Comcast has a tv and internet package (I think it’s called Internet Plus) that only includes about 15 channels or so–and mainly network, PBS, Discover, Food Channel, and a few other channels we didn’t care about, either HBO or Showtime. We live in an area where we can get any channels without cable. So we have:
Comcast Internet Plus w/Blast (100mbps) $60/month
Ooma VoiP $4/month not a landline technically, but we kept our landline #, and once hooked up works just like landline
Netflix $11/month
Amazon Prime
We also have a Chromecast device–highly recommend if you don’t have a smart tv–so occasstionally I log into my son’s Comcast account on my computer and stream other cable stations to my tv.
We have internet and home phone landline through AT&T for about $100/month. Netflix is $10.99 for streaming on 2 devices, and we also have Amazon Prime. We subscribe to Sling for sports - $25/month and we only do it for September through March since we are most interested in NFL and NCAA football and basketball. We have both Roku and a Chromecast device.
Egads… Frontier is worse than Comcast here. Can’t get rid of them no matter what we tried!!! We had a landline with them when we lived in the boonies. Had to cancel that as we can’t move the number to the new place. Paid the final bill. They still have not closed out the account 2 months later!!! Argh. Mr. tried to call them - they would put him on 30+ min holds… still waiting for the refund of our $18. Comcast at least promptly sent us our extra payment back and closed the account no questions asked.
I swapped out DirectTV (the satellite service) for DirecTV Now (the streaming service). Streaming service is $35/month, no contract. Was $10 for the first month. I’m using that with a Roku TV; I also have Netflix, Amazon Prime, and a membership my local PBS station"passport" access to PBS programming, via the Roku.
I had a landline but too many telemarketing calls so I was only using voice mail, so I ported the number over to Google voice (free, with a one time charge of $20 for the number transfer.). So now instead of the phone ringing all day with telemarketers and me ignoring it, I get texts telling me if a message comes in.
The options seem endless, and very confusing. I salute those of you who have been able to cut through all of this to reduce your cost while still getting everything you want. I too have investigated this in my area, trying to keep those all-important football games that DH deems essential. I think that for us, we’ll wait another year or two before changing anything, to see if the field narrows and only a handful of options remain.
My DirectTV contract is up on 1/26, so I am planning to ditch that and my ATT DSL for Xfininity which will give better internet performance at a cheaper price. I am going to stick with my landline for a bit longer just to make sure I’m happy with the switch and may then discontinue it over the summer. Will stay tuned for your reports!
Frontier is where ATT customers around here went. I know…no one says anything nice about ATT either…but compared to the Cable company, Frontier is awesome. They have been upgrading all of the service to our somewhat rural area also…apparently they recognize that folks are not happy with the cable companies…ours is Charter…and they are crooks.
I would rather have NO TV than deal with the cable company again…crooks.
Frontier’s awful DSL service when they took over for ATT was what precipitated our switch to our cable company for internet and phone. I’ve heard they’ve gotten better since then, but at the time we switched their DSL service was worse than the dial-up service we used to have when we first got internet.
@VeryHappy, that’s where we are too. Our cable bill is way too high (I think $285/month) for internet, landline and TV, including DVR but the options seem too confusing and fragmented. We do have netflix and Prime but dh really wants access to everything.
Definitely not ready to give up the landline. Our power goes out periodically and, while it’s not needed often, I truly appreciate having an old phone to plug in that’s usable if the power’s out and we’re trying to conserve our cell phone batteries. Seems like a safety issue. Also, the generation above me (parents, etc.) still call on the landline so I don’t mind keeping the landline for that reason too. I also like talking on our landline and find it easier to hear on our landline. Wow–after writing all of that, no wonder we haven’t given up our landline!
With regard to TV, maybe new options will emerge in the next year or two that make things easier to understand and use.
One of my sisters has huge TV bills. She has UVerse…and gets about 200 channels…for about $150 a month. Ridiculous…since she watches four total channels!
We just got sick of the lousy customer service with the cable company TV service. Our number if HD channels kept going down…and the price UP since we just had basic cable. We were paying almost $50 a month for 8 stations…and 3 were PBS stations. All the ca le company wanted is to do was upgrade.
So we ditched them entirely. DH got an antenna which is in our attic. We get channels…excellent reception. And we can stream just about everything else.
I pay $250 and that doesn’t include my home phone which is on my Verizon Wireless plan. I also have Netflix, Tennis Chanel Plus, and WTA TV in addition. I’m much too lazy to switch over to something cheaper. I really need to call my provider and talk to someone in retention (bill went up $30/month in Nov) but I’m even too lazy to do that.
No interfacing software is needed, just a browser. Most all flat screen tv’s will have at least one HDMI port, most have 2-4.
Most recent (say, < 5 years old, maybe older) Windows laptops have an HDMI port on them somewhere. Not sure about Macs.
So you run a regular ordinary HDMI cable from the laptop to the tv. Change the input on the tv to use that HDMI port. The laptop should recognize the tv as a second monitor. Then you have two choices: you can duplicate your desktop on both monitors, or you can have the second monitor be an extension of the desktop (on Windows 10, right-click on the desktop, select Display settings, scroll down to the Multiple displays section). I like to have the second monitor be an extension, that way I can use the computer at the same time as I’m watching.
Then in a browser window, run the stream you want. Drag it to the second monitor, maximize the window, and you are in business.
D has an antenna on her TV and it works for 16 channels. They also have some sports channel they pay for and Netflix. She lives in a big city. We would never be able to get but maybe 2 channels here if at all.
Gave up the phone line ?10 years ago- our bill was high ($50) due to living in the country and having it unlisted. Just the cells have worked fine.
We have basic cable plus, which has one channel H likes. No sports family here except the olympics and the Super Bowl. We have NO other option for internet except the cable company. Some here do have dish for tv. Our bill is $130 per month plus we have amazon prime for ordering, and Netflix streaming only.
I would only need internet and would like the Netflix and of course amazon prime if we would like to get a package in this century.
“Is it possible to get local channels, maybe PBS, without a cable box (Frontier is only option?”
A $25 HD antenna from Amazon does the trick for us. 56 channels, mostly junk but there are all major local ones. Because the signal is HD, quality of the image is the same as cable. Kind of like this one: