Comast/Xfinity taking a major hit

[Defender]

On 9/13/2017 at 8:35 PM, Murgatroy said:

Cut the cord a year or so ago. We pay $99 a year for Amazon Prime, $10 a month for Netflix, free Youtube and several OTA channels. Factor in the broadband internet, which supplies four smart televisions, two gaming consoles, three tablets, two laptops, three gaming desktops and two Raspberry Pis, we are about about $80 a month for all of it.

 

Much less than the $180 a month we were paying for the same plus cable television, that we watched five channels of...

Your math confuses me a little.  I'm always looking to get a better deal for what I want, so I added yours up  probably I missed something, but you said you had been paying 180,  now you pay 99 for Amazon, 10 for Netflix and 80 for internet...isn't that 179 total?  I'm not calling you out, lol, just looking for any good alternative than what I have and i'm a little confused...would appreciate a clarification.

 

I really want to lower by cable bill, but right now I have Comcast and am paying about 164 a month for unlimited internet, HBO, 1 Main and 2 Satellite DVR boxes, and the last time I argued with them to get this  price, they threw in Starz for 6 months and said they would do another 6 months if I call back in 6 months.  I could easily get by without the HBO and Starz, hardly ever watch them anyway, nor do I watch the multitude of other channels i get.  What I DO like though is the total of 3 DVR boxes where I can record what I DO like to watch and watch it on my terms or start watching in one room and finish  it in any room.  After getting fed up with Comcast, a friend of mine went to one of the Satellite deals for TV but kept Comcast cable for internet.  Hes getting way more than me, but then he pays more overall, too.

[monkeylizard]

Your math broke because Amazon Prime is an annual rate of $99. Or $8.25/month.

Total monthly fees for Murgatroy would be about $98.25. Just a shade over half of what he was paying before.

Edited September 15, 2017 by monkeylizard

[Defender]

1 hour ago, monkeylizard said:

Your math broke because Amazon Prime is an annual rate of $99. Or $8.25/month.

Total monthly fees for Murgatroy would be about $98.25. Just a shade over half of what he was paying before.

Lmao, you're right! That's why I was careful to not call him stupid.  Now before you call me stupid, I'll just admit it, lol.  Good thing I'm not a rocket scientist, or we'd have more crashing rockets than North Korea!  I was confusing monthly and annual, and adding them together.  Usually I can use my brain for something more than just to hold my ears apart...thanks.

[Defender]

My only concern really is my watching schedule.  I record a lot to watch later, and would need to buy a couple dvrs. 

[monkeylizard]

Keep in mind that you only need to record the stuff coming in on your antenna. Any "cable" shows you'd getting on the streaming services so no need to DVR them. The OTA TiVo works great for antenna recording.

I'm not able to cut the cord because my TV signal sucks for most broadcast stations. Even with a good 2-bay real antenna mounted in the attic. The only way for me to get a strong signal for all stations is a 4-bay (or one of the really big directionals) mounted externally and I'm not going to put that much ugly on the front of my house.

Edited September 15, 2017 by monkeylizard

[Sam1]

Too much trouble for saving a few $ if it costs $98/month.  I only pay $110/month for 150 channels and 300mb/s internet with comcast with the X1 system.  Think that price is locked in for 3 years.

[Defender]

1 hour ago, Sam1 said:

Too much trouble for saving a few $ if it costs $98/month.  I only pay $110/month for 150 channels and 300mb/s internet with comcast with the X1 system.  Think that price is locked in for 3 years.

They're getting me for about 164, but that includes equipment.  What Comcast gear have you got?

[Garufa]

Cable TV and internet/phone service is like buying an airplane ticket or booking a hotel room.  There are not two people that pay the same rate.

I'm way past tired of it.

[Murgatroy]

We have the uprated speed, that costs a little more than the base, I think it is 100MB. The wife pays the bill, so I am estimating at $60, but that seems to be right. Netflix at $10, and Amazon Prime at a Monthly of $8.25 (and frankly the free two day shipping is why I have that, that TV shows are a plus.) 

 

That puts us at a roughly $80 a month. I had forgotten about my addition of HBO to my Amazon Prime account. That was an additional $15. So that brings us to a rough $95 a month for entertainment. You are right, if you are paying $110 a month, that is not a huge savings. However we have access to all of this on four televisions, three desktops, etc...

We were paying $160 a month for cable, plus the $10 a month for Netflix and the $8.25 a month for Amazon Prime, which gave us access to Netlfix on Amazon Prime on all said devices, but only cable access (DVR/Digital) on two televisions.

 

Crap, I forgot my daughter's television that she never uses and the Wii, so that adds a couple of devices as well.

 

If we were to go hardcore, sure we could cut a hundred dollars a month on our budget, but honestly, it is worth it, especially at our tax bracket. I have thought about adding cable back, but we have made it fine for the year or two we have been without, I see no reason.

[Sam1]

13 hours ago, JAlexanderMSgt said:

They're getting me for about 164, but that includes equipment.  What Comcast gear have you got?

X1 dvr thing is all.  I own the modem and use smart TV's with HD antennas in all the bedrooms.  

[analog_kidd]

With a spare computer that has HDMI video output, or a $50 Raspberry Pi, you can install the Kodi App. Kodi has been getting a bad rap lately because people load illegal add-ons onto it, but there are tons of 100% legit add-ons that you can get right from Kodi, or even third party developers, that give you a plethora of legal, free content. Go to their page and browse some of their add-ons to see what is available. 

I also use it to watch movies that I rip from my DVD's. I was tired of the grand kids leaving DVD's all over to get scratched. Now I rip them, and they can watch from the PC without ever opening a DVD case.

I have a PC in the living room set up to use for Kodi and Amazon Prime video. I have a Rasberry Pi with Kodi in the bedroom that I can use to stream the ripped DVD's from the PC.

There is also USTVNow. They stream several channels like ABC, CBS, etc. You can watch some for free if you don't mind the low-def. For $20 a month you get a much better selection of channels and Hi-def. I think they even have a plan with DVR capability.