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Post 28 Apr 2014, 11:40 am

I had mentioned a while ago that I was going to be dropping my satellite tv. I do like wasting my time watching sports and mindless tv shows but the cost got too crazy. I had Directv (and liked it) with just the standard programming (no HBO or Showtime. etc) and it was $95 /mos.
Yeah, I could get it lowered by going through their retention people or switching to short term savings with cable but still, $50+ per month is just stupid to pay.

I finally had enough and pulled the trigger
I got a digital antenna that works great, the picture is as good or better than the satellite, and I pull in about a dozen free channels or so. (and one is a neat old re-run channel).
But that isn't enough when "nothing is on" so I got a Roku and hooked up with all these free services plus I spent the $8/mos to get Hulu Plus. It's been only one day and I am sure to miss the sports but so far it's awesome, even with the cost of the equipment and hulu plus fee, I should be in the black in only two months time!

Any others who did so and have some tips?
Any others thinking of doing the same?
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Post 28 Apr 2014, 12:14 pm

You can get most sports broadcasts for free on the internet anyway. I don't do it myself because I still have satellite tv so I can just watch it there, but I know loads of people who do.
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Post 28 Apr 2014, 3:05 pm

Bravo and congratulations to Tom. I hate the idea of paying for advertised TV, sounds like you've got some good alternatives going. And if there's any sports games you really want to see and can't get you can always go over to the lesbians next door.
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Post 30 Apr 2014, 7:04 am

The girls broke up and the house is for sale!
Too bad, we really liked them too!

as far as the Roku, it reminds me of the internet in it's early years. Lot's of really odd stuff, some useless crap but some really neat gems as well. I'm still playing around with what can be done. Right now the wife and i are watching Hulu Plus mostly and that has a fee but it's only $8 a month, similar to Netflix but more tv shows, less movies. I'm trying to find useful "other" channels that are free. I found some really cheesy old horror films. I just found mapquest but need to check it out at home.
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Post 30 Apr 2014, 7:41 am

GMTom wrote:The girls broke up and the house is for sale!
Too bad, we really liked them too!

as far as the Roku, it reminds me of the internet in it's early years. Lot's of really odd stuff, some useless crap but some really neat gems as well. I'm still playing around with what can be done. Right now the wife and i are watching Hulu Plus mostly and that has a fee but it's only $8 a month, similar to Netflix but more tv shows, less movies. I'm trying to find useful "other" channels that are free. I found some really cheesy old horror films. I just found mapquest but need to check it out at home.


I love my Roku. In fact I just got the new streaming stick for our living room TV to replace our 2011-edition Roku XD, and that's now down in our family room. I we usually use it for Netflix (kids shows), but have occasionally paid for Hulu Plus or bought something from Amazon Instant. What I've been doing recently is ripping my DVDs and using Plex Media Server to serve up the movies and tv shows I had on DVD to watch on either TV (we only have one crappy old dvd player) and on my phone/iPad. Takes some organization to get set up but works really well.
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Post 30 Apr 2014, 1:47 pm

GMTom wrote:Any others who did so and have some tips?
Any others thinking of doing the same?


I've never paid a cable bill. TV with bunny ears and shows on the computer is all I've had. It's not like I'm a snob: the main reason was that I knew that I'd watch it all the time. I like too many things, sports, science, nature, etc. etc. I knew cable was a drug to stay away from if I wanted a healthy, productive life.

Lots of live sports are NOT on the Internet though, but it's a great excuse to get yourself a local pub and become a regular. There's value in a bar where you're a regular and you can ask for the "usual."
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Post 30 Apr 2014, 2:09 pm

Lots of live sports are NOT on the Internet though,


They are if you're willing to look at illegal streams. I've only ever done it for PPV boxing events, which I don't feel too bad about because they're an outrageous ripoff, but I know loads of people who watch essentially any sporting event they want online and never pay a penny.