DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Question for you non-cable suscriber

The wife and I are moving down to Phenix City, Alabama at the beginning of October, and are trying to decide what we want to do about cable. I am a strong advocate for nixing it all together, as the only thing I'll actually miss is football (can go to car or stream on-line) and the new season of Dexter. Everything else we can pretty much get through netflix, hulu, etc. We did this for a few months before and I though it was fine. Wife didn't hate it, but she thinks she'll be fine since we have a newborn and she'll have her hands full.

I just always feel like I'm getting screwed over by cable companies. Local cable provider down there wants to charge $120 for internet and cable. DirectTV, which is my favorite provider, has a good deal going on (including free NFL Sunday Ticket), but I have to sign a 2 year agreement and the promo only lasts for this year.

They make it seem like you're getting a great deal, but the $34.99 quickly turns into $56.95 after you add in the DVR crap (which they basically throw into your plan) and after the first year the price will jump to $65 (not including DVR if I keep it).

I just hate the shady 'gotcha' business practice and the 2 year agreement.

Well, back to the main question...

how do you non-cable suscribers like it? What are the main draw backs? What are some tips you have for someone who might be going that route? Are there ways to watch HBO/Showtime on-line that us less-tech savy people don't know about? Is it terrible trying to stream games on-line?

Thanks!

sent you a PM.

now that sports can all be consumed online (full season packages available from MLB, NBA, and the NFL-though delayed for NFL), I would consider ditching the TV if my wife & kids didn't have their shows. Too much for them that would be difficult to get online still, but the day is coming closer.

Im guessing he's sending you his DirectTV acct for if you sign up you both get $10/mo off your bill for 10 months

I don't have DirectTV.

I loved ATT U-Verse. Their service was great (except was setup because it was a giant pain to schedule the guy to come out). Their prices seemed reasonable compared to other plans, and I never had one of those "gotcha" moments like I have with other providers. Very upfront and simple.

I had digital TV and internet. I paid ~$150/month for internet and TV. I had the second highest internet bandwidth package, and a fairly standard TV package (HD, DVR, but no movie or extra sports channels).

Several months ago, I ditched the TV portion and upped my internet the rest of the way. I now pay $50/month (for internet), and ~$20/month for Hulu and Netflix (I had Netflix before the switch, and signed up for Hulu after). Shutting down service was a breeze with ATT, by the way.

Overall, I don't regret it. It sucks not having live stuff on TV (news, sports, and events like the Olympics and speeches), but I can get that on the internet if I really want to. I live in San Diego, so I'm not missing Browns games on TV since they're never nationally televised. It sucked for the Olympics. Otherwise, I really haven't missed it. All of my and my girlfriend's shows are either on Netflix or Hulu, and we used to just DVR them and watch them later anyway, so there's literally no difference from a daily usage perspective.

Overall
If you need cable, go with ATT U-Verse. If you might not need cable, try out Netflix and Hulu (be sure to get a good internet package, though).

I love directv. The Nfl ticket is nice but if that ever became non exclusive I'd probably stick with them.

Their customer service is far and away better than any cable outlet we've had.

My girlfriend is huge into about 3 or 4 shows on premium channels so we probably won't be dumping them. Plus I get STO when the Indians are not playing so I can watch local programming from back home like Drennan or CLC.

We got the nfl Max for 185 too. So I was able to hook my cousin up with the online access because he's out in Cali.