FYI on those considering dropping their cable and going internet

[Corporate ORphan]

WE still have our cable but I would really like to get rid of it. Without it we have lousy reception so we would have to mount an antenna on the roof of our two story house. Something DH tries to avoid getting up on whenever possible. He tried to get the leaves out of the gutters with a leaf blower and almost nailed me on the ground when he accidently let go of it!

We save on the movies by getting them for free at the library. You can "reserve" them. It may take a little while to get one of the new releases but there hasn't been a movie made in the last 10 years that I would pay to see at a theater so I don't mind waiting.

Our library also lets you download books (haven't tried it yet so don't know how well it works or what they have). It's a great resource for cds too.

 

[REWahoo]

WE still have our cable but I would really like to get rid of it. Without it we have lousy reception so we would have to mount an antenna on the roof of our two story house.

If your attic is large enough you might get decent reception with an outdoor antenna located there, assuming you don't have a metal roof. Of course your DH might put his foot through the ceiling, so be sure to stay downstairs while he's installing it...

 

[frank]

I have heard that there is a website called fta(free to air). that you have to buy a reciever and download software to it and recieve programming. not sure of the content or legality of it but it might be worth checking out. streaming is free now to netflix with subscription or whatever, but if something is reasonably priced people or government will figure on how to get their hand in the cookie jar. good things don't last forever.

 

[sheehs1]

Every time Comcast hits me with a rate increase and every time I get a flier in the mail offering a better deal from another company, I call Comcast, ask to be transferred to customer retention because I'm thinking about quitting the service, complain, and accept goodies. Usually it's something like a $10 a month credit for six months and six months of a free movie channel. This has never failed me yet.

+1...I do the same.
It is all getting up there in price ...regardless. Like others...it is the sports...that would prevent me from doing away with cable.

Verizon has many people getting rid of their landlines. So..they have simply increased their wireless fees. They have us ...by the ..."you know whats"...if we want to stay connected...

I relish the days...when no one knew my business....and the world was simpler. I think I was five years old. LOL.

 

[sheehs1]

I also got pretty pissed when I see all the good deals they offer to new subscribers, but when I call wanting that deal, I cant get it, even tho Ive been paying them for years. Something wrong there somehow.

Carnival...that is always there first and sometimes second response. Ask to be transferred to the customer retention department . I promise you ...they have never failed me yet. Typically they give me $10.00 a mth off for 12 months. When the promotion comes off...I call again and do the same routine.
Let us know if it works for you.

 

[Zero]

The streaming of sports events is getting less and less common because ICE is now involved in arresting folks for copyright infringement. They shut down several sites and confiscated the domain names, then they actually arrested one of the guys.

Channelsurfing.net Owner Arrested For Illegal Website Streaming

 

[easysurfer]

When I dropped cable, I decided to just get OTA TV when the big switch went from analog to digital.

To fullfill my need to follow sports of the hometeams, I got a Slingbox so I can view those games on my laptop if I'm out of town. Granted, some baseball games are cable only. For that, I decided the compromise was to follow the scores on the internet when out of town or at home, listen to the broadcast on the radio (like I did as a kid without access to a TV set, plus I like the descriptions of radio more).

I found that there are some shows on cable I still miss, but I'm happy with my decision.

Now instead of getting my butt of the couch watching cable, I need to get my butt off the chair surfing the entertainment news on the internet

 

[Ronnieboy]

I have package deal through Comcast (Crapcast), which it too expensive. I am at $165/mo for high-speed internet (getting about 14Mbps even though I am on the 7Mbps plan), cable tv w/two DVR's, HD Package and expanded basic. No extra pay movie or tv channels (HBO) and home phone.

Comcast does have a limit on their bandwidth, 250GB/mo, which for some unknown reason about 6 months ago I was exceeding. After talking to Comcast reps they claimed that even though I have kids doing online gaming in two different rooms and I am watching some netflix, another kid on WOW, we still shouldn't be hitting the 250GB max. We ran Norton (which is free through Comcast) cleaned up the computers, bought a new router which has 5Ghz (son said this was better ?!?), changed passwords on said router, we are now hitting under 200GB. Maybe a neighbor was borrowing my internet, but we were password protected?

While I think it is too expensive, I haven't been able to find a better deal. I don't need the home phone, but my only other options are satellite TV and DSL internet which is UP TO 3Mbs from qwest based on our location, which would not be nearly fast enough for all the strains we put on it.

I think I have two options to help defray the cost. 1) raise my sons rent by $50 and 2) buy enough Comcast stock to have the dividends offset my monthly bill. Now to come up with enough cash to buy about 4500 shares ($108,000)

p.s. I have to second the notion on calling Comcast to lower the bill to match other offers, I have been able to do that yearly. Sometimes you might get the representative that says, "o.k., go ahead and switch" but then you just call back and get someone else. I have to admit the last time my 'special deals' were about to expire, I actually received a letter from Comcast inviting me to call them and find out what kind of specials they were offering at the time and I received a similar deal to continue.

p.p.s. Even though I have called them crapcast their service has been good, no interruptions in service, able to chat on line, etc. Just too expensive IMO.

 

[W2R]

You all are making me feel SO much better about my Cox cable bill. This month it went up from $62.60 to $69.85, the first rise in price since before Hurricane Katrina back in 2005.

The "bare bones basic" TV charge went from $15.99 to $19.99, and the cable internet went from $45.99 to $48.99.

Even with "bare bones basic" I get over 100 (121?) channels including HD versions of local channels. So, I'm happy with it. I don't plan to drop cable and go to internet TV.

 

[aaronc879]

The "bare bones basic" TV charge went from $15.99 to $19.99, and the cable internet went from $45.99 to $48.99.

Do you know what internet speed you have in terms of Mbps. Standard Road Runner is 7Mpbs and RR Turbo is 15Mpbs. When I cancel my cable next week i'm thinking about also downgrading back to Standard but wondering what other people have. Now that i'm used to Turbo maybe I should stay with it especially since I will be watching tv on the computer now instead of with cable. It's $10 extra for Turbo.

 

[W2R]

I just now tested it on cnet's speed test, and got 13507 kbps.

Cox Cable's website says that they offer four levels of internet now, essential, preferred, premier, and ultimate. Mine is the "preferred" level (second from the slowest). Download speed is supposed to be 18 Mbps with "Powerboost" (whatever that is, but according to my bill I have it and no extra charge is listed).

Charges are going to be different in different areas, I suspect. Here are the Cox Cable service descriptions and prices in New Orleans.

 

[GregLee]

... but my only other options are satellite TV and DSL internet which is UP TO 3Mbs from qwest based on our location, which would not be nearly fast enough for all the strains we put on it.

I have DSL internet, which used to be 3M download speed and 7K up, but now I pay a little more for 8M down and 1M up. There is a faster rate available, which would cost still more. My 8M download speed is pretty slow for video, but plenty fast for web surfing. The upload speed is important for online gaming (which I don't do). I get my TV over DirecTV satellites, 3 to 5 of them, and there is no up communication there at all, but download speed is essentially unlimited (for a normal home). It is possible to play games on DirecTV, by depending on the internet for up communication, but it's so slow and clumsy that no gamester would want to do that.

So, it appears to me, that it's the online game playing that is the most expensive for you.

 

[plex]

Cox indeed seems to have the best prices for cable internet. An internet connection is essential for me, not only do I get all of my important mail through the internet, I download all the shows I watch from the internet as well (so I have never even wanted cable). When I retire, it will be in a place that has Cox (55 Mbps) or Verizon FiOS (150 Mbps), which are the fastest providers by a long-shot. Assuming the next greatest thing isn't around by then of course...I would really like something with a very low latency (I don't understand why providers force you to use proxy servers to do this rather than integrating it into the service).

 

[Joshua]

Cable TV is pretty much useless to me, but it looks like we'll probably wind up with at least a basic package of it once we get back to the US. The kids like the cartoons, and my wife likes to watch a few drama series. We will need internet anyway, so if the package deal is at least passable, then we'll probably have it. If the prices are really bad where we are going, however, internet is a WAY bigger priority than TV - that's our entire communication with friends/family and our hook-up to our online colleges.

 

[albundyz]

My Dish Network experience:

Note: overall, we were very happy with the TV service we got from Dish Network.

After 2 years, I had no contractual obligations with Dish, they kept nickel and diming me on everything, so I decided I was gonna leave Dish for a better deal with another provider. So I call them up and I say "Hey, do you have any deals for me?" "No" "How about free HD?" "No" (note: they were offering free HD for new subscribers). So I found another provider and I had the new service installed. Then, I called Dish to cancel . Guess what they offered me?

I almost blew my stack when they offered me free HD. I got really nasty with them at that point. We both could have been better off if they just would have given me free HD when I asked for it. lesson learned.

ps. Dish had a habit of charging me for a movie that I rented SIX months ago. When I canceled, I got a bill for $4.99 for Book of Eli which I rented from them eight months prior. things like that just anger me.

 

[gratefuled]

Everyone who tried that link: I blew it and I apologize. It's "consumerist.com" and not what I said earlier.

The Consumerist

 

[rescueme]

My Dish Network experience:

Note: overall, we were very happy with the TV service we got from Dish Network.

After 2 years, I had no contractual obligations with Dish, they kept nickel and diming me on everything, so I decided I was gonna leave Dish for a better deal with another provider. So I call them up and I say "Hey, do you have any deals for me?" "No" "How about free HD?" "No" (note: they were offering free HD for new subscribers). So I found another provider and I had the new service installed. Then, I called Dish to cancel . Guess what they offered me?

My Dish TV bill (250 channel/no premium) went from $90.09 in July, 2008 to $105.99 with the latest increase (rates frozen for the next two years).

We have two boxes (1-HD, 1-non) running four TV's (includes my desktop PC with a tuner card).

The service is much better than our local cable company, which we had for many, many years and even much cheaper as compared to their current advertised prices.

When Dish came out with the cut in the HD charge ($10/mo.), I just gave them a call and they gave me the same deal - no problem at all...

 

[freebird5825]

Posted for comparison...I have cable with DVR (no paid channels), high speed Internet, unlimited local/long distance land line telephone, and fire/security/medical alarm services.​

MONTHLY SERVICES
All The Best w/Home Security ..................$171.94
Includes: Basic, Standard, Explorer Pak, Digital Navigator,Digital Equipment, Digital Home Phone*, Road Runner High Speed Online, Monthly Monitoring
*Includes unlimited local and long distance calling within the United States and US Territories.
DVR Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$12.95
Subtotal Monthly Services: . . . . . . . ..... .$184.89​

MONTHLY ALARM MONITORING .. . . . . . . . . .$5.95
Taxes and Fees: . . . . . ...... . . . . .......... . .$9.96​

Grand total = $201 and change

 

[chinaco]

My roku works great.

I think many people are beginning to take a hard look at their communications and home entertainment costs.

I would include home phone and mobile in the same category as the services in this thread.

Over the last couple of years, we have been getting substitute services to reduce costs... Some are a little different (e.g., netflix instead of digital movie channels, paygo cell instead of contract, etc.)

I have another round of cost cutting I will be going through this year. when I get done, I will have reduced our cost by about 60% and kept most of the services (or capabilities) compared to 3 years ago.

 

[lets-retire]

It's funny you say that, that is exactly what I did last year and will do it again this year. If I go with Nettalk my phone bill drops to $30 per year. It's better than Magic jack in that I can shut off my computer. A guy I work with has it and said he doesn't see any difference between it and regular landline phone. Unfortunately, if I do that then my internet bill goes up $10-15. Almost what I saved. On the bright side the cable company is running a special of standard cable and internet for $68. That is about what I am paying for Dish right now. After all of this I'll be getting the same services and paying approximately $40 less per month.