. The converters are cheap.

The Mediasonic unit that I've been using as an OTA PVR also acts as a converter - in addition to HDMI, it has analog outputs for older TVs:

Amazon.com: Mediasonic HW-150PVR HomeWorx ATSC Digital TV Converter Box with Media Player and Recording PVR Function/HDMI Out (Black): Electronics

-ERD50

Thank you for the suggestion. However, there are only two channels available over the air in my area.

 

[hnzw_rui]

I have a 1997 Sony TV that has been gathering dust since I dropped cable in 2012. I guess there's nothing useful it can do unless I subscribe to cable again. Some year soon (when my weathered patio furniture collapses) I will call 1-800-got junk and get rid of it.

I believe some of the Roku models have composite video output. We used a 1st gen Roku for Netflix on my mom's old CRT TV. Not sure about free content, though.

 

[Meadbh]

I believe some of the Roku models have composite video output. We used a 1st gen Roku for Netflix on my mom's old CRT TV. Not sure about free content, though.

Thanks, I will look into that.

 

[dallas27]

I am currently watching a station that is about 100 miles away. Most of the HD channels I watch are more than 50 miles away. Last night I tuned in a station that comes from a city 200 miles away. I know, the curvature of the Earth won't allow it, but there it was. Obviously, weather will not allow these 150 plus mile away stations to come in very frequently, but it is amazing.

At dawn and dusk the atmosphere is charged with ions such that rf will reflect and you can get around the line of site issue the curvature causes. East coasters can often have CB radio chats with british enthusiasts.


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[GTFan]

$100/month for all that, especially the "full" Channel lineup (400+ channels and HBO?). ? Out his way (and I have it), Comcast with the second tier of channels, no HBO, top HSI speed is near $200. That includes a couple of DVR boxes (rented), a modem/router (rented) and HD programm fees.

I don't see how you are getting all of that for $100, especially if you have to rent the boxes and modem/router and pay for HD and HBO.

BTW, I am on the low end with $200/month as some of my neighbors are paying 50% more and not getting much more than we have.

I don't rent any boxes, I have a Tivo with one Cablecard (included with service, actually gets me a $2.50/mo. credit for customer owned equipment). I also have 3 Tivo Minis for my other TVs in the house. So I have one DVR with 6 tuners and three 'boxes' that connect to the Tivo that I don't pay rent on. Plus I own my own modem and router. So their double play bundle cost is $100/mo. and that's all I pay.

The key is avoiding their ripoff monthly box rentals. My Tivo setup pays for itself in less than 3 years and is a vastly superior whole-home system.

 

[bizlady]

Here is a solution for those of us that cannot pick up digital off air signals. The FCC requires all cable operators to offer a "basic" level of service. The basic level must include any local off air channels plus any access channels. It typically also includes a bunch of shopping and sometimes religious channels.
If you ask your cable operator for the most basic level of service-they should be able to provide this. I called my cable provider and of course they said that their lowest level of service included other channels.
I told the representative that the FCC requires a "basic" level of service which included the off their signals. He then responded that the FCC requires a customer to ask for this in a very specific manner (which is BS and I called him out on this).
Anyway, we decided to keep our off air signals and our Internet, and were able to shave $25 off our bill. We still wanted access to local news and some network programming.

 

[easysurfer]

Here is a solution for those of us that cannot pick up digital off air signals. The FCC requires all cable operators to offer a "basic" level of service. The basic level must include any local off air channels plus any access channels. It typically also includes a bunch of shopping and sometimes religious channels.
If you ask your cable operator for the most basic level of service-they should be able to provide this. I called my cable provider and of course they said that their lowest level of service included other channels.
I told the representative that the FCC requires a "basic" level of service which included the off their signals. He then responded that the FCC requires a customer to ask for this in a very specific manner (which is BS and I called him out on this).
Anyway, we decided to keep our off air signals and our Internet, and were able to shave $25 off our bill. We still wanted access to local news and some network programming.

That's good advice. Thanks. I don't understand why the phone/cable companies try to tell the customers they are better at telling what the customers want. The hard sell just makes me not want to put another dime in their piggybanks .

 

[MichaelB]

Here is a solution for those of us that cannot pick up digital off air signals. The FCC requires all cable operators to offer a "basic" level of service. The basic level must include any local off air channels plus any access channels. It typically also includes a bunch of shopping and sometimes religious channels.
If you ask your cable operator for the most basic level of service-they should be able to provide this. I called my cable provider and of course they said that their lowest level of service included other channels.
I told the representative that the FCC requires a "basic" level of service which included the off their signals. He then responded that the FCC requires a customer to ask for this in a very specific manner (which is BS and I called him out on this).
Anyway, we decided to keep our off air signals and our Internet, and were able to shave $25 off our bill. We still wanted access to local news and some network programming.

When I tried to do that a couple of years ago Comcast indicated the basic service required a different DTA, which is quite large and won't fit one of the TV locations. I could hear the guy snickering as he told me.

 

[hnzw_rui]

Anyway, we decided to keep our off air signals and our Internet, and were able to shave $25 off our bill. We still wanted access to local news and some network programming.

I have access to OTA channels via clear QAM (cable) even without paying for any TV service at all (I just have cable internet). Cable service providers are required to deliver OTA channels unencrypted to their customers. The rule's probably just for cable TV customers but I guess my provider just didn't bother filtering the TV signals. I generally don't bother with clear QAM, though, since the feed from cable seems to have been re-compressed so quality's a bit worse than antenna.

 

[target2019]

Here is a solution for those of us that cannot pick up digital off air signals. The FCC requires all cable operators to offer a "basic" level of service. The basic level must include any local off air channels plus any access channels. It typically also includes a bunch of shopping and sometimes religious channels.
If you ask your cable operator for the most basic level of service-they should be able to provide this. I called my cable provider and of course they said that their lowest level of service included other channels.
I told the representative that the FCC requires a "basic" level of service which included the off their signals. He then responded that the FCC requires a customer to ask for this in a very specific manner (which is BS and I called him out on this).
Anyway, we decided to keep our off air signals and our Internet, and were able to shave $25 off our bill. We still wanted access to local news and some network programming.

We also did that. Internet and Basic is around $80 per month. That includes cable modem rental. Should have ditched that modem a long time ago. With the crap service we get, such as mysterious outages, I'm reluctant to get my own modem, as I know they will want to blame it all on me, send paid tech, and so on.

 

[aja8888]

I don't rent any boxes, I have a Tivo with one Cablecard (included with service, actually gets me a $2.50/mo. credit for customer owned equipment). I also have 3 Tivo Minis for my other TVs in the house. So I have one DVR with 6 tuners and three 'boxes' that connect to the Tivo that I don't pay rent on. Plus I own my own modem and router. So their double play bundle cost is $100/mo. and that's all I pay.

The key is avoiding their ripoff monthly box rentals. My Tivo setup pays for itself in less than 3 years and is a vastly superior whole-home system.

Your system is more than likely where we will be going soon. I darn near pulled the trigger on a Tivo box with two Mini's last year when Comcast was ripping me off even more. We took the Comcast Triple Play setup in lieu of that at a reduced rate per the wife's pleading. Now she does not like the Triple Play service and even their top line DVR is glitchy.

One thing that stopped me was the Tivo initial cost outlay and the monthly plan fee, which you did not mention. Do you pay Tivo monthly or did you buy the lifetime service?

None of this stuff is inexpensive if you want a cable TV setup. DW is NOT computer literate and doesn't want to deal with Netflix (we have it on a Fire stick anyway) or a Hulu/OTA/other interface. Since she does 90% of the TV watching, I can't readily push something on her that would be cumbersome for her to deal with.

How do you like the Tivo Mini boxes?

 

[Gotadimple]

Here is a solution for those of us that cannot pick up digital off air signals. The FCC requires all cable operators to offer a "basic" level of service.

This is what I did with Comcast. Downgraded to basic for $25/month with taxes. Bought a Roku 3, and added Hulu+ and Netflix for less than $20/month. Saving about $50 a month overall.

Rita

 

[hnzw_rui]

DW is NOT computer literate and doesn't want to deal with Netflix (we have it on a Fire stick anyway) or a Hulu/OTA/other interface. Since she does 90% of the TV watching, I can't readily push something on her that would be cumbersome for her to deal with.

Surprisingly enough, Windows Media Center on Windows Vista/7 is one of the best interfaces we've used for live TV and DVR. Much more intuitive than the Charter supplied set top box. My parents have been using WMC for more than 5 years now without any issues. We just have some Logitech Harmony universal remotes to control both TV and HTPC. Alas, Microsoft has pretty much killed off WMC.

If not for HBONow, I would probably have succumbed and signed up for a cable subscription with CableCARD + HDHomeRun Prime. The monthly fees or lifetime subscription for TiVo just seemed a bit too steep for me.

 

[easysurfer]

We also did that. Internet and Basic is around $80 per month. That includes cable modem rental. Should have ditched that modem a long time ago. With the crap service we get, such as mysterious outages, I'm reluctant to get my own modem, as I know they will want to blame it all on me, send paid tech, and so on.

When I switched from ATT to Comcast, the first thing I did was buy my own modem. I didn't want to get socked with a nickled and dimed monthly rental fee. Maybe I'm just a lucky one, but my internet is so much better since I switched. What was an interruption almost daily now is more like only a few times a year.

 

[NoiseBoy]

Cable service providers are required to deliver OTA channels unencrypted to their customers. The rule's probably just for cable TV customers but I guess my provider just didn't bother filtering the TV signals.

This rule was changed about 2 years ago by our wonderful Federal legislators. I was taking advantage of the Federally mandated basic cable service and getting the major networks and PBS in HD via the ATSC tuner in my TV (no cable box) for ~$18/month. Then Comcast announced that they would begin encrypting everything so you had no choice but to rent a cable box from them. Of course the wrinkles did not end there. At that time the only cable box they offered with an HD tuner (HDMI output?) happened to be DVRs, so that cost extra. And, the basic service is just digital, not HD, so if you want to watch football games in HD, the mandated basic service is not enough, you have to pay for the HD upgrade. Arggh.

 

[kitesurfer2]

so i ordred $600 worth of cable cutting goodies yesterday. the $39 antenna came in this morning. I've installed and set it up to a tv. i get 8 crystal clear channels. the Tablo and Rokus should be here monday. This should save me a little over $100 a month. Then it's off for a new tv search.

 

[Dawg52]

Looks like Comcast took note of Sling TV's success. I imagine cord cutters will have more options in the future.

Introducing a New Streaming TV Service From Comcast

 

[martyb]

We dropped cable a couple of months ago. Cable tv, that is. We still get internet through Suddenlink cable. We have a Leaf OTA antenna mounted high on the wall above the tv that does a decent job for local channels. We also stream Netflix, Amazon Prime & Hulu. I think we each miss a couple of our favorite channels, but overall it's nice only paying the cable company $35 a month vs. $110. Netflix is $7.99, not sure about Hulu but I think it's about the same. Amazon Prime is something we'd have even without the streaming, so in my book it's a freebie bonus. It's the least used of our streaming sources, though.

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[ziggy29]

Here is a solution for those of us that cannot pick up digital off air signals. The FCC requires all cable operators to offer a "basic" level of service. The basic level must include any local off air channels plus any access channels. It typically also includes a bunch of shopping and sometimes religious channels.

Well, the shopping and religious channels, as much as they annoy many people, usually PAY to be included, so in some sense they are subsidizing your service for the channels you *do* want.

And I believe this "lifeline" cable tier for OTA only includes the main stations (i.e. channel X.1) and not necessarily the subchannels (X.2, X.3 and so on). I could be wrong about that, though.

 

[MBSC]

Here is a solution for those of us that cannot pick up digital off air signals. The FCC requires all cable operators to offer a "basic" level of service. The basic level must include any local off air channels plus any access channels....

(snip)...And I believe this "lifeline" cable tier for OTA only includes the main stations (i.e. channel X.1) and not necessarily the subchannels (X.2, X.3 and so on). I could be wrong about that, though.

In my area, Time Warner calls it 'Starter TV' consisting of ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW, WGN, local PBS, and CSPAN in SD without a cable box for $6.30 plus tax. You can bundle it with a cable box and, excluding the shopping channels, receive about 14 channels in HD including the subchannels (x.2) for $20.

 

[GTFan]

Your system is more than likely where we will be going soon. I darn near pulled the trigger on a Tivo box with two Mini's last year when Comcast was ripping me off even more. We took the Comcast Triple Play setup in lieu of that at a reduced rate per the wife's pleading. Now she does not like the Triple Play service and even their top line DVR is glitchy.

One thing that stopped me was the Tivo initial cost outlay and the monthly plan fee, which you did not mention. Do you pay Tivo monthly or did you buy the lifetime service?

None of this stuff is inexpensive if you want a cable TV setup. DW is NOT computer literate and doesn't want to deal with Netflix (we have it on a Fire stick anyway) or a Hulu/OTA/other interface. Since she does 90% of the TV watching, I can't readily push something on her that would be cumbersome for her to deal with.

How do you like the Tivo Mini boxes?

The initial outlay for a Tivo + 3 Minis (with lifetime service on all) is around $1k, so yeah it's not cheap. But when you consider that if you rent a Comcast DVR + 3 STBs you're likely paying $50 a month or so, you can see that the Tivo setup actually pays for itself in less than 2 years. I would never go monthly on a Tivo btw, go lifetime because the resale value is much higher if/when you want to upgrade in future. I've resold many Tivos on fleabay over the years and always recovered at minimum the cost of the lifetime sub.

I rarely use the Minis since I'm always at the main TV in the house, but my wife uses them at the other TVs and likes them. When I use them I find them to be almost as good as sitting in front of the main Tivo - same interface, all the apps are available (including Comcast OnDemand), can manage and playback recordings etc. with a very slight lag when skipping around in a recording compared to using the main Tivo.

It's really a very nice setup. Others have mentioned Windows Media Center which I've also used before with a Cablecard and Xbox 360s as satellite boxes, and it can be a cheaper option. But WMC is basically a dead-end at this point since it won't be included in Windows 10, it can be more troublesome to keep running because of guide data and Windows update issues, and the Xboxes are not great as whole-home boxes because they make noise and suck down way more power than the 10W Minis. Plus interface and ease of use-wise the wife and I prefer the Tivo vs. WMC.

 

[steelyman]

E-R.org strikes again.

Not only did I learn of Roku (and a deal on Amazon Prime) here, but I also followed the discussions of OTA HD antennas and purchased (optimistically) two Amazon Basic amplified ones.

I say optimistically because of the surroundings. I am on a small (think Eastern state) mountain with a lot of dense forest.

But I tried last night, hooked it up, scanned and shazam! 15 channels located with crystal clear reception. Armed also with a Roku 2 and 3, I'm set.

I'm going to stop demanding that the Mod Squad refund my payment for joining the site.


Edit: I also now see what TitanTV is (I got there through AntennaWeb - Home). That is very slick!

 

[kitesurfer2]

it cost me $600 to cut the cord with a tablo 4 Tuner, Roku 3 and Roku stick, outdoor antenna and a hard drive. and my picture is much better than the ATT U VERSE picture.

 

[NoiseBoy]

My sister and 24 year old niece are in town for a visit and staying at our parent's apartment. They do not have internet, but I noticed an Xfinity (Comcast) WiFi signal there so that motivated me to reset the password on my Comcast on-line account, which I then shared with my niece. She's happily surfing in broad-band now instead of using her mobile phone as a hotspot.

I logged into the same network with my phone, and now I've noticed that it is automatically connecting to Xfinity hotspots when they are available. A young gun at work told me that many of the hotspots are simply secondary SSIDs that are setup by default on Comcast routers if you rent the hardware from them. IOW -- my niece is probably piggy backing off of someone in the building as there are no businesses anywhere close to the apartment.

I don't think this feature is of enough value to make me keep the "cord", but it is a plus to having Comcast internet.