I'm done with paid tv, and I'm so happy

[Scott Brandstetter]

In the scheme of things, this is not a big deal, but I am finally cutting the cord.....almost 100%. I have been paying over $100 per month for direct tv and finally said no more. I have installed two antenna's, each facing a major market, and now have all of the tv stations I want. I also have slingtv for $20 month so I get my espn, espn2, and a few other "cable" channels. Feels great to be free.

I have to think that "cable tv" is going to go through some major changes over the next few years. People are dropping cable at a staggering rate. I myself, being a huge sports fan with every channel in my lineup possible, have had enough of the high prices. I can't be the only one. I read an article recently about ESPN and the number of layoffs they have had recently and the financial conundrum they are in because of their long term contracts for various sports and the decrease in revenue from cable subscriptions. At the end of the day, we the consumer, should benefit from the changes that are sure to come.

Rant over, thanks for reading.

[Patrick Walsh]

I would throw my TV in the trash and cancle my cable in a minite if not for living with someone whom has the TV on in the background at all times.

Good for you im jealous!

I also foresee big vpchanges down the road for cable and how telivision is viewed. Young people seem to have completwly different habbits when ot comes to how and what they view. Im 37 so when i say yound i mean the 30 and under crowd.

In the scheme of things, this is not a big deal, but I am finally cutting the cord.....almost 100%. I have been paying over $100 per month for direct tv and finally said no more. I have installed two antenna's, each facing a major market, and now have all of the tv stations I want. I also have slingtv for $20 month so I get my espn, espn2, and a few other "cable" channels. Feels great to be free.

I have to think that "cable tv" is going to go through some major changes over the next few years. People are dropping cable at a staggering rate. I myself, being a huge sports fan with every channel in my lineup possible, have had enough of the high prices. I can't be the only one. I read an article recently about ESPN and the number of layoffs they have had recently and the financial conundrum they are in because of their long term contracts for various sports and the decrease in revenue from cable subscriptions. At the end of the day, we the consumer, should benefit from the changes that are sure to come.

Rant over, thanks for reading.

[Keith Outten]

I am in the process of eliminating my cable TV service at home. The huge increases in cost through the years combined with what seems to be a never ending stream of Reality TV shows of no value makes the decision easier. We average about 20 minutes of commercials per hour these days, its an insult to have to pay for so much advertising and channels that don't provide any entertainment.

As soon as I find a suitable antenna that will provide the necessary local free channels my cable bill will be in the rearview mirror.

[George Bokros]

Keith when you find that antenna let us know. The cable companies are making everything packages now with high prices and are not having deals for current subscribers only for new customers. I have so many channels that I do not watch but am paying for it isn't funny. They should offer ala cart and packages so you can choose. If I cut the cable and kept only internet my bill would be almost half fwhat I am paying now if I kept the 50 mbps speed, I could probably be happy with 30 mbps.

[glenn bradley]

I have often been and am still confused why people would pay for the privilege of watching commercials. The very first time pay TV tried to run commercials, everyone should have canceled their service. As it is we have accepted a model that I refuse to participate in. I use a TV set to watch specific things that I have chosen to watch and at the time I choose to watch them. Junk mail and telemarketers are bad enough . . . pay to have someone advertise to me? I'll pass; I have other things to do with my time .

[Sean Troy]

You don't need anything more than this: http://www.amazon.com/RCA-Compact-Ou...utdoor+antenna. In my small country town, I get 22 channels which includes all the major networks in HD. We haven't missed cable in two years.

[Matt Day]

We want to cut the cord too but I haven't researched it all yet. Our cable/internet bill is $150/mo.

So antenna for local channels, and streaming services for the rest.

Suggestions on antennas?
Any links to streaming comparisons? We have Amazon Prime already.

[Sean Troy]

We want to cut the cord too but I haven't researched it all yet. Our cable/internet bill is $150/mo.

So antenna for local channels, and streaming services for the rest.

Suggestions on antennas?
Any links to streaming comparisons? We have Amazon Prime already.

See post above for antenna. We have Netflix which we use a lot and Hulu Plus. I think we will be getting rid of Hulu Plus. Doesn't get much use. The antenna mounted perfectly on our sattelite dish pole.

[Jerome Stanek]

I just have an old over the air antenna that gets about 40 channels but about a third of them are not what I would consider watching IE Spanish, Religious, or shopping with some music channel in there

[Sean Troy]

I just have an old over the air antenna that gets about 40 channels but about a third of them are not what I would consider watching IE Spanish, Religious, or shopping with some music channel in there

Yup, some of the channels will be ones you don't care to watch but at least your not paying for them.

[Scott Brandstetter]

Hello All, for those that are interested, I thought I would provide some info on what I have found. I spent a lot time researching this and it has worked well. I get a total of 49 stations (some I don't watch) including all of the major networks from both cities. It's nice because the different cities show different ballgames so it helps feed my sports addiction.

Here is a website that will show what stations are near you (you can go to advanced and edit the search distance in miles, I did 80 miles) It will also show how far they are (indicates how strong of an antenna you will need to reach them) as well as the compass position you will need to point the antenna.

http://www.antennapoint.com/

I have two markets 70 miles from me, Louisville and Lexington Kentucky. I bought two antennas and pointed them in the correct direction (compass). Here are the two antennas I purchased.

small ant.jpgfor Lousivlle, 30 miles away. lg ant.jpgfor lexington, 70+ miles away

I then added this coupler so both antenna's could go into one cable wire. I read that it's important that both wires, from each antenna, be the same distance to this coupler

wineguard.jpg

I then ran the single cable wire into this booster, splitter, (had it already at the house) and then the individual wires to the various rooms.

booster.jpg

I currently have 3 tv's using antenna tv and the picture is amazing. Both antenna's are ground level attached to a 2 inch pipe in the ground. Feel free to ask any questions or PM me and I will help any way I can.

I forgot one more thing, I went to this website and now have a custom tvguide for just the channels I get and want to watch.

[Robert Delhommer Sr]

Scott, curious about your 2 antenna setup. Are you using a switch to switch from one antenna to the other, or did you use a combiner to combine the 2 and use one feed line? Also if a combiner which one and where did you get it? I am about to do the same as soon as I can get my grandson over to help me, I can't get around in the attic anymore lioke I used to.

[Scott Brandstetter]

Keith
You should be able to get channels from both Norfolk and Richmond.

Attachment 330491

I am in the process of eliminating my cable TV service at home. The huge increases in cost through the years combined with what seems to be a never ending stream of Reality TV shows of no value makes the decision easier. We average about 20 minutes of commercials per hour these days, its an insult to have to pay for so much advertising and channels that don't provide any entertainment.

As soon as I find a suitable antenna that will provide the necessary local free channels my cable bill will be in the rearview mirror.

[Mark Blatter]

We want to cut the cord too but I haven't researched it all yet. Our cable/internet bill is $150/mo.

So antenna for local channels, and streaming services for the rest.

Suggestions on antennas?
Any links to streaming comparisons? We have Amazon Prime already.

I cannot suggest a particular antenna, but the one that was in my house when we bought it four years ago works great. It is just a typical antenna that you see on many rooftops, only mine is in the attic. Heavy snow impacts the signal a bit, but it is still almost always better than the cable picture because it is HD. We cut the cord about two years ago and have not regretted it for a minute. We also canceled our cable internet service and went with a wireless service that is $25 per month. Of course the speed dropped to 5 mbs, but I have not seen that much difference. We also have an internet service that allows us to watch on demand for $10 per month.

It helps that I don't watch sports any more, so we have no need of ESPN, etc. I realized that life is too short to spend it watching sports. If I am not going to spend time with my wife and kids, I will spend it in the shop making things.

[Erik Loza]

We cut the cord about 2 months ago and I don't miss it one bit. Just the Roku box now. We did get an antenna. It's like a plastic pancake that you pin to the wall behind the TV. I'm amazed at how great it works for aerial signal. NFL looks just as good, if not better, than the feed we were getting previously.

Erik

Edit: Our antenna is the "Mohu Leaf"...

http://store.gomohu.com/leaf-30-indo...v-antenna.html