Cable

[Sienna86]

I presently have Comcast's basic service package and live in the Chicago area. I'm curious if any of you have given up cable tv and how it worked for your family. With Hulu and a Roku device, it may be easier than I think. More family time? How did kids adjust?

[LiberalEsto]

1. We switched to DirecTV 2 years ago

While it has some flaws (problems with reception during heavy snow), they are nothing compared to the non-stop aggravation from Comcrap.

[Paper Roses]

2. The only reason I have Comcast is it is the cheapest I can get.

I have useless basic tier. I've ranted about this before. No choice whatsoever as to programming. More than 75% of the channels I receive are not worth watching. The even took away the cooking channel recently. Want good programming? Spend over $100.00 a month for one of their higher tiers. Nuts. I watch via the internet.

If I drop Cable TV, my Internet rate goes up to more than both combined. It is a rare day when I turn on the TV. Watch news AM and PM on New England Cable News. That is all.

$$$ is a factor for me so I will not switch providers. Do a lot of reading in the evenings. No kids at home anymore so that is not a factor.

[Warpy]

3. Call the phone company

or go to their website. A lot of companies offer package deals with a satellite and DSL. That's what I have and even with service that has everything but the premium channels it's cheaper than Comcrap.

[txlibdem]

6. Actually, if you DID have kids you should limit to only the local channels

If families had crappy TV maybe the kids would READ?

[ejpoeta]

9. we have tv AND my kids read. it's called i am the parent and limit their

tv time. having it isn't a bad thing.

[txlibdem]

11. You're right of course

Too few parents have the ability to always be there, far too many have to work 2 or even 3 jobs just to pay the bills. There is no way to be a good parent under those circumstances, though I am sure such parents have only the best of intentions.

PS, that's one reason why I think that the commune is the natural (and best) social structure for our future. Humans evolved in smallish groups, cities are a modern invention and are not compatible with the human psyche or normal psychological development.

[cbayer]

4. No cable or satellite here.

We get some TV through the air, including lots of PBS stations. There is a lot of children's programming on PBS.

Anything cable based that we may want to see, we can get through the computer or iPad. I miss nothing about pay stations.

[marybourg]

7. Same here. nt.

[Sienna86]

5. Thanks for the replies

Will probably make sure I have the most basic package with Comcast and check into Roku and Hulu Plus as possible extras. Or maybe encourage the kids to do more healthy activities than tv...

[ejpoeta]

8. we have directv and are considering dropping that considering we have netflix

and also can watch most anything online at hulu or even at the sites of the shows themselves. not sure how the kids will take it, but perhaps we will find out.

[elocs]

10. Bringing up an old thread, my tv is free over the air HD

and along with using a Roku box for Netflix streaming I have more video choices than I can deal with. I would think that kids would be satisfied and happy with it.

On edit, check out our Netflix Streaming Videos & DVDs DU group: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=441

[Sedona]

12. My 15 yr old daughter is fine with it

Hubby ran off with a tramp almost a year ago...I was only keeping Direct TV for the live sports....for him.

With the money I'm saving on the DTV bills, I'm paying off a Dell laptop I bought my daughter at 0% interest for six months.

Once that's paid off I can get an HD Flatscreen (also at 0% interest from Dell) to hook up to the laptop.

As of now I watch DVDs on a 15 yr old, 32 inch Sony Trinitron that still works perfectly, but try as I might I can't plug a laptop into it.

Netflix, Hulu and my all time fav icefilms.info run on my Dell 17 incher just fine.

First run features on icefilms, I've seen True Grit, Black Swan, The Social Network, The Fighter, The Town, RED, ...all without entering a movie theater.

I am still waiting for last night's episode of Big Love to be uploaded...I usually get HBO/Showtime series within 24-48 hours of them airing.

But it kind of pisses off my friend who works a union gig in show biz in Hollywood......it IS kind of like stealing from Hollywood(and the people who work there).

Its just like any other corporate crap.....No one works for a studio any more....all the behind the scenes crew are "day players"

They never know where they will work next...one day its the Disney Channel...another day a CSI.....and another day a music video or commercial.

Hollywood never hires full time crew anymore and they have no job security what so ever. So with a bit of guilt I do it.

Its saving me $80 a month that goes toward my kid's laptop that she also uses for school.

Darling daughter is hooked on Family Guy streaming on Netflix, which is kind of funny because the bitch her dad ran off with is an NRA card carrying redneck backwoods

slut. Go figure. Edited to add I live too far away from any big city to catch anything over the air

[trud]

13. CA, RI

Where I used to live, I got many channels from a combo UHF/VHF antenna. Exactly how that would work with the new broadcasting stuff, I don't know.

I got rid of my tv here a couple of years ago, and rarely miss it. I am in too isolated and windy a spot for an antenna. Most anything I want, I can see on the web. Except telenovelas, which I do miss. If I had kids, I wouldn't allow a television in the house.

Also you can get many DVDs free rental via interlibrary loan.

[Melissa G]

14. We don't even have the TVs hooked up

We have two that we use with netflix. We just use the internet and netflix and both my teenagers have survived just fine. They don't even miss TV. We have not had cable since they got old enough to change channels off PBS. Once we had to go to the special box to get the TV to work, we even left that off since it worked so poorly.

[Lucinda]

15. No kids here but I gave up cable several years ago

and I don't miss it. Lots of good stuff online - I LOVE Hulu - and I watch something from my movie collection when I get the urge to "veg" in front of the tv.

I was never much of a TV kid though. I'm more an arts type person so as a child, lack of "TV" wouldn't have bothered me at all.

[xmas74]

16. I've seriously thought about doing this too.

I feel that my child spends far too much time watching television or surfing through the channels trying to find something to watch. An advantage would be that I would save nearly seventy a month and maybe the kid would pick up a book or work on a jigsaw puzzle.

[Sienna86]

17. Update

We have Netflix and Hulu Plus - use both with the Roku. I also found a retailer on-line called Anetnnas Direct in St. Louis. i purchased an antenna through them after I found their name in a NY Times article which discussed families going without cable. The antenna is used along with a digital convertor box purchased at a box store. I can almost all the channels around Chicago, but will admit I miss CNN/MSNBC. Can stream those online though.