David and I have been cord cutters for about 18 months. We came to a point where the monthly cost was just not worth it for the number of shows we watched. We were paying over a $100/month to watch five or six shows. We determined that we could watch these in some other way and made the decision to cut the cord.
For most cord cutters, cutting the cable means giving up their cable channels but not network channels as they can get those over the air. With the exception of ABC, that is not an option for us unless we put a 40-foot antenna in our backyard. I am sure our neighbors would be glad to know that this is not an option that interests us.
We mainly use two devices for accessing content, our Roku box and our Apple TV. We started out with the Roku box, which we actually started using before we cut the cord in order to watch Netflix and Crunchy Roll (an anime channel). We love our Roku box. It gives us access to so much content And the price is good. You can get the Roku LT on Amazon for only $48.00 and the top of the line Roku 2 XD is only $78.00. It was our only device in regular use (we have an XBox 360 that we rarely use) until July of last year. That’s when we added the Apple TV.
The Apple TV was added for one reason and one reason only, AirPlay came to the Macbook Pro with the release of Mountain Lion. David and I use the AirPlay feature to share things we find online constantly. However, were it not for this feature, we would have no need of an Apple TV. Yes, it does allow us to purchase content from the iTunes store. But we can also do that with Amazon on our Roku box. Were it not for the AirPlay feature, we would not have added the Apple TV in to the mix. And if you cannot take advantage of this feature, I do not think it is worth the $99 price tag. (You can also use AirPlay from iOS devices, but I never do.)
The savings for us is significant. When we cut the chord, we were paying Comcast over a $100/month for cable. Not Internet, just cable. We pay $8/month each for Netflix and HuluPlus. I then pay another $7 for Crunchyroll (an anime network). For these three “channels” it is a combined total of $23. Less than a quarter of what I was paying Comcast. Occasionally, I do pay for an entire season a show such as Big Bang Theory or Warehouse 13. But even in those months where I make the purchase for the entire season, I am under the total I was paying out for cable tv.
Do I miss cable television? I’d be lying if I said no. Mostly when there is a live news event or sports. But I don’t miss it as much as you might think. Plus more and more content becomes available online all the time. For instance, CBS streamed the Superbowl live last night. And my alma mater, BYU, shows their sports events on BYUtv that I can get on my Roku box for free. I definitely do not miss it enough to make it worth subscribing to cable again. Sure, there are kinks such as when our DSL was down last week and David and I were both sick. That left us stuck at home with access to very little entertainment. But still not worth the cost to us. Plus there are some advantages.
During the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, I watched both, I was able to watch everything on CNN International using my Roku box and miss all the talking heads (with the exception of the night President Obama spoke). Let me assure you that was a much better experience than I’d have gotten on CNN. lol Plus re-runs are free for me rather than paying for cable TV all during the summer months.
I highly recommend cutting the chord. Even if you have kids, Netflix can provide them with all the content their little minds could want. I think you’ll quickly find that you can get the content you want without the expensive price tag.
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