LaunchPad - INW

Spokane Regional Networking, Social Media, Professional and Business Development

Cord cutters... anyone done the switch off cable or off satellite?

i'm looking to talk to folks who've cut the cord, eliminating their cable or SAT TV signals and using other ways of digital entertainment, like ... Netflix, eyeTV, etc.

I would like to talk by phone and discuss if that worked out. Or did your plan get halted by technical or family concerns? (Like losing cable telecasts of Cougar or Mariners games)?
call my phone or office 509 459 5492/509 2907774

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Greg Thomson on January 27, 2011 at 3:04pm

I recently did the cut. The only thing I am missing is live sports games and recent updates for my son's cartoons. Except that my son just watches a little bit older cartoons and it is all good.

Permalink Reply by tommyg on January 27, 2011 at 3:19pm

hey greg.. if you can, let me contact you ...phone or email is fine.

Just to be clear, I'm writing a business section story for the SR (Spokesman Review)

Permalink Reply by Candess M. Campbell, PhD on January 27, 2011 at 3:05pm

How about telling us how to do it on this site so we can all have more choices!

Permalink Reply by David Akers on January 27, 2011 at 3:26pm

I have to agree Candess. Lets discuss here on the board so we can see options. We really don't watch tv except the kids a little, have phone and internet all thru Comcast but really hate paying the outrageous bill. Seems we keep letting it ride..........

Permalink Reply by Cameron Barclift on January 27, 2011 at 4:18pm

I was going to cut our cable (Time Warner), called them up to cancel, and they cut our bill in half to keep us on as customers. Now I'm kind of stuck. At half our bill rate it's pretty much the same price as having Netflix and Hulu Plus and then I don't have to have my computer hooked up to our primary entertainment system. It's like they knew I would stay...

That being said, several of our employees and numerous friends of mine are without cable and really enjoy it. Take a look at Google TV as a great option. http://www.google.com/tv/ I had the joy of playing with my friends Sony Google TV (you can also buy just a box to control it instead of the entire TV) and it was great. You most likely will miss your local sports though.

Permalink Reply by James E. Lake on January 27, 2011 at 4:40pm

Our family has been disconnected for years. So many entertainment choices on TV, cable, satellite, etc., nothing worth my time. Apple TV, Redbox, Podcasts, AM radio, etc. allow selective listening/watching without the constant barrage from just clicking the remote. For sports, we attend the live event, novel concept. I sent you a friend request so we can connect.

Permalink Reply by Kirt Runolfson on January 27, 2011 at 4:51pm

I cut the cord and am just running Over-the-Air TV with a Personal Video Recorder. About the only thing I miss is having all the the Gonzaga Basketball games available to me, but it is a good excuse to take somebody up on their offer to watch the game together. I built my own Personal Video Recorder using MythTV and am really enjoying having that hooked up to my TV. Drop me message or a friend request if you want to know more.

Permalink Reply by Dean Huggins on January 27, 2011 at 4:59pm

yes we cut but we got a simple antenna and don't pay a dime for the major channels, sports, news, movies, etc. Old fashioned? It works. Better less for nothing than a whole lot of garbage for too much money. Also some comes in HD. Simple.

Permalink Reply by Pat Douglas on January 27, 2011 at 7:08pm

Yes, I cut the cord! I have a digital antenna (which isn't much different than an analog antenna) and a digital HD TV. They give me 5-7 HD channels. For time-shifting, I have an older Toshiba DVR/HDD with a digital-to-analog set top box. The playback isn't quite as good as live, but it's still great. I would like to replace the DVR/HDD, but haven't found anything without a monthly subscription.

Permalink Reply by Bill Kalivas on January 28, 2011 at 6:48am

Hey folks, great discussion. I would like to schedule a meetup at LaunchPad for our Technology Community in February and this will be one of the discussions topics so we can help people understand the various options.

Personally, we still have basic cable at our house but set up Netflix on the Wii. Works really well and since we also cancelled our VoIP service through Comcast and use our cell phones it has save us about $100 per month. @Kurt you can go to Channelsurfing.net to watch live sports games for free, works really well and we hooked it up on our tv at LaunchPad to watch games.

See you all soon!

Permalink Reply by tommyg on January 28, 2011 at 8:16am

Bill... can Channelsurfing.net give you Ms' game, plus the PAC 10 games only seen now on FSN NW? For my family, we have to see those teams or .... or we're attached to Comcast...

Permalink Reply by Bill Kalivas on January 28, 2011 at 9:03am

I am pretty sure you could watch the M's and the Pac 10 games. I have watched the Cougs when they are not on TV here.

You have to scroll down the page to see the specific games you want to watch, it covers a wide range of sports but I have been able to watch the Zags and Cougs whenever I want. You do get delays once in awhile of course, it is still the Internet, but overall it works pretty well.

One downside to the site is you will get a message pop up in the bottom right hand corner for a private chat with a female usually when you first open the page. I just close it right away and it does not come back. Also, you might get an ad pop up once in awhile in the background but that's about it for the annoying stuff.