Unplugged and Loving It

[a la izquierda]

I got rid of my satellite the other day. I'll probably have to pay to get out of the contract, but it was the principle.
I couldn't pay my bill on time, owing to my husband's underemployment for two months (and two months unemployment at that). We never should have had such an expensive satellite bill, but what did we know? We could afford it before. So, after cleaning out my savings to support us (my intersession class did not fill, thus I didn't get a full paycheck, and haven't in months), we found ourselves unable to pay several bills on-time. The credit card bills got paid, but I worked things out with our utilities and with T-Mobile (gotta love 'em!!) At any rate, the other morning I awoke to no cable. First off, I couldn't pay the bill, that day or any other day. But when you try and call said satellite company, you have to PAY to talk to someone.
Fuck this, I thought! I'm done. I sent them a strongly worded email, informed the DH that we would no longer have satellite and have been a happy camper since. DH actually READ the other night (this is truly shock inducing). I actually am totally prepared for my class to start next week. We watch movies, and the shows that we do like (which are few), we can get online. Just wanted to share something I never thought I could do.

I love not having cable.

[customerserviceguy]

1. If you don't live too far out in the boonies

you might be able to get broadcast TV. They sell antenna boosters at the big box hardware stores that will help bring in a signal, and if you have a digital decoder box (the kind that were being practically given away a year ago) you might be surprised what you can get. I made a homemade 'hillbilly' antenna out of a 2 x 4, some wire coat hangers, and a little balun transformer that was only about four bucks at Radio Shack.

[a la izquierda]

4. Yeah, we live in town...

so I'm going to pick up an HD antenna when I get some money, so that we can at least get local channels. It's almost Sooner Football season, so we have to be able to watch some games (though most of the time, if we have a few dollars, we go out to a friend's or to the dive bar to watch).

[Fumesucker]

10. There is no such thing as an "HD" antenna..

All TV is on the same frequencies and takes the same antennas to pick it up.. A good antenna for the old style TV will still be a good antenna for HD..

Antennaweb will help you choose the right antenna for your location, you enter your address and it finds the stations you should be able to pick up with a given type of antenna.

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

[mwooldri]

14. Antennaweb is awfully conservative...

For my location it recommended to get an large directional outdoor antenna hooked up to a signal amplifier to get any TV at all. However a set of unamplified "bunny ears" got a nice signal of about half the stations on the list. When I did get a large directional outdoor antenna - but not amplified - and just slung it on the front deck, I got all the stations on Antennaweb's list plus a whole lot more.

One bone of contention: yes there is no such thing as a HD antenna, but because of channel changes with the digital switchover, a different antenna *might* be called for. All VHF-only antennas become nice rooftop decorations if the market totally switched to UHF.

[HillbillyBob]

2. What Satellite co is that that you have to pay to talk to someone?

We have dishtv mainly because murdock owns a good portion of Directtv.
We can't even get a local tv station over the air here. I mainly have the tv on news or educational stuff for company out here. The weather here can change rapidly, We have had more lightening strikes around the house this summer and some severe straight line winds that have knocked down a lot of our trees. So I listen because the weather can change quickly and we can go hang out in the hall since we have been so strapped since moving here that we have not had time and funds to put in a storm cellar.

[a la izquierda]

3. It's directv...

and unless I did something totally wrong, the recording said something to the effect of, pay with your cc, or checking account and we'll be happy to talk to you about your account. I had tried the other day, unsuccessfully, to work out a payment plan online. I was denied.
I flipped.

We've had tons of problems with them in terms of signals anyway. Snow? No signal. Thunderstorm (which, in May in OK can spawn tornadoes)? No signal. 90% of the time, if we had bad weather, we ended up hooking my laptop to the TV and watching livestreams of the news.
What the hell am I paying $85 a month for if I have to do that? It's now coming up on Fall thunderstorm season, so I just decided my $85 could go to something much better. Like some books or charity or a fun day out for my husband and I.

[Hepburn]

13. Direct TV fucking sucks!

I have the same service I started with in 2005 ~~ nothing added ~~ and it went from about $35.00 to $70.00 in five years.

Unbelievable!

[canoeist52]

5. Good choice! You'll love your new life.

We've been tv free for 7 mos. The last 30.00 fee hike was the last straw. Still need the phone and I love my internet. Trying out netflix this month.

[a la izquierda]

6. You'll like Netflix...

I used it once because they had a movie I desperately needed, and I could stream it online (it's a rare foreign documentary about Evo Morales). I was so stoked. My husband and I will usually stream a movie in the evening, and just plug the laptop into the TV.
For $9/month, you can't beat that!

[sarge43]

7. We dropped ours about five years ago.

Just got fed up with paying for crap - censored films, stupid never ending ads, stupider shows, the very few good series getting canceled within months and the propaganda that passed for news.

And yes, Netflix is great.

[teenagebambam]

8. If you ever cave in....

....and want satellite again, here's what I did: cancelled the service which was under my partner's name ($100 a month, with no premium channels!), waited about five days, then called and set up service under my name. Since I am a "new" customer, I'm getting more services for literally half of what I was paying before. Same company you're dealing with.

[KharmaTrain]

9. I Love Having Cable...

...I don't like watching the mindless news channels. Even my tolerance of MSNBC has waned in the past couple months as all they seem to do is echo right wing talking points and play along with the latest Faux Noise scam.

Instead we're enjoying Baseball, Nova, Nature, Nat Geo, Frontline and a variety of shows on Discovery...there's plenty to enjoy and learn from...the window to the world. There's a lot more on my cables than talking heads.

[a la izquierda]

17. I will absolutely miss the "good stuff"...

that you mentioned. But I can get a lot of it via Netflix and my computer (like, for instance, I can watch Rick Steves' Europe, Nova, etc).
But my husband is going to be harder to adjust. He loves to plop down after a long day and just mindlessly stare at the TV until he can get the sounds of barking dogs out of his head from work.

[KharmaTrain]

19. Our World Is Changing...

Pretty soon it'll be your computer that he'll be plopping down in front of. I believe cable is over-priced but I'm not much to go to movies and I'm forunate that I can afford it. I can understand those who think its a frivolous expense, but those who think by cancelling their subscriptions the powers that be at Comcast or MSNBC are gonna really care is another matter.

On my machine there's a thing called Microsoft TV...on it are all the MSNBC shows that I can watch when I feel like it. Came in real handy on a recent road trip into the wilds of redneck land.

Cheers...

[fl_dem]

11. Me too! I haven't had cable in 3 years

The only time I miss is is when college football is involved!!! But I can trot down to any local sports bar or go to a friends house and watch a game if I really need to. My boyfriend and I talk, walk, read or rent a movie...I love it. Right now, I am re-reading the Clan Of the Cave Bear saga.....when I am tempted to get cable again, I picture myself sitting in front of the TV like a drooling mindless lump and get over it...LOL

cable free and loving it!!

[uppityperson]

12. I pay $6.00/month for directv satellite, after credit only $1.00

all I get is local channels and pbs, ends up about 10 channels. Then it is bundled with my phone bill and I get a $5 credit so actually only pay $1.00. Directv doesn't tell you about this, and wants local channel thing as an add on to a larger package, but I got it just by itself. I watch it rarely but is good for a few things and I can afford the dollar a month.

[mwooldri]

15. Sorry but I have to have my cable...

... for the Internet that is. Phone company DSL is way too slow. Out of range for WiMax, and satellite Internet is too expensive.

So we're stuck with one company for high speed Internet access.

[a la izquierda]

18. Ick...

we have cable internet, and it's pretty cheap and very quick.
I have a feeling my husband is going to cave after a few days, but we'll see. :) Oh, and I don't begrudge anyone for having cable, for any reason. I've just decided I can't be bothered to pay that much for shit I never watch.

[mwooldri]

25. Yep, the old song "57 channels and nothing on.."

I'm glad you took the plunge.

As suggested upthread, see what you do get with broadcast TV. Digital-land is an all-or-nothing scenario and yes... it *is* weather dependent.

You might be surprised with what tv stations you can receive with just a set of rabbit ears.

[mike_c]

22. I have cable internet-- but I don't pay for television programming, just broadband....

I have zero use for television, but I'm quite happy to pay for broadband internet alone.

[mwooldri]

24. I guess I should have clarified. Yes the cable I have is Internet Only.

No TV, No "Digital Phone", nothing else.

[Roon]

16. I finally cancelled my broadband and my cable TV

I only get $843.00 a month and that extra $110.00 a month really helps!
I don't even OWN a TV but I kept cable "just in case". Ditched it all.

[mike_c]

20. got rid of mine twenty years ago and have NEVER missed it....

Occasionally I watch TV when I stay in motels. Not often, but occasionally. Turns out my SO and I were in a Portland motel last Friday night, so we flipped through channels several times. She's only been without TV for the last couple of years, since she moved out here from Denver, but after lapping through 30 or 40 channels of crap a few times, she sighed and said "It's all pretty stupid, isn't it?" We turned it off, and found other ways to entertain one another.

I advise everyone I can to turn that dumb box off. Life is entertaining all by itself.

[happy_liberal]

23. 10 years for us

only netflix and loving it!

We went to a hotel with the kids, after 5 minutes they were saying "this is so stupid" and "this is giving me a headache".

I think that you have to be exposed to that crap constantly to actually accept it into your life.

I think people are just addicted to it.

I can still remember all the songs from commercials when I was a kid, and feel so happy my kiddos are not being inundated with consummerism. They don't even know what crap they are supposed to be buying, or that something is terribly wrong with them because they are not perfect.

[Amaya]

21. haven't had cable in 4 years

and i don't miss it at all...

[CrownPrinceBandar]

26. Got rid of my satellite TV for the same reason.........

I've lived without TV/Cable/Sat before. The initial adjustment for me is always hard, because my life was so programmed around the tube I guess (and I always have the net in case I HAVE to see a program). But now, I'm settling into the rhythm of no-broadcast again and am finding other things to do with my time. I also start classes next week and I am glad I got rid of it as it would've been another distraction from my studies.

Good job! :thumbsup: