Dropping Cable

[ssawka]

Here is what we did.

We dropped pay TV (direct tv) and went to three ways to watch TV.

1. We hooked the cable line directly into the TV and even though we do not subscribe to TWC for anything but cable modem internet, we found that they did not scramble about 25 channels.

2. We put up an antenna and get Crystal clear local channels.

3. We bought Roku boxes and hooked them up to the TVs and subscribed to HuluPlus ($8) and Netflix ($8 for streaming only option).

So, for $16/month we get all we need to watch TV.


Dawn

Dropped U-Verse when we bought a house last June (didn't provide service in the area) and haven't missed it at all. 15 months cable-free!

I built an HTPC and have an HD HomeRun dual-tuner device hooked up to an antenna in the attic so we get all the locals (plus some Tampa channels off the back of the antenna) and it offers DVR functionality integrated with Windows Media Center. Can record one show and watch another (or record two shows).

Plus Netflix $7.99 streaming (haven't splurged for the Hulu Plus...yet).

Can't be beat!

We just went back to cable. I have an HTPC that I built a few years ago and were primarily using Netflix and free Hulu. When Netflix raised their prices, I decided to look back into cable. We had Fios for Internet that I was paying $63 a month for. Well, Verizon was having their Double Play for $75 a month for the first year. Well, I didn't want to pay $20 a month for a DVR, so I bought an internal tuner for my HTPC for $300 that takes a CableCard. The CableCard rental is $4 a month. I am also getting a $100 Visa card for signing up, so in the end it is costing me $32 a month to add TV for a year, but after that year, if I keep it, it will run me about $25 a month. That price I can live with. And to top it off, I can now record up to 4 shows at a time and can have unlimited amounts of storage ( right now I have 6 TeraBytes).

 

[Juliet25]

Our package was only $50, but we couldn't justify the expense with Netflix at only $7.99. I miss 24 hours news and seeing the Daily Show in the evening (I watch it the next day on Hulu). I also miss the Disney Channel. But we don't regret our decision at all.

 

[DawnM]

I think you have mentioned this before.

But I still don't get it!

Do you have to have a computer actually hooked up directly to your TV?

Our computers aren't available for connecting to a TV all the time so I assume I wouldn't need to do that.

Also, is is available for Apple/Mac computers or only PCs?

Do you have a link to the $300 item so I can at least see what you are talking about?

THANK YOU!,

Dawn

We just went back to cable. I have an HTPC that I built a few years ago and were primarily using Netflix and free Hulu. When Netflix raised their prices, I decided to look back into cable. We had Fios for Internet that I was paying $63 a month for. Well, Verizon was having their Double Play for $75 a month for the first year. Well, I didn't want to pay $20 a month for a DVR, so I bought an internal tuner for my HTPC for $300 that takes a CableCard. The CableCard rental is $4 a month. I am also getting a $100 Visa card for signing up, so in the end it is costing me $32 a month to add TV for a year, but after that year, if I keep it, it will run me about $25 a month. That price I can live with. And to top it off, I can now record up to 4 shows at a time and can have unlimited amounts of storage ( right now I have 6 TeraBytes).

 

[ssawka]

I think you have mentioned this before.

But I still don't get it!

Do you have to have a computer actually hooked up directly to your TV?

Our computers aren't available for connecting to a TV all the time so I assume I wouldn't need to do that.

Also, is is available for Apple/Mac computers or only PCs?

Do you have a link to the $300 item so I can at least see what you are talking about?

THANK YOU!,

Dawn

Yes, you would have to have a computer directly connected to the TV. I have a desktop I built specifically for that. The card I have is an internal card, this one.

There are also an external ones that you can buy from another manufacturer. They come in a 6 tuner model and a 3 tuner model. There is also suppose to be a USB Only two tuner model coming out, but I think it is still under development.

If you don't have a dedicated computer for your TV, there are Tivos available that can take a CableCard. Not sure if they have a monthly fee though.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Check to see what locals you can get. http://tvfool.com and http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx have you put in your address and tell you what stations you can get, what kind of antenna to get those stations, and what direction to point the antenna.

Also, you need to make sure your TV has an ATSC tuner. Plasma, LCD, LED, DLP doesn't matter. A google search of the TV manufacturer and model number should tell you if it will handle over the air digital broadcasts.

I looked up tvfool.com and my head started hurting. I am not good at figuring stuff like that out. We live in a very rural area, so no worries about HOA's. The people we bought the house from had an antenna on the roof, but we had it taken down when we reroofed our house.

Can we just get the Roku box? Or is the antenna key?

 

[sam_gordon]

I looked up tvfool.com and my head started hurting. I am not good at figuring stuff like that out. We live in a very rural area, so no worries about HOA's. The people we bought the house from had an antenna on the roof, but we had it taken down when we reroofed our house.

Can we just get the Roku box? Or is the antenna key?

The antenna is key... especially if you are in a rural area. Without the antenna, you won't pick up any local broadcasts. If you'd like to PM me your address (including city, state & zip), I'll put it into tvfool/antenna web and try to explain the findings.

 

[DisneyGlitter]

We dropped our cable a few months ago. We bought a bigger antenna and installed it in our attic. You will have to experiment with facing it different directions to see which direction will pick up the most channels. We get over 40 channels with ours. I did a lot of research before I bought our antenna. We hooked it up through the cable box outside and it goes to all of the tvs in our house. We still get all of the major networks, but for FREE! I highly reccomend it!

 

[JDUCKY]

Can you give a bit more detail to what exactly was involved in a) purchases and b) setup to get this done. Would love DVR functionality!

It's a bit of work and research involved but these two threads at AVS Forums are what helped me decide on my final specs and I came in about $1000 or so on my system and it bloody well SMOKES...esp. the solid-state drive for Windows 7 (my data drives are two 2TB Seagate drives that are striped for faster writes/reads)

Assassin's Simple/Beginner HTPC Buying and Building Guide
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1302559

Guide to Building a HD HTPC
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=940972

I built mine from these items
Processor - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz
Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX
Power Supply - Rosewill Green Series RG430-S12 430W
RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
SSD (for Windows 7) - Crucial M4 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive
Harddrives (for data) - (2) Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB 5900 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
Blu-Ray Player - LITE-ON Black 12X Blu-ray Burner with Blu-ray 3D feature SATA Model
TV Tuner - HDHomeRun DUAL - High Definition Digital TV Tuner HDHR3-US
PC Case - SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum Grandia Series GD05B

Could probably do it for $100 cheaper now or have larger capacities on the drives. The Intel Core i3 is fine for most HTPC uses but I wanted a faster CPU as I will be doing a lot of transcoding from HD video from my camcorder into Blu-Ray or DVD formats.

The thing is quiet as heck and runs cool enough with stock CPU fan and only one case fan.

I used Assassin's paid guide. I can't praise that enough. It was well worth the few bucks to get all the software installed that works best and with the proper settings.

Even our 5 year-old can open Windows Media Center with the wireless keyboard/mouse and select TV channels or find the Netflix shortcut on the desktop and search for streaming children's shows.

I need to get a universal remote (like a Logitech Harmony) and configure that for one-button DVD playback and stuff like that


Oh, and I have all that running thru a new Yahama receiver via HDMI out from the PC to the receiver and then HDMI from the receiver to the TV.

I've built HTPCs in the past and it's never been easier or more integrated than nowadays.

You can get the parts from Newegg or Amazon (price check one against the other)

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

The antenna is key... especially if you are in a rural area. Without the antenna, you won't pick up any local broadcasts. If you'd like to PM me your address (including city, state & zip), I'll put it into tvfool/antenna web and try to explain the findings.

Thanks! PM on the way.

 

[DawnM]

I see. Thank you. I think this was why I didn't really go with this option.

Tivo runs between $13-$20 EACH for their service.

If you connect it to cable, the cable company charges $4 per card as well.

Dawn

Yes, you would have to have a computer directly connected to the TV. I have a desktop I built specifically for that. The card I have is an internal card, this one.

There are also an external ones that you can buy from another manufacturer. They come in a 6 tuner model and a 3 tuner model. There is also suppose to be a USB Only two tuner model coming out, but I think it is still under development.

If you don't have a dedicated computer for your TV, there are Tivos available that can take a CableCard. Not sure if they have a monthly fee though.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

I have the basic TV option from the cable company. That's $17/mo. I largely kept it because it offers the major networks and about 12 other stations in HD. We also have high speed wireless cable internet $30/mo and two Roku boxes. We subscribe to Netflix ($16 with one DVD) and Hulu Plus ($7.99) and MLB.tv ($119 for the season). We also use Vonage ($20) for the home phone line, which I will probably give up one of these days. We watch TV on our regular TV's and we stream Netflix and Hulu plus to the iPads wirelessly, a great option if I'm in the kitchen or the garage.

I do not miss having a DVR with the Hulu Plus. Anything I would have recorded is available on HP anytime.

 

[DawnM]

I am getting frustrated with HP, I have to say.

Much of what I wish to stream says, "online viewing only" and most of those I can watch on the website of the show.....particularly things like CSI, NCIS, and CBS shows.

I want to watch them on the larger TV screen, NOT on my computer!

Dawn

I have the basic TV option from the cable company. That's $17/mo. I largely kept it because it offers the major networks and about 12 other stations in HD. We also have high speed wireless cable internet $30/mo and two Roku boxes. We subscribe to Netflix ($16 with one DVD) and Hulu Plus ($7.99) and MLB.tv ($119 for the season). We also use Vonage ($20) for the home phone line, which I will probably give up one of these days. We watch TV on our regular TV's and we stream Netflix and Hulu plus to the iPads wirelessly, a great option if I'm in the kitchen or the garage.

I do not miss having a DVR with the Hulu Plus. Anything I would have recorded is available on HP anytime.

 

[brymolmom]

It's a bit of work and research involved but these two threads at AVS Forums are what helped me decide on my final specs and I came in about $1000 or so on my system and it bloody well SMOKES...esp. the solid-state drive for Windows 7 (my data drives are two 2TB Seagate drives that are striped for faster writes/reads)

Assassin's Simple/Beginner HTPC Buying and Building Guide
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1302559

Guide to Building a HD HTPC
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=940972

I built mine from these items
Processor - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz
Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX
Power Supply - Rosewill Green Series RG430-S12 430W
RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
SSD (for Windows 7) - Crucial M4 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive
Harddrives (for data) - (2) Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB 5900 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
Blu-Ray Player - LITE-ON Black 12X Blu-ray Burner with Blu-ray 3D feature SATA Model
TV Tuner - HDHomeRun DUAL - High Definition Digital TV Tuner HDHR3-US
PC Case - SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum Grandia Series GD05B

Could probably do it for $100 cheaper now or have larger capacities on the drives. The Intel Core i3 is fine for most HTPC uses but I wanted a faster CPU as I will be doing a lot of transcoding from HD video from my camcorder into Blu-Ray or DVD formats.

The thing is quiet as heck and runs cool enough with stock CPU fan and only one case fan.

I used Assassin's paid guide. I can't praise that enough. It was well worth the few bucks to get all the software installed that works best and with the proper settings.

Even our 5 year-old can open Windows Media Center with the wireless keyboard/mouse and select TV channels or find the Netflix shortcut on the desktop and search for streaming children's shows.

I need to get a universal remote (like a Logitech Harmony) and configure that for one-button DVD playback and stuff like that


Oh, and I have all that running thru a new Yahama receiver via HDMI out from the PC to the receiver and then HDMI from the receiver to the TV.

I've built HTPCs in the past and it's never been easier or more integrated than nowadays.

You can get the parts from Newegg or Amazon (price check one against the other)

Thanks so much for the detail. DH and I will be researching this!

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Wow. Who even needs cable? I'm loving the advice~ I'm going to print this thread out. Thanks guys!

 

[carissanboys]

We dumped cable TV in March and for the most part haven't missed it. We bought a $40 antenna at Radioshack for our plasma TV and it sits on our TV stand. We were amazed at the quality of the picture. We get all of the major networks and a few extras and it's fine.

However, we do also subscribe to Netflix and Hulu Plus for the instant streaming through our PS3. That costs us $16 a month. The Hulu Plus works as my DVR except for shows on CBS, which aren't on Hulu.

The only thing I miss cable for is sports. I'm a huge football fan and the Patriots first game of the season last Monday was on ESPN. But a friend sent me a link to a website that was streaming it live. It wasn't the best quality, but at least I was able to watch the game.

 

[carissanboys]

I have the basic TV option from the cable company. That's $17/mo. I largely kept it because it offers the major networks and about 12 other stations in HD.

Just an FYI for anyone who might not realize it -- You can get HD for free from the airwaves with an antenna. I was shocked at the crispness of the picture with our antenna. And it's nothing fancy. Just one that cost $40 at Radioshack. Some people say the picture is better with an antenna than with cable.

 

[DawnM]

I have never thought the picture quality with cable was great, even with their HD channels.

The antenna is chyrstal clear.

Dawn

Just an FYI for anyone who might not realize it -- You can get HD for free from the airwaves with an antenna. I was shocked at the crispness of the picture with our antenna. And it's nothing fancy. Just one that cost $40 at Radioshack. Some people say the picture is better with an antenna than with cable.

 

[bonoriffic]

I have never thought the picture quality with cable was great, even with their HD channels.

The antenna is chyrstal clear.

Cable compresses the signal, to fit more channels down their pipe. Different providers compress at different levels. Some compression is fine, the minimal picture clarity lost won't be noticed by 99% of us. AT&T UVerse for example is the worst, compressing the signal well beyond the point where you notice "something isn't right".

Getting the signal over the air doesn't require any additional compression, so you are getting the best possible picture quality.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

I have never thought the picture quality with cable was great, even with their HD channels.

The antenna is chyrstal clear.

Dawn

I can never tell the difference. DH insists he can and he ALWAYS turns to an HD channel when a football game comes on. I think it's the power of suggestion!

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Cable compresses the signal, to fit more channels down their pipe. Different providers compress at different levels. Some compression is fine, the minimal picture clarity lost won't be noticed by 99% of us. AT&T UVerse for example is the worst, compressing the signal well beyond the point where you notice "something isn't right".

Getting the signal over the air doesn't require any additional compression, so you are getting the best possible picture quality.

This makes so much sense. Thanks!