Hi folks! A few years back my wife and I deciced to drop our land line phone and only use our cell phones. When we did this, we cut our monthly bills by about $60. Now we're looking at doing the same for TV. Cable is ridiculously expensive with all the taxes and fees. We were thinking about only having high speed internet, and using something like Netflix to get TV shows for our daughter. If we did that we'd save about another $80 each month. I've been reading about other services that provide more of the current TV shows like Hulu, but I was hoping some folks here could provide information about their experiences doing something like this. Is there anyone here that has going internet only and used the internet for television or phone services? -Matt
I've been internet only for over a year now. If you have a newer TV you can take advantage of digital TV over the air. You can also purchase a converter box for ~$50. You'll need an antenna, though. Check out AntennaWeb for help in choosing an antenna for your location. I'm also a Netflix subscriber and bought a Roku (Roku Digital Video Player | Watch Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Video On Demand, and MLB.TV on Roku Player) box as well. Netflix for online watching only is $7.99 a month, and to add the DVD plans the cheapest one is $9.99 a month (which includes the online streaming). The Roku box also can stream Hulu plus, but I've never looked into how much Hulu plus costs. I have a 42" TV and the quality looks just as good as cable, and they even have HD content that looks excellent as well. You need at least a 3Mbs internet download speed for HD content, though. Anyways, I hardly miss cable. The only things I really miss are live sports and news, but we can catch the major networks over the air and catch CSPAN and talk shows on the AM/FM radio. Plus the internet has all the news we could ever need. By the way, Netflix has plenty of programming for children as well, so your daughter will have plenty she can watch. Good luck with the transition if you do it!
Are the only stations one can get with the converter box and antenna the major networks or can one get stations like Fox News, CW, Syfy, USA, A&E, etc.?
The only stations are the "antenna-based" stations. Cable/Satellite stations like Fox News are not available.
I decided years ago, when moving into a new apartment, that I would not buy a TV for the reason that I would rather spend my time doing other things, but if I were to calculate how much money I have saved as a side effect by not paying for cable, it would amount to about 10% of my entire life savings. That's pretty amazing, eh? Lately, I've been a bit of a bum and have sunk into the dark abyss watching television programs. I have found that the Hulu experience is a very positive one. It's a time saver in that the commercial breaks are significantly shorter than when watching on tv, and convenient in that you can watch the shows whenever you so choose, without needing a recording device. The down side, if any, is that you have to wait a few days after airing before most episodes are posted, some shows don't post very many of their episodes at all and some only post episodes of previous seasons. For me, none of that is a very big deal since I don't mind watching an episode later than the rest of the world (consider that I don't usually watch tv anyway, why should I care?), and that my only time sensitive show, America's Most Wanted, usually posts the episode the very day after it airs on television. On another note, I find that Google Voice is a superb alternative to a landline telephone. The only thing you can't do with it is call 911, for which I can use my cell phone. I also have all of my important local numbers: fire, ambulance, police, etc. saved in my Google Voice contacts, which have proven to be extremely useful in that I have had to use them several times.
We do have cell phones, but we've also looked into getting something like Magic Jack so we'd have a house phone. Anyone have experience with that? -Matt
My suggestion is to try Google Voice. It doesn't work quite like Magic Jack, but a really nice thing is that it can be accessed from any computer that has the internet without needing any special device (other than, of course, standard computer speakers and a microphone). Since Google Voice is free, you can try it out asap, while you are still contemplating Magic Jack.
Most of my Caribbean relatives have it, since it means calling the States is essentially free. MagicJack is awesome. You can use your same phone device, it plugs into MagicJack just like it would into the wall. It also have the same sound quality as traditional phone service, and works the same way in that you just pick up the receiver and dial, which is a winning advantage when there are some in your house who are nontechnical people. If they ever release Linux drivers, I'll definitely get it again, but alas, for now it only works with Windows and Mac OSX. -=Steve=-
Unless they have updated their device, it requires your PC to be turned on. There are alternatives which plug directly into your router and do not require a constantly running PC.
The only problem with Magic Jack is that you have to leave your PC running all the time to receive incoming calls. Another VOIP device that does not have this requirement is Ooma. Free Home Phone Service | Ooma It gets some of the highest user ratings on CNET that I've ever seen.
With Ooma you have to buy their device, and the cheapest is $220. For those of us who leave their computer on anyway, that makes MagicJack a lot more attractive. -=Steve=-
We are seriously planning on this too. Already bought a converter and used the other pc for my personal watching. I have to let go soon of the cable since it is my daughter that is only using it. I could let her use the pc then.
I opted not to get cable/satellite when I moved to my current residence about 13 years ago. I have an outdoor antenna (I live outside of town; inside town probably only need rabbit ears) and a new TV. The converter boxes are only needed on older TVs. Something to consider. One can't hook a VCR to record programs on the new TVs. Either a VCR with built-in tuner or a converter box is needed to do that. The argument is that video tape cannot record HD, but if I am recording a show to watch, usully a news magazine like 20/20 or 48 Hours, it's usually not a big deal to me to have HD. My eyesight isn't that sharp anywy (smile). So I have an older small TV in the corner with a converter box to record, and use my new TV ith built-in modern tuner to watch stuff 'live'. I get FOX, CW, NBC, two music channels (rock and country), ABC, ABC weather, CBS, CW (CBS2), 2-4 PBS channels from Florida(2 ar eusually on, another two depends on the time of day), and a different Georgia PBS source with 2-4 channels comes in about half the time. I live in Florida near the Georgia border.
I have Cable TV at home, but only the roommates are using them. I am on the Internet only. TV Shows/ HULU.Com, SideReel.com, News...all over, but love Newsy.com because I don't have time to watch multiple sources.
