Dropped Cable TV Today

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 The best thing about internet streaming to me, is not having to record anything, or worry about any program schedule.

Yes, but there are some daily local OTA news shows I was watching that aren't streamed.

And we have a modest internet speed, so doing the "back up 15 seconds to catch that line I missed" can result in painful re-buffering.

-ERD50

[Mulligan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dawg52 I haven't recorded a program in years. Don't feel like I have missed out on anything either.

Well hopefully you are smarter than me and don't pay for one...I may record something 2-3 times a year, yet I continue paying the $10 monthly rental fee.


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[bUU]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 The best thing about internet streaming to me, is not having to record anything, or worry about any program schedule.

There isn't a big difference between worrying about having to record something and worrying about the reliability of one's Internet connection and the possibility of getting surcharged for exceeding the ISP's bandwidth cap; and there isn't a big difference between worrying about the program schedule and worrying about from which streaming service is series X or movie Y available at the best price. As with practically everything, there are trade-offs. In the end, absent price controls, everything tends toward a steady-state where relative value is reflected in relative pricing on average. The key is capitalizing on any differences between yourself and others that make one option or another more valuable to you that that option is to others. If you're just typical, like many of us are, then there's not going to be a big difference between various options, in the long-run.

[mpeirce]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 The best thing about internet streaming to me, is not having to record anything, or worry about any program schedule.

My problem is that there are two variations of internet streaming: w/ and w/o ads.

I've had TiVo for (what seems like) forever. I honestly never watch anything live - we even eat dinner at 6:10 or so so we can skip commercials while watching the 6 o'clock news.

Some of the internet streaming is great. We watch Netflix and Amazon Prime and enjoy them, BUT some of the other streaming provides bundle in ads. FAIL! I just won't put up with it. There always an alternative for us and we take it.

[mpeirce]

Also

"not having to record anything, or worry about any program schedule"

See, that's what I like about TiVo so much. It lets me simply tell it to harvest all the new episodes of some show. I doesn't clog the machine with old episodes I've already seen. It keeps track of all this for me. Just record NEW House Hunters Internationals (our favorite "filler" TV) for us.

What I especially dislike is services that play games with releasing certain episodes and then unreleasing them. Were were watching some miniseries on PBS - "I'll try this on PBS streaming to see how it works" Started in on it. Watched the first 3 of five episodes. Came back from a trip. Tried to watch the last two episodes. FAIL! Those had been removed from their offering. Back to TiVo we go...

And TiVo tracks the schedules for me. You just tell it to record some show. It does all the work. Heck, even when Jeopardy is bumped and they play it at 2:30 AM, it usually gets an updated schedule and successfully records it for us.

[papadad111]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 $3x.xx and a thumb drive is all you need (for OTA). -ERD50

Make sure you're in a place with OTA signals. I can only receive 1 digital channel where I'm located.



Still using my streaming magic box. Sold several to friends too. Content is from Asia mostly but includes the news and scienc W type channels plus a lot of sports that don't watch like cricket , but works good for the one time 200 dollars invested.

Can get quirky at times because it is reliant on decent broadband at 3 down/ 1 up minimum internet speed. Requires daily visit to the built in App Store to download the latest app which auto links to various ever changing server feeds.

[Chuckanut]

For those interested, TIVO over the air units are again selling on Amazon for $300 including lifetime guide service. (the lifetime of the unit, not the buyer). Normally, the guide service (not required but very, very nice to have) for Tivo is $15 a month. This is strictly an OTA unit and cannot be used with cable or satellite TV. I have it and it makes recording and watching TV so much easier and convenient. This unit also works with Netflix, Amazon, YouTube and more.

The OTA unit is $50, the lifetime service is $250. 250/15 = about 17 months to break even compared to the monthly fee.

Having the lifetime guide is a great convenience and if one chooses to sell the Tivo unit, the guide goes with it, so people will value the unit more.

http://www.amazon.com/TiVo-Streaming...&keywords=tivo

Quote:

TiVo Roamio OTA DVR and Streaming Media Player with Product Lifetime Service

[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 The best thing about internet streaming to me, is not having to record anything, or worry about any program schedule.

Agreed, as long as you have internet service which isn't metered, has high bandwidth, and is reliable enough to not frequently cause dropouts, freezes or "please wait, buffering" messages. All we have in our tiny little town in the boonies is AT&T DSL rated at 6 Mbps, and we get that when it's working, but occasionally it struggles and chokes. That said, I wouldn't go back to paying $100 a month for TV again. Every time Netflix bogs down, I just remind myself that we're saving $100 a month this way, and it's easier to wait.

[bizlady]

Found and recommend the free app "Fan TV"
It will keep track of what you like or what you want to see when available and email you when available. Can also lookup movies or TV programs and it will tell you where it is playing.

[2035]

I dropped Comcast (cable/internet) in December ($85+) and Verizon this week ($90). I read more, watch DVDs and use my company phone for my cell/internet needs. I'm happier and smarter. I wouldn't go back to either company on principle alone, and their competitors are just as bad.

Side note: I live in a heavily wooded area so I can't even use one of those TV antennas for basic TV, but who cares.

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[steelyman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2035 I dropped Comcast (cable/internet) in December ($85+) and Verizon this week ($90). I read more, watch DVDs and use my company phone for my cell/internet needs. I'm happier and smarter. I wouldn't go back to either company on principle alone, and their competitors are just as bad. Side note: I live in a heavily wooded area so I can't even use one of those TV antennas for basic TV, but who cares. Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

I live in a very wooded area too, however it's at a higher altitude from the surroundings. That, coupled with several stations at a reasonable distance and an amplified antenna, gets 35+ channels over-the air.

Comcast was charging me quite a bit more for basic cable TV. No premium packages and no Internet service (they couldn't manage to keep that up and alive). For Internet, I'd given up and moved to DSL through AT&T.

[John Galt III]

My monthly cable just went up from $93 per mo to $99 per mo, for one level above basic. Still paying it since the gf wants it, and she is helping pay for it. I just wonder if more than $100 per mo, which will no doubt be here in Jan, 2017, will be the tipping point and hordes of subscribers will bail. Kind of hope so. Maybe they will drop the rate, or just go out of business then.

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Galt III My monthly cable just went up from $93 per mo to $99 per mo, for one level above basic. Still paying it since the gf wants it, and she is helping pay for it. I just wonder if more than $100 per mo, which will no doubt be here in Jan, 2017, will be the tipping point and hordes of subscribers will bail. Kind of hope so. Maybe they will drop the rate, or just go out of business then.

$100/month?

You would be surprised how many people around these parts pay over $200/month (well over in some cases) for internet/TV packages. You would also be surprised at how many people don't know what they are paying for the cable services.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Galt III I just wonder if more than $100 per mo, which will no doubt be here in Jan, 2017, will be the tipping point and hordes of subscribers will bail.

I doubt it. As aja8888 points out, a huge number of subscribers are paying well over $100 already.

[W2R]

As of this month, I am paying $72.99 for cable internet only. I completely dropped cable TV but Cox Cable keeps raising the price every few months.

[Big_Hitter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 $100/month? You would be surprised how many people around these parts pay over $200/month (well over in some cases) for internet/TV packages. You would also be surprised at how many people don't know what they are paying for the cable services.

I'm close to $200 a month for interweb/phone/tv

turns out it's difficult to watch all the sports I want without cable - I'm a huge UH fan, watch my coogs every chance I get and don't live in Houston anymore.

Yesterday for example, I was able to watch us lose to UCONN on cbssn

[Mulligan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo I doubt it. As aja8888 points out, a huge number of subscribers are paying well over $100 already.

My NFL and NHL packages are about paid for the year so it should drop back under $200 to about $150 for my internet/ satellite bill until next fall.... Sure hope many people don't drop their cable. Since it isn't much of a growth industry anymore, they will just jack my bill up for the attrition losses.


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[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo I doubt it. As aja8888 points out, a huge number of subscribers are paying well over $100 already.

I don't think we'll see a massive exodus from cable and satellite but there is definitely a growing resistance to paying $100+ a month for TV, especially since people mostly already have internet anyway, and if their usage isn't metered they can get Netflix and Hulu for less than $20 a month combined. (We splurge for TiVo off our OTA antenna for another $15. Love my DVR.)

The one other thing we subscribe to, as baseball junkies, is the MLB.TV package which cost us $129 last year; we watch it on our Roku box.

Still, our total TV outlay these days is around $550 a year, compared to around $1600 when we had the satellite dish and other subscriptions related to it.

[steelyman]

Since I seemed to have settled into an acceptable post-cable TV setup, I thought it might be useful to add what I am currently paying monthly (taxes not included). These are the recurring charges. There were one-time acquisition costs for devices like Roku, HD OTA antenna, converter/DVR. Also, I still need to pay for Internet access but that covers more than just TV-style entertainment, so it's not included (although I agree that that's going to be an ascending cost in the future).

Sling Basic (Best of Live TV)	$19.99
Sling Hollywood add-on	$5.00
Amazon Prime (Instant Video)	$8.25
Hulu	$7.99
Total	$41.23

If I were to drop anything, Hulu would be the first to go but there are some things on there I like. The Sling add-on is, of course, specific to my tastes.

Coupled with the OTA capabilities, it's far better than I had prior to cutting the cord.

A side note: changing residences (as I did this year) is a great opportunity to review your options if you're a current cable TV subscriber. The change doesn't have to be between time zones, even across town would work. Knowing myself, I'd have probably just kept paying that bill through inertia.

[bUU]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo I doubt it. As aja8888 points out, a huge number of subscribers are paying well over $100 already.

I agree. If anything, the pricing is still a bit below the value delivered, kept artificially low due to concerns about attracting too much vindictive big-company hate. I suspect that'll keep prices trailing value for many years to come. The only times prices will get as close to value as they are today is after years of very little inflation, less than 1% per year since 2014.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ziggy29 I don't think we'll see a massive exodus from cable and satellite but there is definitely a growing resistance to paying $100+ a month for TV, especially since people mostly already have internet anyway, and if their usage isn't metered they can get Netflix and Hulu for less than $20 a month combined.

That's another factor: As long as Internet usage isn't metered, it's like there's a hole in the hull of a boat. Once the hole is plugged, that'll eliminate some of today's artificial downward on pressure on prices.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ziggy29 Still, our total TV outlay these days is around $550 a year, compared to around $1600 when we had the satellite dish and other subscriptions related to it.

That's what it really comes down to: The bottom line. The average American has $X for discretionary spending, and will divide it up so that Y% of it goes toward the set of leisure activities that fill those 150ish hours a month. Service providers will structure their pricing to "mine" that Y% like a prospecting company structures their mining operations mines the mines they dig.