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Dumping cable


Buck531

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So I've been thinking of dropping cable and getting "whatever box" to replace it. My son (who's 14 and autistic) basically watches his shows on his tablet these days. So cable really isn't need much anymore. I was wondering what was out there. Here's what my wife and I currently watch.

 

Basic cable. 4-6-10-Fox? But can they be recorded without cable? There are several shows we watch on basic TV shows but I'd like to either A: record them or b: watch them live as they air. Some over lap their time slots.

 

There are also shows on say Discovery/A&E/History/Velocity/Food Network that my wife and I watch. I don't need to watch them live but would like to either record them.

 

A friend on FB said he installed some HD antenna and a Roku 3 box and it cut his cable by more than 50% while upgrading his interwebs to the full 50 MB down.

 

Right now I'm slinging $190 a month for a WOW gateway/DVR/router/POS. That's with the gateway and 1 other box for the basement (which I rarely use) and the phone which I talked with the wife and we agreed we really didn't need a LAN line anymore.

 

What options do I have out there that will fit my needs?

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I picked up a box called a Tablo from Amazon. It's a DVR that you connect a digital antenna to, plug in a USB hard drive and record regular TV. I can play live TV or recordings on my TVs through ROKU boxes, or on PC, Laptop, tablet, phone, etc...

 

The tech is still a bit young, but the system works generally well. My only cost is for guide service. I opted for $50/year, but you can also choose $5/month or $150/lifetime.

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So I've been thinking of dropping cable and getting "whatever box" to replace it. My son (who's 14 and autistic) basically watches his shows on his tablet these days. So cable really isn't need much anymore. I was wondering what was out there. Here's what my wife and I currently watch.

 

Basic cable. 4-6-10-Fox? But can they be recorded without cable? There are several shows we watch on basic TV shows but I'd like to either A: record them or b: watch them live as they air. Some over lap their time slots.

 

There are also shows on say Discovery/A&E/History/Velocity/Food Network that my wife and I watch. I don't need to watch them live but would like to either record them.

 

A friend on FB said he installed some HD antenna and a Roku 3 box and it cut his cable by more than 50% while upgrading his interwebs to the full 50 MB down.

 

Right now I'm slinging $190 a month for a WOW gateway/DVR/router/POS. That's with the gateway and 1 other box for the basement (which I rarely use) and the phone which I talked with the wife and we agreed we really didn't need a LAN line anymore.

 

What options do I have out there that will fit my needs?

 

For an OTA DVR... Tivo has you covered. Unlike the tablo above, this has free lifetime channel guide service.

 

https://www.tivo.com/shop/detail/roamio-ota#/roamio-ota

 

Watching other shows I don't have a clear answer for, but...

 

You can cut your cable bill by a good bit if you're paying for boxes. TWC was getting my dad for over $70 a month in modem/dvr/box fees. What I planned out for him was $80 for a modem, saving ~$7 a month (this can be $15 if you're paying for home wifi BS server, just get the same wifi modem for $110) and the modem pays off in less than a year.

 

For cable boxes, the Tivo Roamio series. You get one box, 4 or 6 tuners, that records all of your shows. The Roamio plus is 6 tuners, $320. No need for the pro, it just has a larger HDD, you can add up to 2 USB hard drives to the plus. For each tv that you would like to watch live or recorded TV, you get a Tivo Mini. It's as full featured as the DVR box, and you connect it by either coax or ethernet. $120 a piece.

 

Only remaining things here are a cable card rental (like $2.50/month) and tivo service. Tivo service you have two options. $15/month, or $500 upfront lifetime. For my parents, the cost of all the hardware here vs the savings w/ lifetime tivo subscription had them gain a box and a payoff period of about 2.5 years.

 

Bonus: the boxes aren't the lagging hunks of shit that TWC/WoW give you, and they have built in support for netflix/hulu/plex.

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Get old Small form factor PC. Install HDMI video card. Download Open ELEC. Load that shit up, takes 10 minutes.

 

Install Sports Devil -

 

Install Genesis for all the streaming content your heart desires.

 

I went to amazon and got a little wireless media remote for like 15 bucks. In total, i think ive got $40 in it.

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A LAN line or a landline? I pay $100/mo for wow. I have the step above basic cable with one DVR box and 30mbps internet.

 

None of this helps, but you're getting boned by them somehow. Call and bitch and they'll drop it down.

 

 

Annnd i was drinking when i posted but thanks anyways.

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go to internet.. Time Warner has 15mbit internet for 34.99 a month then subscribe to Jetflicks.mobi and get Roku's for your tv's... problem solved... if you want a landline phone, go to Ooma and get that... all you pay is taxes which are like 3 bucks a month.
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