With cable subscriptions still alive and well, more and more households are switching to cutting the cord and relying on streaming services. Cable certainly isn’t cheap (though some cable providers do it) cheaper with basic packages) and there will always be advantages no matter what, but users think about how advantageous it is and whether it’s worth it in the long run. If you’re thinking of dropping the cable, here’s what you need.
With the wealth of movie and TV show streaming services available, watching your favorite shows whenever you want is getting cheaper. Gone are the days of needing a cable subscription to watch a TV show or movie that wasn’t airing on local channels.
If you’re considering cutting the cord and giving up your cable service in favor of streaming options, here are some things you need to make sure you don’t regret your decision.
Have a Good Internet Connection
This means you will need a stable internet connection as you will be streaming most of your content. For most people this is not a problem as a basic DSL internet connection can get the job done for the most part, but it becomes more difficult if you live in rural areas. Sure, you can get a good satellite internet connection, but it’s often really expensive.
That’s why you want to make sure your internet connection can handle a large number of streams. Personally, I only have a 7Mbps DSL connection and it does the job; I stream Netflix for at least a few hours a day and also watch baseball games with MLB At Bat. Sometimes the connection lags and streams pause and buffer at random times, but I was quite impressed with how well my connection remained overall.
Also, I don’t have any bandwidth caps, so I don’t have to worry too much about streaming, which is another factor you’ll want to be aware of when cutting the cord. Many internet service providers place bandwidth limits on subscribers, so once users reach a certain point, the provider can throttle and slow down your connection. Be sure to find out if your ISP has imposed a bandwidth limit.
Sign Up for Streaming Services
As mentioned earlier, you will want to access a few streaming services. Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, and Hulu Plus are the biggest. Netflix and Amazon Instant Video offer you a selection of TV shows and movies, while Hulu Plus is great for watching recently aired TV shows as Netflix and Amazon only add new shows once the season is complete.
Netflix and Hulu Plus both cost $7.99 per month, while Amazon Instant Video will cost you $99 per year, or $8.25 per month. This means that the total cost of these three services will be $24.23 per month; this is much less than what you would pay for a cable subscription.
Get a Streaming Set-Top Box
Unless you want to keep hooking up your laptop to your living room TV to watch your favorite shows on the big screen, you’ll probably want to get some sort of streaming set-top box like an Apple TV, Roku, or the new Amazon. Fire TV. Which one you choose is ultimately up to you, but there are a few things you should know when making a decision.
If you have mostly iOS devices in your home, Apple TV is probably the best option because you can take advantage of AirPlay and beam content from your iPhone or iPad to your television using your Apple TV. However, it doesn’t support Amazon’s Instant Video service, so you’ll want a Roku or Fire TV if you want access to Amazon’s streaming service (although I still go with the Apple TV).
However, Fire TV doesn’t support HBO Go yet, so if you can’t live without your premium cable shows, you may want to look into Roku or Apple TV instead.
Use an HD Antenna for Local Channels
Even if you cut the cable and dropped your cable, that doesn’t mean you still can’t get a handful of channels for free. In fact, it is the law that users should be able to receive wireless local channels absolutely free, as long as you have an antenna that can receive the signal. With one antenna you’ll be able to get ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS and more.
Depending on where you live and how close you are to broadcast towers, your antenna may pick up more channels than you think. Living closer to downtown, I was able to get at least 20 channels with my HD antenna (that’s a lot in Indiana). Of course, that means people living in rural areas will have a hard time getting the channels, which is where the satellite comes into play again.
As for which antenna to buy, Wirecutter recommends HD Frequency Cable Cutter for the ability to pull the most channels at the best quality out of a total of 13 antennas they tested. If you are looking for a cheaper option, Lifehacker readers voted the Mohu Leaf as their favorite HD antenna.
Download Torrents at Your Own Risk
Another option to get all your favorite TV shows is unethical (and very illegal) but provides the best quality and reliability. If your internet connection can’t keep up with streaming Netflix or Hulu Plus, you can download and watch TV shows without having to deal with annoying lag or buffering issues.
the best sign up for a private tracker so you’ll be harder to catch, but these are usually invite-only and filled with rules that require you to restore what you downloaded. That said, there’s nothing wrong with using only public audiences (Kick Torrents one of our favorites), but you have a higher chance of getting caught and getting a harsh letter from your internet service provider. Some ISPs are more tolerant than others, Comcast the most stringent and Verizon/Frontier the most tolerant in our experience.
What about Sports?
Once you cut the cord and let go of the cord, live sports is probably the biggest thing you’ll give up if you’re a sports fan. For some reason, it’s hard to come by live streaming sports without paying a lot of money. An MLB.TV subscription for the season starts at $110 and still has blackout restrictions, so watching your favorite team is nearly impossible.
Of course, you can bypass the blackout restrictions with a few tricks, but the cost of a subscription is quite expensive. $110 per year is for MLB only; You’ll have to pay this kind of money for every sport you want to watch live, so the cost can go up, but considering you’ll be paying at least $50 a month for cable (up to a minimum of $600 a year) if you need Baseball, soccer, and basketball, you can get a few live streams. Getting a broadcast sports subscription may still be the way to go.
