I'm tempted to unload my digital cable box and go back to 13 channels

[LynneSin]

It seems like anything I do like to watch regularly on TV can be found the next day online for free thru sites like Hulu.com.

I know that I will want the box back when season #3 of True Blood starts, but I'm wondering if I could go back to just 13 channels again. I really wouldn't mind the extra cash.

[Paper Roses]

1. I dropped to basic Cable. The options are horrible but if I drop basic

altogether, My internet rate goes up to more than the cost of the two currently.

Damn Comcast too.

[LynneSin]

3. Yeah there's food for thought

I'll have to weigh the pros & cons.

I can't go back to Verizon for my internet - they absolutely suck and I do love comcast's internet.

[taterguy]

2. Hulu played on a TV is great

And if you have streaming service from Netflix connected to your TV you never lack for entertainment.

[LynneSin]

4. I was thinking I would get Netflix again if I can figure out how to hook it up to my TV

That makes total sense to me!

[taterguy]

5. If you have a new-ish PC and an Xbox it's easy

I hate to shill for Microsoft but the only reason we have an Xbox is to let our computers connect to our AV equipment.

And the fact that the various Rock Band video games are great fun.

[LynneSin]

18. I have a Wii

not planning on an xbox anytime soon

[fizzgig]

6. i haven't had cable in nearly two years and i generally don't miss it

i'm fine with my converter box, netflix and whatever i can find online.

[HopeHoops]

7. I shut off the tube when I got my first apartment in '82.

We got cable 10 years ago when my youngest was in kindergarten - but only for Mr. Rogers, Reading Rainbow, and Sesame Street. We dropped it after those 9 months. Other than that, I've had no use for TV. If there's anything good like a Jon Stewart clip, it ends up on the Internet.

[TrogL]

8. There aren't 13 channels on a TV

Channel 1 disappeared somewhere, and most modern TV's designed for broadcast reception have UHF, which adds quite a few.

[Noseyaboutpollution]

9. There is lots on web now

Most of our favorites can be found on-line.

I could see cable TV going the way of the home phone land-line.

[GoCubsGo]

10. Get a satellite dish...

It's cheaper, and you'll probably pay less than for cable. It's definitely less expensive where I live. DishTV has lots of extras that don't normally show up on cable. Very few of the cable networks carry networks like Current TV or the NASA Channel, The Documentary Channel, and Free Speech TV, which runs the Thom Hartmann Show, GritTV with Laura Flanders, and Democracy Now!, among others. They also have lots of public interest networks, like The Research Channel. I like being able to hear scientific lectures from universities around the country. DirectTV has somewhat different programming.

FWIW, the main reason I have satellite is because my local cable company doesn't carry WGN. That means no Cubs games. :-( I'm glad it worked out that way, because my cable network also doesn't carry the networks I just mentioned either. And, they're at least another twenty bucks more per month for fewer channels.

On edit: I have one TV that's not on the dish. I have a converter box on an old analog TV. I get more than 13 channels. All the major networks have at least 2 channels. More often 3. Granted one might be a 24/7 weather channel, but I don't consider that to be a bad thing. My local PBS has 3 channels. I don't think one gets those with cable. Ditto for many of the "extra" stations with the networks. You may wind up with way more than 13 channels.

[pokerfan]

11. hard to replace live sports

It's getting better, slowly and might become an alternative at some point, even if for a fee (still cheaper than the monthly cable bill).

I'm mostly a college FB&BB fan so come April, I start asking myself why I'm paying for all these channels. Then September rolls around again...

[Jamastiene]

12. You can probably find True Blood somewhere online for free too.

I've had only the basic cable for 6 years now and do not miss the high bill for stuff I can just see online anyhow.

[jonnyblitz]

20. i watch true blood online the following day after each episode.

i haven't had a tv in over a year and manage to watch all the shows i like somehow.

[hippywife]

13. No cable at all in over 12 years here.

At first it was because we were too far out in the boons. Then about six or seven years ago it became available. We weren't interested in it or a dish. Not worth the money at all. :hi:

[AsahinaKimi]

14. I hate tv

And cable. I love my internet. If I want to watch drama, I can go to a Jdorama website and watch.
I will probably never buy a television again. As for satellite I don't want 3000 channels of fluff.
If I want to watch sports, theres a sports bar.

[Robeson]

15. Have you tried Direct TV? Having Link TV and BBC America...

...is worth the cost.

[madrchsod]

16. i loves my dish network....

if i had some extra cash i`d get some foreign channels. my neighbor has dish so she can get the japanese tv programs.

[BensMom]

17. Get rid of it

We got rid of our cable. Prices were going up and less shows to appreciate. So we bought a digital box and a good antenna. We get about 15 channels. We can watch what we need to see, and we get out of the house more, no more surfing for 10 minutes to end up not knowing what to watch. We do Red Box and ESPN 360. I am friends with the library.

[marzipanni]

19. May I ask what kind of antenna you use?

Our picture often breaks up into pixelated fragments when we walk across the room, but we just have the UHF and VHF rabbit ears hooked up.

[LynneSin]

21. Antenna is not going to work

I'm in the middle of a city and can't get any receptions even on the best of antenna. I went 10 years without cable simply because I could not afford it but I was in the suburbs and could easily get 8 stations with an antenna.

and for those who suggest dish - had it and got rid of it. Hated it.

[Bennyboy]

22. Now that Monk and Curb are gone...

there is not much appointment TV left on Cable.

These were the only 2 shows, that I HAD TO WATCH. The rest I can get elsewhere.

If they ever take Cash Cab or the Deadliest Catch off, they will lose me.