Alternatives to paid TV

[GKC]

We live out in the country, and there is no cable TV service. Our options are DirecTV or DISH, in terms of paid TV providers. An antenna gets next to nothing...reception is poor on even local channels. I am tired of paying about $70 a month for connections to three televisions, with no premium channels and no DVR. (We used to have more connections, a DVR, and STARZ, but they raised the rates so we cut down the services we get to keep the bill to what we used to pay.)

I read all the time about people who have cut out their TV service altogether, and my wife and I are talking about it. We do have DSL internet service, so we could use an internet-based service. I really don't watch much television anyway...for me, it's mostly background noise. There are a couple of network shows I do like to watch, like "Sons of Anarchy" but I think I can watch those online. My wife (who is disabled) does watch a lot of shows (History channel, House Hunters, etc) that I'm not sure we could get without a satellite.

Any recommendations or experience with other forms of television service? Like Hulu Plus, for example? We also have a Netflix account, so we can watch movies and some television shows there. What about local news and weather? (I know we can get local weather updates online, and I'm sure we can access the local stations' websites for information.)

 

[LoadEmUp]

I understand your TV reception is poor, so is mine. Try this website to see if there is any hope of getting success with a Digital TV antenna -http://www.antennaweb.org

This will let you rule it out completely or see if there is a chance for local stations by using the correct Antenna. If your TVs are digital ready, then you can hook up multiple sets to the antenna without additional "boxes".

If you have one of the Apple iDevices, there are some APPs available from the likes of ABC, NBC, Fox, etcetera that let you view some of the broadcast content, but I believe some of them require you to have a "service provider" (paid TV like cable or FIOS) to be able to view most of the content - so that may not really provide you with free TV.

Hopefully others can share their experiences and suggestions to give you more options.

Also, See this thread:http://smith-wessonforum.com/lounge/377699-fans-westerns-like-me-check-free-site-out.html

 

[GKC]

Thanks. I checked the antennaweb site, and it said that no stations could be reliably received in my location.

I was just on the Hulu site, and there are a lot of shows available...more than I'd ever watch. My wife is a sports fan (I'm not) and she has to be able to see the various sporting events - like the NBA series, and NFL (in the fall.) I didn't see any sports channels...and that wouldn't be good for her.

I wish DirecTV would offer a package where you could just pick the channels you wanted...and not have to get all the rest you don't want...like maybe a couple of dollars per channel, or something.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

There is so much streaming content to watch on TV via the Net that I'm getting close to canceling cable TV. If I could just get Fox News... Megyn Kelly.... wow.

 

[L Pete]

Alternative to paid TV.....Boredom...

 

[GKC]

Alternative to paid TV.....Boredom...

Maybe...for the wife, anyway. For me, I can pop a movie into the DVD player (or even my laptop) and read a book on my Kindle, and I'm entertained.

When my mother died some years ago, we canceled her cable TV service, and everything else except electric and water. It took us a couple of years to get around to cleaning out her house, and selling it...we'd go down and spend a few days sorting through stuff, and then come back home. (We weren't in any big rush...plus, since she lived in San Antonio, it was kinda like going on vacation.) We'd always take a lot of movies with us, and watch them on our laptops...we had hot spot connectivity via our phones, so we had internet access. Wasn't too bad.

I know my wife wouldn't like it if she couldn't watch the basketball or football games live...so, that's the biggest concern with cancelling our satellite TV right now.

 

[Onomea]

My son watches NBA games online with some sort of paid service. In his case he does not watch live due to time zones and his job, so I don't know if you can watch live or not. I would assume the NFL must have a similar service.

I use Netflix and Amazon Prime for TV and movie entertainment, some iTunes, but that is pay as you go. For news I read newspapers online, and you can watch some CNN and Fox News stories online.

You might look at some of the devices for online viewing on your TV, like AppleTV, Roku, etc., and see what you think. These, or at least Apple TV, which is the one I have, have services like Hulu and NetFlix built in.

 

[Calaveras Slim]

I understand your problem. For years, all I had was out side antenna and the reception was ok. About 2005 my first wife brought in Dish and I still have it. First wife passed in 2011 and I considered dropping the system but what the heck. I remarried about 2 years later and she lives for that TV. She has her own TV.

Me? I watch it one night a week unless there is a movie special on starz. Duke, Selleck, Eastwood et al.

Rest of the time it stays off.

I have my hobbies and the computer. I'm content.

 

[walter o]

f your wife watches the Tv she will miss the shows without cable .After my wife passed (She watched lots of tv ).I dropped cable and just pick up stations from an indoor antenna , I don't watch much T..V. . Living near Chicago we have lots of T.V. on the AIR ,and pocketed $80.00 per mo.
Check out your & wife's needs then decide.

 

[S&W ucla]

I picked up 3 networks and 2 educational channels with rabbit ears, great reception. Then the IMPROVEMENT of digital TV promising better reception and more channels. Big lie to make everyone buy new tvs. Now I cannot pickup anything without building a tower and antennas. News and S&W on the internet, dvds for movies, enough for me! If satellite ever goes to ala carte instead of 200 channel packages of junk I don't want, I might reconsider. Sorry I can't help you but I "feel your pain".

 

[quneur]

The Roku box is one of the best investment I made. The next is Nexflix account. The most entertainment $9 can buy.

Roku has channels, some free and some paid. It has channels such as Nexflix, Amazon Prime, HuluPlus, etc. along with free channels like KungFu Theatre, several military channels, a few gun channels, many, many devotional channels, etc. Roku now has YouTube and Fox affiliated local news channels. I end up watching Netflix on Roku more than my basic cable.

I keep basic because I enjoy watching NFL games and Fox News. Most other shows have become fairly boring. Even when I did pay to have Showtime, I found I watch more local TV than any other paid subscribtions.

 

[BigCityChief]

My alternative to paid TV is reading and listening to good music.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[george minze]

Sadly it seems they get you one way or another....I like history, military and FOX news,,,Our granddaughter comes after school and watches the teen age stuff........Now they say because of the AT&T purchase of Direct TV the cost will go up....Well of course it will go up..Does anything go down in cost..There has been a few things like the cost of a TV set...Heck they should to give the darn things to you and collect on the service end...Duh! Heck now they get it on both ends.......Why should they change...I wonder if you go on welfare you get free TV service, they sure have a abundance of cell phones...

 

[ibewbull]

The Roku box is one of the best investment I made. The next is Nexflix account. The most entertainment $9 can buy.

Roku has channels, some free and some paid. It has channels such as Nexflix, Amazon Prime, HuluPlus, etc. along with free channels like KungFu Theatre, several military channels, a few gun channels, many, many devotional channels, etc. Roku now has YouTube and Fox affiliated local news channels. I end up watching Netflix on Roku more than my basic cable.

I keep basic because I enjoy watching NFL games and Fox News. Most other shows have become fairly boring. Even when I did pay to have Showtime, I found I watch more local TV than any other paid subscribtions.

Roku Streaming Player

Roku is less than $100 to buy. Lot free shows come with it. Yohoo , Public TV and much more. Then You can add like AMAZON PRIME, $80 a year which has other things included.

Amazon.com: Amazon Prime (One Year Membership)@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31vWhpg8EZL.@@AMEPARAM@@31vWhpg8EZL

I have been hooked on the amazon prime shows since we got the roku.
The Shield, NYPD BLUE, Closer, Lie To Me and X files. Movies too. Some free some PPV.

Net Flicks can be purchased and many others.

YOU WILL NEED INTERNET. i HAVE WIRELESS.

 

[JJEH]

The moment we quit DirectTV we were really happy. Way to expensive for the service provided in our opinion.

We use Netflix, Hulu and Target Ticket to watch TV. News we get from the internet.

 

[GKC]

Thanks for all the replies so far. As far as I am concerned, I would cancel our DirecTV service today...I checked out Hulu Plus, and they have a ton on content available. The only hangup is the availability of sports...that is a deal breaker for her. The NBA games haven't been on network channels (at least here) so I'm not sure that keeping even the basic package would solve that...although the NFL games mostly are on network channels.

 

[pluspea]

There is so much streaming content to watch on TV via the Net that I'm getting close to canceling cable TV. If I could just get Fox News... Megyn Kelly.... wow.

If you search hard enough you can usually locate a site that broadcast fox news, I watch this one on my kindle while my wife watches something else.

Fox News Live | Watch Fox News live Streaming | Watch Fox News Online | Baqiworld.com

 

[the ringo kid]

There is so much streaming content to watch on TV via the Net that I'm getting close to canceling cable TV. If I could just get Fox News... Megyn Kelly.... wow.

I think you can via the Fox website. I know you can get links to Bill O'Reilly, Greta and Hannity

 

[the ringo kid]

Oops, beat me to it.

 

[Smoke]

Books??????