It is all my wife's fault. More than a year ago, after I'd written a number of blog posts about the importance of choice in video and the fact that cable was dragging their feet in the a la carte world, she called my bluff. "OK, if you're so sure there's better stuff on the web than on cable, why don't we cut the cord and find out?" She dared me. Duh, I can do that. No sweat. And so our adventure began. We called Time Warner and said boldly -- "Please cancel our cable -- today." Snip. Gone.
Immediately, our Tivo was lonely. No more repeats of Law & Order. No more Nightly News. No more more Mad Men. Wow, a cold video breeze blew through the entertainment consumption patterns we'd fallen into.
Today, more than a year later -- we've recovered. We've reinvented how we discover, consume and share media. But, a word of warning. It wasn't easy -- and it wasn't cheap. Yes, we pocketed the bulk of our Time Warner bill (we dropped from $130 to just $33 for broadband). But did the $97 a month go to VOD or other subscriptions? Sort of. And what about hardware? Ugh, OK hold on for some sticker shock there.
So, let's break down the actual cost of 'cutting the cable' -- and then I'll tell you if I think it was worth it.
1. The Gear
2. The Subscriptions
3. The Time
First, The Gear. Once we decided we needed to be able to connect our screens to the web, a bunch of technology we thought was just fine turned out to be a bit out of date.
Somewhat surprisingly, we found our flat screen, while looking great, didn't have HDMI. And it turns out that HDMI is now the connection to everything. We tried an HDMI converter. No dice. So we were off to shop for a new flat screen (Panasonic -- 42″, $979.86). Then, we needed a receiver that would control HDMI devices. After some experimenting, we settled on a Pioneer VSX 1122 ($599.99) which had a great iPad App. Then, the old WiFi router had do go. Replacing a 'N' router with a 'G' -- new Linksys EA3500 ($107.07). And despite the fact that our apartment isn't that huge, we needed a WiFi extender for the bedroom Amped Wireless Smart Repeater ($64.99). So, just to get the web to talk to the TVs, we're in $1,751.91
Now, I'm excited to say that HD live TV over the air is AMAZING. But to make that work you need a snazzy HD antenna. One for the living room (Terk HDTV Hi-Ef Antenna $39.95) and one for the bedroom (Paper Thin Leaf Indoor HDTV Antenna 39.98).
Next, devices. Apple TV needed an update. $99, and we added Roku, a new Tivo, a Google TV, and a new web-enabled DVD Player. Some of those boxes came from conferences and other sources, so it wasn't all cash out of our pocket -- but all in another $200 or so.
And then, Subscriptions. Netflix (a must) online only -- $9 a month ($108 a year), Amazon Prime (to get 'free' prime video) $75 a year. So far we've not bit the bullet on Hulu -- but who knows.
So, the idea that cutting the cable was going to save money turned to be wishful thinking. Yes, we saved $1,164 on cable. But year one costs of hardware and subscriptions totaled $2,113.84 so we have a year one net loss of $-949.84, and that was BEFORE we spent a dime on VOD movies, downloadable TV Series or the content. Now, maybe we didn't need to buy all that gear -- but the simple fact is that there IS a hardware cost in shifting from a cable box with a coax connection to a web-ready IPTV setup. So don't think it won't cost you something, it will.
The Value. At first, the experience was less than ideal. Sure the Tivo over the air recording was awesome, but that was just ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS and Fox. Going backward was weird. As I've written about before, iTunes downloads are hinky and slow. The quality of Amazon Instant Video is inconsistent and Netflix, while awesome on tech and UI, seems to be getting less of the new movies and TV shows. Interestingly, Roku often ends up with the best options.
And, slowly, our a la carte TV diet is emerging. We now watch some broadcast TV on Tivo (NBC Nightly News, ABC, 30 Rock, The Last Resort, Elementary, Blue Bloods), but Tivo also delivers tech video from WSJ's Walt Mossberg, The Apple Bite (CNET), This Week in Google on TWIT.TV, and more. And yes, we're buying programs and series from iTunes (Mad Men) and Amazon Instant Video (Homeland). And then there are movies, we do buy them more now. But the biggest surprise was AMC's Fandango. For $25 a year we've got a Fandango membership, which allows free movie ticket online purchases and upgrades to popcorn and snacks. So, part of our 'a la carte' routine is we're going to the movies more.
In summary -- the entertainment and information universe is expanding rapidly. And thanks to new technology and broadband, the on demand a la carte world has arrived. It isn't easy, it isn't cheap -- but it does offer choice and high quality narrowcast options.
The next big thing around the corner is the new Boxee Box with live TV and DVR capacity built in, and the new Tivo box (XL4) and the Tivo Stream add on. The Tivo seems to be shifting to be focused on adding functionality on top of cable. Sadly, the XL4 only works with cable -- no over the air digital input is allowed. The Boxee.tv box is targeted to cord-cutters, with a $99 price point and a $14.99 a month subscription for 'unlimited DVC' capacity.
We'll have to see which way the market goes, but my guess is that more and more cable series are available as an annual subscription, the cord-cutters will continue to grow. After all, consumers like choice.
Follow Steve Rosenbaum on Twitter: www.twitter.com/magnify
Apple TV, Roku, plus GoogleTV? Pick one. $600 so you do not have to power on and off your hdmi devices? Was your wife OK with that? There is no appartment that requires repeaters. Your tech savvy friend would have helped you troubleshoot the problem.
Mostly, though, your lack of planning is at the root of your problems. I had an antenna and Netflix for four months before cancelling cable and an OOMA hub for six months before that. I started saving immediately as I replaced a $170 cable bill with a $45 internet bill. Over time we used this savings to add DVRs and streaming media boxes.
I hope people are not discouraged by your experiment. Even someone with an old analog set can spend $300 on an Echostar DTVPal DVR or $400 on a Channel Master TV DVR and enjoy free TV with a terrific guide and the ability to record, pause, rewind, and fast forward TV -- pretty much what they would get from the cable company.
We cut the cord in August of this year and our total gear costs was around $550 (that included a slimline PC with Windows Media Center with tuner card &1 TB hard drive, wireless keyboard and wireless mouse, three antennas, a new Roku & a Blue Ray player with web apps, plus some cabling.
As for video services, we have Netflix for $8/mo and Hulu Plus for the same. Although we just bought a lifetime subscription to PlayOn for $40 so Hulu might be gone. We've purchased season two cable shows we can't get any other via Amazon Instant Video.
All-in-all, we're saving $600 a year by dropping cable and the only thing I really feel deprived of is a few live sporting events.
I have amortized out the hardware costs over 14 months and then I see us only paying for Netflix and movies/shows on demand as being the expense. After 3 months, I don't really miss cable and I don't see us going back to cable anytime soon.
$389 for a computer from the dell outlet
$60 for a tv tuner
$20 for a usb IR reciever and remote
$40 for an indoor antenna
Set up dvr through windows media player (no monthly costs like tivo), and stream hulu (not plus), amazon instant video, clicker.tv, boxee, etc. Best decision I've ever made. Even downloaded a plugin that gets rid of the commercials from dvr'ed shows for you. The prices this article quotes are outrageous.
Cutting the cord is much cheaper than having cable. You can build a computer for around $300 and connect that to an HDTV. You can also have a normal antenna for around $20 and still get HD content, and throw in Netflix for $9 a month. You can get legal content from all of the major networks for free and even more on Hulu.
I feel that not enough research was done on the author's part on how to cut the cord on the cheap. I know this because I have been cable free for almost 2 years now.
Which comes down to it - What type of person would just cut their cord without doing a bit of research about the associated costs beforehand? Cutting the cord is a HUGE decision if TV is a massive part of your lifestyle. We started by lowering our cable package over the course of 6 months and eventually just cancelling it - but increased our internet speed and bandwidth.
Doing a bit of research ahead of time would also reveal what is the cheapest and most expensive ways to do it. This seems like the expensive route. Also, if you're JUST NOW buying a flat-screen TV with HDMI inputs....just how FLAT is your old flat-screen? My parents just gave me their 7 year old flat 32" screen and that thing has 2 HDMI inputs. And I'm using a 5 year old TV that I connect to my 6 year old laptop via VGA cable.
Cutting the cord does NOT require someone to spend upwards of $2000 just to avoid monthly cable fees.
Still I'm working toward cutting the cord.
Just like other commenters have pointed out, why not get a TV that had HDMI inputs in the first place? They have been around for ages, you know.
Why did he need so many devices to connect to the net? Most TV's connect to your internet wirelessly. If not (mine is an older model - brought about 4 years ago- that doesn't), I use either my old PlayStation 3 (brought 5 years ago) or my Toshiba tablet which uses Android (brought 3 years ago) to connect. Both have native Netflix apps.
Why a new router? My old router (4 years old) works perfectly fine.
I could go on and on, but to cut things short, most people already have everything they need in their homes. One should do some research before going out and splurging on new equipment. Either the equipment of the author was hopelessly out of date and would have been needed to be replaced anyway, or someone had more money than .....