

karpodiem

Hail to The Victors

Premium Member

join:2008-05-20

Troy, MI 1 edit karpodiem Premium Member Count me in My sister (25) and I (28) each pay our folks $25/month to use two Slingboxes I've setup at our parents house for live TV.

ke4pym

Premium Member

join:2004-07-24

Charlotte, NC ke4pym Premium Member Re: Count me in said by karpodiem: My sister (25) and I (28) each pay our folks $25/month to use two Slingboxes I've setup at our parents house for live TV.



I don't think either of us will ever pay for cable TV as long as that technical solution still works. Erm. Pssst. You're still paying for cable TV. You're just paying a middle man to not have to deal with them directly.



karpodiem

Hail to The Victors

Premium Member

join:2008-05-20

Troy, MI karpodiem Premium Member Re: Count me in ...I think you understand what I'm trying to say though.



cableties

Premium Member

join:2005-01-27 5 recommendations cableties Premium Member Re: Count me in Yeah. Your parents are paying for the cable! :P



karpodiem

Hail to The Victors

Premium Member

join:2008-05-20

Troy, MI ·WOW Internet and..

·Comcast XFINITY

karpodiem Premium Member Re: Count me in I'm honestly surprised this hasn't become more widespread. Get a router that manages bandwidth (» www.gargoyle-router.com/ ) and pay via bitcoin (too technical for the public at large, which is desirable filter). Easy $30-40/month.



Majestik

World Traveler

Premium Member

join:2001-05-11

Tulsa, OK Majestik Premium Member Re: Count me in I know many people who are sharing cost of pay TV and Internet outside of Tulsa using long range wifi antennas. I'm stuck with basic cable because it's with my condo. Don't watch it but a couple of friends used to connect to my Slingbox in Brazil and Italy. I watch BBC from my Slingbox in Switzerland.

Just canceled my internet and only using my grandfathered unlimited iPad/iPhone.My neighbor gave me access to her cox ultimate business internet.

Have access to slingboxes from Brazil,Italy,and OTA in Virginia and a 15 mile range wifi antenna.

jjeffeory

jjeffeory

join:2002-12-04

Bullhead City, AZ jjeffeory to karpodiem

Member to karpodiem

Bitcoin just got more complicated as well with the way the IRS classifies it.



dvd536

as Mr. Pink as they come

Premium Member

join:2001-04-27

Phoenix, AZ dvd536 to ke4pym

Premium Member to ke4pym

highly doubt you can get the package the parents have for $25!

ke4pym

Premium Member

join:2004-07-24

Charlotte, NC ke4pym Premium Member Re: Count me in said by dvd536: highly doubt you can get the package the parents have for $25! Indeed. But they're still paying for cable. That doesn't count as "cutting the cord".



NOYB

St. John 3.16

Premium Member

join:2005-12-15

Forest Grove, OR 1 recommendation NOYB Premium Member Re: Count me in

From a revenue standpoint for the cable company it is the same thing. No revenue from two households.



One difference though would be if the parents subscribe to more due to the subsidy from their two kids. So maybe it becomes the equivalent of one cord cutter instead of two.



eliasv

@threembb.co.uk eliasv Anon Re: Count me in It's not the same thing from their perspective at all. *Actual* cord-cutting describes a trend which leads to people not using cable *at all*. In this case, these people are still relying on a cable subscription. If everyone did this, cable companies would still get paid directly by customers. If everyone just used netflix instead, they wouldn't. That's a pretty massive difference if you think about the wider context.



IowaCowboy

Supermarket Hero

Premium Member

join:2010-10-16

Springfield, MA IowaCowboy Premium Member Went to Satellite I have DirecTV for TV. Enough said.

Mystic95Z

join:2005-05-10

Dunedin, FL Mystic95Z Member Re: Went to Satellite Same here but when my contract is up in August I'll be using a HD antenna and Netflix + Hulu Plus from that point on...



bmccoy

join:2013-03-18

Port Orchard, WA bmccoy to IowaCowboy

Member to IowaCowboy

That's not 'cutting the cord', that's what's called 'changing providers'.

nfotiu

join:2009-01-25 nfotiu Member How are cord cutters saving money I have a question for cord cutters. Are you actually able to save some money? My internet options here are FIOS and Comcast. With both options, I save money by at least accepting basic tv (I don't watch it, or even pay for a cable box/cablecard to get the channels). Their internet plus basic tv is cheaper than naked internet, so where is the incentive to cut out the tv package?



Majestik

World Traveler

Premium Member

join:2001-05-11

Tulsa, OK Majestik Premium Member Re: How are cord cutters saving money Most I know save 50-$180/mo. I canceled premium cable long ago. Then Cox removed the scifi channel from basic for a few years but I wasn't going to pay $50/mo. just for one channel. I'm sure many took the bait.

I have other internet access options.



deputydong

@cox.net deputydong Anon Re: How are cord cutters saving money I pay for cable but if I did cut TV out, I would save about $60 a month.

Millenium

join:2013-10-30 Millenium to nfotiu

Member to nfotiu

Every market is different, but Time Warner recently made using Netflix very affordable with their new $15/internet. You can't stream the content in HD over the 2/1 line. But we can maintain two low def streams simultaneously without issue.



$8 for Netflix. $15 for Internet. $23 total. No commercials. Watch what you want, when you want. I have no complaints.



NOYB

St. John 3.16

Premium Member

join:2005-12-15

Forest Grove, OR NOYB Premium Member Re: How are cord cutters saving money said by Millenium: Watch what you want, when you want.

Not true. Netflix nor any other online streaming carries what I want to watch. Live NBA, NFL.



You should be making that statement personal; "Watch what I want, when I want." Not true. Netflix nor any other online streaming carries what I want to watch. Live NBA, NFL.You should be making that statement personal; "Watch what I want, when I want."

Millenium

join:2013-10-30 Millenium Member Re: How are cord cutters saving money Netflix content was implied.

Chubbysumo

join:2009-12-01

Duluth, MN ·Charter

Ubee E31U2V1

(Software) pfSense

Netgear WNR3500L

Chubbysumo to nfotiu

Member to nfotiu

>I don't watch it, or even pay for a cable box/cablecard to get the channels



you are still spending more money. Just because its a sale does not make it cheaper. Even if I got just "basic" cable(which is useless at charter now), It would cost $79 per month, and would bring my internet down to 90, so my overall bill would go up by about $50 or more, because they have no "fees" on the internet, and they fee the hell out of the TV service. When I had the TV, just to get any good channels, it cost me near $125 in their price just for the TV, and then it was $100 for the internet, and then, the total bill was closer to $250 because of the number of fees they added on to it. you do actually save money unless you are just getting a bare minimum internet tier, but even then, you usually save money. instead of paying 150+ per month for TV, I now pay about 20, and still get the same shows if I really want them.

InvalidError

join:2008-02-03 InvalidError Member Re: How are cord cutters saving money said by Chubbysumo: you are still spending more money.



Once or twice a year, my telco has a 1-year promo where internet+phone+TV is cheaper than their internet alone. I think he really means that his internet+tv bundle is cheaper than internet alone.Once or twice a year, my telco has a 1-year promo where internet+phone+TV is cheaper than their internet alone.



Brian_M

join:2004-06-19

Manchester, GA ·Charter

Brian_M to nfotiu

Member to nfotiu

Yup, I'm saving $50/month by not having TV. For the ~10 hours a week the TV is on, there's plenty to watch on Netflix/Amazon/network websites/etc... This has been true for many years, actually I can't remember a time that it Wasn't true for me (I've had HSI since 2001~2).



Cthen

Premium Member

join:2004-08-01

Detroit, MI Cthen to nfotiu

Premium Member to nfotiu

said by nfotiu: I have a question for cord cutters. Are you actually able to save some money? My internet options here are FIOS and Comcast. With both options, I save money by at least accepting basic tv (I don't watch it, or even pay for a cable box/cablecard to get the channels). Their internet plus basic tv is cheaper than naked internet, so where is the incentive to cut out the tv package?



It's not the subscription they nail you on, it's all the fees.



What incentive is there to subscribe to the TV service when everything I want to watch is available via piracy? (Which is still very rampant) For me it's $54 a month for 50/10 from Comcast just for the internet. If I want basic TV it will drop that by $10 however, the bill will jump to $109 for the HD access fee and rental for 2 boxes for those TVs plus the original monthly TV subscription.It's not the subscription they nail you on, it's all the fees.What incentive is there to subscribe to the TV service when everything I want to watch is available via piracy? (Which is still very rampant)



Rambo76098

join:2003-02-21

Columbus, OH Rambo76098 to nfotiu

Member to nfotiu

My carrier, basic + internet is $70/mo. I'm paying $50/mo for just the internet, same speed package. Add in the $40/yr for student Amazon Prime, and I'm saving $200 a year and getting free 2 day shipping.



bwodd

@comcast.net bwodd to nfotiu

Anon to nfotiu

I dont even keep netflix installed all the time. Mostly I watch youtube. One month if I hear of something I want to watch on it, I renew my subscription for a month and watch it. I spend maybe 50$ a year. Thats 12 times cheaper than what I paid for basic cable that never had anything to watch. Also consider television networks often have their own streaming, with fewer commercials or sometimes none at all. Ive been watching the new cosmos right on fox, and rick and morty right on adult swim. Soo friggen awesome.



goredmatador

@rcn.com goredmatador to nfotiu

Anon to nfotiu

When I was with Comcast, the "Internet only" plan was $3 more per month than the "Internet plus the most basic cable package available". It was around 10 channels, mostly the big networks like ABC, CBS, NBC, etc - but in the ~3 years I had that plan, I never even connected the coax cable from my wall into the TV - it went directly into my cable modem only.



So, I technically *had* some level of cable TV subscription, but I didn't use it. I suspect Comcast arranged their pricing models to encourage people like me to at least have *some* kind of cable TV going into their home so they could make their subscriber numbers look stronger than they really were.



Mannus

Premium Member

join:2005-10-25

Fort Wayne, IN Mannus Premium Member . I haven't had PayTV service for almost 5 yrs now. That's about $3000.00 I was able to spend elsewhere.



davidc502

join:2002-03-06

Mount Juliet, TN davidc502 Member Cord Cutting Studies have shown Cable companies are loosing people every day, and have had negative growth for 2 years, while the networks continue to make MORE money. How is this possible? The people who remain on cable, who continue to see their rates rise are paying for it all.



At age 43, I am a cord cutter. HD antenna(s), 1 DTV tuner card (actually has 2 tuners) in my PC to record, and PlayOn software to serve my BluRay players in other rooms. I also subscribe to Hulu and Netflix, so that off-sets some of the cable charges, but not even half. What I can't get by recording or streaming, I torrent. I do pay 5 bucks a month for VPN and Proxy, so I'm relatively safe. I've thought about renting a SeedBox in another country, but since I don't torrent that often, it would be a little bit of a waste for me, and not to mention more expensive.



Here are the dollar and ¢



Former Comcast Cable TV and Internet 120 bucks a month (reduced rate).

Current TDS Internet (Fiber) 35 bucks a month plus phone line and taxes 50 bucks a month. It is a two year deal, so eventually the deal will run out, but for now I'm saving about 900 bucks a year.



I'll have to cross the bridge in a little less than 2 years when the deal is up, but expect to save nearly 2 grand in the process that would have gone to Comcast.



The truth is I really don't miss the History or Discovery channel. lol

InvalidError

join:2008-02-03 InvalidError Member Re: Cord Cutting said by davidc502: Studies have shown Cable companies are loosing people every day, and have had negative growth for 2 years That is only part of the story: telephone and satellite TV are both gaining subscribers almost as fast as cable is losing them so the net number of TV subscribers is still relatively stable - nowhere near as many true cord-cutters as cable-only numbers say.



newview

Ex .. Ex .. Exactly

Premium Member

join:2001-10-01

Parsonsburg, MD newview Premium Member Gooodbye Commercials I dropped DirecTV after having been a subscriber for the last 11 years.



The prices just got ridiculously high and I'm fed up with paying for ESPN, Viacom, Disney, and other "bundles" just to get the channels I wanted to watch. And I also got fed up with 20 minutes out of every hour being force-fed inane commercials. I bought an Amazon FireTV and am perfectly content with Netflix and Amazon Prime.



firetv

@mycingular.net firetv Anon Why throw away money? Why pay for hundreds of channels you don't watch, expensive rental boxes and HD technology fees?



Amazon Prime and FireTV works for me.

thetodd

join:2009-02-10

Lakeland, FL thetodd Member Real Savings was paying $130 for digital cable, a cable card, and 30/3 internet. Was already paying for netflix with that so bring that total to $138. Dropped cable and added hulu plus with a digital hd antannea and now my total is $95 a month. So $33 savings a month.



IT Guy

Ow, My Balls

Premium Member

join:2004-07-29

Las Cruces, NM Cisco ASA 5505

Cisco Meraki MX64

1 recommendation IT Guy Premium Member Proud Cord Cutter for 2 1/2 Years I am a proud cord cutter of almost 2 1/2 years now and I will not look back! I'm tired of the extortion for shit channels, bogus rental fees, etc... I think rental fees need to be addressed. Once you have paid a fair retail value for the equipment, those fees need to stop!



Ark4

join:2002-06-08

Lansing, MI Ark4 Member I cut the cord, but I also cut Netflix My TV was Dish and Netflix in the past, but now I have neither. The amount of content I wanted to watch on either one just kept dwindling slowly over time, to the point where I just cancelled both at the same time. Now my 60" TV can pretty much only watch YouTube via a laptop with HDMI. And there is a lot more interesting things to be found on YouTube.



Basically, every time there was a good show I liked to watch on Dish somewhere, it turned into a Firefly and got itself cancelled. Netflix cut their ties with Starz, and (more importantly to me) Funimation, and my instant-watch queue just fell apart before I could watch anything I wanted. Most of the stuff available on disc that I wanted to get from Netflix would end up on perpetual long-wait with broken discs and half of the series of 6 discs just missing forever, so I can't complete any series anymore.



Got sick of all that and figured I can just buy things on disc for cheaper than I was paying for Dish/Netflix, but I ended up not even doing that. Saved so much money and YouTube, etc, has so much free stuff to occupy me when I actually want to sit down and watch something.



Geist

@159.87.93.x Geist Anon Pit aside your fears and step into the future. I cut the cord nearly 5 years ago and never looked back. In that time I have even convinced my parents (in there mid 60's) to do the same. After they say how much content is available using Netflix, Hulu and apps for the channels such as History and A&E and saw the side by side comparison of my bill vs theirs it was a no brainer. Also once the Roku 3 came out it became easy enough to convince my father to take the plunge.



The biggest problem I have encountered when discussing this with people is the fear they have that there is no content available or that it is too complicated. Both of these fears are completely unfounded. Since I cut the cord I am watching more programming at a fraction of the price and everything is on demand. To me the archaic delivery system of 1000 channels to flip through and you can never seem to find what youre looking for makes no sense. If more people could set aside their fear and take the leap cable companies would be forced to change course.



I do recognize that sports are really the lynchpin holding the floodgates shut. I am not a real sports fan so limited access to sports was not a deterrent for me. Thats why I pray that the new WWE network is a smashing success, and all indications are that it is heading that way. Once the NFL, NBA, NHL, etc. see that severing ties with cable companies and creating ways for customers to access content directly (and pay the leagues directly) can be profitable it's game over for bundled packages.



NOYB

St. John 3.16

Premium Member

join:2005-12-15

Forest Grove, OR NOYB Premium Member Re: Pit aside your fears and step into the future. said by Geist : Once the NFL, NBA, NHL, etc. see that severing ties with cable companies and creating ways for customers to access content directly (and pay the leagues directly) can be profitable it's game over for bundled packages.

Hope so. It's the change I'm waiting and hoping for. And the sooner the better. Hope so. It's the change I'm waiting and hoping for. And the sooner the better.

tabernak4

join:2013-08-10 tabernak4 to Geist

Member to Geist

said by Geist : I do recognize that sports are really the lynchpin holding the floodgates shut.



My Dad is in his 60's and if he could get tennis coverage streamed he'd cut the cord too. If ESPN ever decides to make all their coverage available in some online format, the cable/satellite companies should be afraid. Agreed. College football is the only thing I miss occasionally and sports in general is the most frequent reason I hear people haven't cut the cord. I'm 33 and I cut the cord 1.5 years ago and don't regret it.My Dad is in his 60's and if he could get tennis coverage streamed he'd cut the cord too. If ESPN ever decides to make all their coverage available in some online format, the cable/satellite companies should be afraid.

pittpete1

join:2009-06-12 pittpete1 Member Blah,blah,blah Wait till they get married and have kids

It all changes



Geist

@159.87.93.x Geist Anon Re: Blah,blah,blah I'm married and have 3 kids. Netflix is a parents best friend. They have a ton of kids programming and zero commercials. No more bothersom requests for the latest and greatest piece of overpriced plastic junk. Since kids will watch same episode over and over its an even better deal.



Rabbit

@comcast.net Rabbit to pittpete1

Anon to pittpete1

I'm married and have 2 kids. We have an AppleTv with Hulu and Netflix... Love it.



sman83

@ssa.gov sman83 Anon No Pay TV Here I havent had pay TV in 2+ years, 30yr old here. HTPC with OTA 4 tuners and the usual Netflix, Hulu..

elray

join:2000-12-16

Santa Monica, CA elray Member Newspeak, again So now "Cord cutting" encompasses those who never had a cord to cut, and those who preserved the cord for broadband.



The bottom line is that pay-tv and broadband are priced for households and assuming multiple users, and thus, may have a price point that is just too much for a single person - of any age, even though many of the same population are yet willing to spend upwards of $100/month on a single cellphone.



train_wreck

slow this bird down

join:2013-10-04

Antioch, TN 1 edit train_wreck Member more expensive to get just internet for some reason, it has always been cheaper, in my area, to pay for TV+internet than just internet. go fig. proud 24yo who has never paid for a TV cable boxfor some reason, it has always been cheaper, in my area, to pay for TV+internet than just internet. go fig.

garfield

join:2011-03-12

Columbus, GA garfield Member (pay) tv free for 2 years Cut my monthly bill for Basic cable TV and 30/5 (normal speeds) bill from it's high of just over a hundred down to $51 a month. Dropped it when the rate was to go up another $10 or so a month. No Netflix here, just occasional delayed viewing on the 'net , free Hulu sometimes. Found saving $50 a month had an added benefit--I've gotten back to reading more

15444104 (banned)

join:2012-06-11 15444104 (banned) Member Cut the "cord" and never looked back I had DirecTV from 2009 until 2011 and finally dumped them when the prices kept going up and the amount of quality programming continued to become less and less, not to mention the amount of ad time during each program which has become ridiculous!



Haven't missed it a bit, been using Charter internet only had internet lite for 20$/mo until 2012 and then caved because the new CEO decided to force ALL subs unto the only tier they offer now 30/4 at a unreasonable 57$/mo.



I fired Charter and now I'm with ATT with

basic DSL for 20$/mo for 6 months and then

36$/mo after. I just refuse to pay over 40$/mo for ANY internet service no matter what speeds. After all nobody needs internet service either.



If I have to I will cancel internet service entirely and just head back to the library and my workplace which allows us to use the internet at times as long as we get our work done.

40757180 (banned)

join:2009-11-01 40757180 (banned) Member Cord cutting is a myth Netflix and other services don't have current stuff instead they are one season behind. So if you don't care about being in a group and not being able to talk about what others are watching then ye that service is for you. Majority of the people are paying for service and will continue to do so.

Limboaz

join:2014-04-20

USA Limboaz Member Century Link If you live in an urban area serviced by Centurylink, you may soon have another viable option for high speed Internet. In Phoenix, where I live, Centurylink is laying fiber everywhere. This allows them to use the copper wire in your home to deliver Internet speeds up to 40 Mbps, as well as IP based TV (prism). I switched from Cox, and am getting a full year of 40 Mbps service for $30/mo. Having two viable high speed options for Internet is a game changer as it stops the cable company from being able to screw you over if you drop cable TV. Supplying high speed Internet is like a new gold rush, except for those who live in rural areas where density doesn't make if financial viable in many cases.