Thinking of cutting the cord (cable)

[happyhomemaker]

I love having cable, but DH and I are fed up with our high bill and are looking for alternatives. We live in a very rural area and an antenna won't pick up any channels.  We can possibly get basic cable for $25.99 a month, though not in HD  , and are considering subscribing to a streaming service or two.  DH has an xBox, so we can watch them on tv. I will really miss having a DVR, so the streaming subscriptions will allow us to not miss our shows at least.  Which streaming subscriptions are best? There are quite a few and i am not sure which to chose.  So far, i am leaning toward Hulu plus, Netflix and Amazon Prime.  We like to keep current on our favorite shows, so we are mainly looking to get the streaming services for TV shows instead of movies, though the movies will be a nice side point. I would love any suggestions or tips to make this as painless a transition as possible.

[allibally]

We have Hulu Plus and Netflix. My H and I haven't had cable in 3+ years. Have been streaming with Hulu & Netflix for the last two years. I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. I can watch all the primetime stuff the day after on Hulu. And the we can binge watch other shows on Netflix. I occasionally watch movies on Netflix but we probably grab movies at Redbox more often. We're also lucky because my mom shared her password for her cable so we can log in to HBO Go.

[happyhomemaker]

Glad to hear you have found it to be an enjoyable option. We have to have basic cable because we can't pick up locals any other way. At least it will save some money. I don't want to miss American Idol or some of the news magazine shows, like Dateline and 20/20 (I have watched those since I was a kid and find them interesting).

[allibally]

Sept 19, 2013 10:00:06 GMT -5 happyhomemaker said:

Glad to hear you have found it to be an enjoyable option. We have to have basic cable because we can't pick up locals any other way. At least it will save some money. I don't want to miss American Idol or some of the news magazine shows, like Dateline and 20/20 (I have watched those since I was a kid and find them interesting).

Yeah we are lucky that a digital antenna allows us to watch all the primetime stuff. It's a shame that won't work for you.

[happyhomemaker]

I know. It is so frustrating! It would save us more money if we could pick them up with an antenna. Oh. Well, nothing I can do about it. Are you near a city or in a rural area too?

[allibally]

Sept 19, 2013 10:55:27 GMT -5 happyhomemaker said:

I know. It is so frustrating! It would save us more money if we could pick them up with an antenna. Oh. Well, nothing I can do about it. Are you near a city or in a rural area too?

I live in Chicago so that helps. This is where you can see what you can get. transition.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/dtvmaps/

[happyhomemaker]

Yeah that would make getting local channels easier. Thanks for the link. I tried it and just as I thought, I can't get any channels. thanks for the other input, though. I think we will try Hulu Plus and Netflix in a month or so when our cable "deal"  runs out.

ETA-I love Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network movies as well as old TV movies. Can I watch those on Netflix or Hulu Plus?

[allibally]

Sept 19, 2013 17:56:53 GMT -5 happyhomemaker said:

Yeah that would make getting local channels easier. Thanks for the link. I tried it and just as I thought, I can't get any channels. thanks for the other input, though. I think we will try Hulu Plus and Netflix in a month or so when our cable "deal"  runs out.

ETA-I love Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network movies as well as old TV movies. Can I watch those on Netflix or Hulu Plus?

Some of the lifetime stuff you can watch on their website. Hulu has some older movies very similar to Lifetime movies might even be the old ones. I think you could find some stuff. I just watch some old episodes of Dance Moms on my iPad off the Lifetime App. Anything that is on a website I just hook my laptop up to our TV with a HDMI cable. I'm also finding some good lower budget film festival type movies on Netflix that have been really great.

Some other channels I can get online access because my mom gave me the login for her cable provider. I'm able to access a few more programs and my mom got the Hulu login so she can watch All My Children. Lol

[happyhomemaker]

Thanks for answering my questions! I appreciate it! I am looking forward to giving this a try.