Well, I cancelled cable
09-14-09 | 07:59 AM
#51
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Re: Well, I cancelled cable
I finally did it. I got rid of the triple-play package and left myself with only internet service. They kept me on hold forever to do it too. My bill should drop from around 140 a month to around 50 a month.
I thought the final cancellation person was pretty funny. They offered me the family package with DVR for $90 a month. I was tempted, but stood firm. When I said no, she actually sounded incredulous and said "but how are you going to watch tv?" I told her that I will just stream everything.
I then signed up for the $9 Netflix plan just so I could stream on my 360 as well. A couple of questions for those who have done this, and also those who may know the answers to the following:
Can I watch Hulu or the networks' respective website streaming shows from the Wii? If so, does it work well?
How can you tell if a Netflix streaming movie is OAR before you start playing it? I was going to watch Miller's Crossing, but saw it was P&S so stopped.
How do you keep track of what shows you are watching? There are a bunch of new and returning shows I had season passes before which I now have to remind myself to eventually watch online. How did you manage this easily? I feel like I'm going to have to make up a spreadsheet to keep track.
It's strange that after not watching commercials for so long, I guess I will be forced to when streaming television. It is absolutely brutal when I watch Tool Academy. If I see that damn Nice and Easy hair dye commercial with the chick from the Office, or Drew Barrymor's makeup commercial one more damn time I'm going to lose it. And they play more than one during a break!
How the hell do you search for stuff on the 360? No search function is really ridiculous.
And for those who have done this, how did it work out? Did you go back to cable eventually? How did your viewing habits change? Any tips to ease the withdrawals?
I thought the final cancellation person was pretty funny. They offered me the family package with DVR for $90 a month. I was tempted, but stood firm. When I said no, she actually sounded incredulous and said "but how are you going to watch tv?" I told her that I will just stream everything.
I then signed up for the $9 Netflix plan just so I could stream on my 360 as well. A couple of questions for those who have done this, and also those who may know the answers to the following:
Can I watch Hulu or the networks' respective website streaming shows from the Wii? If so, does it work well?
How can you tell if a Netflix streaming movie is OAR before you start playing it? I was going to watch Miller's Crossing, but saw it was P&S so stopped.
How do you keep track of what shows you are watching? There are a bunch of new and returning shows I had season passes before which I now have to remind myself to eventually watch online. How did you manage this easily? I feel like I'm going to have to make up a spreadsheet to keep track.
It's strange that after not watching commercials for so long, I guess I will be forced to when streaming television. It is absolutely brutal when I watch Tool Academy. If I see that damn Nice and Easy hair dye commercial with the chick from the Office, or Drew Barrymor's makeup commercial one more damn time I'm going to lose it. And they play more than one during a break!
How the hell do you search for stuff on the 360? No search function is really ridiculous.
And for those who have done this, how did it work out? Did you go back to cable eventually? How did your viewing habits change? Any tips to ease the withdrawals?
There is no search function on the 360. It was only recently that they allowed you to browse movies. Also, the tv section is pretty limited in choices.
Another thing to note about Netflix streaming, some content has expiration dates. I didn't notice this until I looked at my instant streaming queue on Netflix.com. For example, the two seasons of Jericho expire on 9/22 then it is no longer available.
09-14-09 | 09:16 AM
#52
Re: Well, I cancelled cable
There is no search function on the 360. It was only recently that they allowed you to browse movies. Also, the tv section is pretty limited in choices.
Another thing to note about Netflix streaming, some content has expiration dates. I didn't notice this until I looked at my instant streaming queue on Netflix.com. For example, the two seasons of Jericho expire on 9/22 then it is no longer available.
Another thing to note about Netflix streaming, some content has expiration dates. I didn't notice this until I looked at my instant streaming queue on Netflix.com. For example, the two seasons of Jericho expire on 9/22 then it is no longer available.
09-14-09 | 05:08 PM
#53
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From: Southside Virginia
Re: Well, I cancelled cable
Obviously people have different reasons for getting/watching satellite and cable. For me, it's not just about watching 4-5 12-16 episode cable dramas a year. I also use to watch News (CNN), The Travel Channel, Discovery, Sports (ESPN, MLB Network, NFL, FSN) and a few other entertainment channels as well. If you pretty much only watch OTA programming on the big 3 networks, then yeah probably spending 60-70 bucks or more for this isn't worth it. I work in the entertainment industry (Sports) and I find the money that I spend on it (around 70-80 bucks a month) more than worth it to keep me up to date with the world, sports and pop culture and a few cool cable shows on TNT or USA. So, I don't think it's a waste of money at all.
Sports is really the killer sports app. Even with just 1-2 NFL games each week on cable depending on the week, that's a lot of action I'd miss. If I were a bigger college football fan, I'd be lost without cable. The same goes for most of the other big sports. You just can't replace that with anything else (other than satellite, which is really just an exotic way of getting the same content).
I abhor reality TV, but that's another area where cable really has no equivalent.
09-18-09 | 12:20 PM
#54
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DVD Talk Legend
Re: Well, I cancelled cable
I downloaded Playon a week ago or so, and today is the first day that Hulu actually worked. I want to give them my money, but I'm paying basically for Hulu on my 360, and if they can't keep that consistently up and running, I don't want to give them the cash.
Otherwise I can't say I have missed the cable much yet.
Otherwise I can't say I have missed the cable much yet.
09-24-09 | 02:08 PM
#56
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Re: Well, I cancelled cable
Well I'll just say that it really sucks that as soon as I give up cable, Demonoid goes down.
09-24-09 | 04:13 PM
#57
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Re: Well, I cancelled cable
The only time in my life that I have had cable, was in the dorm at college. Nowadays, I get by with an aerial antenna in the attic, and a TivoHD. In addition I have a WDTV that I use to watch shows that I have downloaded legally. That, and DVDs are all I need.
09-24-09 | 04:48 PM
#58
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From: Seattle and sometimes hell
Re: Well, I cancelled cable
Comcast is switching us over to digital and I can't use my dvr player with it. I'm thinking about dropping it since the only thing I watch is the cartoon network and cspan. I can get cspan online and the cartoon shows I can get by magic.
09-24-09 | 07:16 PM
#59
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From: In the Universe.
Re: Well, I cancelled cable
I just cancelled cable today too.
I have TW and signed up for digital cable because they offered me showtime for a year free, DVR service, and an HD Box.
Then I get the bill this month for DVR service ($10), when I picked the box up they told me this would be free as long as I had service.
I tried calling in to cancel and they are trying desperately to keep me but I tell them I will not cancel if you give me the DVR free as I originally agreed with the TW Rep in store.
I will miss Football but oh well.
I have TW and signed up for digital cable because they offered me showtime for a year free, DVR service, and an HD Box.
Then I get the bill this month for DVR service ($10), when I picked the box up they told me this would be free as long as I had service.
I tried calling in to cancel and they are trying desperately to keep me but I tell them I will not cancel if you give me the DVR free as I originally agreed with the TW Rep in store.
I will miss Football but oh well.
01-05-10 | 11:42 PM
#60
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Re: Well, I cancelled cable
Anyone know the story with myepisodes.com? It has been down since yesterday I believe, and I found that site an amazing resource, especially without my cable. Any other comparable sites I should look into?
01-06-10 | 12:47 AM
#61
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Re: Well, I cancelled cable
if thats a torrent site then check out [] its a very nice site.
Last edited by Jadzia; 01-06-10 at 09:57 PM. Reason: Removed discussion of illegal download site
01-06-10 | 01:46 AM
#62
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Well, I cancelled cable
Had a question about Netflix / TV shows. What TV shows are available for viewing through Netflix streaming? Specifically, any Spanish language TV shows?
For $9 a month for four or so DVDs (one out at a time) plus streaming TV shows, I can live with that. Plus I already have a Playstation 3 to handle the Netflix signal.
For $9 a month for four or so DVDs (one out at a time) plus streaming TV shows, I can live with that. Plus I already have a Playstation 3 to handle the Netflix signal.
01-06-10 | 06:43 AM
#63
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Re: Well, I cancelled cable
No, it's actually more like a schedule guide. You tell it what shows you want to track, and it updates daily what shows have new episodes coming up and when. You then can check off what episodes you watched and not watched yet.
Last edited by Jadzia; 01-06-10 at 09:56 PM. Reason: Removed illegal download site from quote
01-06-10 | 06:43 AM
#64
Thread Starter
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Re: Well, I cancelled cable
Had a question about Netflix / TV shows. What TV shows are available for viewing through Netflix streaming? Specifically, any Spanish language TV shows?
For $9 a month for four or so DVDs (one out at a time) plus streaming TV shows, I can live with that. Plus I already have a Playstation 3 to handle the Netflix signal.
For $9 a month for four or so DVDs (one out at a time) plus streaming TV shows, I can live with that. Plus I already have a Playstation 3 to handle the Netflix signal.
01-06-10 | 07:37 AM
#65
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Re: Well, I cancelled cable
01-06-10 | 07:53 AM
#66
Re: Well, I cancelled cable
Had a question about Netflix / TV shows. What TV shows are available for viewing through Netflix streaming? Specifically, any Spanish language TV shows?
For $9 a month for four or so DVDs (one out at a time) plus streaming TV shows, I can live with that. Plus I already have a Playstation 3 to handle the Netflix signal.
For $9 a month for four or so DVDs (one out at a time) plus streaming TV shows, I can live with that. Plus I already have a Playstation 3 to handle the Netflix signal.
http://instantwatcher.com/
You can use this site to browse what shows are available to watch instantly. I find it's a helpful tool.
I'm not sure about the Spanish language shows, sorry.
01-06-10 | 08:25 AM
#67
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Well, I cancelled cable
I don't think they really have ANY. I know of none to rent and if they carry them to rent, it is doubtful they stream. You should be able to see what they have available both ways by visiting their site. I believe they let you see everything that is available, obviously, in order to entice you to join.
And FYI for the PS3 streaming, they will send you a free disc that you keep and have to put in every time you want to "watch instantly". At first I thought it was annoying, but the interface is much, MUCH nicer than the one on TiVo HD. The HD streaming on stuff like LOST S5 and Leverage were nothing short of amazing.
And FYI for the PS3 streaming, they will send you a free disc that you keep and have to put in every time you want to "watch instantly". At first I thought it was annoying, but the interface is much, MUCH nicer than the one on TiVo HD. The HD streaming on stuff like LOST S5 and Leverage were nothing short of amazing.
01-06-10 | 11:50 AM
#68
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From: Bay Area, CA
Re: Well, I cancelled cable
I don't want to cancel cable, I watch too much live sports, but sometimes I do want to make Comcast sad by downgrading something. Last month, I had an extra $40 charge on my bill. It ended up being WWE Survivor Series, which I did not order, that aired at 4 AM on a Monday morning. I called and told them I didn't order it, and nobody in the house was watching TV at 4 AM. They didn't care. "Our system shows it was ordered" was all they could say. I might ditch one of our boxes that we don't use very often, but that doesn't really make me feel better considering it would take 4-5 months to earn back that $40 by losing a box.
01-06-10 | 12:23 PM
#69
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Re: Well, I cancelled cable
I don't want to cancel cable, I watch too much live sports, but sometimes I do want to make Comcast sad by downgrading something. Last month, I had an extra $40 charge on my bill. It ended up being WWE Survivor Series, which I did not order, that aired at 4 AM on a Monday morning. I called and told them I didn't order it, and nobody in the house was watching TV at 4 AM. They didn't care. "Our system shows it was ordered" was all they could say. I might ditch one of our boxes that we don't use very often, but that doesn't really make me feel better considering it would take 4-5 months to earn back that $40 by losing a box.
01-06-10 | 02:06 PM
#70
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Re: Well, I cancelled cable
Sports is really the killer sports app. Even with just 1-2 NFL games each week on cable depending on the week, that's a lot of action I'd miss. If I were a bigger college football fan, I'd be lost without cable. The same goes for most of the other big sports. You just can't replace that with anything else (other than satellite, which is really just an exotic way of getting the same content).
01-06-10 | 08:12 PM
#71
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Re: Well, I cancelled cable
Not sure if you're quite grokkin' that website...
01-07-10 | 08:16 AM
#73
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01-07-10 | 10:49 AM
#74
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Re: Well, I cancelled cable
I'm also seriously thinking of canceling AT&T U-Verse, which costs me almost $100 a month.
I purchased the HD HomeRun from Amazon for $126.00
I figured out that 90 to 95% of the programming I watch is broadcast tv, which I can get for free over the air. I will mostly miss having HBO for their boxing. Maybe I can talk AT&T U-Verse to just sell me HBO. I will continue to use them for internet access. Chris
I purchased the HD HomeRun from Amazon for $126.00
I figured out that 90 to 95% of the programming I watch is broadcast tv, which I can get for free over the air. I will mostly miss having HBO for their boxing. Maybe I can talk AT&T U-Verse to just sell me HBO. I will continue to use them for internet access. Chris
One Box, Two Digital Tuners, Anywhere on Your Network ¶
* Watch TV from any computer on your network.
* Record full 1080i broadcast resolution.
* Pause, rewind, fast-forward live TV.
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TV sources ¶
* For use in United States and Canada:
o ATSC over-the-air digital TV.
o Unencrypted digital cable.
* For Europe, Australia, and New Zealand click here
Works with popular DVR software: ¶
* Pause, rewind, fast-forward live TV.
* Record all your favorite TV shows by name.
* Integrated TV guide (provided by the DVR software).
Seamless operation with multiple computers: ¶
* Run Vista Media Center on multiple computers sharing the pool of HDHomeRun tuners.
* Tuners are automatically allocated between computers as needed.
* Multiple HDHomeRun units can be used together to expand the number of tuners.
* Tuner pooling works with Windows Media Center, BeyondTV, SageTV, GBPVR, MediaPortal, and TotalMedia.
* Free software/firmware upgrade available for download.
* Watch TV from any computer on your network.
* Record full 1080i broadcast resolution.
* Pause, rewind, fast-forward live TV.
* Schedule and record all your favorite TV shows.
* Expand with multiple HDHomeRun devices.
TV sources ¶
* For use in United States and Canada:
o ATSC over-the-air digital TV.
o Unencrypted digital cable.
* For Europe, Australia, and New Zealand click here
Works with popular DVR software: ¶
* Pause, rewind, fast-forward live TV.
* Record all your favorite TV shows by name.
* Integrated TV guide (provided by the DVR software).
Seamless operation with multiple computers: ¶
* Run Vista Media Center on multiple computers sharing the pool of HDHomeRun tuners.
* Tuners are automatically allocated between computers as needed.
* Multiple HDHomeRun units can be used together to expand the number of tuners.
* Tuner pooling works with Windows Media Center, BeyondTV, SageTV, GBPVR, MediaPortal, and TotalMedia.
* Free software/firmware upgrade available for download.
01-12-10 | 09:11 PM
#75
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From: Seattle and sometimes hell
Re: Well, I cancelled cable
http://www.mytvshows.org/start/ seems to do the same thing. I haven't used either but I think I'm going to give both a try. I am currently keeping this info in a excel worksheet. Just in general mytyshows looks prettier but myepisodes easier to use and might have more features. Mytvshows has connection options by including a iphone, twitter, and facebook.