Best alternatives to cable television? (old)

[COcheesehead]

Originally Posted by ChessieMom

And that is exactly what I said. Go to antennaweb and check your address and find out what kind of stations you can receive and what kind of antenna you need.

My cheapie works great in my bedroom. I have a big antenna up in the attic for my tv in the living room. Excellent reception.

So you have two? You gave me grief for dropping $75 on one HDTV compatible one that works great and pulls in all we need. How much did you drop on two?

[ChessieMom]

Originally Posted by COcheesehead

So you have two? You gave me grief for dropping $75 on one HDTV compatible one that works great and pulls in all we need. How much did you drop on two?

I have THREE, which is completely irrelevant.

I gave you "grief" for saying that someone needs
1. a special (DIGITAL - which is nonsense) antenna, and
2. that they need to spend $75 for it.

Neither of those statements are true.

I bought the antenna in the attic over 20 years ago and I could not even tell you what I spent on it. I have never had cable, always watched OTA.
Up until just a couple of years ago, I had no need of any other antennas. I had no other sets than needed any.

The last two antennas I bought were $20 each and they work great.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by hellob

I don't want to get it when I move. I just need Internet and phone for work.
What's the best way to still be able to watch things? I have vizio smart tvs but the apps are lackluster outside of Netflix, prime and Hulu. No fx, HBO, etc. Would something like a fire stick be better?
What's a good cheap digital antenna just for the major networks?

You can buy a Roku. One time only charge. On the Roku you can get a channel called Pluto which is like cable (sort of)for free. You can also get monthly streaming services to like acorn and BritBox that have programs that you will actually watch if you watch that sort of thing. The best part is there’s no subscription. You get tired of it cancel it, then re-sign up later when something pops up that you find that you want to watch.

[USMC1984]

I think the best replacement for TV is books, board games, hobbies and spending time with friends.

[MarciKS]

I personally use several free TV sites and I just signed up for Hulu. I got the $5.99 a month package. I pay close to $80 a month for WiFi. I don't even use the TV anymore.

[galaxyhi]

We cut cable when it got to be $275/m for really about 80channels, advertised as "over 160 channels"...but you can tune into a regular station or HD, 80 channels duplicated.
Since we don't have (nor need) a 75" HD tv, we literally see little or no difference in the channels.

Now that also included "landline" and Internet.

We cut completely. We CAN have streaming speed connect for a $35/m (might be more now), and we have unlimited data on our smart phone s.

We went to antenna only. 5CBS channels, 3 Fox channels, 4 ABC channels and 4 PBS channels.

We live surrounded by hills and mountains, so I got a $49 antenna with 10db built in booster and patched that all into a 40db booster.

No, it doesn't ALWAYS come in clear, especially in bad weather, and no, they don't ALL come in ALL the time. But there's enough variety to suit us.

I see no need for *fantastical* Big TV service...I mean REALLY, even with picture in picture, how manys channels can you watch at once?

When not much wants to come in, I turn it off for 15 mins and try again, and something always will come in. If not, I can watch free shows or movies ony smart phone, YouTube has a variety of free (with ads) movies.
And tv shows can also be found.

I also DON'T sit all day and night in front of the darn thing!

I did buy a $108 32" smart tv with Hulu and others "built in", but need to reestablish internet for wifi, it's supposed to be antenna ready too,but really only has a Roku like device to control it, so I don't know how I can select among local channels unless I have to flip through all, so it's waiting for "someday" to be used. It wasn't quite what I thought, but was a good price I think. And Seriously, in a 12' x12' bonus room, do I REALLY need a humongous tv??? I think not.

It's up to you, but eventually, you'll pay for something.

I was just in the hospital. The rooms had "discover+". About 60 channels, at least 20 were sports, and other garbage. The only ones I could find to watch were HGTV and History channels, and after a week of those, wasn't any fun anymore.

TV doesn't rule our lives, even though it may almost always be on when we are in that room.

Best..

[jencam]

Originally Posted by ChessieMom

There is no difference in a "digital" television antenna and an analog one. Please don't use that hyped up marketing terminology. It confuses people. You don't need to spend $75 either.

Check on Antennaweb.com to see what channels you can get and how strong an antenna you need. I use a $20 one on my bedroom set - it works great.

He or she may need to, and you may not.

I live where a cheapo works great, but it doesn't everywhere.

I used Antennaweb.com as well, and it's a good guide, but not precise. It said the cheapo would also be sufficient for my brother where he lives, which turned out not to be true at all.

[jencam]

Originally Posted by Tallysmom

You can buy a Roku. One time only charge. On the Roku you can get a channel called Pluto which is like cable (sort of)for free. You can also get monthly streaming services to like acorn and BritBox that have programs that you will actually watch if you watch that sort of thing. The best part is there’s no subscription. You get tired of it cancel it, then re-sign up later when something pops up that you find that you want to watch.

Roku offers it's own set of channels too which is a bit like basic cable. I was surprised to see a cable news network on there.

I ended up with a google tv for the living room, so I can't watch roku channel anymore, but I installed tubi and pluto and something else, and the google tv tells me when I turn it on what is new on those channels movie wise, along with my paid services.

It's an amazing time for way too much tv for next to nothing, as long as one has internet.

What I liked about the roku channel was the feeling like from the old days of cable of flipping channels.

That is how I discovered what I wanted to watch much of the time. Scanning and searching based on titles is not the same.

[Huasho]

I severed the expensive CABLE CORD over 3 yrs ago, TOTALLY...Went all out with Amazon Fire Stick TV and I am a happy camper.

I get local channels WITHOUT an outside antenna, How ??? My attic is full of coaxial cables all over the place and going down the walls to inside plugs...I have 2 TV's hooked to those outlets and with all the wires up there I get at least 10 locals in great HD and that's enough for us.

With the Fire Stick I have lots of options and right know every day I am watching the Giro de Italia LIVE daily from the UK for FREE..

It doesn't get any better Folks...3 yrs plus without Cable watching the garbage they give you at the even expensive LOWER TIERS.