Cutting my Cable Subscription - Looking for Tips

[dakranii]

So my cable bill is officially too much and they won't work with me to lower it. So I'm cutting the subscription.

Here's my layout. I have an HDTV in the basement which is where my home theater setup is...bluray, gaming console. I have an SD tv on the main floor that gets the most use. I have a tv in each of 2 bedrooms upstairs, wall-mounted, used every-so-often.

I think I'm going with an over the air HD antennae, and a Roku box. I'm assuming I'd need a Roku box for the basement and main floor. I think I can run the antennae into the cable system and have my two upstairs tvs pick it up without needing an antennae for each one.

TV #1 (Basement HD) - Roku and tapped into OTA antennae
TV #2 (Main floor SD) - Roku and tapped into OTA antennae
TV #3 (Master Bedroom ED) - tapped into OTA antennae
TV #4 (Spare Bedroom ED) - tapped into OTA antennae

Any thoughts or insight? Can I run an antennae into the cable junction at some point and have the other TVs pick it up? (My cubicle neighbor says she does this).

What about Roku, can I do the same thing? Or do I need a box per TV?

Any other suggestions? I plan to subscribe to Netflix, HULU+. I wish HBO allowed a Go subscription without cable.

 

[palandri]

How are you getting internet connectivity?

 

[MaxPower203]

While I can't help you with your setup, I can tell you that I ditched cable over four years ago and haven't missed it at all. I do have a Netflix subscription that I use but even that isn't used often.

When I had TV, I couldn't imagine how people survived without it. Now that it's gone, I can't imagine how people live WITH it.

 

[dakranii]

How are you getting internet connectivity?

Cable right now. That's part of the problem, I have no alternatives. Centurylink is the other high-speed ISP but they are "full" no capacity left for new subscribers. Which has been the case with them every time I've checked over the last few years. I was a previous subscriber to their services, but 1.5 MBPS was the highest speed they offered at that time.

 

[rdubmu]

You don't need a roku box if you have an Xbox. If you own a Mac, apple TV works great with streaming from your desktop. For example all of abc's shows are free for streaming. How much are you paying for your internet, cable? I currently pay for HFN (exclusive to the Issaquah Highlands) and Comcast. Comcast basic is about $55 per month, and HFN with 100 MBPS is $55 as well for a total of $110
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[rdubmu]

Also do you currently subscribe to Hulu or Netflix?
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[HeyCori]

Cable right now. That's part of the problem, I have no alternatives. Centurylink is the other high-speed ISP but they are "full" no capacity left for new subscribers. Which has been the case with them every time I've checked over the last few years. I was a previous subscriber to their services, but 1.5 MBPS was the highest speed they offered at that time.

1.5mb plan? Ouch. I'm on Comcast's 3mb plan right now but I used to have their 20mb plan and there is a very noticeable difference.

Also, do you have any current video game systems in the house? They're great for streaming Hulu/Netflix.

 

[dakranii]

You don't need a roku box if you have an Xbox. If you own a Mac, apple TV works great with streaming from your desktop. For example all of abc's shows are free for streaming. How much are you paying for your internet, cable? I currently pay for HFN (exclusive to the Issaquah Highlands) and Comcast. Comcast basic is about $55 per month, and HFN with 100 MBPS is $55 as well for a total of $110

I don't have an Xbox or a Mac. That's why I thought Roku might be better for me. $59 per tv that needs one, rather than the higher costs of other options. I do have a Wii hooked up to the basement tv, but I can't imagine it streams better or has a better interface than a Roku.

my current cable internet is 15 mbps as part of a bundle with phone and tv, which I'm cancelling. The option for standalone is $44.95 for the first year, $54.95 after that.

I do not currently subscribe to Hulu or Netflix because I have cable with DVR. I will subscribe to those without cable.

 

[dakranii]

1.5mb plan? Ouch. I'm on Comcast's 3mb plan right now but I used to have their 20mb plan and there is a very noticeable difference.

Also, do you have any current video game systems in the house? They're great for streaming Hulu/Netflix.

Yes, I agree. 1.5 was painful. I thought, when I subscribed "no big deal, I can live with it." I switched as soon as I could.

 

[speedtouch]

Can I run an antennae into the cable junction at some point and have the other TVs pick it up? (My cubicle neighbor says she does this).

What about Roku, can I do the same thing? Or do I need a box per TV?

I am sure connecting an antenna to the cable junction box would be just fine. I can't think of a reason why it wouldn't work. I use an antenna, but it's directly connected to my TV. It's an amplified antenna too, which is something I would highly recommend you buy.

I also have a Roku. You'll have to buy a Roku for each TV you want to use it on. It has only one HDMI output, so it can be used on just one TV at a time. And if you're trying to figure out how to get Internet to your Roku boxes I can recommend Actiontec or TrendNet 500 Mbps powerline adapters. I use them and they're superb for streaming video as well as playing online video games. I play Battlefield 3 on my PC all the time across my powerline adapters. WiFi access on the Roku box works, but I had buffering troubles often when on WiFi. Once I switched to powerline the buffering issues went away and overall speed of the Roku accessing video streams was *much* faster.

 

[palandri]

Cable right now. That's part of the problem, I have no alternatives. Centurylink is the other high-speed ISP but they are "full" no capacity left for new subscribers. Which has been the case with them every time I've checked over the last few years. I was a previous subscriber to their services, but 1.5 MBPS was the highest speed they offered at that time.

You can't get a DSL where you are? I have DirecTV and a DSL for internet. 6 down and 1 up so it's fast enough.

 

[Laura Knotek]

You can't get a DSL where you are? I have DirecTV and a DSL for internet. 6 down and 1 up so it's fast enough.

CenturyLink is a telephone provider. I was not aware of any telecom companies that were not accepting new DSL subscribers. That's weird to me, since I would think that the copper lines are already in place.

 

[dakranii]

You can't get a DSL where you are? I have DirecTV and a DSL for internet. 6 down and 1 up so it's fast enough.

DSL exists where I live, but every time I call to check on subscribing, they tell me they are "full." And I can't put my name on a waiting list to be notified, I have to just apparently call when someone has just cancelled. We live in one of the fastest growing counties in the US, so it must be the result of growing pains, too much too fast.

 

[JerseySal]

I would love to get "off the grid" in terms of tv.

 

[dakranii]

It's an amplified antenna too, which is something I would highly recommend you buy.

Any particular brand/model you recommend? I haven't purchased an antenna

Actiontec or TrendNet 500 Mbps powerline adapters. I use them and they're superb for streaming video as well as playing online video games.

That reminds me, I have a trendnet powerline adapter. When I got it, I was on cable internet and it worked great. I switched to DSL years ago, which meant my set-up changed, and I couldn't get the powerline adapter to work through the outlet it was plugged into. Then I switched back to cable and my original setup, but the powerline adapter still wouldn't work. It must have gone bad. I'll need to change that.

 

[rdubmu]

does century link have FIOS, I thought it shouldn't have the effect on how many people are on. FIOS is pretty fast, and better than DSL and Cable. in a fast growing area I would expect Century Link to give more resources to your area.
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[JerseySal]

disableMycable - Save thousands on cable TV bills

 

[dakranii]

does century link have FIOS, I thought it shouldn't have the effect on how many people are on. FIOS is pretty fast, and better than DSL and Cable. in a fast growing area I would expect Century Link to give more resources to your area.

It does not appear that we have FiOS. I would expect them to give more resources too. And I think they are growing, but maybe not as fast as the demand.

 

[saulgould13]

Dropped cable a while ago, not a big fan of the idiot box, I will give PBS some due props.. Would rather save that money and put food in my fridge.

 

[ultralight23]

I gave up on cable last year and haven't looked back yet, I did have basic cable but Comcast raised it and that was the final straw. Now I have Roku 2 XS with Hulu, amazon prime, Netflix and love watching movies on vudu. All this on 20mbps DSL, funny thing is it jumped up from 6mbps just 1 1\2 miles down the road when I moved a couple of weeks ago, so you may be just beside available bandwidth. Also, read somewhere that you need at least 4-5 mbps just to stream HD movies, so consider that when watching movies simultaneously in different rooms plus whatever other bandwidth you're using, WiFi, etc.