Anyone switch from Cable TV to Netflix?

[Misskitty3]

We pay a lot each month for cable tv (waayy to much!). We are considering dropping our cable and just using Netflix for $10 a month. I understand if we have some sort of video game system we can even get things "on demand" from Netflix.

If you have made the switch, is there anything you miss about having cable?

BTW, we don't have a Wii or Xbox but would probably look into buying one with all of the savings from not having cable....

 

[usnuzuloose]

Yes we gave up cable, and using netflix and hulu. I dont miss cable, or my bill. We have a wii system. My husband finds different ways to watch his sports, but he doesnt complain. For us it was the right thing for us to do. Jo

 

[Misskitty3]

I forgot to mention we don't watch any sports other than the Super Bowl and we watch those for the commercials.

How does Hulu work?

 

[howlongtildisney]

We did it too, and I find I'm actually watching more worthwhile television. I now watch way less and am mostly watching documentaries. We're pretty big sports fans, but we can watch most games on broadcast (and that's not an issue for you). It's especially great now that we can stream Netflix through our Wii - no more hooking up the computer to the TV.

Hulu is a website where you can stream video. They have movies and television - current tv. That's how I used to watch the Daily Show.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

DH hasn't convinced me to get rid of cable yet (we are in a package anyways for internet/cable/phone), but now that summer is over I just started Netflix again. We love the streaming so much we just bought a BluRay player for our bedroom last weekend. We don't exchange Christmas or birthday gifts so that is our early gift.

 

[Misskitty3]

DH hasn't convinced me to get rid of cable yet (we are in a package anyways for internet/cable/phone), but now that summer is over I just started Netflix again. We love the streaming so much we just bought a BluRay player for our bedroom last weekend. We don't exchange Christmas or birthday gifts so that is our early gift.

I am not familiar with how streaming works - do you mean in lieu of a Wii or Xbox, you are using a BluRay to watch stuff thru Netflix?

 

[mhsjax]

We have Direct it costs us quite a bit. We have used Netflix for movies and they were great.

Our problem is that we don't watch movies very often. My silly kids watch things like Discovery channel and the History Channel, Travel Channel A&E. You can't rent that stuff. Leave it to my kids to watch the educational stuff.

In fact their Christmas present is a TV in their bedrooms with cable. Wish I could trim down the TV budget, but it isn't going to happen. I don't want to give up these things either.

 

[stich1fan]

I think we were paying something like $300 a month for cable. I cut to basic cable plus family cable. We now pay $166 a month, but both figures include internet and 2 home phone numbers. So I think that is pretty good.

I was not sure how we would do with less cable but the channel cut was instantly after you speak with a customer service person, so if we wanted them back they would be added just as fast.

we are comfortable were we are right now, maybe cut more cable later who knows.

We have been netflix members for prob about 10 years. It is great, I can watch all the tv shows I want but just have to wait a bit longer for them to come out. We are big showtime/hbo series fans in this house.

It works out well.

 

[Nayan]

I would first analyze what you watch. Write down the programs, what channel they're on and how often you watch them. Then do a search to see if they are available online (Hulu, Fancast, etc.) or from Netflix. This will give you an idea whether to cut the cable or not. I watch a lot of niche programs that can't be found online plus I am a huge sports nut so cutting the cable isn't an option for me.

 

[minnie1928]

I cut the cable about a month ago, maybe more, because I realized that we weren't really watching that much of it anyway. Except for things like Phineas & Ferb or Suite Life. We are watching tv shows on Netflix (streaming) or Discovery style movies during the week, then we watch regular movies on the weekends when we have a bit more time. To watch current shows we stream Hulu to the TV.

Another plus to all this (aside from the $ savings) is that the amount of commercials has been dramatically reduced. Now I don't have my kids saying "can't we order the toothpaste thing that dispenses toothpaste automatically?! It's only $...!"

 

[BelleBeautyandtheBeast]

I am not familiar with how streaming works - do you mean in lieu of a Wii or Xbox, you are using a BluRay to watch stuff thru Netflix?

Here is a list of devices that can stream Netflix www.netflix.com/NetflixReadyDevices. You will see Xbox 360, Wii and BluRay players listed. You just need a device that can access the internet.

The Xbox 360 has a built in Netflix program you can use while the Wii will need a Netflix disc (like a game disc) to watch stuff.

About 2 years ago I dropped cable and went to Netflix only. I love Netflix. There is tons of stuff to watch instantly and if it isn't on instant you can throw the DVD in your queue and watch it in a few days. I don't care about watching stuff as soon as it comes out and I am sure people who do would not be thrilled with having to wait a season to see a series.

If you end up not liking it you could always switch back to cable.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

I am not familiar with how streaming works - do you mean in lieu of a Wii or Xbox, you are using a BluRay to watch stuff thru Netflix?

We have a Sony bluray in the basement, we had to buy an accessory that connects it to the wireless internet. When you turn on the bluray there is a menu, one option is to watch a disc, another is netflix. When you click on Netflix your Instant Viewing Queue comes up. Right now I have 80 movies and shows in the queue.

The new bluray we bought for our bedroom (Panasonic) is internet ready and doesn't require the add-on to connect to the wireless internet. Haven't tried it yet, it just arrived and DH will hook it up tonight. I think DH paid about $175 for it.

 

[Jaime4004]

I cut the cable about a month ago, maybe more, because I realized that we weren't really watching that much of it anyway. Except for things like Phineas & Ferb or Suite Life. We are watching tv shows on Netflix (streaming) or Discovery style movies during the week, then we watch regular movies on the weekends when we have a bit more time. To watch current shows we stream Hulu to the TV.

Another plus to all this (aside from the $ savings) is that the amount of commercials has been dramatically reduced. Now I don't have my kids saying "can't we order the toothpaste thing that dispenses toothpaste automatically?! It's only $...!"

I love that mine kids miss the commercials, too. We went to basic cable $13/month and just use netflix and the internet. The only thing that I miss from digital cable is my DVR. But it's easy enough to watch anything on the internet... Besides hulu (which is only keeping a few episodes of each show now), there are other sites. My DS is watching "Dinosaur Train" right now on netflix, while playing with his dinosaurs. And DD is very excited that the last season of "Hannah Montana" is on netflix.

 

[herdtoDisney]

I don't know if this is a consideration for your family, but streaming Netflix does not have closed captioning. I have some hearing loss and use CC along with sound to understand dialogue, so it does not work out for us. Just giving you a heads-up just in case. Hulu has captions I believe.

 

[Wrekless]

We did. Most TV stations put their recent episodes on their websites or Hulu. I have my computer hooked to the TV to watch those.

We have a Wii and streaming other TV series and movies from netflix works great. The quality for streaming over the internet then across wifi is astounding.

I have an antenna on the TV and pick up PBS, CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, CW, UPI over the air.

I miss 2 things. A dedicated news channel for when big events are happening. Big games I want to see, mostly on ESPN. But I spend a lot more time with my family now than if I was watching those games, so we are better off anyway. My wife misses Food Network and HGTV, but reruns are showing up as streaming now.

Between all that we have more movies and TV than we can watch anyway. Plus it saves tons of $.

 

[Fantasmic23]

The only thing I really miss is the season premiere of "my" HBO shows - "Big Love", "Entourage", etc ("United States of Tara" from Showtime). It's a bit of a wait, but I can always get the DVDs of the shows from Netflix (Or from Blockbuster) a few months later. YouTube is always a great source as well as Hulu.

 

[MickeyDisneyFan]

You should check out the boxee box, at it takes every episode that is available online and puts them into one interface. I have been using it for a few months and dont miss cable at all. http://www.boxee.tv/box

Heres a write up on amazon about it http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038JE07O

Also check out WDTV it allows you to stream netflix as well but not much else. If you want really cheap and like apple products there is the new apple tv thats $99

 

[SandrA9810]

If you're looking at saving money - DO NOT buy an xbox 360. You will need to purchase xbox live for 50-60$ per year to go on the internet and use the instant streaming feature.
The Wii is the lowest price console, with free internet, but can not play movies on it. You will need a streaming disc, sent free from Netflix.
The PS3 is 200$ right now, and includes a blue ray player. The internet is also free. There is a Player Plus program, 50$ per year, which allows you to purchase the Hulu Plus service at $10 per month, and watch TV shows from Hulu on your TV. There's also other savings like free PSN games or discounts on them. Starting next month, there will be an upgrade to the PS3 that will let you stream without the disc (plus account not required for this upgrade, it'll be automatic).
Well as long as you pay for internet service, there's no additional costs to use these two.
There is also the Roku box. It ranges from 60-100$ depending on which one you get. Just a mini box that connects to the internet and streams Netflix. There's also some other features on here that let you stream media from other sites, but I don't know much about it.
It has also been rumored that blu ray players will be discounted to 75-80$ that are internet ready. For black friday. So if you're ready for the all nighter and crowds, this might be your best option.
First option, blu ray internet ready player. My next option would be a PS3, since you have kids. A Wii last if the budget is a bit tighter. Then a roku box if you don't want a gaming system and already have a blu ray player.

You will also want to take a look at your internet service. Your basic DSL service is going to be around 1.5mb down. That's how fast you receive information to your computer. Next up from there is about 6mb down. Movies are large files, and the instant streaming will not begin until a certain portion of the movie has been loaded. It might be worth it to you to upgrade to the next level, especially if you're going to have kids off in the other room playing on the internet and you in the living room watching a movie.

 

[JCMHutch]

There is also the Roku box. It ranges from 60-100$ depending on which one you get. Just a mini box that connects to the internet and streams Netflix. There's also some other features on here that let you stream media from other sites, but I don't know much about it.

We bought the Roku box and loved it so much we bought a second for our bedroom. It works great, you just have to have wifi in the house.

There are free "channels" that you can get besides netflix - Facebook photos, Amazon.com movies on demand, MLB Channel (this one has a for a fee), news, etc.

I will not go back to cable with this.

 

[CKDKMK]

We dropped cable over a year ago and use the Roku in the living room and Wii in another room. We do not miss anything but the news channel. We found that we watch less tv now. Like netflix but wish they had more sitcoms to pick from. Also watch hulu here and there too.