Tag: hulu

This is the last of a series of posts that have to do with ditching our Time Warner cable TV, because it is just too damn expensive! In the previous posts I explained how we planned our move, and how we replaced the programs we like to watch, our DVR, etc.

You can read the previous “Ditching Cable” posts here:

Ditching Cable ~ Part 1

Ditching Cable ~ Part 2

Ditching Cable ~ Part 3

Ditching Cable ~ Update 1

I am really happy to report that our move off cable is now complete! Today, while navigating to our TiVo viewing options, I noticed a new addition to the options menu. Hulu now appears on TiVo’s main menu!!! We instantly signed up for Hulu Plus online and Hulu kicked in immediately on our TiVo system. It will cost $8/mo. Now we can view all the Hulu programming right on our TV using our simple TiVo remote and the TiVo interface!

So here’s the final roundup: instead of $180/mo to Time Warner for internet/cable TV/phone and $20/mo to our alarm company, we will be paying $58/mo to Time Warner for internet only, $20/mo to TiVo, $10/mo to Netflix, $25 to the alarm company, and $8 to Hulu. That’s a total savings of about $77 per month, or about $925 per year! Oh, yeah!!

If this has been helpful, please share or “Like.” 🙂

In Part 1 I wrote about the high cost of our current cable/internet/phone bundle. In Part 2 I described how you can use a simple and inexpensive digital antenna to replace your local channels. Now I’ll explain how we will replace the other cable channels we watch that are not local channels, as well as the DVR function, movies, music channels, and more.

TiVo has been making DVR’s for quite some time. But they have recently taken a logical step and reinvented themselves. They now function as a DVR and as a hub for digital programming. They do it through their newest boxes, called TiVo Premiere and TiVo Premiere XL. Click on the link to go to their site to get details on the product and service. This is going to cost a little money (key word = little) but $20/mo is far less than the cost of cable, which charges me a high monthly for their service and a monthly for the use of their DVR box. There would be a one-time cost for the better TiVo Premiere XL box, but the simpler TiVo Premiere box is free with a two year contract.

The biggest reason we will be investing in the TiVo service, though, is not for the DVR function alone, it is because we can access all sorts of digital programming right through the TiVo box. You can connect to Netflix and hulu right from TiVo, making it a very convenient way for us to get all the TV shows, movies, music channels, and more as TiVo continues to add entertainment programming to their service. There is a little overlap, but Netflix is largely a movie digital warehouse, and hulu is a TV show repository. Their service will cost about $8/mo each.

You don’t need TiVo to use Netflix and hulu. They were designed for internet streaming, to watch on the computer. But then people figured out how to connect their computer to the TV so they could watch the Netflix and hulu content on their TV’s. TiVo simply makes that process seamless for you, and adds the DVR functionality. (Obviously, you need to have internet access for this, but who doesn’t have that!) And that’s why we’re going with TiVo.

So, our final setup will be the digital antenna for the local programming, TiVo, Netflix, and hulu. The total cost for all of this, apart from the minimal one time costs, will be $20/mo for the TiVo box and service, $8/mo for Netflix, and $8/mo for hulu. A grand total of $36/mo, as opposed to the $110/mo we are paying now. That’s a $75/mo savings = $900/year!

Like Megan and Mike, we’ll be laughing all the way to the bank!

If this has been helpful, please share or “Like.” 🙂