I'm sincerely thinking of getting rid of cable for television (will keep it for internet) and using a digital antenna and a streaming device. We live on the side of a hill, so we may not be the best candidate to do this.

Anyone here gone that route? How has your experience been?

My daughter does it and loves it. I still have my Xfinity.

Ana

Hey L4L,

The only thing we've ever used cable for is Internet access. For entertainment I built a PC that we dedicate to streaming and storing media like movies and music, but now-a-days there are bunches of streaming/cloud devices available that seem to work pretty good from what I've heard. Our main access for movies, mini-series and so on is through either Netflix or Amazon, although we'll be dropping Amazon because I haven't had the best "Prime" experience over the past year. Some of the devices that are out require a subscription service to get all that they offer. That's why we went with just plain independent streaming services.

Since digital isn't pushed out over the airwaves with as much strength as the old TV/radio signals, you'll want to do some checking around your immediate area on which type of antenna would work the best. We had tried the table top "rabbit ears" style, but didn't get the best reception so switched to a small outdoor antenna that we hang from the wall (inside) and that improved our reception quite a bit.

we did. we watch netflix and hulu a lot. granddaughter pays for both of them she also paid for amazon prime but am making her cancel it since none of us found anything on it for us. the antenna we use isn't big enough to get a signal 60 miles from us for us to get any decent channels. but as long as i can get my channel 12 for some of my shows i watch i am happy. the antenna we need to get is 60.00 but right now that will wait.

Ana, do you know which streaming services she uses?

Thanks Trail, I had read that outdoor antennaes were superior, and that you shouldn't use omnidirectional ones either. Hanging it indoors is an idea though...

Thanks, My

I've never had cable tv. I have an old tv (not digital) with rabbit ears and a converter box. When it is windy/too hot/rainy/etc I have to move them around because I lose the signal. Different positions for different stations.

L4L, no I'm not sure. I asked her but she said hubby set it up and she'll see if he will answer her from work.

I consider going on a straight antenna every month when I get my cable bill. I have TV, Internet, and Phone all together from one provider. Awesome service, but expensive and more so every year. However, if I go off the cable I'd still have at least 1/2 the charge for my computer and phone AND the only channels I can get are from Mexico. All in Spanish. Their signal is so strong it overrides anything else. One of our 'local' channels (news stations) actually uses a facility and tower in Mexico. I'm only 5 miles from the border so I'm sticking to cable where I can get a good, clear, uninterrupted signal all the time. The better it gets, the more expensive it gets.

Thanks, Ana

Sorta, we are doing a trial run on the kitchen tv and not picking up any local channels...just NPR. But as I said, we live on the side of a hill and the station I want is on the other side of the hill.

Hubby got an inside antenna to try so our next step will be to get an outdoor one.

I can get a lot of stuff through Roku.

Our cable bill has gotten higher and higher and higher...it's gone up $60.00 in the last 3 years and that's not including any premium services. There is only one company in our area so they can charge what they want. I wouldn't mind so much but there seems not to be much on that I want to see...tons of channels full of junk. I'd love to ditch it and just use them for internet until a competitor finds us.

I'll have to go investigate CBS all access. Or I could just stop watching tv

cbs is the main channel for me. i know those 2wks in the hospital i had problems finding something to watch on the cable channels. makes a difference not having it and i do miss it some times.

Amazing that CBS is a favorite channel by others. I love CBS. More programs to my liking than any of the others. I also like AMC, SPIKE and A&E and Syfy. I have no premium channels because I found that with the limited time I watch TV, I don't really need all those 'movies' and things which just get repeated. I buy DVDs at the thrift store of movies that others get rid of and it's really amazing how many things people donate that are really good stuff. Costs me about 1.99 to 2.99 for the DVDs. Cheaper than going to the movies, and much cheaper than buying a just released DVD. Just have to browse frequently and wait a bit to see some of my list. We have only one cable service here, but Dish network, Uverse and one other serve our area. We are coming up in the world now that we have sidewalks!

I have a service from my local phone company called Prism TV. I used to have Direct TV but I am finished with them. I have no premium channels and Prism is much cheaper. I will keep it one year, and then see if I can switch to over the air local TV with a roof antenna and a Roku with no other service. I have signed up for CBS All Access also. I think it will take me a while to figure this out so that I can see my favorite shows. I only like old movies and a few new ones like the new Star Wars. I am tired of being squeezed by the cable companies.
Andrea

I guess you could say I never had the cord. Other than roommate arrangements, I've never had cable TV. I've only had it for internet service as I do now. I currently use Amazon Prime and Netflix on a Roku 3. I like the Roku box as a standalone streaming platform but there are many TV's, Blu-Ray players, etc. that also support streaming services. For TV, I have this Indoor Antenna and it works well for me but I have a clear line to the broadcast antennas.

Thanks, Bob, I think our problem is our location. We are only 30 miles from all the stations I want, but we snuggle into the wrong side of a big hill with the stations on the opposite side. I really want to cut the cord, but I do like local news etc and don't want to be without at least CBS and ABC. I know I can stream CBS.

Eventually we will install an outdoor antenna and give that a try.

My family cut the cord for about a year. I keep crawling back because I want Internet, news channels, sports on the weekends, and immediate access to Game of Thrones, etc. when they air. But I'll be much happier when the cable companies finally cave and become far more a la carte and affordable in their offerings. I'd rather give up 600 channels I don't watch in favor of the 20 I *might*.

I regularly watch less than 10 channels. I too, wish we could choose what we want on a 'package'. I'd save a bundle. Who cares if I now have 30 MUSIC channels? Duh.

Brody, I'm with you and Sorta. I just keep hoping that one day we might have a choice of carriers where we live. So far that hasn't happened, but hope springs eternal.

It's kinda sad, but I'm sure most of us remember when we could get EVERY channel in the world with a coat hanger and tinfoil. Ah those were the good old days.

I could never cut the cord, I'm hooked on some shows. I don't wanna have to pay iTunes to watch the episodes, the next day. And I need the tv as background noise, every now and then.

Oh and my husband finally added DVR.

We got rid of cable more than 20 years ago. We have two "big ugly dishes", 7 1/2 and 9 ft. At first we were able to get any channel by subscription, but that stopped a long time ago. Now we use regular feeds of several networks (ABC, NBC, Fox, CW and PBS). The nice thing about this is that we can get East coast broadcasts earlier in the day so I don't have to stay up late to watch. My husband can usually find a sporting event feed by doing a search. We have a small terrestrial antenna as well to get CBS as well as the other local broadcasts. I also have Netflix and I get other TV shows that are shown on AMC, HBO, etc by picking up the DVDs at my library. I don't miss cable at all.

I quit Cable TV service years ago when the cable company blocked access to a series I was watching over some quarrel they were having with Disney. (I think it was called "The Tenth Kingdom" so this would have been back in 2000 according to Wikipedia). That was the last straw, since that series had been about all I was watching on TV anymore. Most of my free time was spent either playing games or exploring the Internet anyway, so I can't say I ever missed TV. If I want to watch a movie, I'll get the DVD.

My Dad quit Cable TV service for a different reason. Lightning struck the cable line up the road from his house and fried his cable box. When he called for service, the "service" person on the phone accused him of tampering with the box. My Dad was offended and cancelled his subscription. You'd think they'd have had sense enough to realize something had happened when everyone on the same road phoned in for service, but the dopes accuse the customer instead.

For a while my Dad had Satellite, but eventually lost interest in watching and stopped that too. Now the neighbor's trees have grown so they block the view of the satellite, so we wouldn't be able to use the old antenna even if we wanted to.

Occasionally I see TV programs when I'm a captive audience in a waiting room. The frequency and length of commercial interruptions make TV intolerable to watch now. When I was a kid, there would be 3 commercial breaks per half hour, each about 2 minutes long, and evenly spaced. It's way more than that now. The "Oprah" show that was piped in at the automobile repair shop was being interrupted by a commercial every 30 seconds at one point. Oprah only had time for a couple of sentences before the next commercial. Maybe they normally do that towards the end of the show, but I don't know how people can stand to watch.

Many years ago, around the time Cable TV was first available, there used to be several Cable channels without commercial interruptions, or with commercials only between shows (or movies), but that doesn't seem to exist anymore.