Cutting the Cable/Satellite Cord

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

If there are only certain times of the year where you want to watch sports, then get a satellite package and put it on hold during the off-season. Want football? Put your account on hold from February through August. Want baseball? April through October. You get the idea.

Right...but that is basically april thru January for baseball then college football. It's not that it's only certain times of the year. It's that I don't want 500 channels, I want about 6 - 4 of which are free (fox, CBS, ABC and NBC), and I have to pay for all the other channels to get ESPN and then even more to get FS Cardinals. I'd be paying $50 to get a $5 ESPN channel. Which is absurd. Or $70 to get a $5 ESPN channel and a what $1 FS Cardinals channel? Also absurd.

[cardsfantx]

If there are only certain times of the year where you want to watch sports, then get a satellite package and put it on hold during the off-season. Want football? Put your account on hold from February through August. Want baseball? April through October. You get the idea.

not if you have directv...we're building a new house, and are in a rental for a year. asked if we could put our account on hold until the house is built, but they would only do 3 month holds. after 3 months it goes back to regular price, regardless if you're ready/using it or not. only option is to lower your programming to the lowest available, but you're still paying them approx 30-40 bucks a month for something you're not using.

so stupid, because after being with them 15+ years, i just cancelled because of that.....and now i get the new subscriber perks (free genie/nfl sunday ticket/hbo/cinemax/starz/showtime for 3 months) once i sign back up when the house is done.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Check it out, lots of people are doing this now. Cable/sattelite TV just had their worst 12 month stretch, ever.

http://qz.com/146664/proof-that-america ... e-tv-cord/

Here's what is weird. Their stocks keep going up.

Comcast from 08-13

DirectTV

Dish


No clue if they're making more money by including internet subscriptions or what the deal is.

[Fat Strat]

If there are only certain times of the year where you want to watch sports, then get a satellite package and put it on hold during the off-season. Want football? Put your account on hold from February through August. Want baseball? April through October. You get the idea.

not if you have directv...we're building a new house, and are in a rental for a year. asked if we could put our account on hold until the house is built, but they would only do 3 month holds. after 3 months it goes back to regular price, regardless if you're ready/using it or not. only option is to lower your programming to the lowest available, but you're still paying them approx 30-40 bucks a month for something you're not using.

Well, if you're in Kyle's position, then paying for nine months of satellite is better than paying for 12 months of satellite.

[cardsfantx]

If there are only certain times of the year where you want to watch sports, then get a satellite package and put it on hold during the off-season. Want football? Put your account on hold from February through August. Want baseball? April through October. You get the idea.

not if you have directv...we're building a new house, and are in a rental for a year. asked if we could put our account on hold until the house is built, but they would only do 3 month holds. after 3 months it goes back to regular price, regardless if you're ready/using it or not. only option is to lower your programming to the lowest available, but you're still paying them approx 30-40 bucks a month for something you're not using.

Well, if you're in Kyle's position, then paying for nine months of satellite is better than paying for 12 months of satellite.

absolutely...was just mentioning that you can't pause/activate whenever you like (at least in directv's case, since that is who kyle mentioned).

[lukethedrifter]

Digital antenna recs?

[Jocephus]

ive bought two. one that was flat (size of a small cutting board) and another one thats got some "wings" which is the one i use. neither is great but the winged one seems to work better. after tinkering around with it it'll just be luck of the draw for ya on what you get/how well. i get nbc and fox great. cbs is not reliable but it comes in. then i actually get maybe like 10 other channels that are hit and miss but fox and nbc are really the only ones i bother to even watch, usually for sports.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

If you're fine just getting the basic channels (NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox), you possibly don't need much. I've abandoned an HD antenna in favor of a simple FM radio antenna. It is the simplest thing available. Literally, the end connects to the simple cable receiver on the TV and it is the equivalent of 3-4' long covered speaker wire that I tied around a curtain rod above a window. Gets a great HD signal for the basic channels. The HD antenna got more channels, but I actually think the fm antenna gets a smoother, better signal from the major channels.

[Gashouse]

My TV is in my basement, and I couldn't get more than spotty reception with an indoor antenna. I bought an outdoor antenna that mounts on the side of the house, and now my reception is fantastic. It's either Phillips or GE.

[docellis]

I am officially a real cord cutter as of today. My old house had cable that I never received a bill for over the last 8 years. My new house that I just moved into does not have that luxury. So I bought two antennas from Best Buy this weekend. one for $29 and one for $79. The more expensive one has an "amplifier". So far I can't tell the difference between the two. I am REALLY irritated that I can't get PBS. Channel 9 has like, 3 or 4 HD channels and I can't get any of them.

I can get the major networks and there silly .1, .2 and .3 etc - but I was really hoping to get PBS (ch 9).