Life without cable

[GolfSpy WD]

I was looking at my cable bill and realized I spend a stupid amount of money just to watch the Golf Channel. Obviously I need internet, but I'm seriously considering getting rid of cable.

 

My question is, how will I get my golf fix? Saturday and Sunday rounds are typically on public channels, so that's not a problem. Sometimes events are streamed live too.

 

I know with Hulu Plus there are several golf channel shows like Big Break which I enjoy. Has anyone does this? Do you miss not having the golf channel?

[Kanoito]

I never watch TV. And when I need to watch golf, I do it online.

Getting rid of cable would be a good idea for me, but it's included in our rent... watch it or not.

[BK in TEXAS]

Haven't had cable in 10 years. Just over the air channels. Saves a ton of money and time watching TV....there are usually better things to do. We have high speed internet, so I can stream at least parts of many tournaments if I need a fix.

[revkev]

We got rid of cable for over a year until we readded a basic admixture of dish network that gives us a compliment of sports stations - my daughter and wife love baseball so that got it back into the house.

 

If you don't mind watching the Big Break a couple of days late it's available on the Golf Channel site - I could only get what was streamed in regards to the Thursday/Friday stuff but there was enough to satisfy.

 

We got Netflix through the Wii and frankly HD is far better when you have an antena than it is through cable or dish -

 

I really am wondering why we went back to cable even if we're only paying $40 a month for it. I think we may get rid of it after our year is up and just go back to the antena. I'd rather have the $500 to do something productive than the ridiculousness that we're getting on TV.

[Firstkart]

Down here in the colonies we do not get cable so I will compare it to Foxtel which is a pay TV option in Australia. We had it for a year but never watched it much.

I just grab what I want off the internet including stuff off the Golf Channel.

 

AJ

[ms1195]

I have been considering ditching the cable and just doing internet as well. Would save a good amount of money, and I already have Netflix and could add the Hulu service if I wanted. My concerns are similar to WD's however, in that I don't want to miss all of the sporting events. Monday Night Football is now on ESPN, many of the NBA playoff games are on cable, and of course the Masters is on ESPN. I don't have an internet capable tv and I don't want to sit at my computer to watch these events, I'm a couch guy.

 

So overall I guess I just answered WD and my own question. No, I will not be getting rid of cable. It will still pain me to pay that much money to a company that provides service that is worse than most drive through restaurants though.

[JBones]

Not to rub salt in your wounds, WD, but I work for Time Warner. I get ALL the channels, two HD-DVR boxes, a standard box, 30Mb wireless internet, and home phone; I pay $32/month.

 

Ok, maybe that was to rub salt in your wounds.

[The Dansome]

I'm scared to even contemplate this. I'm recording on average 4 shows a night...

[GolfSpy WD]

I'm scared to even contemplate this. I'm recording on average 4 shows a night...

 

I'm going to ignore Jbones comments because my bill just jumped up to $126 a month... The other option is 6mpbs internet for $40 which sounds a lot better, but still more expensive than JBones...argh.

 

I'm looking up getting a HD antenna and building a small computer to hook into the TV. With Windows 7 Pro, it's easy to turn a computer into a DVR. Hulu Plus is only $8 a month, so the question is do I want to pay an extra $78 a month ($936 a year) to watch the golf channel...

[BK in TEXAS]

If you have a good friend with ESPN you could also "borrow" his password for certain sporting events.....not that I condone it.....just sayin'

[GolfSpy WD]

If you have a good friend with ESPN you could also "borrow" his password for certain sporting events.....not that I condone it.....just sayin'

 

Very good point!

[Matt Saternus]

With the exception of hooking up some rabbit ears for the recent Olympics, we haven't had TV in the house since we moved in 3 years ago. I try not to be on my high horse about it, but it's one of the best decisions we've made. TV ate up a lot of money and time. Every now and then I get the itch to have it back, but it doesn't last too long and I get to watch some TV at work. If there's a sporting event I need to see, I go to a bar or restaurant to watch.

[RoverRick]

A couple years ago I bought a 55" flat screen HDTV and I have gotten the golf channel since 2007 and my wife and I watch tv together every night and these are decissions that we have made and do not regret it either.

 

Well, after dark since I play golf til then and she is doing her things.

[TwoSolitudes]

Have not had cable or even an antenna for nearly two years. I just download anything I am interested in seeing- which isn't too much. News I get online through BBC. I do miss getting some sports, but not enough to ever go back to paying a cable bill.

[GolfSpy Tim]

I hadn't had cable for a long long time (let's call it 8+ years) and my wife ordered it for the Olympics.

 

I work on the weekends so I don't get to watch any golf then - but I'm terrible and will watch 4 to 6 shows a night if I'm allowed.

 

We're canceling the cable next week, then it's back to netflix, hulu and I think we're actually switching to Amazon Prime.

 

Agreed on the ESPN front... I'll keep our login handy in case it still works after next week.

[JBones]

Alright, since I'm in the industry, let me give you all a tip. If you have cable or satellite, call your provider and tell them this "I am going to switch to satellite (or cable), because they are offering a much cheaper rate for a better package". You will be surprised how much they will cut your bill, sometimes it can be as much as half. If they ask you what the rate is for the company you might switch to, just tell them it's a lot cheaper than what you are paying, but don't give an exact amound. Do this, NOW, then reply and let me know how much you save. If it cuts your bill dramatically, you owe me a vote in the Tour Staff Contest.

[GolfSpy WD]

I hadn't had cable for a long long time (let's call it 8+ years) and my wife ordered it for the Olympics.

 

I work on the weekends so I don't get to watch any golf then - but I'm terrible and will watch 4 to 6 shows a night if I'm allowed.

 

We're canceling the cable next week, then it's back to netflix, hulu and I think we're actually switching to Amazon Prime.

 

Agreed on the ESPN front... I'll keep our login handy in case it still works after next week.

 

You're ditching netflix and hulu for Prime or just ditching netflix? I'm curious which is best. I love the 2 day shipping you get with Prime, but their selection seems to suck.

 

Now for the really geeky side of me:

 

I looked around at MicroCenter to build a personal DVR system using XBMC + MythTV installed on Ubuntu 12.04.

 

Core i3 2120 LGA1155 3.30 GHz Boxed Processor: $100

H77M-ITX LGA1155 H77 mini ITX Intel Motherboard: $80

Barracuda 2TB 7,200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive STBD2000101: $110

8GB DDR3-1333 PC3-10600) Desktop Memory Kit Two 4GB Memory Modules): $38

Thermaltake Element Q Small Form Factor mini-ITX Computer Case: $62

LG 12X SATA Blu-ray Burner with 3D Playback and M Disc support - OEM: $70

Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Media Center Kit: $118

 

So $593 total for everything, but it's a much better DVR than anything you can rent (record two shows at once, stores movies, 2TB of hard drive space, built in internet browser on the TV, easily connect to it with other devices on my home network, etc...). With this I probably won't even need Hulu Plus and can watch PGA Live streams directly on my TV. Big plus also is there's no DRM and everything is open source! Very very tempting...

[GolfSpy WD]

Alright, since I'm in the industry, let me give you all a tip. If you have cable or satellite, call your provider and tell them this "I am going to switch to satellite (or cable), because they are offering a much cheaper rate for a better package". You will be surprised how much they will cut your bill, sometimes it can be as much as half. If they ask you what the rate is for the company you might switch to, just tell them it's a lot cheaper than what you are paying, but don't give an exact amound. Do this, NOW, then reply and let me know how much you save. If it cuts your bill dramatically, you owe me a vote in the Tour Staff Contest.

 

We have two available providers and they know it. Comcast or Verizon and they're pretty much the same price. They've offered me the new customer promotions which will cut down the bill temporarily. I may build my system, try it out for a few months, and if I can't stand not having the Golf Channel, well then I'll still be eligible for those new customer discounts .

[revkev]

It's very interesting to see the number of guys without cable. I thought I was alone until we did it - now I'm ready to ditch it go back - didn't really miss anything - most of what is on cable is a rerun or replay of something anyway - there were just a few sporting events that I would have liked to have had but I had way more time with my wife and daughter - the reality is that even when it came to watching things we were more likely to do so on NetFlix than now.

 

For those who have and then not had cable have you noticed how much better the HD is without the cable? I couldn't believe the difference.

 

As soon as this contract is up I'm sure we'll go back to no cable.

[JBones]

We have two available providers and they know it. Comcast or Verizon and they're pretty much the same price. They've offered me the new customer promotions which will cut down the bill temporarily. I may build my system, try it out for a few months, and if I can't stand not having the Golf Channel, well then I'll still be eligible for those new customer discounts .

Thats why you threaten with satellite, cable companies HATE that word, almost as much as the admins here hate the word "robot".

[BK in TEXAS]

It's very interesting to see the number of guys without cable.

I was thinking the same thing. I thought I was one of only a few without cable....apparently not on here!

[RoverRick]

How do you all get your internet? I have cable internet and TV. The internet is a bigger deal. With my work and my wife's family we communitcate with video conferencing between the US, Europe, Asia, and Africa for nothing. I am sure there are other ways besides a cable modem to do this but my wife set it up and as far as I know has worked flawlessly. When I am in Europe we can just look at talk to each other over the laptops. Plus I get the golf channel.

[ZenGolfer]

I went without any more than basic cable for years and was fine with it. However, local TV really sucks and honestly, I'll pay the extra money for cable. $50 a month isnt going to even make a dent in my budget.

[GolfSpy WD]

How do you all get your internet? I have cable internet and TV. The internet is a bigger deal. With my work and my wife's family we communitcate with video conferencing between the US, Europe, Asia, and Africa for nothing. I am sure there are other ways besides a cable modem to do this but my wife set it up and as far as I know has worked flawlessly. When I am in Europe we can just look at talk to each other over the laptops. Plus I get the golf channel.

 

Internet is a must, but it only costs about $40 a month. Cable TV is by far the more expensive part.

[RoverRick]

I just have expanded basic and Internet. We watch movies occasionally on pay per view and if it we not for Golf Channel and BBC it would be just basic.

[skihippy]

I just have expanded basic and Internet. We watch movies occasionally on pay per view and if it we not for Golf Channel and BBC it would be just basic.

 

 

See you hit my issue on the head, I have two sons and got the expansion for them to have kid channels beside spongebob. And now I'm addicted to BBC (Top Gear) and of course Golf Channel.

[skihippy]

So let me ask a question, which one is better Zulu or Netflix?

[RoverRick]

See you hit my issue on the head, I have two sons and got the expansion for them to have kid channels beside spongebob. And now I'm addicted to BBC (Top Gear) and of course Golf Channel.

 

 

Top Gear is worth the price of cable to me. Top Gear and Big Bang Theory are the only show I can watch over and over, even when I know the words that are coming up it is so funny I laugh again. I do not laugh out loud often. That is just the way I am and I have a dry sense of humor, as some my have guessed, but Top Gear and Big Bang sometimes force me to hit pause so that I can hear what is comming up next because I am laughing so hard.

 

 

My wife and my favorite saying is "How hard can it be?"

[JBones]

What if I have a "package" deal from Comcast(cable, internet & phone)..The only alternative there is the local phone carrier, Verizon, and they seem to know what each other's best rates are...Do ya think the satellite threat will stil work?.....

 

 

 

Fairways & Greens 4ever....

Yes. Before Time Warner built into our subdivision, I only had one option. I was paying $230/month for cable/phone/Internet. After I called and threatened to switch to satellite, they dropped my bill to $140/month.

[RookieBlue7]

My cable bill is $215 a month. I have every channel they offer (excluding PPV of course), home phone and cable internet at 50MB speed. Yes, I pay a lot for cable, but the internet connection is $85 of that bill and the phone is $25, so it's $105 for everything on TV.