Going off the grid

[jmanic]

Not another homesteading thread, I'm going off the cable grid.

Currently have a triple-play package with TWC, but most of what we watch is streaming, and don't use the landline often enough to justify it.
I'm sick of making a car payment each month for something I don't drive.

Plan is to keep the internets with TWC and drop the rest.

So, cutting the cable, I'll still have access to 90% of what we watch,
I'll fill in the gaps with an HD antenna for the networks, and some media player or streaming device to fill in the gaps.

Aside from some network TV, the things I watch on cable are mostly History & Discovery Channels, and sports.
History & Discovery I can stream enough content, but the tough thing is sports.
I will be cheating, I've been borrowing access to a friend's HBO-go, and I can use this also to stream ESPN (E-Span as the wife calls it).

Thinking about streaming device options, I'm looking towards solutions that can access files from a media library, rather than mirror the desktop/web browser on the pc.

Wifi signal (G-band) is pretty good throughout the house, not sure if there are any advantages to upgrading/tweaking that just yet.
I can always flash it with tomato firmware to juice it a bit.

So first pieces of the puzzle will be:
Modem- straight modem or modem + wifi
HD Antenna - looking at indoor models which should work fine this close to Gotham
Media player/streaming device- Roku3 is the leader here, even with the announcement from Chromecast today.
Both support Plex now, but Roku seems like a more robust package, and will support streaming the ESPN.
I did consider a media player with internal storage (e.g. Micca), but I think Plex or one of the other apps should cover those needs.

Anyone else out there cut the cord?
I'm curious to hear what other folks have done/tried.

 

[jackx]

I had the triple play from Cablevision (Optimum) and I dropped the tv service and 2 DVRs last February as my wife and I left to work in Boston for the year. My wife and I returned in November and have no plans for turning the TV back on anytime soon. We are finding enough to watch online and we hook a laptop up to TV and watch on tv. While we were gone, we had to keep the VoIP phone which is our business line and also the internet for the VoIP phone to work. We can watch most TV shows online via Cablevision including AMC, Discovery, HGTV, History, etc.

The next step for us is either a DVR. I might still have my ReplayTV, but that only has 480p resolution. ReplayTV was the best because it skipped over commercials so you never saw them or had to fast-forward thru commercials. Also, I had it networked, so I could share TV recordings with out of state family who had a Replay but forgot to record shows.

I have not thought about getting a HDTV camera.

 

[THATmanMANNY]

Got you covered
http://www.mtbnj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24032

I pay $50 a month for internet, hulu, netflix. 95% of netflix blow though. I also have a Vulkano hooked up to my parents house but I use it like once every other month. $85 for four cell lines and one line with unlimited data (my wifes). I dropped data in July. Can't say I missed it much or NEED it. I dropped it before we went to Europe for a bit. Even on our trp we didnt even get a Sim card. I used a payphone twice and used something caled maps and books. Now, I'm a little more focused on road so plus and I'm not playing with my phone every other second, plus. Life is simple and it's very liberating. What drives me nuts is ppl expect you to have data. Well F those guys. Are they paying for my data? But my wife justifies new furniture with "we don't even have tv". So you win some and you lose some.

 

[soulchild]

I rarely watch live tv and any movies I watch are torrents I dl and stream from my jailbroken AppleTV (same can be done for tv shows). I should just 'unplug' already. I really do only pay for ESPN and Food Network which is kind of stupid.

I have read nothing but good things about Mohu Digital Leaf antenna. I may buy one this month to test it out. If you go to their site and pop in your zip, it will tell you what channels you can get.

http://gomohu.com/tv-for-free/

Who am I kidding... I'll never do it

 

[THATmanMANNY]

You will probably get most channels in Edison and Englewood. My bro used to live in Somerset and got some channels amd it wasn't even a mohu. I'm sol in a low spot that is only 5min from Somerset. So i'll have to DiY a huge coat hanger attic antennaone day.

 

[Arwen's Mom]

I have not had cable or even an antenna in my house in 10 yrs. Love it.

 

[jerzey111]

cable free for past 5 years. just got triple play to see what I was missing. its going back after this month... lol

 

[jmanic]

Good input here-Thanks!
My goal is to cut the cord while upgrading the whole thing.
Going with Plex will add access to the pc-based media library, both in the house and remotely using their web interface.
Adding Hulu and A-prime to my Netflix will cover a lot.
And the Roku gets the HBO-go off my computer and onto the TV, and keeps me in ESPN.
If I can find a compatible modem with dual-band wifi, I'll upgrade and future proof the home network.

Got you covered
http://www.mtbnj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24032

I pay $50 a month for internet, hulu, netflix. 95% of netflix blow though. I also have a Vulkano hooked up to my parents house but I use it like once every other month. $85 for four cell lines and one line with unlimited data (my wifes). I dropped data in July. Can't say I missed it much or NEED it. I dropped it before we went to Europe for a bit. Even on our trp we didnt even get a Sim card. I used a payphone twice and used something caled maps and books. Now, I'm a little more focused on road so plus and I'm not playing with my phone every other second, plus. Life is simple and it's very liberating. What drives me nuts is ppl expect you to have data. Well F those guys. Are they paying for my data? But my wife justifies new furniture with "we don't even have tv". So you win some and you lose some.

Thanks Manny-
I knew there was a thread out there.
Searched on "cable" and just came up with a bunch of bike stuff.
You have it dialed there- I can do internet, Netflix, Hulu and Amazon prime and still be saving quite a bit.
You are worked out the next piece of the puzzle- consolidating VZ cell plans with my wife and keeping my unlimited data. Probably can't happen.
I'ma try bribing some kid at a Radioshack.

The next step for us is either a DVR. I might still have my ReplayTV,...

I am thinking I can probably get away without a DVR once it's all in place, but who knows?
Skipping commercials is very nice though.

I have read nothing but good things about Mohu Digital Leaf antenna. I may buy one this month to test it out. If you go to their site and pop in your zip, it will tell you what channels you can get.

http://gomohu.com/tv-for-free/

Yup the Mohu is the leading contender. Plus it rhymes with Roku, so I could have a whole thing going. And military technology.
I plugged in my coordinates, and it looks like I can use the 35 mile version.

I have not had cable or even an antenna in my house in 10 yrs. Love it.

Wish I could say that. 10 years of cable payments is a lot of bikes.
Hell. It's a car.

 

[gtluke]

I went over my friend's house over the weekend and his wife had cable TV on. After I demanded that they change the channel 9 times I eventually asked for a sponge to help collect my brain from the floor. I'm astounded that people pay so much for shows that now only contain actors that are not paid, or paid a dollar. It's so awful. Usually YouTube has enough great original content for my 10 minutes of TV a day. Chromecast is $30 shipped.

 

[THATmanMANNY]

I really could have just gotten rid of my comcast cable modem and just tethered my $20/month unlimited plan (no throttle) but I live in a spotty area. And it's a bit of a hassle I guess to be turning on and off the tether on my phone and if friends/family needed wifi access.

I try to get my yearly subscriptions on hulu/netflix on ebay to save even more $

 

[Patrick]

have parents get full blown directv package, you get add on receiver for $10/month and your own dish. good to go.
10GB phone package, tethering, gtg.

 

[Carson]

Up until now I have just called Cablevision once a year and requested cancellation. They immediately transfer me to the retention department and we work a deal. For the past three years, I've ended up with a $58 cable bill for everything but premium movie channels (TV only; I go elsewhere for my interweb). That includes one DVR and a second HD box.

Chromecast and that Mohu antenna look great but I'm not ready to give up live sports.

 

[jmanic]

I'm astounded that people pay so much for shows that now only contain actors that are not paid, or paid a dollar. It's so awful. Usually YouTube has enough great original content for my 10 minutes of TV a day. Chromecast is $30 shipped.

Yup- that's the other part of it aside from cost- there's really not much I want/need to see.
And we don't watch a lot anyway- we'll go a day or two without clicking on the TV.
I do like the Chromecast, it's got a lot of potential and cheap and small.
I'll have to look over what things they were working on at the hackfest see if there's anything to sway me. Downside is phone as remote. Even though the last thing I want is another remote (Roku), I don't think I want to have to use the phone in that capacity.

I really could have just gotten rid of my comcast cable modem and just tethered my $20/month unlimited plan (no throttle) but I live in a spotty area. And it's a bit of a hassle I guess to be turning on and off the tether on my phone and if friends/family needed wifi access.

I try to get my yearly subscriptions on hulu/netflix on ebay to save even more $

Yeah, tethering is a bridge too far. I'm happy with the pricepoint to have always there internets.
Subscriptions on the ebay? Man you have stuff to teach the world.

have parents get full blown directv package, you get add on receiver for $10/month and your own dish. good to go.
10GB phone package, tethering, gtg.

Good thoughts, but the last thing I need is a layer of parental units between me and anything involving technology....

Up until now I have just called Cablevision once a year and requested cancellation. They immediately transfer me to the retention department and we work a deal. For the past three years, I've ended up with a $58 cable bill for everything but premium movie channels (TV only; I go elsewhere for my interweb). That includes one DVR and a second HD box.

Chromecast and that Mohu antenna look great but I'm not ready to give up live sports.

I played chicken with TWC at some point, I think they ended up raising my bill.
And yeah, you nailed it- the live sports is the trickiest part of the puzzle.
As noted, I will be cheating here.

 

[jmanic]

So things have progressed on cutting the cable.
Turned in my cable box and tuner yesterday,
downgraded service to internets only.
Unfortunately, TWC is the only game in town for decent internet.
Only other option would be Verizon DSL, which could be anywhere from 1-15mbps.
I decided to go with the devil I know at 15mbps as advertised.

The TWC folks working at the brick and mortar are much different than the folks on the call centers.
Call center not so helpful, haggled about what my bill would be- got nowhere. Argh. Whatever.
When I went to turn in my equipment, dudeman hooked me up with the new customer promo rate for a year without my asking.
This cuts my bill by 80%. Happy.
I may miss the landline, but probably only when I'm calling Canada.
Oddly I miss having the cable box displaying the time there.

And last night I was able to stream college hoops from ESPN3 via Roku.
Picture isn't fantastic, but it's live action - I'll take it.
Everything else on the Roku comes through crystal clear.

I got a Chromecast for Christmas, and followed this up by picking up a Roku3 (had a best buy gc from last Christmas, and really had my heart set on a Roku).
The Chromecast is nice, and the newly added apps really make it competitive,
but I prefer the Roku-
-More channels/apps
-dedicated remote with earphone jack- haven't tried this yet, but I see it being handy.
-cross-platform/channel search- awesome, especially for tracking tv series that are split across Netflix and Amazon.
-USB port to connect an external hard drive for music/movies.

I'm going to try Plex to stream my music,
but my files don't match the naming convention they require, so if that doesn't play out, a HD and Roku's media player solve that.
Either way, probably retiring the 400-cd changer.
The thing is ginormous and makes picking out an entertainment center impossible.

Got the Mohu Leaf antenna and tested it out.
Good to go. 56 channels of sharp digital goodness.
Granted 15-20 of these are in languages I don't speak (yet!),
but I get what I was hoping for.
Odd thing, the initial channel line up I got plugging in my coordinates on the site did not include CBS for some reason.
It is there though. (= Superbowl)
If you are considering a Mohu, sign up for their cord cutter newsletter before you buy- they send you a 25% off coupon.
I'm out the door for $30. Bam.

Funny thing in the transition, big screen time has jumped from 4-6 hours/week to more like 10-15.
I'll chalk this up to novelty and the testing phase, but will be interesting to see if this is a new trend.
Mostly Netflix, E-span and Plex for streaming the local digital liberry so far,
but I will explore other channels too.

Next up: buying a modem so I can drop that fee from my TWC bill.
Decided to go with a basic modem vs modem+wifi.
The (old) g network is working fine for now.