I cut cable a few years ago when I realized I was paying $100 per month for 90 channels even though I watched probably TWO. Since then, we have purchased a Roku, a Tivo and an AppleTV. The Tivo comes in handy to record shows from the antenna, and the other two come in handy for everything else. I especially love using the AppleTV to show my computer screen on my big screen TV... Much better than watching the same news over and over 24/7!
One of the things about Netflix that I really like is that they have separate programming for each person. The kind of movies that I enjoy watching are usually not anything that Bobby likes to watch, and the war and action movies that he enjoys are not anything that I would watch. With Netflix, they have a "who is watching" selection, and mine has movies that I have watched, and ones they suggest for me, based on previously watched shows. Bobby has all of the kinds of shows that he is interested in, on his section of Netflix. They have it set up so that you can have a special area for each member of the family, or at least for adults, and then one with children's programs. Youtube has a similar thing, since you have to sign in for your account, and then when you watch things and choose the stations that you subscribe to; those are the ones that show up in your list of videos to watch. I think that having the shows that fit your specific interests is a wonderful idea, and saves a lot of time when you are looking for something to watch.
Good point Yvonne. I love having my own section of Netflix where I can save my old television shows that I know no one else wants to watch. (Although, I don't understand why everyone doesn't want to watch 50's sitcoms!) That is one of the advantages of Netflix over Amazon Prime Instant and the Apple TV.
We have DirecTV and have switched to a cheaper package just last week. My husband is having withdrawals from programs that he usually watched. He may not be able to handle 'cutting the cord.' Myself, I can watch Netflix on my computer or when I'm alone on TV. I also like that we can still watch the latest movies on Pay per view or On Demand. We have never tried it before because we worked different shifts but now that I'm at home we can.
Von, I understand completely... It took me a long time to finally decide... luckily, with an antenna, we could get the major networks over the air and record them on Tivo... The only thing I truly miss is HBO, but at this point, (or soon?) you'll be able to subscribe to HBO GO without cable... So I'll be totally happy... Especially with the roughly $900 we save per year over cable...
It does seem more and more understandable to leave behind cable providers and similar offers, with online streaming offering much of the same entertainment. I hardly flip through channels nowadays with close to every show being available online, even live streams keep up with current trends. Not to mention the savings in cutting such costs. I hope digital broadcast and broadband merge in the future to create a new viewer experience, with similarities to that of Blu-ray in the future with all selections for the price of an internet connection. Given some good thought it does seem reasonable.
For the past several years, I have not subscribed to cable or had network television access, yet I watch series, movies, and documentaries pretty much non-stop all the while I am working, from about ten in the morning to after midnight. I don't miss it because I was very tired of trying to keep up with the nonsense they've been doing with television series, moving them from one day to another, changing hours, replacing them with reruns at any period during the year. Summer reruns are one thing but it seemed that they played more reruns than new shows. In our house, we have three Rokus. I subscribe to Netflix, which is my primary source of television, as I have Netflix streaming plus their 3-DVD option. I also have Hulu Plus, Amazon.com Prime, and a few other premium channels, as well as several free ones. I very much prefer to binge-watch television series, watching them, for the first time, from season one, episode one, all the way to the end of the series. I haven't run out of movies to watch, although I have watched some that I wouldn't have watched otherwise.
I've been toying with the idea of cutting the cord. I have cut back to the basic programming on Dish and have netflix, which plays through Roku. I've considered getting Hulu Plus, which would give me the new network shows that I enjoy so much. My only problem is, I also like some of the cable stations and can't find anywhere to get them, legally that is. I love Discovery, ABC Family, History and watch some shows on USA, TNT, A&E, TBS and a few others. I know that Sling TV is now available and offers some of these channels, but it's so expensive that it's not worth it to me. If it gave me all of the cable channels I like that would be one thing, but it doesn't. So for now, I have DISH for $50/month and netflix for $8. That's affordable to me and probably as close as I'll come to cutting the cord, unless they start offering more cable channels through things like Sling.
Mal, have you checked with HuluPlus to see if they have those networks? I thought they had most of those mentioned above. I don't think they have TNT, and I'm not sure about TBS. I'm going to be cutting the cord if I can ever afford to get a couple of antennas and rokus. I get aggravated at the price, and my provider refuses to give me a deal, so it's pretty much a done deal for me.
For a satisfactory experience, minus a cable subscription, I think you pretty much need to have both Netflix and Hulu Plus. Although both have some of each, Netflix is the best for movies, particularly if you also have a DVD account with them, and Hulu Plus is best for televisions series, since they often have them available only a week or so after they have aired on the network, while Netflix waits until a season is over and puts the whole season up. If you already have an Amazon Prime account, this also includes some free movies, but they don't add new stuff often enough for me. Once in a while I'll rent a movie from Google Play or Amazon.com but I don't do that often.
Ken, you said that you have both netflix and hulu plus? Can you get cable channels on Hulu Plus - like ABC Family, Discovery, History, A&E, USA, TNT, TBS, etc. I haven't been able to find much on netflix, they do have some of the drama series like Switched at Birth, etc. But I can't find things like Deadliest Catch, Gold Rush and other reality-type TV - I hate to admit it, but I do watch some of them
Hulu Plus carries specific shows, not networks, so I haven't paid any attention to which networks they were coming from. My understanding is that they don't carry anything from CBS but that they do from most of the others. They pay individually for each show that they carry so they don't carry everything.
Ken, you mentioned Hulu Plus, and I had read that there are commercials with it. Do they have many of them? I have Netflix, and Amazon Prime , and every month there are lists of all the new movies that are added to both of them and those they are dropping.
We have tried Hulu+ several times, and we just do not watch it enough for it to be worth even the $8 per month that it costs. I don't watch TV programs much at all, Bobby does watch them; but he hates all of the commercials, so he doesn't like watching Hulu either. Netflix has a lot more movies than Hulu does, but Hulu does have newer television programs than Netflix. Since they are both the same price per month , we just keep Netflix. I also really like Amazon Prime Movies. They have a combination of both free movies and newer ones that you can either rent or buy. The movies that you can buy are usually a little bit cheaper than the same movie is on Apple TV, as well; so we usually rent from Amazon. There is also Crackle, which is free; but does not have such a good selection of movies.