i had a great deal w/ Bright House Networks-$85.00/mo. for every channel, including the HD package of over 40 channels, every channel of HBO/Cinemax, Showtime/TMC, Encore, Starz, IFC, Sundance, you name it…  however, my $$ went whack & i couldn’t afford it any longer. do i miss it-you betcha!! but i’m learning to do other things. i read more & listen to music more—both ‘Net radio via iTunes(not enough good Jazz or variety on air in my town) & from my iTunes library, the Mac that has all the media(for synching my iPods) also has a bunch of ripped DVDs of some of my faves, so i enjoy them on the big screen & sound system attached to it or over my network to my MacBook. i love that i can watch just about anything, wherever i am on my MacBook’s Wi-Fi connection.

i ‘ve been watching on-line for over 3 years, getting caught up on episodes i missed due to work or other conflicts; so i’m just doing more of it, watching something a day or 2 later than the air date. i intend to get a Netflix account when my $$ gets better, so i can have the streaming & a couple of DVDs @ a time to watch. Hulu, TV.com, Joost, the Cable & OTA networks site are giving me most of what i want to see since i don’t care about the “game shows masquerading as reality” genre of TV shows, so prevalent on the OTA networks these days.

This article provides no real solutions to the problem of increasing cable/satellite costs, as I had hoped when I first saw the headline.
OTA isn’t going to help me when the kids want to watch Nick or when the wife wants FOOD Network. And I can just picture the family gathered around the computer monitor watching streaming video. Hulu is a joke!
Sorry to say, but if you’re a TV junkie, there’s no real way around the fleecing you get from cable/satellite. In my household it is a “necessary” expense.

I can’t work miracles, Dennis.

Free To Air Satellite (FTA)

I did keep digital cable without the premium movie channels. I still have the digital channels I want and for the movies that Starz, HBO, etc..show I use netflix for those movies. I save about 40.00 a month that way.

If it’s a series I really want to see…like Entourage or the Sopranos…I need to watch that night….so I can talk about it the next day. II can’t wait five months for the DVDs. And this is why I am a slave to cable tv.

It’s too bad that us slaves can’t revolt.
Where I live, there was a promise of Verizon FIOS coming, but it never materialized. Maybe some real competition (TV and Internet) would have given us a break from the cable monopoly, but for now, I’ll not know.

I live in a rural area and no cable available. My internet is Wildblue sattelite. Would this work for me (wildblue has fair access policy)

this is a good article for the times. i work in the dishnetwork retention department(basically the people that beg you to stay) and i agree with this totally. me personally i use the media center with my xbox’s and use netflix. i have a tv tuner on the media center for my ota locals and i have the turboHD bronze(hd only package. dish only offers it).

by not getting locals from the company i save that money. by using medai center my computer becomes my dvr so i save that fee. and by using netflix i get movies for 9 a month on my own schedule(not the greatest selection just yet but its getting there) and i get all the features without all the equipment and without the huge expense. 

the start up may be a little expensive(depending upon your budget) but the longterm is great. desktop dual core amd(vista premium)-379(b.buy), 2 360’s(only me and my girlfriend)(arcade version will do fine)-199-or lower, and a usb tuner maybe 40, and a dollar store ota makes it work.

you can even do the same with your home phone. i use magicjack for 20 a year and use my verizon cellphone most of the time.

great savings for everything that they offer on your terms.

hope this might help us to understand more about the satellite system.
Todd D.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/calebwickman/todddiroberto/prweb2552644.htm

This is the year I hope to cut the cable cord.. I bought an ASROCK nettop computer (which comes with a Media Center remote control), and attached it to my 60” Pioneer Flat screen panel TV. I am mainly using the Zinc TV software ( http://zinc.tv/) to agrgregate and organize the web streaming sites I watch. This free download software does a great job orgarnizing web stream from Hulu, ABC, FOX, CNN, etc., and you can customize to your preferrence. With my ASROCK Nettop which is loaded with Windows 7, I can also use Windows Media Center stream media, but I kind of link the Zinc TV software better because it has more access to more sites..

The only thing holding me back from cutting the cord at this time is my mother-in-law’s comfort level with using the PC; but this I hope with time this will change with more training, She actually thinks she has more access to media from the internet than the cabe company.

14 Months ago we converted to 100% Internet TV. I have saved nearly $4000 in Cable bills and my wife and I watch 16 network television programs in the evenings after our four kids go to bed. It is the coolest thing I ever did, the equipment is getting a little blah and I need to upgrade. I found a new product called WhiteHatt (http://www.whitehatt.com) that claims to do everything with a remote and all kinds of things coming in the Fall. I am keeping an eye on that one, Google TV and one of the others.

The best part I have to say is, my wife and I have 11 years married, 14 together. We have never had the time to have a proper relationship, sex life, what have you. I will just say, it didn’t save our marriage because we are in love, but the Internet TV freedom and content has given us some renewed vigor and we both walk around smiling most days and have since we started playing with this. More time, more happiness, less time wasted…pause everything, watch everything. Its got my endorsement, even if it never catches on.

The link that Todd D put up about Dish is old, the story is from late 2009. I would assume that most of what they have there has changed by now.
As for Wild Blue If you do any streaming at all you will run into their caps. I know Hughs has caps too, If you go over, the cut your speed back. Not that they’re all that fast to begin with.
  Another option, depending on where you are is to look into Wimax. and other forms wireless broadband. Ido know that it is being rolled out, although the areas that are actually getting it are hit and miss.. Its worth looking into. Along with 3 & 4G options.

Soon there will be an alternative to cable and satellite TV with a new company called Nuclius IPTV. Don’t confuse this with free IPTV. It’s the real deal designed to replace the cable companies. Stream HD programming directly to your TV. Choose a price plan or buy channels a la carte. Upscale internet TV channels like You Tube to look better on your TV. Browse the web on your TV. No wiring or cables. In the future it will work similar to a slingbox and you can watch your DVR content from your cell or laptop. You can even get it with a Blu-Ray player. No contracts or credit checks. This will completely change the industry…similar to what the cell phone did to the home phone or what Netflix did to the video stores. Website is http://www.nucliusiptv.net/