Ginevra Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Q: When does $5.00 make a difference? A: When it's $5.00 added to the $71.49 I was already paying for this stupid, idiotic, god-forsaken television satellite "service"! I detest paying for the satellite. 76.49 of my hard-earned cheddar going to fund this sin-box, this Device-of-Shame that sits, vulture-like, on it's fancy perch in three rooms. :cursing: It was already bugging me when it was 71.49 and now it's FIVE bucks more. And I knew this was coming soon to a pocketbook near you, because that's why they are constantly urging us to be on "convenient" auto-pay - so they can loot more dough automatically! I was already poised to cancel the money pit, had even mentioned it to dh a time or two, but now I want more than ever to chuck this awful drain. And I say that without being a radical crunchy at all! Can't imagine dh going for it though. Maybe if I promise more teA as a result of less stare-time. :rant: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Just do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 We have satellite too and our bill just increased by $5 too. We aren't sure what to do as we don't get channels without something. I want to try a rooftop antenna. DH is concerned that we will spend $100 or more on an antenna to find it doesn't work and then can't return it. And then there is the issue of live TV. I HATE live TV. We have a DVR on each TV (3 of them) and I would want something to record shows. I don't want to have to hook up a computer to the TV as I really don't even know how and we only have one laptop and I don't want it hooked up to a TV. Tivo would still be $35/mo and we would only get the networks (for 3 TVs) plus the cost of the boxes. And we would probably want something like Netflix. I don't want ONLY streaming as so many of the educational shows are DVD only. So, that is about $20. Our DTV contract is up in April. I am going to call to cancel when we go on our trip in late April/early May and see if they call to offer me a better deal. If not, when we get back from our trip, we may try an antenna and see what we think. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skadi Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Maybe you can help convince him by mentioning Netflix (there are lots of instant movies) and Hulu as ways to "wean off" the tube? If you're willing to do it, how about suggesting that he gets to spend that monthly $75 on something he really loves instead? You might also want to talk to him about the effects of TV on the brain. This article talks in depth about the link between ADHD and television. Scientific American also has a very interesting article about how the brain becomes addicted to television. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginevra Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 Skadi, What is Hulu? I've heard of it, but don't know what it is. We have Netflix, but we don't use the streaming-thing; partially because we are tech-idjits and partially because we also have the hated satellite internet. I can hardly watch a Youtube video without it taking a major toll on my download allowance. And I would be completely fine with spending the $75 on something he or I or both of us love, that's a good thought. It's not so much that it's $75; it's that I feel like that $75 is spent on something that brings so little value to our lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Call and tell them that you're going to be switching to their closest competitor. We got ours lowered by $25 a month (we now pay $56 for 2 receivers). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moxie Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I'm right there with you except ours is cable. We are on the DR plan and we keep talking about getting rid of cable but it is so hard (which is silly--we have only had cable for about 3 years). I just need to suck it up and make the call... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Who is this through? I am planning to do the same, but many have told me that Directv is very hard to get more than $10/mo off from and even then they only do it for about 6 months at a time. How long do you get $25 off? Is it indefinite or is there a time limit? Thanks, Dawn Call and tell them that you're going to be switching to their closest competitor. We got ours lowered by $25 a month (we now pay $56 for 2 receivers). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMe Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 :iagree: We cancelled satellite and missed it none for about 2 years. We got it back at the lowest possible price really for news purposes and my dh and I looked at each other and know we missed nothing. One more reality show with back-biting, swearing and sex/sexual innuendos. AND WE ALL PAY FOR IT! Take your package down a knotch and don't pay "more" if you want to keep it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Unfortunately, everything DH watches is not included with the Family package. He watched the History Channel, whatever channels have the car/auto shows, the Golf channel, and some other channel for home building. Also, I wasn't sure this would save us $$. The Family package is $29, plus $10 for HD, plus $10 for DVR, plus $7 per receiver x 3. Piece mealing it costs almost the same as the package for $75. Dawn :iagree: We cancelled satellite and missed it none for about 2 years. We got it back at the lowest possible price really for news purposes and my dh and I looked at each other and know we missed nothing. One more reality show with back-biting, swearing and sex/sexual innuendos. AND WE ALL PAY FOR IT! Take your package down a knotch and don't pay "more" if you want to keep it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMe Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Unfortunately, everything DH watches is not included with the Family package. He watched the History Channel, whatever channels have the car/auto shows, the Golf channel, and some other channel for home building. Also, I wasn't sure this would save us $$. The Family package is $29, plus $10 for HD, plus $10 for DVR, plus $7 per receiver x 3. Piece mealing it costs almost the same as the package for $75. Dawn We dumped all the tv's in our house except our bedroom and the main tv. Before that we were so sick of tv and the fact that dd was glued to it (we had a Bob timer) that we chucked her tv. She could only watch as a family. We have one receiver that does 2 tv's and we only use the one in our bedroom for news at 10. That saves you $21 and gets rid of kids watching tv. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 How do you have one receiver for 2 TVs? I am not going to dump our receivers that we paid for to buy another one if that is what I need to do. And if we dump one TV only, how does that save us $21? Do you mean if I take away DH's channels and just get the Family package? I don't think I am getting this. Dawn We dumped all the tv's in our house except our bedroom and the main tv. Before that we were so sick of tv and the fact that dd was glued to it (we had a Bob timer) that we chucked her tv. She could only watch as a family. We have one receiver that does 2 tv's and we only use the one in our bedroom for news at 10. That saves you $21 and gets rid of kids watching tv. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginevra Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 Also, I wasn't sure this would save us $$. The Family package is $29, plus $10 for HD, plus $10 for DVR, plus $7 per receiver x 3. Piece mealing it costs almost the same as the package for $75. Hmm. What is this Family package of which you speak? I thought we already had the "cheapest" plan, except for the two additional receivers. We don't even have HD or DVR, plus no movies or any of those extra things. Although, really I'm just longing to chuck it all. The thing I think we'll miss are big events, like the Superbowl or World Series. How can we have those without satellite? Neither of us watch any regular shows, i.e, American Idol, House, The Office, 24 or what-not. We watch news, weather, food channel, natgeo, history, military and some tlc or discovery. And dh likes Fuel and Speed, cause he's a motorcyclist. Even the greater majority of those things I just listed are what we do when we're not doing anything else. I turn on the tv around 10:00 and shuffle through those couple of channels, usually looking for something I can tolerate moreso than something I love to watch. sigh. I hate tv. Why's it so complicated now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I just went to look for the family package and they don't have it listed....I seem to remember a similar problem a while back and I had to call to find it on their site. You will still need to pay per receiver but last time I called the Family Tier Package was $29. It will NOT include any of the channels your DH watches.....it *might* have discovery, but I know when I looked the History and Military channels were not included. My contract is up with DTV in one month. We are looking at options NOW to get rid of it unless they give us a fantastic discount!~ I need to get TV to $50/mo or less with premium channels or $25 or less with basic channels without giving up HD or the ability to record shows (which will mean a Tivo box or an alternative if there is an alternative.) Dawn Hmm. What is this Family package of which you speak? I thought we already had the "cheapest" plan, except for the two additional receivers. We don't even have HD or DVR, plus no movies or any of those extra things. Although, really I'm just longing to chuck it all. The thing I think we'll miss are big events, like the Superbowl or World Series. How can we have those without satellite? Neither of us watch any regular shows, i.e, American Idol, House, The Office, 24 or what-not. We watch news, weather, food channel, natgeo, history, military and some tlc or discovery. And dh likes Fuel and Speed, cause he's a motorcyclist. Even the greater majority of those things I just listed are what we do when we're not doing anything else. I turn on the tv around 10:00 and shuffle through those couple of channels, usually looking for something I can tolerate moreso than something I love to watch. sigh. I hate tv. Why's it so complicated now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paintedlady Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 We got rid of satellite a few years ago for all the reasons you stated. Now we have an $8 a month Netflix subscription and carefully choose what we watch. If we want to watch a current tv show, we go to Hulu online and watch it free. I think expensive, pay-for cable/satellite will eventually go the way of the 8 track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Here is it: http://www.directsattv.com/directv/family_package.html You can look at the channels offered there. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginevra Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 Okay, Hulu-watching people: can this be done on an Ipad? Or is there a way to tether an Ipad to a Tv to watch something through Hulu on the bigger TV? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMe Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 How do you have one receiver for 2 TVs? I am not going to dump our receivers that we paid for to buy another one if that is what I need to do. And if we dump one TV only, how does that save us $21? Do you mean if I take away DH's channels and just get the Family package? I don't think I am getting this. Dawn We have DISH NETWORK. You can have two tv's work off of one receiver max. Now we only rent our receivers so that's where the difference may lie. So my thought was if you went down to one tv (two tv's max) you only need one receiver. Which means 2 recievers @$7/month is $14.00....Sorry, I screwed up. You'll still need one receiver. Then pick one package you all can live with. I'd dump the Family Package, let DH watch what he wants with his and use movies for family viewing. But then I hate TV. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyhappypeople Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 We use our Roku and have hulu plus and netflix (ab. $16/mo total?). I don't miss satellite at all. I *think* that with hulu plus you can get the most recent episodes the day after they're aired, so you wouldn't really need a DVR/tivo, unless you wanted to watch them sooner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Oh, ok. We can't get DISH here anyway. The tree line is in the way of the satellites we are told. We had a guy come out and look and try for quite a while. Dawn We have DISH NETWORK. You can have two tv's work off of one receiver max. Now we only rent our receivers so that's where the difference may lie. So my thought was if you went down to one tv (two tv's max) you only need one receiver. Which means 2 recievers @$7/month is $14.00....Sorry, I screwed up. You'll still need one receiver. Then pick one package you all can live with. I'd dump the Family Package, let DH watch what he wants with his and use movies for family viewing. But then I hate TV. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 We ditched cable last month. Bought a Roku and have Netflix and are perfectly content with paying $8 a month total! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnitWit Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 What is a Roku?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 What is a Roku?? http://www.roku.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 We cut cable last year and set up a desktop hooked to our tv. We use it for Netflix and Hulu. You can also watch a lot of network shows on the various network websites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 We haven't had cable nor sat. now for a couple of years and DO...NOT...MISS...IT!!! We have an antenna that makes it so dh can listen to the local news and we have the $10 netflex. I would not go back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 So can you use it to surf the net too or is it dedicated to your TV? I have heard there is a way to also have this work as a DVR if you have an antenna hooked up, but I have no idea how to do it. Danw We cut cable last year and set up a desktop hooked to our tv. We use it for Netflix and Hulu. You can also watch a lot of network shows on the various network websites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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