The Suburban Times

A community bulletin board for Western Pierce County.

Breaking Away – Life Free of Cable

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We kept talking about it . . . a friend kept suggesting it . . . we kept paying out good money every month for old movies and PBS. Finally, for Christmas our daughter gave my wife a Kindle and paid for a year’s subscription to Amazon Prime. At the same time, our daughter-in-law gave us a Roku stick and an indoor TV antenna. Prime, the stick, and the antenna combined to let me install and try out a world free of cable.

Prime, the stick, and the antenna combined to let me install and try out a world free of cable.

After we had the antenna set up we found that one of the local PBS stations offered the cable channel MHZ, which features mysteries from around the world like Instanbul, Venice, and Olso. It comes in even with a cheap antenna ($11.00 rabbit ears). And with another monthly charge of only $4.95 for Acorn, we had everything we needed PLUS. The Acorn connects with Amazon Prime and let’s us view all the past BBC programs.

Mysteries from around the world like Instanbul, Venice, and Olso come in even with a cheap antenna ($11.00 rabbit ears).

We watch programs primarily in the living room and in our bedroom. So, we needed to purchase an additional Roku stick and another antenna, which means our total outlet for this year would be about $240 even if we had to purchase what were gifts to us. That’s less than three months of cable. Of course next year without the purchases our costs would be only $168. For the cost of another Roku ($25.00) we could add all kinds of programming for the guest room . . . and another Roku would give us entertainment in the kitchen. On the downside we can’t record programs, but with the money saved we could purchase a Tablo DVR for around $200 to record off the air programming for later viewing. If we had cut cable two years ago we could have already paid paid our expenses and installed a new DVR. I am so sad we waited, and waited.

If we had cut cable two years ago we could have already paid paid our expenses and installed a new DVR.

Comments

  1. We recently converted from cable to a $49.00 outside antenna mounted up on our chimney. I get all the major local channels, several interesting UHF channels, and about a dozen religious and shopping channels which I eliminated through programming. With cable I got 140 channels most of which I never watched. With an antenna I get up to 36+ “good” channels………most of which I never watch! The result? A monthly savings of about $78.00!

    Do it!

  2. Hi, John
    Thanks for reading and writing. My buddy came over with several antennas, including one to attach to our chimney, we tried them all and finally the best images and most channels came from a twelve dollar set of rabbit ears. It all depend where you live of course. What I found most astounding was that my local TV programming looks better than when I had cable . . . larger and sharper!
    Keep reading and sharing. Thanks for writing.
    Don

  3. I made the decision to “cut the cord” a little over a year and a half ago, and have never regretted it. Why should I pay for local channels that I can get over the air for free? And why should I pay for cable channels I don’t want? I purchased an outdoor antenna from Amazon and receive over 40 channels, and the picture is incredibly sharp, and I have a standard def TV! Much better than cable, in my opinion. The only downside is when the signal goes out, especially on windy days; however, I read from the online “Cord Cutters News” that there will be a fix for that coming in the next year or so. Also purchased two Roku boxes (1 each for the living room and bedroom) so I can get more channels. Anyway, cutting cable has saved me around $100 a month, and I get the TV I want, and on MY terms; not the cable company’s! I’ll never go back!

  4. Jeff,
    Exactly. I have one TV using rabbit ears and one with a flat antenna on a north facing window. I use Roku on each of the TVS and will probably add one to a portable TV that I can pull and attach to the TV in the guest room when needed. We’re already saving money and getting better images and more programs. What’s not to like?
    Thanks for reading and writing.
    Don