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Thread: To Cable or Not-Cable - that is the question

  1. #1
    Geila
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    To Cable or Not-Cable - that is the question

    We had Dish many years ago, but now have our one tv hooked up to an inexpensive digital antenna that gives us about 20 channels (about 12 network, 8 public) most of the time, with variances due to weather as the antenna is in the attic and when it gets hot the channels go away.

    We are now looking at getting a bigger tv with HD, and moving it, which might make the antenna hookup difficult. And if we do buy a tv, we would move the existing 32" tv into the guest bedroom.

    If we get cable, tv and movie watching will be greatly improved. We can have both tv's hooked up, we can get HD programming, and service would be reliable. Dh and I enjoy watching Netflix movies streamed on the roku as well as dvds. Basic AT&T cable is $35/mo, the bundle of cable/internet/phone is $84/mo with 5 Mbps, and $95/mo with 50 Mbps.

    I'm trying to decide if the cost of cable is worth it. Neither dh or I enjoy watching tv or movies on our computers, so that option is out.

    For those of you who have cable - what has been your experience? Pros and cons? Do you feel the cost is a worthwhile expense?

    ETA: if you do have cable - can you share what speeds, options, packages have been good (or bad)?

  2. #2
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    We have cable and pay 200 for TV, internet and home phone. It costs more money to get rid of the phone. We have charters silver package which includes a few movie channels. We have 2 big tv’s and love TV so it’s worth it to us.

  3. #3
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    Hubby does a lot of research on www.cordcutterswnews.com . They have an active facebook group also.

    Personally we have satellite but are right on the edge of cutting it off. We use an antenna (finally got one that worked after 17 years here) and Amazon Prime. I watch some local news and almost exclusively watch Youtube over regular TV so we are not ordinary users. We rotate signing up for various services a month at a time. Acorn, Britbox, CBSonline and Netflix are the four we have tried.

  4. #4
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    We have Comcast. There is no other way to get decent reception. We have triple play HD. My husband LOVES the TV, I use Internet and we both use the phone. The only major problem is the phone goes out when the power goes out. It's 205 a month which I complain about, but over all I am happy with Comcast.

  5. #5
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    How about Amazon Fire Stick, or Roku or Hulu or Sling? Would that give you enough variety? Two of my kids have gone that route and it seems to be much cheaper than cable.
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  6. #6
    Geila
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    Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
    How about Amazon Fire Stick, or Roku or Hulu or Sling? Would that give you enough variety? Two of my kids have gone that route and it seems to be much cheaper than cable.
    I would probably be okay with just Roku for Netflix, but Dh really likes watching the local news every night and 60 Minutes, as well as public television. I haven't heard of the Amazon Fire Stick - do you know if it provides local coverage, or just streaming?

  7. #7
    Geila
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    What size TV do you guys have?

    We have a 32" that we bought about 10 years ago and at that time it was an upgrade, I think we had a 27" then. Now we are looking at 55" for under $500. That feels like a sizable but worthwhile investment, given that we watch movies every weekend and will probably keep it for the next 10 years. I've been getting some eye strain because our couch is too far from the TV, but it's not easy to move the couch due to room layout, hence the bigger TV. Of course, the improved quality won't hurt!

  8. #8
    Yppej
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    I just fired Verizon with a hefty termination fee after they lied to me to get me to sign a contract, lie recorded on tape but they won't pull the tape and don't care. We are now trying Comcast for 2 years. I really hope Google and other competitors come to my area. With only 2 providers service is overpriced, offshored, and unsatisfactory for pretty much everyone. But we feel we need home internet and adding the TV is not that much more.

  9. #9
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    I think our TV’s are 50 inch and our living room is small. Our bedroom is longer.

  10. #10
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    If you're primarily wanting to stream shows or use Netflix don't get cable TV. Use your internet provider hooked up to your TV. Hubby has a cable that connects his laptop to our TV and we watch our "computer" on our big screen (50inch).

    That said, we have Dish! We can't stream some of our priorities (our college team away games, NASCAR, local shows)......So our budget for dish and internet service are not small.

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