Help! I need to economize so I'm thinking about ditching cable and subscribing to...

[Fridays Child]

...something like HuluPlus or Netflix. But I don't know which one to pick or maybe there are other services, too. I'd really appreciate advice from the good and wise people of DU.

Your thoughts?

[Fridays Child]

1. Hello?

Did everyone go to bed?

Maybe I'll kick this in the morning.

[hunter]

2. I ditched cable for...

... well, not for any television that costs money. I have a little home-made wire antenna the picks up CBS-NBC-ABC-FOX-PBS and the major Spanish language networks, but we still don't watch much.

Quitting cable didn't even much change the number of movies we rent, currently from Redbox since our local video store closed.

I did get an ebook however, it cost less than two months of cable.

There's more than enough free reading for a lifetime...

http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Free_eBooks

[Fridays Child]

4. Thanks for your post!

I can easily live without the crap that passes for television. If I never see another commercial or reality TV show, that'll be just fine with me. There are several TV series that my daughter and I like to watch but we can get a couple of them online.

Thanks for the eBook link. My daughter has a Nook and I have Kindle on my Android, so we have plenty of portable reading. It's funny to think that I have about 30 books in my telephone. I remember, back in the early '80s, how excited I was to have a cordless phone--even though it didn't work beyond about 50 feet from the base. How times have changed!

[marzipanni]

3. We got Netflix streaming this past year and use the Wii to stream it

I like documentaries and a British television series called Doc Martin, and a Norwegian-American series made for Netflix called Lilyhammer; my husband likes those, and what I call prick flicks, as opposed to what he calls chick flicks

The good films we missed at the theater all seem to be on Netflix DVD subscription ($7.99/month each service- streaming and DVD) which I'm tempted to get for a while.

My friend has ROKU and really likes it. You can read about it in this article which tells about ways to get movies, etc. without cable, though it's nearly a year old so may already be a bit outdated(!?)

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2011-12-06/holiday-tech-gifts-home-entertainment-systems/51679660/1




edit to clarify a bit

[Fridays Child]

5. Many thanks for the article link.

I'll check it out and Google for any updated information.

[cyberswede]

6. I like Netflix better than Hulu Plus, but...

I haven't watched current network TV shows in years (Hulu Plus has more recent shows/episodes than Netflix, I think), so after my free trial of Hulu Plus, I canceled - we just didn't use it.

We watch a lot of British mysteries, and there are tons of them on Netflix. There are lots of shows for the kids, too (Spongebob, kid sitcoms from Disney & Nick, etc). You can also find past seasons of current shows, just not typically the current season. You probably won't find many new release movies on the streaming service, though.

I believe Hulu Plus has Criterion Collection versions of movies, which is nice. Amazon Prime also includes streaming video.

We have 2 Roku boxes and a Wii for streaming - not to mention a laptop and a couple iPads. We can stream to multiple devices simultaneously with no problem (we have fiberoptic service for our ISP). Roku is cool - there are lots of channels that you can subscribe to (Crackle for movies, Pandora, NASA channel, etc). Some are free, and some are fee-based (MLB, for example).

You can go to the Netflix website and browse before you decide to sign up - to make sure there's stuff there you'll like.

Have fun deciding!

[Fridays Child]

12. Lots of great information!

Thanks!

[HopeHoops]

7. "I've got 13 channels of shit on the TV to choose from (to choose from, to choose from)."

It's 400 or so now, but it's still shit. Just ditch the cable. You've got better things to do with your time - like look at kitteh pictures in The Lounge.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. I bought a Roku and mostly watch the following streaming services:

1. Netflix: For foreign and independent films as well as British series and documentaries $7.99 a month. The Netflix Facebook page is full of posts from brainless brats who cuss out Netflix for not having the latest slasher flix or gross-out comedies, but the studios tend to hold back their theatrical releases.

2. Hulu Plus:Includes the Criterion collection of classic films, and since it is run by the networks, it has the latest episodes of many network programs, plus a large collection of anime and Korean dramas, as well as a fair number of old series (1970s and even earlier) and some oddities (Swedish and Australian series). $7.99 a month (You can watch all the programs free on your computer.)

3. Acorn TV: A more limited service, $24.99 a year, scheduled to go up to 29.99. A rotating selection of 18 British and Canadian series from the titles put out by Acorn media. I just finished watching "I, Claudius" for the first time since I saw it on PBS in the 1970s, and it holds up very well. There's a lot of overlap with Netflix, but it also features some programs that are not available there. You can stream the first episode of each title free but have to be a member to stream the rest.

The Roku also features some free channels, but the quality varies tremendously. I have not subscribed to Amazon Prime because 1) All the free videos I want to see are already on one of the three services above, and 2) Otherwise you pay by episode.

To use a Roku, you need a broadband connection, and for all models, a wireless network, although some models will accept an Ethernet cable (mine does, and I use it for more dependable streaming).

[Fridays Child]

13. Just got a letter from Comcast, today, saying that they will now be charging for data...

...by levels of usage. I think I'll still drop cable but it remains to be seen how streaming programming through my ISP will increase my Internet bill.

This just proves that the big ISPs know cable is being dropped in favor of Internet-based services, and they're determined to rip consumers blind, one way or the other.

[auburngrad82]

9. We live in the boonies and have never had cable but I have a recommendation

We recently bought a flat antenna that looks like a laminated sheet of paper called a Mohu. It is ten times better than any conventional antenna we've ever had. Our reception used to pixilate a lot when we were using a regular rabbit ear kind of antenna, but with the Mohu it never does. We also pick up more stations.

The website is www.gomohu.com. They're out of Raleigh, NC and you can only get the antenna directly from them. It's not expensive- around $35 for the basic and around $70 with a builtin signal booster. We got the one with the booster since we're way out on the edge of most normal antenna reception.

I don't have any ties or financial interests in Mohu. I am, however, a big fan.

Another way to economize is to look into Ooma for your phone service. It works over the internet and you do not need any kind of conventional phone line to use your existing phones. The equipment is a bit pricey- we paid around $300 for it but I think it's now available at Costco for around $220. The thing is, we've had it now for around 4-5 years and we've not had one phone bill since then and that includes long distance calls. So where we were paying $25-30 per month for basic phone service we now pay zilch. At that rate the equipment pays for itself after about 8-10 months. Then no more phone bills.

That one is located at www.ooma.com.

Again, no financial interest in Ooma.

And oh yeah, we've had Netflix for close to 10 years now and we watch way more movies and TV shows on DVD than we watch normal television. That way we get to watch what we want, not what the networks force feed us.

[Fridays Child]

14. Mohu sounds like a possibility.

I'll check it out. I no longer use a landline phone service but Ooma sounds like a good alternative for those who do. Although, as I mentioned upthread, now that Comcast is charging for data by levels of usage, any service that significantly increases ISP data usage will increase my Internet bill. I suspect that all of the major providers will eventually follow in Comcast's footsteps, if they haven't already.

[Chan790]

10. I did that.

Not to save money, I just prefer to do all my entertainment on the Media PC in my office. It has better picture and sound than my TV. Honestly, for how much cable cost you could sign up for both and still save about 80% over what most cable companies charge. Pair it with cheap VoIP and I'm down to one manageable internet bill. If I lived where I work, it'd be free because the entire neighborhood has this weird-idea community co-op WiFi exchange. It's an elegant solution to a common problem...rather than concerning itself with broadband piracy, everybody collectively agreed to not lock their routers. We're a punk art-space sharing internet access with a liberal activist church. Takoma Park, MD is a bit odd though.

The only problem is that more and more cable channels are going to this model where you have to enter the subscriber data from your cable company to access their episodes online. Then, there's channels like HBO that I'd pay for gladly to be able to access on the internet but can't get without cable. (In other words, I'd pay full-price for HBOgo if I could get it without having to have cable.)

I use Miro as a media browser and I have all my channels in one sidebar...not only Hulu, but also Crackle (which is free. It's Sony's ad-supported streaming service for their films and tv media-property. Watch movies from 2+ years ago with commercials.), A&E, USA, PBS, YouTube, FunnyorDie, SnagFilms (this is a site for independent films, usually really small-budget documentaries.), AMC and about 20 other channels and video-websites. Most of the individual channels are the same content as Hulu but they put it up on their sites earlier than Hulu. It also handles all my podcasts and other media content. It's an open-source donation-supported project, I usually throw them a few dollars (like $20) a year.

[fizzgig]

11. we have a newer tv, so we just plug it into the wall

we get all the local affiliates, about a half-dozen pbs channels, cspan, plenty of spanish channels and more god channels than i can count. if you don't have a newer tv, look into a digital converter box.

i haven't used huluplus, but i'm able to get my fill of tv with the free hulu programming, netflix and what comes out of the wall.

i like netflix, i'm just now finishing up the x-files (which i abandoned before the last few seasons when it aired) and have plenty of series lined up after that. netflix is great for brain crack, i think i'm going to start dr. who next. it's great because we can run it through the wii and not have to rely on the laptop.

[sendero]

15. We did just that .

.... two years ago. We use NetFlix streaming and DVD. Admittedly, the DVD by mail service is as good as it could be but there is something really nice about getting something instantly. Also, the streaming service is still weak on content. Very weak.

I'd also mention that we have a TV with the Netflix software built in and that helps a lot.