Does anyone regret shutting Pay TV Off?

[siriusxmfan]

I was wondering if anyone regrets shutting off cable or dish? We are getting ready to get rid of the dish, I then read where OTA may or may not be free after awhile. We are tired for paying big bucks for TV we really dont watch . I don't think OTA will go away, just my opinion. While I do think stations will take another look at the way they do business, I dont think OTA will go away. And there are alternatives out there too, streaming stuff for one, which I am sure everyone here is aware of. I was also wondering what great free streaming stuff there is besides netflix and what comes over the roku box? Thanks

[mtownsend]

No regrets here. With the amount of money I'm saving, I can buy a new TV every few years (or upgrade some other part of my home theater setup).

Maybe it's because I'm busy and don't have a ton of time to devote to watching TV, but I've always felt that I have plenty of programming to keep me occupied between my TiVo, movie collection, and online sources.

I've asked myself how much I miss those pay-only channels (e.g., Discovery, Food Network, ESPN, HBO, etc.), but in the end, I don't miss them to the tune of ~$700 per year (all the little fees and taxes add up). I have friends who used to pay well over $1000 per year, and they are glad to be saving that money now.

[KingSparta]

Yes, I Miss FoodNetwork.

But I Watch The Shows They Have On There Site Or On Hulu.

I Do Have My Computer Hooked Up to My TV So I Can Play Shows On My TV.

Other Tan That Not Really Since I Get METV And RTV Since I Like The Old Shows.

I Will Miss Dexter On Showtime

[ABroad]

Originally Posted by KingSparta

I Will Miss Dexter On Showtime

I found a place I can watch Dexter minutes after the original airing ends. I watch Californication on a website in another language. The subtitles don't bother me. Weeds I can usually get right off of youtube. Kicker is, I would gladly pay for showtime if I didn't have to buy anything else.

It is all out there, you just have to have the patience to find it.

[krc333]

I'm getting ready to cut the cable myself and I'm already worried I'm going to miss a lot of sporting events. ie: MNF, UFC, and Colorado Rockies Baseball

I've done a ton of researching and it appears I can pick up all our shows through a mix of Google TV and Roku, but sports are much harder to pickup because of blackout rules.

[Manchetknopen]

Yes, i love to watch all kind of sports on TV. On the other hand i now have more time to spend on other things;-)

[phone man]

For now we're still with TWC and only because of a $39 per month retention department special offer (was paying $89!!) for the next 10 months. Most evenings when we watch TV, we're watching OTA or using online streaming. I like to ignore the CATV and leave the cable box off just to see what it's like without their services. It's when my wife says "back that up, what did they say?" or I want to pause the TV to go to the kitchen that we realize it's the DVR we'll miss when the CATV is gone. Most of what we record is available on OTA channels so it's not really the content on CATV that we'd miss.
I've looked at the few available DVD recorders with digital tuners, and also at OTA DVRs like the Channel Master 7000pal, Magnavox MDR 515H, and Tivo offerings. Tivo had a real interesting offer recently ( $99 for the Tivo premiere unit and $9.99 monthly for 1 year) I almost jumped but paying monthly for a DVR just doesn't sit right somehow. If the Tivo monthly price stayed at $9.99 instead of increasing to $19.99 at the end of a 12 month contract (yuck), I'd be a lot more inclined to go that way.
Either way you cut it, an OTA DVR unit is going to cost a few hundred dollars, either all at once or thru monthly subscription costs.

[MisterMe]

Originally Posted by phone man

...
Either way you cut it, an OTA DVR unit is going to cost a few hundred dollars, either all at once or thru monthly subscription costs.

You do understand that TimeWarner Cable does not donate its DVR to you. You pay for it--not just once, but for as long as you have it. If the economics of owning an OTA DVR vs. a CATV DVR are of concern to you, then you should sit down and calculate those costs. You might be surprised at the results.

[phone man]

Oh I'm well aware of what the DVR has cost us since we upgraded to HD service and the DVR. It just hurts less when it's a little bit each month. The bill was always broken down like this. DVR rental $9.99, DVR service, which I'm guessing means the program guide and on demand services, $9.99.

I spent roughly $150 for an antenna, preamp and coax to get my OTA TV up and running. The reduced pricing from TWC paid for that in three months.
A new OTA DVR of some sort will be paid for the same way, even faster when the cord is finally cut. It's just that the initial cash outlay is a bit steep.

[Jaytibee]

Been off cable for a month - LOVE IT

if we all get off paid cable - that will surely drive the cost down and maybe we will have a better choice of programming