Ota

[Resist]

We have an old Series 2 single tuner and Series 3 on Charter Cable. We have TV, Internet and Phone with them and our promotion is at an end this month so I called Charter to find another deal. To my surprise our $158 a month plan will go up to $168 with less options. This has got me so pissed off that I am ready to cancel everything except Charter Internet and go over the air. It sucks because we watch a lot of HBO but I can't handle the high monthly costs anymore. With all the people out of work I would have thought Charter would have better deals for consumers now. I know I can pay for the shows I want on iTunes but at $2 to $3 an episode plus the newer seasons are not out yet and it will be even more expensive in the long run. I guess we need to go cold turkey from watching our favorites because I just can't afford this cable bill any longer.

I know my series 3 will work fine OTA but wonder about our old Series 2 single tuner.

[netringer]

Your Series 2 will need a digital tuner set top box.

[JWThiers]

We have an old Series 2 single tuner and Series 3 on Charter Cable. We have TV, Internet and Phone with them and our promotion is at an end this month so I called Charter to find another deal. To my surprise our $158 a month plan will go up to $168 with less options. This has got me so pissed off that I am ready to cancel everything except Charter Internet and go over the air. It sucks because we watch a lot of HBO but I can't handle the high monthly costs anymore. With all the people out of work I would have thought Charter would have better deals for consumers now. I know I can pay for the shows I want on iTunes but at $2 to $3 an episode plus the newer seasons are not out yet and it will be even more expensive in the long run. I guess we need to go cold turkey from watching our favorites because I just can't afford this cable bill any longer.

I know my series 3 will work fine OTA but wonder about our old Series 2 single tuner.

Double check the math. Dropping a $60 -$80 dollar or more cable/ month cable bill allows for a lot of $3 downloads. At $80 / month you can download more than 25 episodes / month and still break even. oOf cours YMMV.

[orangeboy]

We have an old Series 2 single tuner and Series 3 on Charter Cable. We have TV, Internet and Phone with them and our promotion is at an end this month so I called Charter to find another deal. To my surprise our $158 a month plan will go up to $168 with less options. This has got me so pissed off that I am ready to cancel everything except Charter Internet and go over the air. It sucks because we watch a lot of HBO but I can't handle the high monthly costs anymore. With all the people out of work I would have thought Charter would have better deals for consumers now. I know I can pay for the shows I want on iTunes but at $2 to $3 an episode plus the newer seasons are not out yet and it will be even more expensive in the long run. I guess we need to go cold turkey from watching our favorites because I just can't afford this cable bill any longer.

I know my series 3 will work fine OTA but wonder about our old Series 2 single tuner.

For $8.99 per month, you can stream unlimited movies & TV episodes to your Series 3 using Netflix (Netflix plans (http://www.netflix.com/HowItWorks#faq3)). For the S2, Amazon Unbox offers free content as well. I missed the pilot episode(s) of "Defying Gravity" when it aired, but was able to download them from Amazon for free! I've been complemplating doing the same thing you want to do (sans iTunes), but just haven't bitten the bullet yet.

[Resist]

Yes I know we need digital tuner boxes, we have them.

The problem with downloading the episodes is that they don't have the new seasons yet. For instance, I like True Blood and would have to wait until next year to view this years season.

We already have the Netflix instant streaming thing, but again they don't have the current seasons and Netflix sucks on my Series 3, so I would have to use my XBox 360 instead.

[Resist]

At $80 / month you can download more than 25 episodes / month and still break even.If I am going to break even then there would be no point in getting rid of cable. Besides by my math, I watch 12 HBO/Showtime series every week. At $2.99 each on iTunes for the HD version that comes to $143.52 a month, which is way more that just keeping cable. Damn the Cable company, if I had never watched any of those shows then it wouldn't be so hard to give them up.

I called Charter again and got the bill down by $5 by giving up out of state long distance for the cable telephone service. I still think their prices are to much, especially in this economy and am considering giving it all up, except my 10 Meg Internet. I can't do without fast Internet service.

[orangeboy]

I still think their prices are to much, especially in this economy and am considering giving it all up, except my 10 Meg Internet. I can't do without fast Internet service.

Amen to that, brother! Although in my case it's Brighthouse...

[tootal2]

If you call carter and get very angry over the phone with them. they will most likely reduce your bill. it has work for a few people at work.

We have an old Series 2 single tuner and Series 3 on Charter Cable. We have TV, Internet and Phone with them and our promotion is at an end this month so I called Charter to find another deal. To my surprise our $158 a month plan will go up to $168 with less options. This has got me so pissed off that I am ready to cancel everything except Charter Internet and go over the air. It sucks because we watch a lot of HBO but I can't handle the high monthly costs anymore. With all the people out of work I would have thought Charter would have better deals for consumers now. I know I can pay for the shows I want on iTunes but at $2 to $3 an episode plus the newer seasons are not out yet and it will be even more expensive in the long run. I guess we need to go cold turkey from watching our favorites because I just can't afford this cable bill any longer.

I know my series 3 will work fine OTA but wonder about our old Series 2 single tuner.

[Resist]

If you call carter and get very angry over the phone with them. they will most likely reduce your bill. it has work for a few people at work.I have done that in the past and it worked. Did it this time and it made no difference. I even told them I was going to cancel everything and they were all set to let me do just that.

We are going to try and find a less expensive land line telephone provider so we can cancel Charter telephone to bring the monthly bill down some. All we want is unlimited local and long distance with caller ID. I don't want to have just cell phone service alone, as the land line works best for 911.

But I swear, if I could let go of HBO and Showtime then I would go OTA for sure, even though we only get a few channels in my area. This over priced fleecing is getting out of hand!

[tootal2]

I have done that in the past and it worked. Did it this time and it made no difference. I even told them I was going to cancel everything and they were all set to let me do just that.

We are going to try and find a less expensive land line telephone provider so we can cancel Charter telephone to bring the monthly bill down some. All we want is unlimited local and long distance with caller ID. I don't want to have just cell phone service alone, as the land line works best for 911.

But I swear, if I could let go of HBO and Showtime then I would go OTA for sure, even though we only get a few channels in my area. This over priced fleecing is getting out of hand!

Just get vonage for your phone. thats what i use. It works very good but if the internet goes down you have no phone. but it will forward all calls to your cell when the internet is down.

[ewilts]

I dropped from extended cable ($57.50/mo) to basic cable ($10.66/mo) and added Netflix ($8.95/mo). Sure, I lost access to some of my programming but you have to decide how much you're willing to pay for that. I miss some stuff on ESPN. I'll get over it.

Heck, for under $1K, you can build a pretty good HTPC. Watch all of your basic cable and Netflix shows through there. Access hulu and other Internet providers for some of the rest. You won't have a monthly fee for your guide data any more and you'll pay for that HTPC in under 6 months. My Series 3 has lifetime on it now. When it dies, it won't be replaced by another TiVo.

[scsiguy72]

I went OTA only about a year and a half ago. I have to say I love it. I never had HBO/Showtime so I don't have to worry about missing that, but I have to tell you it feels great when Comcast or DTV call up and claim they can beat the price I am paying for TV now and I ask them "You can beat Free?" ;)

The picture is perfect and I get all the networks, PBS and the local independents

To date I have saved $1440

I say go cold turkey and maybe if enough of us go OTA, cable companies will wakeup and start pricing their product accordingly

[OHSam2008]

Resist....I have to agree with scsiguy72. I've been without cable going on eight months. The OTA digital signal is superior to what Time Warner was giving me. And you can't beat free. Yes, there are those cable only programs you miss, but you'd be surprised how much OTA content there is on network and local. It fills my time nicely until the DVD releases of those shows I love come out. And then there's always Amazon On Demand...it filled in nicely when I fell out of love with iTunes horrible time lag to get a current episode uploaded so I could buy it at $1.99. "Within 24 hours" my a--!

I say bite the bullet....you'll appreciate having the extra money.

[Bierboy]

I was OTA-only until our cableco began offering more HD channels like WGN America, Comcast Chicago, ESPN, ESPN 2, etc. Being a sports fan (specifically a Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago Cubs fan), I felt the added $7.96/month for four CableCARDS was well worth it to access nearly 30 HD channels including those I mentioned. I know that I haven't included the monthy cable cost for family basic, but I still think it's worth it. To each his own...

[scsiguy72]

I really depends on what you want. I have two HD Tivos and even with limited channels available, I fill them both up nicely.

Without Tivo, chances of finding something OTA when you want it are slim, but add Tivo to the mix and you can't beat it, IMHO

[Resist]

The problem with OTA for me is that our area only has one good station, one in spanish and one that is really fuzzy. Even with a roof top antenna things are not better as the mountains block a lot.