OT: We are Free!!!

[William]

Well, as I posted before, we were getting really tired of cable/FIOS T.V. and were debating just cutting it off. Last week we pulled the plug and we don't miss it one bit....to the point of not even thinking about it.

We didn't watch a lot of television anyway (our kids aren't allowed to during the week) yet when we did, the commercial to content ratio was absurd. And even when the content is running they run commercials in the corner of the screen. :crap: I also found it amazing that with the hundreds of channels you get, there were so many times when you turn it on and there is nothing interesting to watch (subjective I know).

I will miss the Tour coverage on Versus, but I'm sure I can find something online. Otherwise, Netflix does the job when needed.

:banana: FREE AT LAST!!! :banana:



William

[AngryScientist]

good to hear. i'm about to do a cost/benefit analysis myself.

question though, where do you get your internet and phone?

for me, i have a "bundle" and my internet and phone bill would go up quite a bit if i axed cable.

[thinpin]

Im not free, but I am very cheap.

[MattTuck]

Nice job!

I've always watched TdF on Versus, but have been watching all the races this year via cyclingfans.com to get the Eurosport feed (in fact, will be doing that in a few minutes for Tour de Suiss).

It's not as nice of a picture, but you can watch it via the web!

Congrats on getting rid of cable. Hulu is another option for watching some shows.

There are maybe a dozen or so shows I'll watch, plus sports... I wish I could just pick the 10 or so channels that get the most use.

[William]

good to hear. i'm about to do a cost/benefit analysis myself.

question though, where do you get your internet and phone?

for me, i have a "bundle" and my internet and phone bill would go up quite a bit if i axed cable.

We were bundled as well but we kept both with Verizon FIOS. We checked other options with competitors and when we canceled the TV we haggled with the rep and got a "managers over ride" :rolleyes: to get a decent deal. It helps to let them know that you know what the competition is offering.



William

[junkfood]

We have been cable free for the last 6 years, and we love it. We have one tv in the household and it is smaller than our IMAC screen.
We have also have netflix and watch streaming movies online some evenings, and our two kids watch some cartoons on Saturday and Sunday mornings. It made us a much more productive household. On rare occasions I miss it, but for the most part I never think about it.

Jake

[SEABREEZE]

good to hear. i'm about to do a cost/benefit analysis myself.

question though, where do you get your internet and phone?

for me, i have a "bundle" and my internet and phone bill would go up quite a bit if i axed cable.

AS >>> I live Rural, and there is no cable, for internet, I use verizion wirless, its not high speed, but it does the job, the bonus is you can take it mobile with you where ever you travel, with up to 4 computer users having acces to the net. in the vechile.

[regiolanthe]

Stick up a good antenna, amp, and rotor - and there's plenty of entertainment available OTA with the new digital sub-channels. Plus, the OTA picture is fantastic in hi-def.

Reg.

[Ahneida Ride]

frn is next ! :cool:

[merlinmurph]

So, what do you use for a bittorrent client? :rolleyes:

[ultraman6970]

utorrent :p

[Fixed]

apple t.v. here
cheers

[BillG]

Hulu Plus is very worth getting now that nearly the whole Criterion Collection (and the rest will be on it soon).

[Nil Else]

It's ridiculous (I just have 'one above basic' cable service) but I'm glad we have it right now though... as I'm watching US Open golf (one of longest golf coverage!) and I'm really enjoying it. It's nice to have when I wanna vege out and be a couch potato sometimes.

I watch... let's see...:

- History Channels (Probably the channel I watch the most... how things are made and Armageddon :help: etc... and I like that Vegas pawn shop show and the picker show but too many repeats)
- Travel channel (Bourdain thing mostly :rolleyes: )
- Discover (Survival programs are funny.)
- Bio (Out of body experiences etc :banana: )
- a bunch of PBS things like Charlie Rose, Nova, Frontline, Documentaries etc etc (PBS is free but with cable you get multiple/other city's PBS programs as well so I get more choice)
- Sports Channels: Football, Golf (I like watching golf more than playing :p sometimes), Tennis, Cycling, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey etc
- I like HG channel's Int'l House Buying show.

I think that's about it. I'd like to get other channels like Science but I refuse to pay more. The area I stay at mostly these days gets zero over the air signals, period. So without cable we don't get tv. Basically I just like having tv on as a side distraction to glance at occasionally mostly since I work at home and I need to be at my desk a lot but I guess I would enjoy quietness as well and... save about $6-700/yr.

[wooly]

I don't know what I'd do without American Idol, Survivor, dancing with the stars...

[Ahneida Ride]

a friend has Satellite.

500 Channels and all noise.

and if you can find ONE interesting show .... there are so many commercials
that it ain't even worth watching.

[fiamme red]

I almost never watch TV shows that have commercials. But for me, cable is worth it in order to to get Turner Classic Movies ("uncut and commercial-free"). I also watch some shows on my local public stations.

[Hawker]

William, congrats. Keep us posted on the withdrawal, I've often thought about it but not sure I could do it.

Now...what about caffeine? :)

[Nil Else]

I almost never watch TV shows that have commercials.

I always try to have alternate stations to hop back and forth (if I remember...) but the truth is I get all my work done during the commercial breaks (if there's something worth paying attention on). :D

[William]

Now...what about caffeine? :)


NEVER!!!! :D




William

[1centaur]

Thread drift but worth a mention: son of a friend just graduated from grad school and moved into a new apartment. Had to choose between Comcast and FIOS and picked the latter for the much higher data speed and lack of sharing bandwidth that is the FIOS calling card. Had it installed, then went to marvel at the download and upload speed and found it to be really slow. Called Verizon to ask what the heck. Multiple indifferent phone reps later, turns out they installed DSL (because they did not have fiber to the building) and did not tell him. Quote: "Well, we did install FIOS."

Be careful out there.

[binxnyrwarrsoul]

Thread drift but worth a mention: son of a friend just graduated from grad school and moved into a new apartment. Had to choose between Comcast and FIOS and picked the latter for the much higher data speed and lack of sharing bandwidth that is the FIOS calling card. Had it installed, then went to marvel at the download and upload speed and found it to be really slow. Called Verizon to ask what the heck. Multiple indifferent phone reps later, turns out they installed DSL (because they did not have fiber to the building) and did not tell him. Quote: "Well, we did install FIOS."

Be careful out there.
Isn't here a 30 day return policy with FIOS? I seem to remember that in their ads. Seedy business practices seem to come with the territory with cable companies.

[Peter P.]

I've never owned a TV.

The only time I watch a TV is when I visit my mom in the nursing home and join her watching the tube. I find it inane and annoying.

I don't know how anyone can stand it.

[Louis]

William, welcome to the club. I've been TV-less for at least fifteen years.

The only time I really miss it is during the soccer World Cup. For the Super Bowl I just go to a friend's house (something I'd probably do even if I did have a tv).

I get movies via Netflix (cd's in the mail) but the last year or so I've probably been averaging one movie every three months or so.

There's just too much other fun stuff to do in life to waste free time watching television.

Louis

[darkadious]

Thread drift but worth a mention: son of a friend just graduated from grad school and moved into a new apartment. Had to choose between Comcast and FIOS and picked the latter for the much higher data speed and lack of sharing bandwidth that is the FIOS calling card. Had it installed, then went to marvel at the download and upload speed and found it to be really slow. Called Verizon to ask what the heck. Multiple indifferent phone reps later, turns out they installed DSL (because they did not have fiber to the building) and did not tell him. Quote: "Well, we did install FIOS."

Be careful out there.

that's ridiculous. makes you think about how many people they've tricked in doing this.

[William]

William, welcome to the club. I've been TV-less for at least fifteen years.

The only time I really miss it is during the soccer World Cup. For the Super Bowl I just go to a friend's house (something I'd probably do even if I did have a tv).

I get movies via Netflix (cd's in the mail) but the last year or so I've probably been averaging one movie every three months or so.

There's just too much other fun stuff to do in life to waste free time watching television.

Louis

I hear you. We have had it for about four years or so but before that I don't think we did since college.

You find lots of things to do when you aren't staring at a box. :)



William