Netflix, HULU ?

[gilby]

I am wondering if you are able to watch current tv show thru netflix or hulu.

Our cable company is going digital and we need to have a box for every tv, with a new added cost per box. I am really getting tired of company's taking advantage of people. I am also looking into an antennae to see if that is an option. We have expanded cable, as that is where we watch most of our shows, on discovery and history channels. We are wondering what some of our options are, as we only have one cable service to choose from.

 

[mrsabbott]

We had a digital antenna thing that picked up all of the local channels. There was no monthly fee.. just the cost of the antenna itself. I think we got ours at Walmart but it was about 4 years ago.

We have Netflix streaming only. It has several different TV shows, but not all of them. You have to have a way to watch it on your TV.. we have a little box on our bedroom TV and on the living room one we use our PS3. It isn't very expensive per month.

I don't know anything about Hulu. We looked into Amazon Prime but didn't think there was anything on it that made it worth getting.

 

[emilyhuff]

I use hulu and it has mostly all of the shows i am devoted to, Grey's, Scandal, The Blacklist, Nashville, New Girl, etc, the list goes on..

Im pretty sure netflix only has past seasons not current episodes.

 

[emilyhuff]

...Along with that i think you can get a free two week trial for each of them if youve never been a member before....

Hulu Plus is $7.99 a month.... and totally worth it to me!

 

[Jeff_G]

The TV episodes on Netflix are usually 1 season behind. Hulu has the current season for a lot for show but has commercials even after you pay the membership

We did a trial run of Hulu plus by using a Hulu gift cars we bought at the grocery store. I liked that idea better then providing my debit/credit card and having to cancel the recurring charge.

 

[superme80]

I have both. Hulu puts the new shows up about 6-12 hours after they air. I love Hulu because I have Chrome cast, so I just put it up on my tv.

 

[disfanforlife]

I have Hulu. We also only have one choice for cable so I understand how you feel. Hulu has a LOT of new shows but it doesn't have many from CBS. I would suggest you try it for the free trial. That's what I did and I have kept it ever since.

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

I have had both now for 3 years and will never go back to paying alot for tv. If you can't find something you like to watch, someone will always upload everything to youtube. I get to see everything I like between Hulu, Youtube, Netflix and online.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

We dropped our satellite about two years ago. We now have a Roku and we don't miss "regular" TV at all! We have Netflix, Hulu+ and Amazon Prime (which comes with streaming we didn't get Prime for the streaming but since it comes along with it we use it). Like the others said there sre some current shows available, we have also watched series that we didn't see when they were on the air. Seriously, I don't miss the bill or regular TV.

 

[scrapshappen]

Another cord cutter here. We have an antenna for local channels in our attic and a Roku for Hulu+, Amazon Prime and Netflix. If you watch a lot of CBS current shows, none of them are available to stream through Hulu, but the other basic networks are covered. I watch CBS shows on my laptop or tablet instead.

The other major issue that we found is sports on cable channels. We sorely miss watching the Utah Jazz basketball games. You can subscribe to NFL/NBA/NHL/MLB channels on the Roku, but local teams are blocked due to exclusive broadcast rights. However the $100 a month I am saving makes the sacrafice worth it to me.

 

[wallawallakids]

We just have netflix and we have an Apple TV. We don't miss cable. Haven't had it in over 4 years. You can watch most things for free anyway. NBC.com/ hulu shows things for free a week after they air/ PBS online for free. So I don't feel the need to pay for much. We have Netflix mostly for the kids. (They like some of the cartoons on there) and my husband loved watching all the Breaking Bad episodes etc. The only thing missing for him is sports. (He likes sports). But we have an antenna (like someone else mentioned). We get like 5 or 6 local channels. Sometimes my husband can catch a game on it and he is a happy guy for a month.

 

[ellochka]

I am wondering if you are able to watch current tv show thru netflix or hulu.

Our cable company is going digital and we need to have a box for every tv, with a new added cost per box. I am really getting tired of company's taking advantage of people. I am also looking into an antennae to see if that is an option. We have expanded cable, as that is where we watch most of our shows, on discovery and history channels. We are wondering what some of our options are, as we only have one cable service to choose from.

First, try to get the signal straight out of the wall on your newer (i.e. bought after 2003) TVs. There are different standards of transmission, and essentially, the digital signal can either be encoded or encrypted. You only need a digital box to get the encrypted channels, but the first hundred often are available unencrypted, just encoded (encoded in a widely used standard like JPEG or MP4). Whatever the cable company tells you - check it yourself. I work for a cable company, and sadly, most people don't know much about the technology (well, I work mostly with corporate people, and they are totally clueless).

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Hulu for new stuff
Netflix for old stuff
Amazon prime to fill in.

We also purchase some things like Doctor Who on iTunes (we have apple tv).

I don't miss the cable at all. The only thing we can't get is stuff like HGTV, but saving $150 a month makes it a lot less painful.

For hockey we had a subscription to Hockey Streams. It's $100 a season but it's out of Canada via Denmark or something like that, but doing it this way keeps the games from being blocked.

 

[Nayan]

First, try to get the signal straight out of the wall on your newer (i.e. bought after 2003) TVs. There are different standards of transmission, and essentially, the digital signal can either be encoded or encrypted. You only need a digital box to get the encrypted channels, but the first hundred often are available unencrypted, just encoded (encoded in a widely used standard like JPEG or MP4). Whatever the cable company tells you - check it yourself. I work for a cable company, and sadly, most people don't know much about the technology (well, I work mostly with corporate people, and they are totally clueless).

Not anymore. My cable company has encrypted all of their channels so you must have a box in order to receive service. Many companies are going this route unfortunately.

 

[gilby]

We have apple TV along with netflix, I will have to check and see if you can get the history channels on the computer and bring them up on the tv. I don't watch much tv its my hubby that does the most.
Thanks for all the great suggestions.

 

[HM]

You may be able to get the channels without digital boxes.
We have cable outlets in all our rooms. We only have boxes in the family room, bonus room and master bedroom. My DD was able to plug her tv into her cable outlet and get channels. She can't get them all, but she gets a fair amount, including the Disney channel. She is the only one to try this, but I'm pretty sure it would be the same in my son's room and our guest room.

 

[DarleneW]

What is the cost of Hulu? I went on their website and couldn't find it. I saw $7.99 to upgrade to Hulu Plus.

 

[JenzyHP]

We have all 3- hulu+, Netflix streaming, and Amazon prime. I love Hulu plus and Netflix. It's pretty easy to get Hulu plus free doing bing rewards. Mine is free too February from bing rewards.

 

[elgerber]

I am wondering if you are able to watch current tv show thru netflix or hulu.

Our cable company is going digital and we need to have a box for every tv, with a new added cost per box. I am really getting tired of company's taking advantage of people. I am also looking into an antennae to see if that is an option. We have expanded cable, as that is where we watch most of our shows, on discovery and history channels. We are wondering what some of our options are, as we only have one cable service to choose from.

Charter by any chance??

You may be able to get the channels without digital boxes.
We have cable outlets in all our rooms. We only have boxes in the family room, bonus room and master bedroom. My DD was able to plug her tv into her cable outlet and get channels. She can't get them all, but she gets a fair amount, including the Disney channel. She is the only one to try this, but I'm pretty sure it would be the same in my son's room and our guest room.

No, they are changing the signals so you can no longer do that, that is why the OP is saying they now need a box for every TV.

 

[Jedana]

Not anymore. My cable company has encrypted all of their channels so you must have a box in order to receive service. Many companies are going this route unfortunately.

Our cable co sent out letters a few weeks ago, letting us know they were doing this, and that a box was now required.