Alternatives to cable

IndieSolo

IndieSolo

Active member
Hey all, just wondering what kinds of methods/equipment/software/services you use to watch TV and movies at home, that are NOT cable hook-ups. I stopped my cable service a few years ago but would like to have TV once in a while. I live in NYC (Manhattan) -- with all the tall buildings, we need cable just for regular TV reception.

Or did you find a way to get cable without paying for it? Hehehehe. :eek: j/k (maybe not)

I will need to get a new TV or a converter because even though mine is a digital flat screen, it came out in the last year before digital tuners were required and so mine does not have a digital tuner, but an analog one. So, I can't even use just an antenna because no tuner. And any antenna I might buy needs to work well in a congested area.

Please share as much details as you can, such as model #'s and links, etc.

THANKS!!!!!
 
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I have a Roku streaming stick. It plugs into one of the ports on the back of my flat screen TV (which is a 2010 model; some friends from AFF pooled together to buy it as a wedding gift for Hubby and me). There's a subscription fee, something like $7.99 a month. Using that I can access Hulu and Netflix (which also have fees), all of the major networks (but CBS also charges a fee; the other networks don't), many cable networks, and some really cool things like Korean Broadcasting System. I think there are over 100 services that can be accessed that way. You can also get Spotify, YouTube, etc. through it on your TV.

You wouldn't be able to watch local news, but most local channels stream their newscasts on their websites, so you could watch news on your computer.
 
I don't watch much tv so not having cable doesn't really bother me. My teens have access to a family member's Netflix account and stream that through the Xbox or ps4, using wifi, to watch on their tvs. My daughter streams legal (and I suspect pirated) tv shows and movies on her ipad. If I want to watch something, I usually just watch TV shows online or I borrow movies or tv series, from the library. On a rare occasion, I'll rent a redbox.
 
I have one of these that I use as a DVR: http://www.amazon.com/Mediasonic-HW-150PVR-HomeWorx-Converter-Recording/dp/B00I2ZBD1U

My TV has a digital tuner already, so I don't need the converter capabilities of the box, but it does convert to analog... much less than the price of a new TV. (Just be careful, the manual is obviously written by someone whose first language isn't English... by a longshot).

My antenna is hooked up to the DVR, and there's a passthrough to the TV, so you'd be able to use an antenna with this box. However, it's worth going to tvfool.com to see if you'll get enough of a signal to make it worth it.

I have a Roku Stick (LOVE it), Chromecast (like it, but the only reason I have it is because I bought it before I got the Roku), Netflix (Chops subscribes), Hulu, (I subscribe), Amazon Prime (which I'd have anyway, because of their other perks), and Sling TV. Total recurring cost: $33/month. If I didn't have the kids, I'd probably dump Hulu, but at $8/month, it's not really a problem at the moment.

Sling TV (sling.com) is the indulgence here: $20/month for a package with HGTV and other channels, and then I pay an extra $5/month so I get DIY channel (and others). Those were the ones I missed from regular cable. Total cost is still less than I paid for cable. I got the Roku stick for free when I prepaid 3 months in advance.

The only thing I'm missing now is BBC America, but I just buy Doctor Who episodes on Amazon. :)

Good luck!
 
We have sling. And can watch various tv apps through the Xbox one.
 
We have our old laptops hooked up to the tvs... Use them to watch shows on Netflix, Hulu, and iTunes. Saves us over $100 a month vs cable or satellite. We are not big tv people anyway, so there's really nothing we miss from having a billion channels.
 
Hulu.com

Not perfect, but there's LOTS of free stuff. Kinda cool to catch up on short-lived series from years back that I missed episodes of. If you're into non-US series & films, or anime, it's a goldmine.

Biggest downer? No CBS at all. :( No Alton Brown. :mad: And more than a few shows get dropped from the free service when they get popular.
 
We have a Roku box. What's this stick you speak of? But we have cable too, not sure if our box depends on that.
 
kdt26417 said:
We have a Roku box. What's this stick you speak of? But we have cable too, not sure if our box depends on that.
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The Roku box shouldn't depend on cable - it's a standalone box that needs internet, but not TV input. The Roku stick is really just a mini version - the processor is slower, and it's just a dongle off the back of the TV. I wouldn't have minded the box, but for free, I won't complain. :)

For NYC's benefit, the Roku has a number of channels (really a bunch of apps) that you can download, that provide content. It doesn't provide content itself. On my Roku stick, I have the Netflix channel, Hulu, Amazon, YouTube, Sling TV, among others that aren't really tied to an "over the top" service: PBS (which is great for watching This Old House! :D ), Pluto.tv (which is basically a TV service based on curated YouTube channels), CW Seed (older CW shows... the old Ben Stiller Show is on there, and i had a great binge-watching session a while back). A whole bunch of things.

If you belong to any of the online music services (Pandora, Amazon music, Google Play, etc.), there are Roku channels for those as well. It's a nice way to have a (mostly) single point of entry for many of these services.
 
We mostly use our Roku box for the Netflix and Amazon channels. We have Hulu Plus right now, but don't like it much (and don't like the cost).
 
We have a Roku. We love it. We have a Roku device in several rooms of our house. We're all picky with television and movies, so Roku makes it easier. What we love about Roku is that we found channels for everything for movies, television, music, etc. Some channels we pay for, but if money is an issue, there is still plenty of really good free channels to pick from.

We ditched digital cable, but have basic cable for the few things we need cable for.

But Roku has been so awesome. It makes watching stuff fun again.

We have a few in the house, because while there are things we like watching together, but we also have our own tastes too, so it's nice to have the option to go watch something in another room that we don't have to annoy each other with something the other may not like.
 
I still have cable, but I'm questioning whether I should keep it. It costs too much... But I do like how I can log in to my account from anywhere and stream most shows on demand. So I have HBO and a number of my loves and friends like Game of Thrones, so I can log into my account at their place if they have any kind of cable browser to TV setup, or even bring my laptop and HDMI it up to any TV and boom, there's the show.

I get really into a particular show, and want whatever channel it's on, and then I don't care anymore. And I like being able to flip on the local news and let it run in the background of my life in the early mornings, for weather and traffic and stuff.

My bluray player came with Netflix and "Vudu" (?? I'll never use this)...it is only slightly "smart." I don't know that I can get any more apps on it, it was kind of a cheap device.

My BF, Analyst, is putting together some kind of a cable box alternative for me...can't remember what he called it, a "Cody" box or something like that?? Despite being a little bit of a hardware wonk, I'm pretty clueless about this sort of thing. He's going to have to teach me how to use it. He says it will have "game emulators." Thing is...I really, REALLY do not like piracy. It makes me paranoid. But if anyone knows how to set something up that's safe, I reckon it'll be the forensic analyst / cyber-security guy. *shrug*

I really would like a solution where I could pick and choose ONLY the channels I care about and have instant access to watch them, and stream content I want as I please on any device any time. I don't need the Latino networks. I don't need the sports, outdoor, and hunting channels. I don't need home shopping, or the kids' channels, although Cartoon Network is something I'd keep because half of it's not even for kids anymore...

I definitely need to explore my alternatives.

EDIT: Google tells me it is "Kodi" that he's talking about. Basically it's a HTPC (home theater PC) which might be running any of the major OS like Windows, Android (it might even work with Linux if that's your cuppa.) Yeah...I DID say I was clueless... The fun thing is that we have the internet, so learning stuff is only a matter of time and taking the initiative.

What we are discussing here by the way, has a common name: "Cord Cutting."
 
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Spork said:
What we are discussing here by the way, has a common name: "Cord Cutting."
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Yes, of course. It is a commonly used term wherever people talk about getting rid of cable.


Thank you, everyone, for sharing all the non-cable ways you watch TV. As I said, I cut the cord a number of years ago. I really don't want to watch TV on my computer, so that is why I'm looking for options -- but they need to be low-cost (or as low-cost as possible).

Keep 'em coming!
 
For 35 bucks you can get Chromecast. It plugs into the hdmi port on your TV. Then you can cast any video from your laptop or phone to the TV. From there you can find just about any TV show or movie for free.
 
After I separated from hubby, I ditched my cable as I didn't need it. He loved to "flick" though channels, while I like to watch carefully selected shows and films. He wanted to watch sports, I hate sports.

I have a Roku stick, and subscribe to the following:

Hulu: $11 a month. Lets me keep up-to-date on lots of mainstream shows and sitcoms (Grey's Anatomy, Modern Family, Bob's Burgers, Broad City) plus has lots of funny British shows, plus plenty of shows from eras past.

Amazon Prime: $99 a year. Great original shows (Transparent) free movies, and access to old Showtime and Starz series. Plus you can pay-per-view many new release movies for about $5 a film. Added bonus, free shipping on Amazon.com orders.

PBS: free. Downton Abby!!!!!!!!

Pandora radio, also free.

I also occasionally will purchase a month or two of Showtime or HBO to catch up on Game of Thrones, Masters of Sex, Girls.....these services are $11 to $15 a month.
 
vinsanity0 said:
For 35 bucks you can get Chromecast. It plugs into the hdmi port on your TV. Then you can cast any video from your laptop or phone to the TV. From there you can find just about any TV show or movie for free.
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Does one need to involve a laptop and/or phone with Chromecast? I've never watched a video or movie on my phone (and have no desire to do so), and my laptop has a shitty graphics card and is dying anyway.

<sigh> I just want a way to watch TV on my TV, without involving too many other devices. Trying to find an economical and relatively simple way to do this sucks.
 
Just adding my two cents...

We can't get cable where we live - or I would (I offered to pay Comcast to run a line 2.4 miles out to our house, they declined because they would be responsible for the "maintenance" and there are not enough folks along the way to make it worth their while). So. We have Dish network for TV - I have no beefs with them but we get WAY more channels than we need and pay for them.:rolleyes:

I know that most of the music we listen to comes via Pandora (via MrS's phone). We also have an external hard-drive that contains all of the CDs that we owned (300+) before we moved. (But I think that now we just You-Tube the video if we want a specific song?:confused: - and the boys just toss it up to the "big screen"?)

We tried satellite internet for a while too (Hughes network). Too. Damn. Slow. Can't get cable internet or anything, really, that requires a actual line to the house. Phone lines are WAY too slow (and we don't have a home line anyway). So we have a Verizon Jetpack for backup and use MrS's (grandfathered in "unlimited" plan) for cellular internet. (The boys' computers can HDMI anything that they can see onto the "big screen"/projection TV - including all the stuff we downloaded to an external hard-drive when we lived in town).

I'm curious about the Roku stick that others are talking about - is this a cellular thing? (our property is near a major interstate so cell tower service is pretty good). I believe we already have Amazon Prime (because we do so much of our shopping online)

Our Blu-Ray player is whatever PlayStation first had that feature, and at least one of the boys' computers will play DVDs and throw them up on the "big screen".

To be perfectly honest, I have NO IDEA how any of this stuff works...when the boys are gone (like this weekend) - all I really need is internet access (so I can play my games and post here). Sometimes I want to watch DVDs and I muddle through somehow...

*********************

These are the times when I feel "old". I am not techno-savvy, although I have lived through the analog to digital age. When I started out, computer programs ran off of audio cassette tapes, then came floppy disks that were actually "floppy" = but that wasn't even the beginning because Dad programmed engineering problems with fucking PUNCH CARDS. How is a sci-fi geek girl supposed to keep up with this shit?!
 
nycindie said:
Does one need to involve a laptop and/or phone with Chromecast? I've never watched a video or movie on my phone (and have no desire to do so), and my laptop has a shitty graphics card and is dying anyway.

<sigh> I just want a way to watch TV on my TV, without involving too many other devices. Trying to find an economical and relatively simple way to do this sucks.
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Yes, Chromecast casts a signal from a laptop, phone or tablet to the TV. The reason I use it is because I can find basically anything for free so the only thing I am paying for is my internet service.

It sounds like you want a set top box of some sort like Roku, Verge, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, etc. I have a Sony box with a DVD player. We don't use the streaming portion because the free content basically sucks. In my mind, paying for streaming services isn't much different than paying for cable.

Why don't you want to use your phone? If you are connected to your wireless internet it would use no data.
 
vinsanity0 said:
Why don't you want to use your phone? If you are connected to your wireless internet it would use no data.
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Honestly, I don't have the first clue about how to watch a movie on my phone. No idea! I would find it frustrating to watch a movie on a small screen, anyway. I use my phone for phone calls, texting, checking the weather, and some surfing the web, but not much more. It's an older model Android phone on a pre-paid plan. The way I do things now, when I want to watch a movie on my TV, I play a DVD on my DVD player (not Blu-Ray).

As for my very limited, basic wi-fi service, it sucks; it goes in and out a lot and it's not unlimited. I would think a movie would eat up a lot of my wi-fi allotment. If watching TV nowadays is going to depend on my having the internet, I am going to have to look for a better internet provider. All I have for that is this shitty wi-fi service.

I learned this week that a company called Charter Communications (never heard of it before) just bought Time Warner, so I wonder if maybe my cable options will eventually be better (meaning less expensive) than they were. Anybody know anything about Charter?
 
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nycindie said:
Does one need to involve a laptop and/or phone with Chromecast? .
Click to expand...

No, it plugs into your t.v. and streams from your wireless service. Easy as can be.

<sigh> I just want a way to watch TV on my TV, without involving too many other devices. Trying to find an economical and relatively simple way to do this sucks.[/QUOTE]

Yes, that's exactly what a Roku does, as well as well the Chromcast, also a million other streaming devices. It plugs into your t.v., --assuming you have wireless internet at home. No need to watch stuff on your computer or phone.
 
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