We're cutting Cable/I hate comcast

[leadfootlevi]

We are now netflix/wii watchers. Woo hoo!

We will have standard cable (local channels) because if you have at least that, then you get a discount on internet so it comes out to even.

2 questions:
1) what else can we watch on the wii? I've heard about some people using you tube and/or hulu through the wii, but this may involve additional equipment?

2) are we going to have to increase our internet speed to keep up? We have the lowest cable speed available (economy - downloads up to 1.5 Mbps and uploads up to 384 Kbps) for $24.95/month. Even if we bump up, we'll still be paying less than our current cable bill (93.60 with TV and internet!!!! ) but the savings won't be as great.

Thanks!

 

[SDSorority]

We are now netflix/wii watchers. Woo hoo!

We will have standard cable (local channels) because if you have at least that, then you get a discount on internet so it comes out to even.

2 questions:
1) what else can we watch on the wii? I've heard about some people using you tube and/or hulu through the wii, but this may involve additional equipment?

2) are we going to have to increase our internet speed to keep up? We have the lowest cable speed available (economy - downloads up to 1.5 Mbps and uploads up to 384 Kbps) for $24.95/month. Even if we bump up, we'll still be paying less than our current cable bill (93.60 with TV and internet!!!! ) but the savings won't be as great.

Thanks!

We're thinking about doing the SAME thing!!!!!!! I want to know too!

 

[usnuzuloose]

For using hulu all you need is an HDMI cable from your computer to your laptop. You will need to change the sound inside the computer to accommodate the hdmi for the sound. There is hulu plus but I dont have that. Netflix is about the only thing you can watch through the wii. I dont even take on basic cable. I dont see a need for it. My husband has othe means to watch sports and news is all over the internet. Hope this helps you. Jo

 

[usnuzuloose]

Sorry for the bump I just have standard internet service through att. As long as you have internet service your good to go.

 

[elf]

We are seriously thinking of doing the same thing. I was going to get a list of shows the kids really watch and see whats available on internet, netflix, etc. Then just do it.
I really don't watch TV at all. But when I do I only watch Turner Movie Classics and I'm really going to miss that.

 

[Ava]

Sorry for the bump I just have standard internet service through att. As long as you have internet service your good to go.

Ditto. We cut cable completely and got a digital box & antenna for the TV. We get most of the major networks for free that way. Anything we don't watch on the TV (for some reason ABC never comes in) we can just watch on the network's website the next day. We don't even have Netflix. I had it for years but canceled probably a year ago. I thought about signing up again but we barely have time to keep up with the few TV shows we watch. We've cut down to 7 shows that we actually keep up with. Maybe in the summer when all the shows go on hiatus I'll get Netflix.

 

[dawson5]

you might also want to check the data limits on your comcast plan. I know they advertised "unlimited" but there actually is a cap. In years past, they would send out a notice saying that you went over the cap, but would not tell you what it is. I thought they had finally posted it. Normally people won't go over it, but with all the streaming, there is the possibility that you will/could. Better to know now than find out after they've cut your service.

This might help some:

http://customer.comcast.com/Pages/F...Asked-Questions-about-Excessive-Use#excessive

I don't know how this applies to their tiers of service though. When I first heard about the throttling, they didn't offer a higher tier. I don't know if that effects the amount you can use.

 

[SDSorority]

Yeah I think we're going to start with cutting cable and getting netflix through the Xbox (we have to get 'xbox live' in order to do that i think- for the wii is there some sort of 'live' as well that you subscribe to?)

 

[leadfootlevi]

Yeah I think we're going to start with cutting cable and getting netflix through the Xbox (we have to get 'xbox live' in order to do that i think- for the wii is there some sort of 'live' as well that you subscribe to?)

No. Just a system update, then you have to put in a code that you get from netflix. It was all free.

For those of you thinking about doing this, netflix has a free 30-day trial.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

We do this. We have wireless highspeed internet throughout the house and stream Netflix and hulu plus (out today for $7.99 a month, but we used it during the beta phase. love it) to one TV through the Wii, to the iPad which I usually have in the kitchen to watch shows while I cook dinner, to each of our laptops, and to the main TV through the Samsung blu-ray player.

We have basic cable (for the networks/news) @ $17 a month and internet for $30 a month, and netflix @ $8.99 a month and Hulu plus @ $7.99. Under $60 for everything. Cable and internet previously together cost $121 and phone was an additional $35 without long distance. We also switched to Vonage so now it's $25 a month with long distance to anywhere in the world and voicemails are transcribed and sent to my email account immediately. I don't even have to be at home or call to get my messages.

I like the fact we can watch shows when our schedules permit rather than having to be home to watch or record something.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

If cutting cable isn't a money issue, FIOS is really nice, and no caps on downloads. We *hated* comcast. I don't work for verizon or anything, I just thought I'd say it's a good alternative.

 

[SDSorority]

We do this. We have wireless highspeed internet throughout the house and stream Netflix and hulu plus (out today for $7.99 a month, but we used it during the beta phase. love it) to one TV through the Wii, to the iPad which I usually have in the kitchen to watch shows while I cook dinner, to each of our laptops, and to the main TV through the Samsung blu-ray player.

We have basic cable (for the networks/news) @ $17 a month and internet for $30 a month, and netflix @ $8.99 a month and Hulu plus @ $7.99. Under $60 for everything. Cable and internet previously together cost $121 and phone was an additional $35 without long distance. We also switched to Vonage so now it's $25 a month with long distance to anywhere in the world and voicemails are transcribed and sent to my email account immediately. I don't even have to be at home or call to get my messages.

I like the fact we can watch shows when our schedules permit rather than having to be home to watch or record something.

That's what appeals to me, too!

 

[cglaura]

I have basic cable and I think what is the middle internet (the $44.95 one).

So my total bill is $57.45 per month....I also kept basic to get the discount. Also, if you can buy your own modem that will take some off the bill if renting now. It will be an initial cost at first, but over the years (I've had mine since 2000) the cost savings is pretty big. I think a modem rental is $9/month? Not sure though. And you can buy one for under $100.

I don't have a system yet to watch Netflix on my tv, trying to decide b/t Wii or Roku, but I do stream on my computer, and have no issues at all.

Also, you can go to http://www.fancast.com/full_episodes

Check the box to only show free shows, there are a ton of things to watch.

 

[Trixiezzz]

I'm thinking of trying Netflix and using it through Wii like OP said.

Are there any parental controls to prevent kids from watching PG-13 or R movies?

 

[usnuzuloose]

If you dont want to buy a gaming system there is a roku box which has net flix,mlb and some other stuff. There are the blue ray disc that have netflix as well

 

[leadfootlevi]

I'm thinking of trying Netflix and using it through Wii like OP said.

Are there any parental controls to prevent kids from watching PG-13 or R movies?

http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/wii/en_na/netflix/parental_controls.jsp

 

[minnierocks]

I'm thinking of trying Netflix and using it through Wii like OP said.

Are there any parental controls to prevent kids from watching PG-13 or R movies?

Yes...we logged onto our netflix account and set it to only show the movies that were rated what we wanted to have access to. It will keep the movies with rating that you don't want from even showing up in the list to pick from...
Also, you can see clearly when netflix first comes up what has been recently watched...so it's easy to see what everyone has been watching.
We just got this and we absolutely love it! Cancelled HBO package yesterday and we are going to remove the cable box that we have on another TV and use netflix instead.

Hope this helps!

 

[pixiewings71]

For using hulu all you need is an HDMI cable from your computer to your laptop. You will need to change the sound inside the computer to accommodate the hdmi for the sound. There is hulu plus but I dont have that. Netflix is about the only thing you can watch through the wii. I dont even take on basic cable. I dont see a need for it. My husband has othe means to watch sports and news is all over the internet. Hope this helps you. Jo

you can also hook your desktop to a cable and watch that way. We have our desktop hooked up to the cable so we can also surf while we watch TV or our recorded programs.

Yeah I think we're going to start with cutting cable and getting netflix through the Xbox (we have to get 'xbox live' in order to do that i think- for the wii is there some sort of 'live' as well that you subscribe to?)

No. Just a system update, then you have to put in a code that you get from netflix. It was all free.

For those of you thinking about doing this, netflix has a free 30-day trial.

Yup, just the system update, you don't even need a disc to watch Netflix thru your Wii now, you can simply go to the Wii Shopping Channel and do it thru there.

OP we did the same thing, dropped the home phone, dropped to the basic cable and lowest internet, our bill dropped by over $100. We love it, the only thing we miss is being able to record 2 shows at once and the whole HD thing, we have an HD TV but no HD channels. We do the lowest level of Netflix possible and it's still less then what we paid Comcast previously. We have our basic cable (local channels plus the Discovery channel) hooked up thru the desktop and we watch it thru windows media player, we are also able to record our favorite shows via wmp, but it's only 1 show at a time. Works for us tho, we just watch something else that's recorded or we watch something on Netflix while wmp is recording.

 

[HeatherC]

We have both a Wii and a Roku box. Both are great. But the Roku you can get for around $60' which is much less than the Wii.

I wonder if the cable companies will even be around in five years?

 

[SDSorority]

We have both a Wii and a Roku box. Both are great. But the Roku you can get for around $60' which is much less than the Wii.

I wonder if the cable companies will even be around in five years?

Yeah that's an interesting thought. They'll have to change their focus and marketing strategy for sure.