Have you cut the cable? We did at the beginning of the year and it has been the best decision.
It all started off with our Direct TV bill going up $56 in one month to bring our cable/internet total to $227 and that didn't include our $9 Netflix subscription. Ouch. I was fed up with the price and our service was just plain awful. Half the time, we couldn't get to our DVR'd items and had to search for them to watch them On Demand. And the other half of the time, the feed was just bad. So I made the decision to cut the cable.
So how did we do it? Well first, I asked my co-workers what they were using to watch tv. The overwhelming response was either Apple TV or Roku paired with Hulu Live TV and Netflix plus Amazon Prime (if you have it). I also did my own research and found the same to be true. So the first step was to buy two different Roku's. I bought one for my tv in the living room which is 4K and our main hub area and the other one was for our kitchen which is just a basic flat screen tv.
The next step was to get a better internet. If you want to cut the cable, you need a great quality internet and we had awful internet. So I went online, set up an install of the new internet and waited 2 days for that to be installed. On the install day, they hooked up our new internet, I hooked up the new Roku devices (super easy) and purchased Hulu Live TV. Now Hulu Live TV is $39 per month and you get all of your local channels (like local news broadcasts), NBC, ABC, FOX, CBS, plus about 50 other channels. Before purchasing, I checked what shows I watch were available. Everything except the shows on HBO and AMC (which still might be available once the show starts) were available. You can purchase HBO or other channels through your Roku or Hulu. I also added on the $14 package where I can fast forward through commercials and have 200 hours of DVR service.
Once that was all set up, I called Direct TV to cancel my service. I told them it was my New Year's Resolution to watch less tv and that I wanted to cancel it. I made sure I wasn't in contract anymore and I was firm. You have to stand firm and not back down. They will try to keep you by doing almost anything. Once I got past the initial talk with them, we cancelled my service and they gave directions on how to return my boxes, router, etc. I was told to take them to my local UPS store along with my account number and UPS would send them back. They will give you a paper with your cancellation confirmation and your shipping info. You need to keep that. Once everything is shipped back and it has been received, you should call Direct TV or whoever is your cable provider and make sure it is fully cancelled. They will try to get you to come back once more, but just deny them.
So I have had my service for about 3 weeks now (I started the process right after Christmas) and I love it. Sure, it was a learning curve to figure out the Hulu interface, but now I have all my shows in the My Stuff tab, I can search for things easily and I also have Prime and Netflix. I can get everything I had before and I pay $100 total per month. That is a savings of $127 per month. Way better. And if I am not watching as much tv, I can downgrade my Hulu, get rid of any channels I am not currently watching and just simplify.
So have you cut the cable? I also got my in-laws to cut their cable at the same time. They already had Apple TV, so they are using that, but have Hulu Live, Netflix and Prime. They are just as happy as we are.
Any questions?