The Decision to Cut Cable TV
So there has been a lot online about cutting cable TV and many of my friends have done it because the either don't watch any TV at all, they are conserving expenses, or they don't want their kids raised in homes that are heavily TV based. I'm not any of those things. I don't have any kids, and I watch some TV: about an hour a night plus some on the weekends. But, I've noticed a few things, and these got me thinking about if I really needed live TV.- There are about a dozen shows I'm really into. About half of them have short seasons. But I love the shows enough that I don't want to wait for them to come out on DVD or Netflix.
- I rarely watch anything live, most of it is on my DVR.
- I pay for a Netflix account and about half of my TV viewing is on Netflix.
- Many TV stations have on demand services. Not that this may be a substitute (most require a cable subscription), but it is part of what showed me that the whole entertainment market is moving to in an on-demand direction.
So what I really wanted was access to a handful of TV shows and movies and what I was paying for was 70 channels most of which I never watched, and the majority of the time there was nothing on I wanted to see - - so I started working on a new solution. This felt a little scary at times because I'd had always had access to TV as a stand by, but I kept reminding myself, I rarely used it as one.
So How Do You Get TV Shows?
So the market has a lot of different options right now. I haven't investigated them all, but some are built around an on-demand infrastructure and some are more live based (like current TV). I don't bend my schedule to TV and I am already in an on-demand mindset, so I ignored anything that was like live TV.
Many channels have on-demand services and apps. Most require a cable subscription and many have a limited library of things I was interested in. A few of these apps, also couldn't remember where you left off if you wanted to not finish the show until tomorrow.
So here's what I settled on: I already had a Google ChromeCast and an XBox, and a Netflix account. Therefore, I didn't need to re-invent everything, I just needed a way to get the latest TV shows. As mentioned earlier, I did some cursory exploring and finally settled on purchasing shows from Google Play. It was compatible with my current hardware, remembered where I left off, and had a very large library. Plus, something else that seems popular, I could easily watch on TV or on my iPad or phone. I'll often watch something while cooking and then continue when I sit down to eat.
Cost
I made a list of my favorite shows (going through my DVR record list was very helpful) and looked up season costs. Subscription costs vary, but a popular show like Castle or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. goes for $39.99 (high definition (HD)) for the season (standard definition is $10 cheaper). The cost of my short run programs like Sherlock or Endevour varied dramatically. BBC's Sherlock is $28.99 for a HD season, but Endevour is $10.99. So the prices vary widely.
Once I added everything up:
- I was spending $840 per year for just cable (not including high speed internet)
- My shows totaled up to $315 per year
So that left me with over $500 per year to either pocket or invest in other shows I might be interested in. For example, I've heard a lot about Forever. Normally, I'd just DVR an episode or go to the cable company's on-demand screen and pull it up. But how would that work if I cut cable: well, with that $500, I could spend some of it to buy an episode and I'd still come out ahead. Or I could potentially sample it for free on the channel's website.
So How Will This Work
With cable, I'd just turn on the TV and either scroll through the guide or my DVR list and pick something. Now with Google Play, I can pull out my phone, scroll through My Wishlist and launch any TV show. I have to play/pause through my phone or tablet - - which has tripped me up a few times and occasionally the phone needs to sync with the ChromeCast, but so far it is not a big deal.
Main thing I am still working through is being aware when a season starts or new episodes come out. Google Play doesn't seem (maybe I've missed it) to allow you to buy before a season comes out. I did add all of my favorite shows to Facebook so I can get news about new episodes, but it'll be something I'll have to watch and learn about.
Other Notes
Google ChromeCast has been amazing and I highly recommend it. I bought it last year because it was an inexpensive way to view Netflix, YouTube, and play Pandora. For the holidays, I was able to put on music throughout the house (because I have a second set of speakers wired upstairs) and control it with my phone or tablet. Also, after watch movies with friends, we may get chatting about something on YouTube like a How It Should Have Ended and I can just pull that up on the big screen. On the down side, it does occasionally lose sync with your mobile device (although it is getting better) and it doesn't connect to wifi services if you have to go to a log-on web page like hotels have (so it is hit or miss if you travel). The unit is only $35 and although it isn't perfect in all aspects, it is a nice convenience.
Wrap Up
So after a few months of kicking this around and contemplating it, I'm about to head off right now to the cable company and reduce my services to just high speed internet. Hopefully there was some useful information for you, feel free to post comments.
Update 3/20/15
So, I've been doing this for over two months and thought I would provide an update.
- Money - The money savings has been there. Actually, through some payment billing cycle thing, I'm paid up until April. Initially, I panicked when the bill didn't come in and I got no notification of anything. I called the cable company and they filled me in. If you are doing this to save money, my friend Jeremy, a financial adviser, also posted some ideas on his blog here.
- Getting My Shows - I've been watching my favorite shows. Anything I started mid-season, I'm just paying for a la carte. I don't get automatic notifications of new episodes, but I've added them to my wish list and check for new episodes manually. That should go away. When you subscribe, you will get a notification that a new episode has come out. Episodes are usually issued some where between a day and days after the show aired. Some shows are faster than others.
- Renting Movies - I still use Netflix and I just subscribed to Amazon Prime, however, if I want the latest movies, I need another option. Whenever possible, I use Redbox. It is close and cheaper. However, a lot of the time, Redbox is out of what I want to watch. So we come home and rent it on Google Play! It is a few bucks more, but not a problem with the money I'm saving. Plus, it saves me a trip to pick it up and a trip to return the movie.
- iPad vs. Droid Phone - Initially, I was using my iPad Mini to control playback. But, you can't purchase shows or view your wishlist with the Play Movies app. Plus to pause the show, you have to unlock your device and wait for it to sync. One night I was lazy and just did everything on my Motorola Droid Maxx. It was almost like using a remote! The Play Movies & TV app integrated with my welcome screen (the one you use to unlock your phone) giving me a background banner for the show I'm watching, and a pause button without having to unlock the phone. Plus, if I need to use my device, the app has a shortcut with buttons in my notifications screen. I've stopped using the iPad to stream.
- Network - The main problem I've had, and it has been rare, but frustrating, is that sometimes my shows stop to buffer. I couldn't find anything constructive online about this. I've checked the WiFi signal where the ChromeCast is with an app that has a meter for signal strength and it is okay. I've noticed an improvement when I switch my other devices to the 5 GHz band (sometimes they still auto-connect to the 2.4 GHz). My current router, though, offers a lot of options including giving priority for streaming video for a specific IP address and giving other applications a high priority. I've configured my router to assign the MAC address of the ChromeCast to a reserved IP so I can give it always the highest priority, and I've found the port setting for Google Play and gave that high priority in the program list. If you want to do this, look at the owner's manual for your router.
So, overall, I'm content. I'm not planning on going back. I do sometimes miss just plopping in front of the TV hoping to catch something random (not that paid off much before) and instead I have to be a lot more deliberate in finding something to randomly watch. The number of options on Netflix and Amazon Instant Video are too many (and most aren't great or new). I did purchase one episode of a new program (Star Wars Rebels) and liked it so much, I went for the season pass, but I need to do more exploring.
But I believe this was a good move for me because I don't watch much TV and I'm not into the junk stuff, sports, and live events. Hope this helps and feel free to post comments.
