I have been in transit recently and have officially relocated into a new apartment, so I will blog about all of my activities this past week on one post. Here goes.
Internet setup:
Last Sunday I attempted to set up my wireless connection with my rented Comcast modem and my own Belkin wireless router to no avail. I was on the phone with both Comcast and the Belkin for a good part of my day on Sunday because my router and modem were not properly communicating with one another. This is what I get for not paying a $30 installation fee.
I was having trouble identifying if the problem was with the router or modem because my super-sleek MacBook Air doesn't have an ethernet port. Luckily a good friend of mine came over with her laptop and we connected the modem directly to her laptop to uncover that the issue was with the router because the modem was working just fine when connected directly.
I became too frustrated to deal with the router issue because the router wasn't the only thing having communication problems when it came to speaking with the undoubtedly outsourced Belkin tech support agents. So I broke down, went to Target, and purchased a brand new Belkin router for $30 so it was a wash by not paying for Comcast installation - even tough I am almost positive Comcast would not have been able to fix my problem because it's not their router. I plugged my new router in, followed simple instructions, and voila, 5 minutes after opening the box I have wireless internet.
Basic Cable:
Without my antenna (which I am still waiting on from Amazon) I only have 4 channels: ABC, NBC, Peachtree TV and a Jesus channel, which I have yet to watch at all because I have been using my Roku. More on that later. Hopefully with my HD antenna I will be able to get a few more channels, suck as CBS and the CW.
Roku:
I got my Roku in the mail on Sunday and set it up after work on Monday. The set up process was simple. You pick a "channel" on the Roku you'd like to add and it gives you a website to go to on your computer and a code to link that channel (ie. Netflix, Pandora and Hulu Plus) to your Roku. The whole setup took about 5 minutes and I was ready to start watching my Roku.
Everything is loading insanely fast on my Roku and I am sure that my 20 mbps internet is more than enough to download all the TV shows and movies I can stand.
Netflix:
I have found it easier to pick the movies to watch on my Roku online because if you are just browsing and not sure what you are looking for, you only get about 50 options in certain categories to browse. I've noticed that the selections frequently change so i get some variety if I browse on my Roku directly.
Overall, no complaints with Netflix whatsoever. I have lots of HBO and Showtime shows in my instant queue and some things that aren't on the instant queue yet on my DVD queue (i.e. Mad Men).
Hulu Plus:
So far I like Hulu Plus a lot. There are commercials, but there are fewer commercials than with regular cable, which I'd end up paying more for. Commercial breaks last anywhere for 30 seconds to 1.5 minutes. That is just enough time for my to check my e-mail or facebook on my iPhone before my show comes back.
A few things I don't like about Hulu Plus:
1. No CBS. You can, of course, go to their website to watch HIMYM and Big Bang theory, but I'd like to watch it on my TV rather than small laptop screen.
2. There are some shows you cannot "subscribe" to, which means you can't add every new episode automatically to your queue. I am not really sure why this is this way...seems to be hit or miss.
3. Some shows on Hulu Plus online are not available to watch on TV. I find this to be aggravating, but I have so many movies, TV shows and documentaries in my queue that I don't mind waiting another month to see it come out on Netflix.
I may consider completely getting rid of Hulu Plus with Netflix. I am going to see what the typical turn around time is from original air date to Netflix availability, but if it is only a few months I do not mind waiting.
Stay tuned!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Day 2
Today after work I decided to take a trip to the Comcast store to try to get a better deal on my super high-peed internet. That's right, Comcast actually has physical locations. From my personal experience as a practically professional mover and frequent cable/internet/phone subscription changer, I have learned that I will get the better deal if I go in person.
I was expecting to pay somewhere in the ballpark of $50/mo. for 20Mbps, but I got an AMAZING deal.
$30/mo for basic cable and 20Mbps for one year! That is such an outrageous deal and of course I took it. You may not want to sign yourself up for a one-year contract, but I couldn't turn down a deal like that especially when I know I will be around for the next 12 months.
Now, you may think that I am not actually "cutting the cable" if I have basic cable, but the point of not paying for cable is to reduce my monthly bill, and if that bill happens to be lower because I added basic cable, so be it. This isn't about boycotting cable because I am morally opposed to TV, just the high price.
Regarding the recently purchased antenna, I fully intend on using it as it will allow me to see the basic cable shows in HD, which of course I couldn't get with Comcast without paying a hefty free..or at all. I don't think you can get HD for basic cable, you probably have to upgrade.But I digress...
Back to the Comcast store. I picked up my Cisco DOCSIS 3.0, ethernet and coax cables to set up tomorrow (avoiding a $28 setup fee). So to run the numbers again, with my added discount, I will be paying $58/mo. for 20Mbps internet, Netflix, Hulu Pro and basic cable. What a deal!
One last thing I had to consider today. A friend of mine brought to my attention that I won't get ESPN and therefore will not be able to watch all the college football my heart desires. I personally am a pretty big college football fan, and I am not going to give up watching my Yellow Jackets easily. But then it came to me that a) just about every bar around plays all the football you can stand and b) I don't typically watch football alone. Football is to be enjoyed with friends and family, so I plan to get out of my isolation and watch the big games with other people on their TV :) Also, just in case I would like to watch a game in the comfort of my own home I have another option. Many internet/cable providers, including Comcast, offer real-time, online streaming on ESPN3 as a service to their customers.
Stay tuned!
I was expecting to pay somewhere in the ballpark of $50/mo. for 20Mbps, but I got an AMAZING deal.
$30/mo for basic cable and 20Mbps for one year! That is such an outrageous deal and of course I took it. You may not want to sign yourself up for a one-year contract, but I couldn't turn down a deal like that especially when I know I will be around for the next 12 months.
Now, you may think that I am not actually "cutting the cable" if I have basic cable, but the point of not paying for cable is to reduce my monthly bill, and if that bill happens to be lower because I added basic cable, so be it. This isn't about boycotting cable because I am morally opposed to TV, just the high price.
Regarding the recently purchased antenna, I fully intend on using it as it will allow me to see the basic cable shows in HD, which of course I couldn't get with Comcast without paying a hefty free..or at all. I don't think you can get HD for basic cable, you probably have to upgrade.But I digress...
Back to the Comcast store. I picked up my Cisco DOCSIS 3.0, ethernet and coax cables to set up tomorrow (avoiding a $28 setup fee). So to run the numbers again, with my added discount, I will be paying $58/mo. for 20Mbps internet, Netflix, Hulu Pro and basic cable. What a deal!
One last thing I had to consider today. A friend of mine brought to my attention that I won't get ESPN and therefore will not be able to watch all the college football my heart desires. I personally am a pretty big college football fan, and I am not going to give up watching my Yellow Jackets easily. But then it came to me that a) just about every bar around plays all the football you can stand and b) I don't typically watch football alone. Football is to be enjoyed with friends and family, so I plan to get out of my isolation and watch the big games with other people on their TV :) Also, just in case I would like to watch a game in the comfort of my own home I have another option. Many internet/cable providers, including Comcast, offer real-time, online streaming on ESPN3 as a service to their customers.
Stay tuned!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Day 1
Before I get into my personal experience with cutting the cable I'd like to share a little bit about myself and my reasons for killing my cable bill once and for all.
Let's begin with the obvious - cable is expensive these days! I recently began looking for cable in my area and noticed that the all of the the service providers were offering excessively overpriced packages upwards of $165/mo. for cable, internet, home phone, HBO, Showtime, and DVR. Oh, also you can get a bunch of free stuff you don't actually need or really want for that matter.
The problem for me is I only want a few things, but the cable companies don't allow for unique customization for programming packages.
So what do I really want?
-The basic cable channels
-TLC
-HGTV
-BRAVO
-E!
-HBO only for TrueBlood
-Showtime only for Dexter
-DVR
-10+Mbps internet
...and that's it!
I don't think that the few things I want should cost upwards of $165/mo., but it does because I can't get Bravo with the most basic packages, so I have to pay an additional fee for just Bravo. Then the premium channels cost anywhere from $10-$15/mo. for both, but I am really only watching a few TV shows. And of course, I have to have DVR because it's like a microwave, and once you've had one you can't go back. But DVR is typically an additional $15/mo. So now it's pretty clear why I am hemorrhaging my paycheck on cable.
I spoke with my stepfather, the resident techie in the family, about cutting expensive cable out of my life for good and he gave me some suggestions, one of which was to start a blog to document my experiences. In part, because he wants to see how my "experiment" goes and if killing cable can feasibly be done, and also in part to give others insight through my personal experience.
So here we are. Day 1.
Digital Video Player:
There are many types of digital video players available including: Google TV, Apple TV, Boxee Box, Roku, Xbox, PS3, etc. They all have different specs but my needs were simple. I needed Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora and Amazon TV apps all for a reasonable price.
I picked the Roku because it met all of my needs and was only $99. I just ordered the Roku XDS for my HDTV and it should be here in about a week so I will blog more as I set my Roku up. Also, right now Roku has a deal going to try Hulu Plus for a month for free, so I can see if it's worth the low price of $7.99/mo. :)
Antenna:
My tech-savvy stepfather also recommended I purchase a HD antenna because I can actually get HD basic cable for FREE. FREE. This isn't your grandma's antenna either.
I purchased the RCA ANT1650 Flat Digital Amplified Indoor TV Antenna for $43.88 on amazon.com. The price is almost twice as much as other antennae out there, but to be honest, I want something that looks good sitting on my TV stand.
Subscriptions:
As I mentioned earlier, I am subscribing to two services. Netflix and Hulu Plus. I am paying roughly $15/mo for Netflix DVDs and instant streaming to my Roku. You can get Netflix for about $10/mo if you want one DVD at a time, but I wanted 2 at a time.
Hulu Plus allows you to watch full seasons of TV shows at your leisure for about $8/mo. Unfortunately there is no CBS. So if you love HIMYM and Big Bang Theory like I do, you want CBS. Which is why an antenna is essential for me.
Internet:
As you can imagine, with all of this downloading and streaming on the internet you're going to need a substantial amount of bandwidth. My stepfather suggested a minimum of 10Mbps. I got a deal from Comcast Xfinity of $50/mo for 12 months of 22Mbps. That may seem like a lot, but $22Mbps typically would run you anywhere from $75-$100/mo.
The Math:
One time fees-
$100 Roku
$50 Antenna
$150
Monthly Fees-
$55 Internet and Modem Rental
$15 Netflix
$8 Hulu Plus
$78
I realize this number is without regular taxes and fees, but if I can enjoy all the cable I want for $78/mo, why would I pay $165?
Let's begin with the obvious - cable is expensive these days! I recently began looking for cable in my area and noticed that the all of the the service providers were offering excessively overpriced packages upwards of $165/mo. for cable, internet, home phone, HBO, Showtime, and DVR. Oh, also you can get a bunch of free stuff you don't actually need or really want for that matter.
The problem for me is I only want a few things, but the cable companies don't allow for unique customization for programming packages.
So what do I really want?
-The basic cable channels
-TLC
-HGTV
-BRAVO
-E!
-HBO only for TrueBlood
-Showtime only for Dexter
-DVR
-10+Mbps internet
...and that's it!
I don't think that the few things I want should cost upwards of $165/mo., but it does because I can't get Bravo with the most basic packages, so I have to pay an additional fee for just Bravo. Then the premium channels cost anywhere from $10-$15/mo. for both, but I am really only watching a few TV shows. And of course, I have to have DVR because it's like a microwave, and once you've had one you can't go back. But DVR is typically an additional $15/mo. So now it's pretty clear why I am hemorrhaging my paycheck on cable.
I spoke with my stepfather, the resident techie in the family, about cutting expensive cable out of my life for good and he gave me some suggestions, one of which was to start a blog to document my experiences. In part, because he wants to see how my "experiment" goes and if killing cable can feasibly be done, and also in part to give others insight through my personal experience.
So here we are. Day 1.
Digital Video Player:
There are many types of digital video players available including: Google TV, Apple TV, Boxee Box, Roku, Xbox, PS3, etc. They all have different specs but my needs were simple. I needed Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora and Amazon TV apps all for a reasonable price.
I picked the Roku because it met all of my needs and was only $99. I just ordered the Roku XDS for my HDTV and it should be here in about a week so I will blog more as I set my Roku up. Also, right now Roku has a deal going to try Hulu Plus for a month for free, so I can see if it's worth the low price of $7.99/mo. :)
Antenna:
My tech-savvy stepfather also recommended I purchase a HD antenna because I can actually get HD basic cable for FREE. FREE. This isn't your grandma's antenna either.
I purchased the RCA ANT1650 Flat Digital Amplified Indoor TV Antenna for $43.88 on amazon.com. The price is almost twice as much as other antennae out there, but to be honest, I want something that looks good sitting on my TV stand.
Subscriptions:
As I mentioned earlier, I am subscribing to two services. Netflix and Hulu Plus. I am paying roughly $15/mo for Netflix DVDs and instant streaming to my Roku. You can get Netflix for about $10/mo if you want one DVD at a time, but I wanted 2 at a time.
Hulu Plus allows you to watch full seasons of TV shows at your leisure for about $8/mo. Unfortunately there is no CBS. So if you love HIMYM and Big Bang Theory like I do, you want CBS. Which is why an antenna is essential for me.
Internet:
As you can imagine, with all of this downloading and streaming on the internet you're going to need a substantial amount of bandwidth. My stepfather suggested a minimum of 10Mbps. I got a deal from Comcast Xfinity of $50/mo for 12 months of 22Mbps. That may seem like a lot, but $22Mbps typically would run you anywhere from $75-$100/mo.
The Math:
One time fees-
$100 Roku
$50 Antenna
$150
Monthly Fees-
$55 Internet and Modem Rental
$15 Netflix
$8 Hulu Plus
$78
I realize this number is without regular taxes and fees, but if I can enjoy all the cable I want for $78/mo, why would I pay $165?
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