Opinions of those who have ditched pay tv

[Joseph]

All you pioneers out there who have given up the dish and cut the cable in an effort to save a few bucks I come to you for advice.

I've been paying a modest 75 bucks or so a month for DirecTV. I know many pay more and its my intent to shave that bill down greatly. I intend to cut the dish out entirely and perhaps try a few options available. I know there is the Netflix streaming that many of you have praised in the thread discussing that. I've signed up for the free trial right now and have my old laptop hooked to my TV. After a struggle to get sound, I finally have the kinks sorted and have streamed a handful of shows and movies that way and the quality [while certainly not HD] is good enough for me and my wife. No choppiness, no broken images, just a nice smooth video.

I live in Louisville, so I get over the air channels for NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, and a handful of other channels that allow us to watch some of our regular programming.

What I'm looking for are options for other programs that we enjoy, either collectively or individually. I enjoy 'The Walking Dead' for example on AMC. I have 9 months or so until new episodes will return for that, but I'd love to be able to watch it somewhere close to its air date. She enjoys shows like are on TLC, 'What not to wear' for example.

So those of you well versed in this, what options are there out there for cable/satellite only channels shows or just good entertainment in general?

[dougdirt]

While I am paying quite a bit for cable still, I do watch plenty of my programming online. I do have Netflix, but I also watch plenty of things online. Hulu is a good start, and its certainly legal. There are a few other places that are options if you are willing to have "flexible ethics", but we won't get into that since I am pretty sure it is against board rules. Though I am sure if you searched around some, you could find such sites/torrents to watch plenty of programming.

[LoganBuck]

I have found that some networks have their original programming available streaming on their websites.

[hebroncougar]

I just can't do it because of the Reds games. I couldn't get them w/o directv, I'm in their market, so I can't do MLB TV.

[Joseph]

I just can't do it because of the Reds games. I couldn't get them w/o directv, I'm in their market, so I can't do MLB TV.

Gonna be blasphemous to admit on here I know, but I'm in the same boat. I'm desperately seeking a way to continue to watch them as well but as Doug mentioned above its against the rules/ethics to discuss such things on here so I'll keep that to myself.

However if anyone has a way around MLB.TV PM me...wait I didn't say that.

[hebroncougar]

Gonna be blasphemous to admit on here I know, but I'm in the same boat. I'm desperately seeking a way to continue to watch them as well but as Doug mentioned above its against the rules/ethics to discuss such things on here so I'll keep that to myself.

However if anyone has a way around MLB.TV PM me...wait I didn't say that.

Oh, I know there are ways around it, but I'm not into pirating, and the PQ wouldn't be that great either.

[BillDoran]

Quitting cable cold turkey takes a month or two to adjust, but then you'll never look back.

From personal experience, I realized how much time I wasted watching mindless crap I didn't really care about. It'll open up entire expanses of time where you'll finally paint that room, finish War and Peace, and begin volunteering at the local soup kitchen. In short, you'll be far better person.

Or you could just pick up nearly everything you were watching online. And when you do pick up good programming on the antennae, it's birthday-level excitement.

[westofyou]

I didn't have pay tv for the 1st 35 years of my life.

Magically I survived.

[RichRed]

I didn't have pay tv for the 1st 35 years of my life.

Magically I survived.

My parents finally got cable in the mid-'90s, long after I'd moved out. They also bought a bigger house after my brother and I were gone. Go figure old people.

[edabbs44]

I didn't have pay tv for the 1st 35 years of my life.

Magically I survived.

Civilization also continued onward w/o things like electricity, indoor plumbing or certain vaccines.

Or even.....the internet!

[reds1869]

Civilization also continued onward w/o things like electricity, indoor plumbing or certain vaccines.

Or even.....the internet!

[TRF]

I nust got cable after ditching dish for a year and a half. Hulu andsome of the cable networks were my friends.

[Eric_the_Red]

Ditching cable is all well and good for those of you that live out of market and can watch the Reds on MLB.tv, but what do you do if you live in Cincinnati? As much as I love listening to a game on the radio, I don't think I could do a whole season of it.

Plus, I would miss ESPN for MNF. I suppose I could go to a sports bar to watch those games, but with the money I'd spend there, I may as well keep cable.

[Redsfaithful]

I bought an Acer Revo 3700 home theater PC to use as a DVR for over the air stuff, and I also stream Hulu through it. It's paired with a cheap antenna and an HD HomeRun tuner. Still use the PS3 for Netflix even though the Revo would work, just habit I guess.

iTunes and Amazon are going to be your options for things like The Walking Dead. Buying season passes to a few shows is still going to be much cheaper than cable.

Not sure what I'm going to do come Reds season. Might get Uverse for awhile and then cancel in the offseason, but I don't know if they require a contract like DirecTV did. For years I had DirecTV for Sunday Ticket, but honestly I'm content now to just watch the Bengals whenever they are on local tv and go to BW3s when they aren't. I'm feeling kind of apathetic about them these days.

I was paying DirecTV $80 a month plus another $300 I think for Sunday Ticket, so the savings are great, and we really haven't been annoyed not having cable yet (it's been about a month). I might even just listen to the Reds on the radio this year. When I was a kid I only saw the Reds when they were on Channel 5 in Cincinnati, maybe 20-30 times a year? I survived.

[frenetic wave]

Folks tried to get me to watch All in the Family and I refused. I think I'm better for it too. Lawrence Welk used to run a good show but most else worth watching since then has either been discontinued or I can find on Hulu. If you skip past the violent parts, BONES is a great drama.