Cable/Sat alternatives

[Rock Taco]

So I am tired of paying 100.00 mo for cable/sat and trying to figure out what my alternatives are. I mostly watch CBS shows, FX, AMC, and Spike. The one I seem to be having the most trouble finding online is AMC.

I have looked at Hulu but they dont have full episodes. Anybody have any solutions for me?

 

[clfrnacwby]

I have the turboHD Bronze package from Dish Network. It's only $29.99 /month +DVR, +taxes, etc. My monthly bill is about $40. Not bad, IMHO. The Dish website doesn't advertise on it's website but I'm sure if you asked them about it, they would "be happy" to keep you as a customer and make it available. Here's the only place I could find a list of channels. Unfortunately, I don't see any package that offers AMC.

https://www.sathookup.com/dish-hd/hd-programming.php

 

[muleskinner]

you could always download them and watch them the next day, that's what we do.

 

[skiboarder]

we have free local tv and Netflix. Anything more is a waste of time and money. If it weren't for the local news and the need to stay informed locally. I would shut it off al together.

 

[skeptic]

I pay $30 a month for Comcast - most all channels other than HBO/Showtime/similar. It's their ~$75/month package, but when you call them if you get the right person on the phone they will give you whatever specials they have available.

If you want to go completely cable/sat free and get everything via the internet you can go with Aereo ($8/month for all the local OTA channels), Netflix, Hulu (free or plus depending on the device you go through), Amazon Prime/Instant video, and GooglePlay or iTunes store. That should get you almost everything you could want, completely legally, and a lot cheaper than $100/month. If you have an Android device, you can get DroidTV which apparently gives you a bunch of other stuff available as an Internet DVR for $3 a month, but I've never used it. With all these combined you still need to be patient, some shows are available the next day, others take months or are even only available to buy. Forget about live sports/news though, I don't think any of these support liveTV. I know you mentioned AMC, but I think that really depends on what show you want and when. Guessing you are talking about The Walking Dead - that's available through Netflix. I'm not sure how long the wait is, but all the previous seasons are available now.

Now, if you don't care about staying legal, it's actually easier to get everything you could ever want, setup automatic downloads, etc. It's a sad state of affairs when it's easier to "steal" shows than get them legally. This includes live TV.

Check into XBMC as a media front-end. Tons and tons of add-ons for both fully legal as well as the more questionable media sources. Something like Roku wouldn't be a bad option either.

 

[Rock Taco]

I have the turboHD Bronze package from Dish Network. It's only $29.99 /month +DVR, +taxes, etc. My monthly bill is about $40. Not bad, IMHO. The Dish website doesn't advertise on it's website but I'm sure if you asked them about it, they would "be happy" to keep you as a customer and make it available. Here's the only place I could find a list of channels. Unfortunately, I don't see any package that offers AMC.

https://www.sathookup.com/dish-hd/hd-programming.php

Dont they have a contract just like Direct TV? Its a good deal for a while then goes up later in the contract?

you could always download them and watch them the next day, that's what we do.

Where are you downloading them from?

I pay $30 a month for Comcast - most all channels other than HBO/Showtime/similar. It's their ~$75/month package, but when you call them if you get the right person on the phone they will give you whatever specials they have available. How long does that last? My experience with them is just the same as Direct TV but your not in a contract.

If you want to go completely cable/sat free and get everything via the internet you can go with Aereo ($8/month for all the local OTA channels), Netflix, Hulu (free or plus depending on the device you go through), Amazon Prime/Instant video, and GooglePlay or iTunes store. That should get you almost everything you could want, completely legally, and a lot cheaper than $100/month. If you have an Android device, you can get DroidTV which apparently gives you a bunch of other stuff available as an Internet DVR for $3 a month, but I've never used it. With all these combined you still need to be patient, some shows are available the next day, others take months or are even only available to buy. Forget about live sports/news though, I don't think any of these support liveTV. I know you mentioned AMC, but I think that really depends on what show you want and when. Guessing you are talking about The Walking Dead - that's available through Netflix. I'm not sure how long the wait is, but all the previous seasons are available now. Walking Dead and Hell on Wheels mostly. I will have to look into some of the options you mentioned above. I dont mind watching after they have played live since I DVR everything I watch now cause I cant stand watching commercials.

Now, if you don't care about staying legal, it's actually easier to get everything you could ever want, setup automatic downloads, etc. It's a sad state of affairs when it's easier to "steal" shows than get them legally. This includes live TV.

Check into XBMC as a media front-end. Tons and tons of add-ons for both fully legal as well as the more questionable media sources. Something like Roku wouldn't be a bad option either.

Roku is just a streaming device for Hulu, Netflix, etc I can access most of that via my blue ray player, TV or Xbox 360. I will have to dig into XBMC.

 

[clfrnacwby]

Dont they have a contract just like Direct TV? Its a good deal for a while then goes up later in the contract?

Yes, they make you sign a 2 year contract. We've had that same programming for over 4 years now...price has never gone up. If you sign up as a new customer, you can get an even lower introductory price (like $9.99 /month) as well as premium channels (HBO, Showtime) for 3+ months free.

 

[Cody]

I've found books to be a stimulating alternative entertainment...and an excellent value.

 

[skeptic]

Comcast is a 6 month promo, but the guy I spoke to said to just call back at the end of the 6 months. If the person I talk to doesn't give me another deal, I should hang up and call back until I get to someone that will. Yes, a hassle, and I may just drop back down to basic cable ($20/month regular price). No contract.

Not sure about Hell on Wheels, I've never seen it. Walking dead used to be on Hulu a few days after it aired, but now I believe it's only on Netflix and possibly only after the entire season is over. You might be able to buy episodes sooner on sites like Amazon Instant Video, I don't know.

Roku is just a streaming device, but far far more than just Hulu, Netflix, etc. I don't have a Roku, nor have I ever used one, but I did look into them a while back. I ended up choosing XBMC instead, and I'm happy with my decision.

 

[Jeepj667]

Just to let you know wait times. Season 3 of Walking Dead just released on on-demand Netflix last week. I think there are 2 seasons available of Hell on Wheels, I don't watch that.

The only TV we have is on-demand Netflix played through a Roku.

 

[RustEoldtrux]

Etch-A-Sketch: create anything you want, anytime you want.

 

[Rock Taco]

Comcast is a 6 month promo, but the guy I spoke to said to just call back at the end of the 6 months. If the person I talk to doesn't give me another deal, I should hang up and call back until I get to someone that will. Yes, a hassle, and I may just drop back down to basic cable ($20/month regular price). No contract. This may be an alternative but a hassle for sure. I looked at their website and even they are now asking for a 2 year commitment on some plans.

Not sure about Hell on Wheels, I've never seen it. Walking dead used to be on Hulu a few days after it aired, but now I believe it's only on Netflix and possibly only after the entire season is over. You might be able to buy episodes sooner on sites like Amazon Instant Video, I don't know. They are available on amazon for 2.99 ea episode. Kinda pricy if you ask me.

Roku is just a streaming device, but far far more than just Hulu, Netflix, etc. I don't have a Roku, nor have I ever used one, but I did look into them a while back. I ended up choosing XBMC instead, and I'm happy with my decision.

Just to let you know wait times. Season 3 of Walking Dead just released on on-demand Netflix last week. I think there are 2 seasons available of Hell on Wheels, I don't watch that. Looks like they are about 1/2 a season behind.

The only TV we have is on-demand Netflix played through a Roku.

Etch-A-Sketch: create anything you want, anytime you want.

But you gotta be creative for it to be entertaining!

 

[Caleb]

I pay for just about every channel (all the movie channels, etc and a couple sports packages). I've been using DirecTV for several years and have been happy, pay about $100 per month. However, I also download what I want to watch. I consider it my home made DVR Most shows (Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Hell on Wheels, Homeland, etc) I can have downloaded, converted, tagged, and put in to my Library in HD quality (720 or 1080, depends on what I look for and the show) for watching when I want before the show is done airing locally. This is all done automatically using Couchpotato (Movies), Sickbeard (TV) and sabnzbd then I use a couple perl scripts I've written to do all the auto covering, tagging, adding to my library, etc. I've got them here if you want to try poking through them. I'm still working on cleaning up my many renditions and adding many other features then documenting it all.

I also have used Netflix for many years, but finally gave them up a year or so ago as I never actually used it. I've thought about giving Hulu PLus a try, but I think it'll be the same as Netflix and not get used.

 

[skeptic]

I used to do the download thing - I used something called TED, The Episode Downloader. I did this mainly for stuff I was getting already through regular cable because it literally is quicker and easier than a DVR. After receiving a warning letter from Comcast about this, and a friend had his Internet shut-off for the same thing, I'm now 100% legal. The sad part is I still watch all the same stuff and I don't pay any more for cable than I did, it's just not as convenient as it was before and a handful of things I need to wait for. I get why providers and stations do this, they want to control access to get their advertising/subscription money. Slowly but surely we are moving away from regular tv service and toward streaming.

DRM is almost the same thing. You can't watch Amazon Prime/Instant video on an Android device because the DRM restrictions. Netflix on Linux requires you to run the Windows version via WINE. Buying a Bluray and putting the movie on your media center means downloading or buying a program that can rip them then copying the DRM free movie over. Get the wrong combination of TV device, hardware player, and media and you could be locked into non-HD or not be able to play something at all (although I think this is largely been abandoned). And on and on and on. All this to stop piracy, but all it really does is make it hard for the honest person to use the stuff they actually buy the way they want. The music industry went through this, but they learned it's better for everyone if they just drop DRM completely and make the music easy and cheap to get.