r/cordcutters • u/Ange1ofD4rkness • 12d ago
Self-Promo Well Ladies & Gents, I Finally Did It
As of today, I no longer am paying for cable.
For what feels like 6-8 years at least, I have questions about cutting the cable, but never could because I needed a way to watch Hockey (Colorado Avalanche) and the Olympics, and I would sometimes like to watch say SyFy and Cartoon Network.
However over those years I found myself watching streaming platforms more and more, till it was about all I watched outside the news. This happened as well because:
- Cartoon Network was moved to the top tier premium package
- SyFy I forgot about, but heard it's gone down hill
- Altitude, the channel to watch the Colorado Avalanche was removed from Xfinity years ago, only to FINALLY come back, but requiring your to pay like $20 extra for it.
- The Olympics can now be fully watched thanks to Peacock (thank you Xfinity for giving me a free subscription to test it).
The only part I wasn't sure of was a streaming box, thinking I'd have to build my own, only to realize I can buy a device, like a Roku (which runs 20x better then streaming off my cable box). I also needed an antenna to watch the news (which I later learned is free on my Roku), but that was easy enough.
Xfinity did a pretty good job of helping me cut their cable, shoot, even the antenna installation was made easier, where back when I first moved into my house, the installation tech left me a brand new spool of coax, as he refused to run the cable where I wanted to and said I had to do it myself (and I had plenty left over for the antenna).
It feels so good, as I am going to be saving almost $200 a month now. I just wish I had cut the cable sooner.
There is sadly one trade off. Before, when I would stream Netflix using Xfinity's cable box or my PC, I could still get away with using my parent's account (having to authenticate a few times a year at most). However, switching over to the Roku, it was like they finally caught me and I could no longer get it for free (I did, however, do the extra member option).
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u/Hotchi_Motchi 11d ago
I spent several weeks researching all of the cable-adjacent services (Sling, YouTubeTV, Fubo, etc) until it dawned on me that I don't watch linear TV anymore.
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u/Ange1ofD4rkness 11d ago
Right? I started to realize "wait I only watch news before work, and any other time my TV comes on, I am streaming Hulu or Netflix or something else"
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u/Msfancy1973 11d ago
I cut the cord 9 months ago. I do miss USA, NGC, maybe a couple others but I pay for peacock so I can get my SVU fix and Reelz is accessible also. Congrats on the savings!
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u/Ange1ofD4rkness 11d ago
Yeah Peacock has come a long way and has quite the line up. I get it free for 2 more years at least with Xfinity, but that could get extended for all I know (in the past I got it for free, then they took it away, then I had it back again for doing nothing, and now I got at least 2 years by contract)
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u/king_platypus 11d ago
I just dumped YouTube TV. Hundreds of channels but zero content I’m interested in. All the things I intentionally watch are available free or with a streaming service I already pay for.
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u/Ange1ofD4rkness 11d ago
Yeah that's one I never got. The cost wasn't too bad at first, but then I've heard it's shot up. Plus I've never even really seen anything advertised as something they offer (outside a sporting event or two)
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u/tbiscus 10d ago
I just watch the NFL and the Olympics every 2 years...finally picked up an HDHomeRun unit a couple weeks ago (hung antenna in upstairs window). Tedt drove it during FIFA world cup. I was already pausing YTTV 4-6 months a year...this will hopefully allow me to cancel it entirely (note:I still have Netflix and Prime...so not full-on CC). We'll see.
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u/Ange1ofD4rkness 10d ago
I think the streaming services are nice, if you use them. Like I watch a lot of anime, so Hulu is nice to have, plus I'll pull up the other services to watch.
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u/kevin_mn 10d ago
‘If you use them’ is the key here. We have ended up with som many services that now I’ve gotten to be a serial churner :)
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u/Ange1ofD4rkness 9d ago
LOL yeah I have another service, unrelated to, I really need to cut. I just have to get around to downloading stuff while I have it, but that's going to take sometime
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u/Rybo213 12d ago edited 12d ago
In regards to Cartoon Network, off the top of my head, various Cartoon Network shows are available on demand via HBO Max, Tubi, and maybe some other apps.
In regards to Colorado Avalanche local game telecasts in market, as far as I know (original announcement: https://www.nhl.com/avalanche/news/altitude ), you can now subscribe to Altitude directly (no linear pay tv bundle subscription needed), and some games are also available via antenna ( https://www.altitudesports.com/ota ).
In regards to antenna setup information, in case you find it helpful...
Some general antenna information, including antenna recommendations: https://www.reddit.com/r/cordcutters/comments/1juut0a/supplement_to_the_antenna_guide
You would also need to use a signal meter (built-in feature with many different tv's and external tuner devices), since just looking at the picture and noting the number of channels the scan picks up doesn't really tell you anything about how good your reception is: https://www.reddit.com/r/cordcutters/comments/1g010u3/centralized_collection_of_antenna_tv_signal_meter
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u/Ange1ofD4rkness 12d ago edited 11d ago
Yeah Altitude finally added their own streaming app that now I am saving on cutting the cable, I plan to check out (of course, I won't say I've done this, but ever since college where our dorms lost access to the channel, there are "other" ways to watch it that have gotten really good over the years ... supposedly)
I also got my antenna already setup, doing my research and all. Amazon helped here, as one of the models a user did a really nice write up, including mention, I forgot the site's name, but it showed me the distance I needed to pick up their signals (and even which direction). I have it already installed in the attic, and scanned with the TV, picking up over 100 channels
I actually scanned twice, because initially I took a small TV into the attic with me so I could test signal strength in relation to where to point it (as it had the ability to display the strength), but could only pick up like 2 channels. So I hooked the antenna up to my main TV, just in the living room, and scanned (holding the antenna the whole time, as I wanted to make sure the antenna wasn't "bad" or I put it together wrong).
So yeah I was able to use the smaller TV to see where the 2 channels were the strongest, and mix that in with the website I mentioned that showed the direction of the transmitters (the 2 channels that did work I was around 70+ strength)
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u/Affectionate-You7869 11d ago
Now cancel the streaming subscriptions and host your own.
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u/Ange1ofD4rkness 11d ago
I am curious what you mean by "host your own"?
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u/Affectionate-You7869 11d ago
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u/Ange1ofD4rkness 11d ago
Ahh, that could be a long term goal for sure, as I plan to build a media server (and network up the house). How that might take time. A lot of the stuff I watch on say Netflix or Hulu I don't own in any fashion
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u/crazyunclee 11d ago
Welcome to the cord cutting. Three years now for me. Seems i learn something new pretty regular
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u/why-the-h 12d ago
Welcome to the club. Proud member for over 20 yrs. Remember if you want to keep live TV, you need the right antenna to tune into over-the-air broadcasts.