Talk to me about Netflix/hulu/internet

Kitten80

Hi, ladies. We are all sick and TB isn't letting me comment on threads with more than a couple replies. I am reading and trying to love tit as support.

This post is brought to you courtesy of my disgust with our satellite provider. For about 2 weeks our most watched channels are constantly going out for random amounts of time (5 min to 48 hours) not only during clouds/storms (which happens all the time) but on beautiful days (like today). I sat down to enjoy me some GH in my misery - to the "no need to call, we are aware of this outage. Check back periodically to see if it has been restored.". Crumbs. I want to see today's episode darn it.

Even when we moved in 5 years ago, I was ready to go tv free. Dh was not. About 6 months ago, I convinced him it could be great with hulu/net flix/amazon prime or streaming online from networks. Well, then he asked "a friend" (read guy he had known for less than 6 months at work and work only) who "knows all about this stuff". Said "friend" convinced dh we would need such a high Internet package it would cost us more per a month than our satellite high package. Which I believe is untrue because I know so many people IRL and Online who have done it to save money and read a lot about it. He of course believed work guy and that was that. However, we keep losing channels on our line up and price keep going up so I would like to consider other options.

So help me out - what kind of Internet do you have (speed and provider or whatever is relevant - I'm not tech savvy)? Do you save money if you did/ that is why you dropped tv?

TIA ladies.

KateJuly2013

At&t high speed something or other. I believe its about 20$ a month.

FWIW, you are right. Cable is lame and a time suck. I wish we didnt have it but, football.

kaylakim

I'm not here to help but am going through the exact same thing. I'll be watching this thread!!

I know my SIL gave up all cable/satellite and loves Amazon Prime and Netflix. We currently have neither but are interested in possibly saving $$ every month.

Bmore721

We went without cable TV or home phone for 5 years (2008-2013), and I wish I could convince DH to go TV-free again (such a waste of time and money). We paid $19.99/mo for basic Verizon internet from Verizon and $8 for Netflix streaming. So $28 total. That is it. Local television provided free basic channels in HD (ABC, FOX, CBS, NBC, etc.), so DH could still watch his beloved Ravens except on Thursdays. Internet speed was fast enough that I noticed zero speed increase when we switched to FIOS last year.

As for streaming: Netflix streaming was great during bedrest, but we canceled it last year when we moved. Never tried Hulu Plus. Amazon Prime (I have it for the free 2 day shipping) just added lots of HBO seasons (True Blood! :x )

MRads

econmama said:

We don't have cable and only use Hulu, Netflix and Amazon.

We have the medium internet from Comcast and it's like $50/mo. It's what we had before, so basically we went from $100/mo for cable to $20/mo for Hulu and Netflix

Yup. And I doubt well ever go back!

ashie624

We have pretty good internet. I think its a step below the best. We only have basic cable channels and all together its about $78 a month. We have a local provider. Unsure of what the cost would be for just internet.

The only reason we still have any cable is they charge $50 to uninstall the cable box. The internet charge would also gonup $10 a month..but I have no idea what that is.

Once we move we will be doing internet only. We rarely have the tv on. Mostly Netflix and Hulu if we watch anything. And I only pay for Hulu since my mom has a Netfliz account and she lets us use it.

opheliainwaders

So, we have Time Warner internet. It's fine. Not sure the speed, but relatively high-speed since I work from home.

We also dropped cable a few months ago, and exist purely on Netflix and Amazon Prime - so far, it's actually fine. I think we do a lot less passive tv-watching, to be honest. We're considering buying a pair of modern rabbit-ears so we can watch basic channels (though a lot of newer episodes of things stream via channels' websites), too, but I'm leaving that adventure up to DH.

ETA: we went from a hideous rate for cable+internet (somewhere around $130/month) to $44/month for internet alone. DEFINITELY WORTH IT.

(also, I've got Prime through Amazon Mom, which is $75/year, but I make up that price in savings on diapers, and we have a friend's Netflix login, so that makes our overall internet outlay basically the only cost that's specifically for TV usage).

new2011mommy

DH and I were talking about this too. We are paying $200 a month for verizon fios internet, home phone, and tv. Our tv is just a basic package without any premium channels. I do love having the dvr though so if I fall asleep, I can still watch my show. We also have the netflix streaming and watch a lot of shows on that in the summer. I need to do something because I am sick of paying so much a month. I need a good, reliable internet since I work from home and everything I do is through the internet so we have to see how much we would save by dropping the cable.

opheliainwaders

new2011mommy said:

DH and I were talking about this too. We are paying $200 a month for verizon fios internet, home phone, and tv. Our tv is just a basic package without any premium channels. I do love having the dvr though so if I fall asleep, I can still watch my show. We also have the netflix streaming and watch a lot of shows on that in the summer. I need to do something because I am sick of paying so much a month. I need a good, reliable internet since I work from home and everything I do is through the internet so we have to see how much we would save by dropping the cable.

Do you need the home phone? We had a bundle with a home phone in it originally (but never hooked a phone up), and dropping both phone and cable made it much cheaper than internet + phone. We just use our cell phones, NBD.

stephyfaith

We have Comcast blast plus I think and we mainly watch Hulu plus and netflix on our Apple TV. We have basic cable (was a package deal for 12 months at $50 per month) and we never use the cable but it's there for football if we want it. I would honestly call around and see what deals you can get. We had Verizon DSL at one point and the streaming was often problematic so I don't recommend that.

new2011mommy

@opheliainwaders‌ I do like having my home phone, but I think to make the savings worth it to cut cable, we will need to cut the home phone and just keep the Internet.

MRads

And we do have an "antennae" so we can watch basic cable, including football.

new2011mommy

For those with Hulu plus, do they stream the newest shows or are they like netflix and stream older seasons? I love the Good Wife and saw it is on Hulu Plus so I was curious if it would be the current episodes and if so, how long does it take to watch on Hulu plus after it airs?

new2011mommy

juliedave151 said:

@new2011mommy‌ Most shows are on Hulu a day or so after they air. I'm not sure about that show because I don't watch it but you can always sign up for a free trial and see how you like it.

Thank you for the information! I might wait for the fall shows to start and then try the free Hulu plus trial.

rondosa

We have gone without cable for a few years now and it's been great.

We use Netflix (Hulu isn't here in Canada). I also watch a lot of recent shows through the TV network apps on the iPad, which worked great until they started locking them down recently and requiring you to sign in with your cable provider login.

We do torrent some things you can't get on Netflix, however anything local including sports, we have an over the air HD antenna which gives me local news when I want to watch.

I don't have time to keep up with the shows I like beyond netflix, we wouldn't have the use for cable tbh.

@new2011mommy‌ for a home phone we've used Vonage for years and have been happy. It's way less then the cable company charges and free long distance. I like having a home phone.

danigirl7181

KateJuly2013 said:

At&t high speed something or other. I believe its about 20$ a month.

FWIW, you are right. Cable is lame and a time suck. I wish we didnt have it but, football.

This exactly. We still have cable for football. I only like cable because of the Food Network, I'm obsessed with Diners, Dive Ins, & Dives.

new2011mommy

rondosa said:

We have gone without cable for a few years now and it's been great. We use Netflix (Hulu isn't here in Canada). I also watch a lot of recent shows through the TV network apps on the iPad, which worked great until they started locking them down recently and requiring you to sign in with your cable provider login. We do torrent some things you can't get on Netflix, however anything local including sports, we have an over the air HD antenna which gives me local news when I want to watch. I don't have time to keep up with the shows I like beyond netflix, we wouldn't have the use for cable tbh. @new2011mommy‌ for a home phone we've used Vonage for years and have been happy. It's way less then the cable company charges and free long distance. I like having a home phone.

 

 

That is good to know that Vonage works well. I am going to talk to DH!

emandia

We only have Hulu and Netflix. My husbands HATES not having football though. He's always has to figure out where he's going to watch his games. That part sucks.

emandia

juliedave151 said:

@emandia‌ That's why we have the antenna. The only ones we can't see are the ones on NFL network and ESPN.

Ohhhh we've gotta try that.

LuvFood

We still have a land line. The most basic package. Incoming and local only with a back up wired phone for emergency purposes only. We use netflix, amazon prime and hulu plus. It suits our needs and DH can get most of his sports through the new rabbit ears