Friday Link Love – Considering Dropping Cable Edition

by That One Caveman on October 10, 2008

For the last 11 months, I have been enjoying a “reduced” rate on my cable since I called to complain about an unfair price increase. Soon, that promotional period will end and they will surely jack my prices up again. For the basic service I was receiving, plus internet, my new rate will likely fall near $75/month and that’s just plain ridiculous.

I’ve been looking into plans that would match our budget and I haven’t found any that actually make sense for us. Sure, I found some cheap ones, but they was filled with channels that I don’t care about and the rest I could get for free. Then it dawned on me: If I can get them for free, why shouldn’t I?

This weekend, I’m going out to buy a HD digital antenna to see how it works at my house. If the signal is good enough, we should be able to get all of the broadcast channels in HD for free. There are a bunch of other channels we enjoy, but we’ll have to find a way to survive without them – be it Netflix, watching over the internet, or other “creative” ways to acquire the content. Of course, you can be sure I’ll share my experience as soon as I decide to pull the trigger.

While I’m busy unhooking my cable, you can treat yourself to reading some of these great articles from this week:

Have a great weekend!

{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

1 PT October 10, 2008 at 11:10 am: I just cut my cable yesterday. Feels good.
2 Elsie October 10, 2008 at 12:12 pm: I’ve never been able to afford cable, so I watch the one channel that comes in clearly and make do with 2 others. Recently I came across this site which may interest you : cancelcable.com. I don’t know exactly what I’m doing for TV next, though I am considering purchasing a faster internet connection and watching shows that way (the shows that are free, that is, on the network sites.)
3 Laura October 10, 2008 at 12:50 pm: We used hulu to watch our favorite shows when we miss them. We then discovered we preferred hulu because we can work it around our schedule.
4 That One Caveman October 10, 2008 at 12:53 pm: PT,

Please tell more! I hope you write something about it.

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Elsie,

Thanks for turning me onto that site. It looks like it has some information I could use for my transition.

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Laura,

I have a media center that I use to record all my shows because I almost never have a chance to watch them live. In the few times that a recording failed, I resorted to Hulu and I have to say that I like it. The only problem I have with watching TV on a computer is that watching shows is a family affair in our house. It’s hard to huddle around a laptop screen and really enjoy a show.
5 Squawkfox October 10, 2008 at 5:50 pm: Hulu is not available in Canada. Kinda crazy considering the the internets are kinda international…non? I love how regulators work their way. Ok, not really. :)
6 That One Caveman October 10, 2008 at 9:49 pm: At least there’s *ahem* other “resources” where you can “acquire” video files. :)