Cable Free at Last!

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
User avatar
VictoriaF
Posts: 20122
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 6:27 am
Location: Black Swan Lake

Re: Cable Free at Last!

Post by VictoriaF »

JMacDonald wrote:While one can save some money by not having cable, there is a positive side effect by not watching a lot of television:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/1 ... -dont-sit/
The research, published in separate medical journals this month, adds to a growing scientific consensus that the more time someone spends sitting, especially in front of the television, the shorter and less robust his or her life may be.
I am going to take a walk. :happy
The problems with TV (cable) are two-fold: the physical deterioration from sitting and the mental deterioration from atrophied critical thinking. The former could be alleviated by walking on a treadmill, the latter is hopeless.

Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
User avatar
Hexdump
Posts: 1626
Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2008 7:28 am
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: Cable Free at Last!

Post by Hexdump »

parsi1 wrote:What kind of TV antena do you all use to get free HD from air? can you please post a link to a site like amazon that sell that kind of antena.
Thanks
This is what I just installed in the attic.
Antennacraft HDX1000.
It works great along side of Roku.

http://www.antennacraft.net/Antennas/An ... ified.html
User avatar
stemikger
Posts: 4950
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 5:02 am

Re: Cable Free at Last!

Post by stemikger »

DTSC wrote:
stemikger wrote:
magicmom wrote:Hooked up my new antenna!!
Cancelled Comcast!!
Have Netflix!!
Yippee!!
$$$$ saved.
Congratulations, I did this in 2008 and never went back. You might also want to join Amazon Prime. Along with the many great benefits, it comes with tons of free content to watch to compliment your Netflix.
I was thinking about getting Amazon Prime, but how is it different from Netflix?
Although it does have a lot of the same content, there is enough of a differnce that makes it worth it. Also, it has a cool feature that costs a bit of money, but nothing compared to a cable bill. There are current versions of many of the TV shows you can only find on cable and you can buy them per season or per episode right from your TV. It also has a selection of movies that are still out in the theaters, but you can watch them at home. I love the fact that for a small price I can legally watch a film that is still in the movies in the comfort of my own home. You can buy many shows and movies or you can rent them for 48 hours.

Good Luck. I love not paying that cable bill!!
Choose Simplicity ~ Stay the Course!! ~ Press on Regardless!!!
User avatar
stemikger
Posts: 4950
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 5:02 am

Re: Cable Free at Last!

Post by stemikger »

wjwhitney wrote:Thanks in part to the advantage of boglehead style investing, I am able to easily afford the cost of cable. No jumping through hoops to hook up antennae to get OTA brodcasts, no netflix, no roku, no home-made pc-based dvr, and no scouring the internet to get poor video quality bootleg sports (and the threats of virus infection they bring). I quit beating myself up over spending $60-$70 per month for cable.
Hey different strokes for differnt folks. However, for me there was no jumping through hoops. I paid someone to install an antenna on my roof, this was a one time fee of $350 and I bought 4 Roku Boxes and I was done. Not sure if I could consider that jumping through hoops.

Also, just think what that $60-$70 per month would look line in a mutual fund in 20 years. : )
Choose Simplicity ~ Stay the Course!! ~ Press on Regardless!!!
User avatar
telemark
Posts: 3389
Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2012 6:35 am

Re: Cable Free at Last!

Post by telemark »

Sidney wrote:Spouse has a couple favorite cable channels. Tried Netflix but never found anything worth watching. Cable bill is cheaper than divorce attorney.
With me it's the opposite, I have more in my Netflix queue than I will ever find time to watch. I have to keep an eye out for expiration dates. I think it has to do with the nature of a streaming subscription: it's already paid for, I can watch it immediately, whenever I want, and if I don't like something I can just try something else. So I look at things I would never have watched otherwise.

For example, if you have a subscription take a look at Carlos Saura's Fados. It's wonderful, but I probably would never have seen it and I already own his Flamenco DVDs. But hurry, because it goes away on October 20.
Topic Author
magicmom
Posts: 525
Joined: Sat Dec 15, 2007 4:04 pm
Location: Neptune Beach, Fl
Contact:

Re: Cable Free at Last!

Post by magicmom »

I have NEtflix and Roku also. Can anyone suggest some good Free Roku channels to add to my list?
User avatar
stemikger
Posts: 4950
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 5:02 am

Re: Cable Free at Last!

Post by stemikger »

Deleted
Last edited by stemikger on Fri Oct 19, 2012 6:39 am, edited 2 times in total.
Choose Simplicity ~ Stay the Course!! ~ Press on Regardless!!!
User avatar
stemikger
Posts: 4950
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 5:02 am

Re: Cable Free at Last!

Post by stemikger »

magicmom wrote:I have NEtflix and Roku also. Can anyone suggest some good Free Roku channels to add to my list?
Sidney wrote:Spouse has a couple favorite cable channels. Tried Netflix but never found anything worth watching. Cable bill is cheaper than divorce attorney.
It's not free, but its only $3.99 a year but well worth. It is a channel called MultiQs and it turbocharges your Netflix. It is a much easier and effective way to see what is really on Netflix. Their design is horrible, but MultiQs fixes all that.
Choose Simplicity ~ Stay the Course!! ~ Press on Regardless!!!
Topic Author
magicmom
Posts: 525
Joined: Sat Dec 15, 2007 4:04 pm
Location: Neptune Beach, Fl
Contact:

Re: Cable Free at Last!

Post by magicmom »

WHere do I find it?
cheapedy
Posts: 70
Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2011 2:44 am

Re: Cable Free at Last!

Post by cheapedy »

http://www.filmon.com You can watch major networks for free.

http://www.tvfool.com Great info for setting up your antenna.
User avatar
pennstater2005
Posts: 2509
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2012 8:50 pm

Re: Cable Free at Last!

Post by pennstater2005 »

JMacDonald wrote:While one can save some money by not having cable, there is a positive side effect by not watching a lot of television:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/1 ... -dont-sit/
The research, published in separate medical journals this month, adds to a growing scientific consensus that the more time someone spends sitting, especially in front of the television, the shorter and less robust his or her life may be.
I am going to take a walk. :happy
What about sitting in front of the computer….I might be in trouble. :D
“If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.” – Earl Wilson
harrychan
Posts: 2046
Joined: Sun Nov 14, 2010 8:37 pm
Location: Pasadena

Re: Cable Free at Last!

Post by harrychan »

I cancelled cable only because we just went on a 6 weeks vacation. We are planning to get it back once we find out which providers will provide the new Lakers channel. Big time Lakers fan and my wife watched TV dramas and news in her mother language. We get the cheapest digital service which is about $49/month. I'll gladly save elsewhere to get my cable tv.
This is not legal or certified financial advice but you know that already.
dwang
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Apr 16, 2012 8:07 pm

Re: Cable Free at Last!

Post by dwang »

We got rid of paid TV programming (Dish Network) a couple of years ago, and we are glad we did it. We installed a what we thought powerful outdoor antenna (with a power amplifier). The antenna is advertised to be capable of receiving signals from transmitters 60+ miles away. The result is great. The picture quality of several frequently watched channels are truly HD quality and lot better than that from our paid service. We are still too busy too have much TV time in our daily life anyway, and our kids are gone, thus there is no more high demand for discovery, history, family and educational channels, etc. Plus, with internet, the need for TV is not that great any more. So it works out for us just fine, and there is no turning back.
Post Reply