I am sick of spending money on Direct tv

[Shelly in IL]

We literally watch about 5 channels but you can't just buy 5 that you want!, I'd love to ditch the whole thing. But we do have things like Super Bowl parties, and we like to watch the history channel and Fox News. What can we do to replicate what we watch? Is there a way to get the football games on roku? Please help with,our options.

[Word Nerd]

I haven't found a way to watch live sports I'm interested in except for selected college basketball games, including the NCAA tournament. There are apps and sites available, but for most games you have to subscribe to a dish or cable service to log in. There are baseball and hockey apps on Apple TV, but I don't watch those sports.

[RoughCollie]

You can get sports on Roku.  Go to their website to discover your options!

 

We subscribe to MLB-TV so we can watch live Red Sox games, and it cost less than the same subscription  on DirectTv.  We can't watch blacked-out games on Fox, though, which we could on DirecTv.  I think we can watch those when the game is over, but no one here is interested in doing that.

[gardenmom5]

almost everything we watch we could get by going to the networks website/amazon-prime/Netflix.  there are a few others available via internet.  our Blu-ray does internet.

 

the one area I haven't found anything is live sports re: football.  it's the real reason we have cable.  and why dh changes satellite /cable etc in august.

[Shelly in IL]

Can you subscribe to the NFL through Roku and get several games so you,have a choice as to whom to watch? Can I watch Fox News live on their website?

[Ellie]

We have a computer (and Internet connection) dedicated to our big-screen TV in the family room, and we have NetFlix, streaming and DVD. We also have an antenna and get the major networks; my cousin gets all sorts of things over the air, but Central Texas just doesn't. Bummer.

 

Most networks, including the History Channel, allow you to watch on-line. Some of those you can probably stream on Netflix, too. I'm pretty sure you can watch Fox News on-line. I watched the Royal Wedding on-line, and the Macy's Christmas Parade without all those annoying production numbers. Yay. I don't know about live sports because we don't do that. Sorry.

 

We have no intention of going back to DishNetwork or any other service. We've been happy without it for almost five years.

[QueenCat]

Can you subscribe to the NFL through Roku and get several games so you,have a choice as to whom to watch? Can I watch Fox News live on their website?

 

If you can, I hope someone tells us......... If it weren't for the NFL, I could talk dh into giving up cable.

[momto10blessings]

I don't have suggestions for watching the Super Bowl, etc. but I do suggest that you put your account on hold to try out not having directv. You will not owe a thing and can see how you do without tv. We got rid of ours 5 years ago and it was the best decision. But if you are nervous you can put the account on hold

[ThatHomeschoolDad]

I was set to cut the cable cord and did a free month of Netflix, but it turned out we didn't watch TV that way -- plan, pick, watch.  We're more of a flip on and flip through, so we're staying with cable for now ($$).  I don't watch sports, except the Olympics, and I might fiddle around with doing the BBC iplayer this winter via a proxy server.  It's gotta come down to whether I want to change the mechanics of the viewing habit.

[xxxxxxxx]

We have Directv and I don't like the bills either......this is what we do.

 

You can put your account on hold for up to 6 months, I can't remember how often but we do it once a year.  We go without TV from about the end of April to September. We don't watch much TV during the summer so we get Netflix during this time.

 

You can change your package as often as you want......you can do it online but if you call they have a cheaper plan than what you see on the internet.  We change packages weekly during football season. 

 

This way we still get to watch certain things that we enjoy but the average bills over the year are much better to swallow!

[MAIMOM]

if your bill is the main problem! call Direct tv....I have found they want to keep customers and will give reduced packages to keep you as a customer. They can on,y offer those when you call to cancel. I discovered this by accident once when we had looked at our budget and decided to cancel. They connected me to a special section and the guy started talking about specials they could offer. I was like my husband said to turn it off because it does not fit our budget....he offered me a great deal for a year so we stayed with them, The next year when the price set back I just called them back.

 

I found they only offer you a better price when you are talking of not being a customer....then they offer all kinds of deals. We too have only added channels for a short time....otherwise we have the basic package. I once found a family package that was on,y $14 a month that was not offered or advertised online.

[Spryte]

We have an Apple TV, and for the Super Bowl, we just airplayed it from our laptop to the Apple TV.  Worked well.  

 

We use Netflix (through the Apple TV - so much easier to navigate that way than on the Wii that we used to use), and watch iTunes.  We also like the new PBS station on Apple TV.  Oh, and the TED talks.  DH watches podcasts, too, and there are a lot of other options on the Apple TV.

 

For Amazon streaming, we use our DVD player - it does Netflix, too, but the Apple TV is easier to navigate.  

 

(Apparently, I heart our Apple TV!)

 

When we cancelled Direct TV (8 years ago, wow), they offered us everything but the moon.  

[DawnM]

We have no cable or satellite and can get the Superbowl.  It is on a major network channel and can be viewed with an antenna.

 

We got rid of Directv 3 years ago and haven't missed it at all.  We have now saved over $3,000 compared to our previous TV bill.

[Alessandra]

We have Aereo and get the main broadcast channels on our tv. Aereo rebroadcasts the tv signal, which I get on my computer. Then it goes through roku to tv. I can also record shows. $8/month.

[DawnM]

I hadn't heard of Aereo before.

 

So, you could potentially stream live TV to an iPad or other mobile device?

 

I am looking at the site right now and it doesn't look like my city is on there yet.

 

Dawn

 

 

We have Aereo and get the main broadcast channels on our tv. Aereo rebroadcasts the tv signal, which I get on my computer. Then it goes through roku to tv. I can also record shows. $8/month.

 

[Alessandra]

I hadn't heard of Aereo before.

 

So, you could potentially stream live TV to an iPad or other mobile device?

 

I am looking at the site right now and it doesn't look like my city is on there yet.

 

Dawn

 

Aereo popped up a few years ago and has been expending rapidly. I got it the day it reached my area. If you email them, they will let you when it gets to you.

 

Yes, you can stream live tv onto computers and mobile devices, up to 5 devices from one account. The list of supported devices is on the Aereo website. You can also record shows and save up to 20 hors of video (60 hours if you upgrade from $8 to the $12/month plan). 

 

I get the broadcast channels available in metropolitan area, plus Bloomberg tv (Bloomberg is an Aereo investor). 

 

Skitter is another service that is similar, I think.

[Ravin]

We have a decent antenna, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Hulu Plus. We don't miss much we had on DirectTV.

[DawnM]

Do you have to have a PC on?  That is what I hate about PlayOn.  We only have one PC, the rest are Macs and our PC isn't always on.

 

Dawn

 

 

Aereo popped up a few years ago and has been expending rapidly. I got it the day it reached my area. If you email them, they will let you when it gets to you.

 

Yes, you can stream live tv onto computers and mobile devices, up to 5 devices from one account. The list of supported devices is on the Aereo website. You can also record shows and save up to 20 hors of video (60 hours if you upgrade from $8 to the $12/month plan). 

 

I get the broadcast channels available in metropolitan area, plus Bloomberg tv (Bloomberg is an Aereo investor). 

 

Skitter is another service that is similar, I think.

 

[Alessandra]

Do you have to have a PC on?  That is what I hate about PlayOn.  We only have one PC, the rest are Macs and our PC isn't always on.

 

Dawn

 

I am not sure how to answer. I turn off the power to everything at night from the surge protector -- so cable modem, router for wi-fi, desktop computer and printers are all off. In the morning I turn every thing on. So I the computer has power going to it, but no one is logged in. I could try it this evening with no power to the computer and see if it still works. Aereo works the same as Roku or Apple tv (we have both) -- if they work, Aereo should work.

 

Btw, we have no PCs, if by PC you mean a (gasp) windows machine. We are all Apple here.

 

ETA Just double checked. Turned off iMac, Aereo is fine. The Aereo stream goes through Apple router, no computer needed.

[mathnerd]

Aereo popped up a few years ago and has been expending rapidly. I got it the day it reached my area. If you email them, they will let you when it gets to you.

 

Yes, you can stream live tv onto computers and mobile devices, up to 5 devices from one account. The list of supported devices is on the Aereo website. You can also record shows and save up to 20 hors of video (60 hours if you upgrade from $8 to the $12/month plan). 

 

I get the broadcast channels available in metropolitan area, plus Bloomberg tv (Bloomberg is an Aereo investor). 

 

Skitter is another service that is similar, I think.

Thak you, Alessandra. I am off to check Aereo now. I too need to get rid of DirectTv.

[Farrar]

Unless you really live out in nowhere land, a good digital antenna will get you local channels.  We get more than 30 channels on our digital antenna.  When you add in streaming Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc. (through Roku or Wii or whatever) then you really can cut the cord.

[Lady Florida.]

OP, I can't help you with the sports issue because we don't watch them. We did used to watch 24 hour news channels, but we've learned to get all except local news online (and we sometimes even watch local news online). It's probably better for your stress levels anyway lol.

 

I was set to cut the cable cord and did a free month of Netflix, but it turned out we didn't watch TV that way -- plan, pick, watch.  We're more of a flip on and flip through, so we're staying with cable for now ($$).  I don't watch sports, except the Olympics, and I might fiddle around with doing the BBC iplayer this winter via a proxy server.  It's gotta come down to whether I want to change the mechanics of the viewing habit.

 

We found that our viewing habits are mostly the same as they were before we got rid of Directv. Dh has always been a channel surfer and he still does that with the digital local channels. He'll also surf Amazon, Netflix, and HuluPlus on his computer, then turn on the Roku to watch something that looks interesting. I always only turned the tv on if there was something I specifically wanted to watch. I still do that, but now I do it through Roku or the antenna instead of satellite channels. Ds isn't a big tv watcher anyway, and mostly watches stuff on YouTube on his computer. Occasionally he'll watch it through the YouTube app on our tv. When he does want to watch an actual tv show, he can usually find it on Netflix, Amazon, or HuluPlus. 

 

There is definitely an adjustment period, but once you get past it, it's not an issue. It's just normal for us now.

 

if your bill is the main problem! call Direct tv....I have found they want to keep customers and will give reduced packages to keep you as a customer. They can on,y offer those when you call to cancel. I discovered this by accident once when we had looked at our budget and decided to cancel. They connected me to a special section and the guy started talking about specials they could offer. I was like my husband said to turn it off because it does not fit our budget....he offered me a great deal for a year so we stayed with them, The next year when the price set back I just called them back.

I found they only offer you a better price when you are talking of not being a customer....then they offer all kinds of deals. We too have only added channels for a short time....otherwise we have the basic package. I once found a family package that was on,y $14 a month that was not offered or advertised online.

 

I did this several times. I called to cancel, and I really was planning to cancel - I didn't do it to try and get a better deal. They offered deals anyway. I continued to do it until they stopped offering, then I cancelled. After 3 years (I think that's how long it's been) they still send letters telling us how much they miss us. ;) You can probably get 6 months to a year of deals before you run out of offers.

 

We have a decent antenna, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Hulu Plus. We don't miss much we had on DirectTV.

 

 

Unless you really live out in nowhere land, a good digital antenna will get you local channels.  We get more than 30 channels on our digital antenna.  When you add in streaming Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc. (through Roku or Wii or whatever) then you really can cut the cord.

 

Yes, we get a lot of channels with our digital antenna. We get the 4 networks and their sub-channels. We have The CW, MeTv, MyTv, and ion. There are a few old movie channels that I never watch but dh loves. We get 2 different PBS stations and their sub-channels. We stream Netflix, Amazon, and HuluPlus through our Roku for almost everything else. There's a lot on Amazon Prime that we like. When we do want to watch a show without waiting for it to come to Netflix or Prime, we buy the season (Doctor Who and The Walking Dead are two we can't bear to wait for). It's still cheaper to buy the season of several shows than it was to pay for one month of Directv. There's no lack of things to watch. I know some people live in areas that don't get good digital reception, but as ferrar said, most people can get plenty of local digital channels.

 

We don't have any way to record shows, though you can buy everything you need for dvr without a service. When we miss something, or it's only available on the show's website (CBS shows for example - we're out every other Thursday and miss Big Bang Theory) we just hook up the laptop to the tv and watch it that way.

[Farrar]

It's still cheaper to buy the season of several shows than it was to pay for one month of Directv. There's no lack of things to watch. I know some people live in areas that don't get good digital reception, but as ferrar said, most people can get plenty of local digital channels.

 

Yeah, ditto.  When we did the math, that's what we found too.  Give everyone in the house their favorite or two favorite shows brand new on Amazon and it'll still be drastically less than cable or satellite.