Finally "Cut the Cord" and cancelled Cable? What now?
In my case it wasn't hard to decide I wanted to cancel my expensive ($250 a month) cable subscription. What was extremely hard was convincing my wife that we could survive without it. For years we have depended on our DVR to capture all our favorite weekly shows. It has really been the only option for us since our children got old enough to be involved in extracurricular activities. Without a DVR we would have most likely missed an entire decade of entertainment.
Until recently the DVR was the main option for capturing live entertainment for viewing at a later date and time. Now there are other viable, reliable and possibly better ways to keep up with your favorite entertainment. On Demand services are readily available in both free and premium pay per view versions. Most reputable streaming IPTV services also offer On Demand movies and tv shows as part of their service.
Today the options for receiving your general everyday entertainment content are nearly endless. Some of the mainstream companies even bombard us daily on our regular cable or satellite subscription service. Netflix, Hulu and Sling TV just to name a few. There are many lower cost or even free options available to you depending on your actual needs. Most free services are less stable and take more effort to find what you want to watch while the paid services are more stable and have friendlier user interfaces. Some pay IPTV services have interfaces that rival the smoothness of cable or satellite services.
If you merely "cut the cord" with your cable or satellite provider and just randomly sign up for alternative entertainment sources without thinking it through you could end up paying more than necessary. Just signing up for Netflix and Hulu because they are cheaper than your old subscription service may not be the right thing for your family. Sling TV sounds like a great deal until you realize that it is an ala carte service and could end costing more than you expected. There are many options that merge most of the entertainment you would find on these services.
Currently my IPTV service of choice is SET TV (http://setvnow.com/#Redwing136) and I use Showbox as my DVR replacement. With these two services, one a paid service and the other free, my family and I have not missed any of our favorite entertainment. As a matter of fact I much prefer Showbox to my regular DVR service because there are no commercials to navigate through. Once you start watching your intended episode you simply go from scene to scene without interruption. Push play and put the remote down.
Just as a reference my current monthly cost using Set TV and Showbox is $20 / month. Add in your internet service ($80) and a VPN service ($10) if you choose and you are looking at $110 per month. If you multiply the monthly savings ($140) out for a full year you are looking at $1680 in annual savings. These figures do not include taking yearly discounts offered by both SET TV and Express VPN (https://www.linkev.com/?a_fid=) which will add to your yearly savings.
I am always testing other services and trying new equipment to try and improve my entertainment viewing experience. As I do I will be reviewing them for you on my site (http://www.stream-live.net). Currently I am awaiting the arrival of an HDTV antenna to test on local TV channels after which I will post a review of my findings.
Recent Comments
4
Not having access to those channels you think you have to have is a whole lot cheaper and makes good sense for those who need to be concentrating on their website to make it productive. I don't miss mine one bit. I actually use two antennae and get all the service I need for now.
I cut the cord about a year ago. Not getting bang for my buck for as little as I watch TV. Furthermore , for me it's just moreless a distraction.
Brad
Hi Scott!
We recently (last month) took our cable out too. No one was really watching it at all (apart from my wife occasionally). The home feels so much lighter in many ways.
We use a few services like Netflix etc. but with the quality of TV programming nowadays, who needs it?
All the best!
David
If you're not watching it then it makes sense to have the savings. ~Mark