Cutting the cable bill

[mydisneyobsession]

Some of you in this forum have gotten so smart about using technology to pay less for television services, and I'm trying to figure out how to do it in our house.

Can you watch the HBO and Showtime series' anywhere other than cable? (Or AT&T UVerse, which is what we have.) NetFlix has some seasons, but not all episodes, and it doesn't look like Hulu Plus would help us with that. My husband will not go along with any plan that will not allow him to watch Dexter.

If we could get rid of the movie channels, we could cut our bill in half. Does anyone have any tips?

Thanks so much in advance!

 

[DawnM]

You can watch Dexter with Netfix but you will have to wait until long after the series season is over.

Isn't Dexter cancelled for future seasons?

The problem with Netflix is that you can't watch anything current....you have to wait for things to come out on DVD.

We have contemplated it but aren't sure we are ready to pull the plug.

Dawn

 

[KikiFan]

There are a lot of different sites that have TV shows. you won't be able to watch them on your TV unless you're able to hook your comp to the TV. But you will be able to watch them on the comp.

-TV Dome

- Free online episodes
I've used these two for years and never had problems.

Generally I just do a search for whatever I want to watch. Dexter / Free online That usually gets me what I'm looking for.

Another option is to check Amazon on demand. they air some new / current shows. You may have to pay for the episode but it's still less then cable. (usually episodes are 1.99 each)

 

[Nayan]

Not everything is available online or through Netflix, so I would suggest you make a list of not-to-be-missed shows and hunt around. Live sports cannot be viewed online, so if you or your hubby are sports nuts that might be an issue.

 

[DawnM]

You have been able to watch HBO and Showtime series for free?

Hmmmm.....I will have to check it out. I didn't think you could watch these online for free.

Dawn

There are a lot of different sites that have TV shows. you won't be able to watch them on your TV unless you're able to hook your comp to the TV. But you will be able to watch them on the comp.

-TV Dome

- Free online episodes
I've used these two for years and never had problems.

Generally I just do a search for whatever I want to watch. Dexter / Free online That usually gets me what I'm looking for.

Another option is to check Amazon on demand. they air some new / current shows. You may have to pay for the episode but it's still less then cable. (usually episodes are 1.99 each)

 

[JB2K]

Some of you in this forum have gotten so smart about using technology to pay less for television services, and I'm trying to figure out how to do it in our house.

Can you watch the HBO and Showtime series' anywhere other than cable? (Or AT&T UVerse, which is what we have.) NetFlix has some seasons, but not all episodes, and it doesn't look like Hulu Plus would help us with that. My husband will not go along with any plan that will not allow him to watch Dexter.

If we could get rid of the movie channels, we could cut our bill in half. Does anyone have any tips?

Thanks so much in advance!

U-verse customer here, too...

To the best of my knowledge, there are no other outlets to watch "original" programming from HBO and Showtime.

In the case of "Dexter", that series usually rolls-out on DVD/Blu-ray in the month of August following the latest season (e.g., "Season 5", which recently concluded its' run on Showtime and is currently in reruns on pay TV, will not see a home video release until August 2011).

Same goes for rental stores, to include Netflix.

As Showtime is part of the CBS Corporation family of networks, you won't be seeing any episodes of Dexter (or any other Showtime original series) on Hulu Plus, since CBS is not one of the partner networks involved with Hulu, which is jointly-owned by Disney/ABC, NBCUniversal, and Fox.

 

[vicki_c]

HBO just announced HBO Go (or to Go) - I got an e-mail about it yesterday. But unfortunately, that's just a way to watch their programming online if you already subscribe to HBO, and it seems to be available for cable only (not satellite which is what we have - bummed me out).

We never found any way to watch Dexter during the time we had cancelled out HBO/SHO subscription. There are some really sketchy looking sites on the web that promise videos - just be careful with what you are doing / downloading / etc.

 

[Ava]

You have been able to watch HBO and Showtime series for free?

Hmmmm.....I will have to check it out. I didn't think you could watch these online for free.

Dawn

You can't watch them online LEGALLY for free. That said, there are plenty of sites out there where you can watch cable shows for free. Just Google the show you want & "free online."

What I used to do was just add the 1 movie channel I needed while the current season of my show was airing. Once the season was over, I'd cancel the movie channel. This may not work if you have a contract & will incur penalties for changing your package, but I was able to do this with no penalties from my cable company.

 

[mariacj]

I have been watching a lot of Hulu lately.


I love my netflix...watching prison break right now. Yeah we are on season 2 (2006ish) but you know its okay. There are so many great shows (Like drop dead diva, dead like me, lost...) that being behind is okay. It also makes me just watch a single show at a time instead of just sitting and watching an entire season all day.

About free shows:

I use side reel . com... they not only post where you can buy it like amazon or huluplus, but they also post the "free" links. Some sites are the kind that you have to do a "survey" for (I stay away from these) or others take you straight to the mega video site. When you get there, you will see one of two options. One: you get to watch the video or Two:video has been removed.

With mega video unless you are a premium member you are only allowed 70 minutes a day or you have to wait 30 minutes to get another 70.

 

[JB2K]

For those of you recommending "free" websites, or anything that seems suspect/non-traditional, I would not only steer clear of them (for the potential of viruses/worms, since those servers are probably not even located in the U.S., to begin with), but I certainly wouldn't go around recommending them for legal/copyright reasons.

Hulu and Netflix are fine, as both are supported by major studios.

Remember, the very subject of this website (DISboards.com) is about a major media conglomerate (The Walt Disney Company), which may/may not get the attention of at least one major studio since they obviously grant some degree of permission for the webmasters to operate this site.

 

[mydisneyobsession]

My husband and I talked it over, and decided there was no reason to continue paying for the movie channels just for the sake of the original programming. (I mentioned my husband's attachment to Dexter, but we have some that we watch together, and I usually have at least one show that I look forward to watching.) Instead, there are a whole bunch of shows on NetFlix that we've never watched, and we can spend some time watching those while we wait for the newer shows to become available.

So I dropped the movie channels, and was able to move down two or three package levels with only a few casualties. (I'll miss you DIY network!)

After about 24 hours of intense research (I have no Disney trip to plan, so I focused on this instead!) I decided to try PlayOn in conjunction with our Wii. I'm going to play around with that to watch Hulu for a week or two, and maybe I'll like it enough that we can cut back even more on our cable.

Thanks so much for your thoughts and advice, everyone! It was such a mystery to me how all of this worked that I never got started figuring it out. I just kept paying big bills for the service that was familiar and comfortable!

 

[let'sgo]

Our cable bill got way too high (phone/internet/cable bundled) and the satellite providers kept sending enticing offers. So I called the retention division of the cable company (don't talk with the regular person who answers the phone, they can't do anything for you) and told them about the offers I had been getting. I read right off of the brochures they sent.

The cable company offered me $5 off per month. I told them that wasn't enough so I was going to switch. Then I was connected to another person who told me she could give me a deal. She said that she was going to give me a "long customer discount." She added a movie package to our cable, and about $50 off per month for the next 9 months!!

If it were me, I'd get rid of the cable because I only watch one show and I can get that from the local TV station. But DH loves the news channels and he insists on keeping it. It still seems expensive, but it sure beats the price that we were paying.

So find a couple of those satellite offers and give your cable company a call--you should be able to save a few $$.