Tag: TiVo

Ditching Cable ~ Final Update

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!!

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Ditching Cable ~ Update 1

I recently posted on our plans to cancel our Time Warner cable TV because of the ridiculously high cost. $180/mo for a CableTV/internet/phone package is simply not worth it! With so many viewing entertainment options out there that cost so much less, it was time for us to reconsider how we wanted to spend our hard earned dollars. You can read my original “Ditching Cable” posts here, here, and here.

Last week we finally took the plunge. We ordered our TiVo Premiere XL through TiVo.com. It is the pricier Premiere model, but we wanted the bigger hard disk, the better remote, and the better picture quality, and we figured it was a one-time expense. Their system for choosing your model, any accessories, and subscription plan was slick! We did purchase their Wireless Network Adapter so that the TiVo box could read our wireless internet.

The setup of the TiVo also went smoothly as silk! They have developed an impressive and high quality system. So far we have been very pleased with TiVo. We connected our indoor antenna, purchased at Best Buy, and are able to see about 12 channels, including the 3 major networks and Fox. The picture quality comes in much better through the antenna than it did through the cable!

The next day, we took our two cable receivers and remotes and returned them to Time Warner. We cancelled our cable TV service! They then again informed us of what we already knew, that since the contract for the CableTV/internet/phone package had been broken, they would have to charge more for just the internet and phone. We had them break down the charges and realized they would be charging $45/mo for the phone. So we cancelled that as well! Now we are just paying $58/mo for the cable internet! 🙂

We signed up for Netflix for $10/mo. TiVo has a slick way of connecting to your Netflix account. Everything is easily accessible using the TiVo remote. So we can watch as many Netflix movies and TV shows as we want for that set price! We watched a Netflix movie last night (The Proposal with Sandra Bullock,) streamed through the wireless internet, through the TiVo box, onto our TV. It was picture perfect. No hesitation, pixilation, or glitches!

TiVo is currently working out the details of providing Hulu through the TiVo box. When that happens we will sign up for that as well, to get some of the other programs we like to watch.

We had been using our phone line for our fax machine and for our alarm system. We are doing less and less faxing anyway, as most things are scanned and emailed. If we decide we still need to fax, we plan to sign up with an internet fax company for about $10/mo. The alarm system will now go through their cellular option, which involves another one-time hardware expense, but all of this pays for itself in less than 6 months.

Bottom line, so far, instead of $180/mo to Time Warner and $20/mo to our alarm company, we will be paying $58/mo to Time Warner, $20/mo to TiVo, $10/mo to Netflix, and $25 to the alarm company. That’s a savings of about $85 per month! 😀

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Ditching Cable ~ Part 3

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.” 🙂