Cutting the COX Cable cord.....

[BBatesokc]

Thats a pretty good rate. What are you internet speeds?

'Priemiere' = 100MBPS

[BBatesokc]

Streaming TV Is Bigger Than Ever -- But Pause Before Cutting The Cord

[I]"Streaming video over the web is not a replacement for the quality and reliability of broadcast TV,” said Dan Rayburn, a principal analyst at Frost & Sullivan and the executive vice president of industry news site StreamingMedia.com.....

Speaking of. That is one thing I love about the Tivo - it will search many different sources for the streaming content I'm looking for. So far I haven't had any issues with quality.

We also watch a lot of streaming content (movies and tv episodes) via our iPads or iPhone while at the gym. No issues there either. But it is dependent on the wifi where we are in most case. Mercy Health center has excellent wifi. Downtown YMCA has terrible wifi.

Another big reason we cut the cord (sort of) now is because its summer and we watch very little TV in the summer months.

[kelroy55]

Update on our cord cutting for those who may be considering it.

We went from $125 month in 2010 for cable/DVR, high speed internet and phone all the way up to $175 for the same thing just a couple of months ago (after some promotions we were on ended that had us around $145/month).

To get our bill down from $175 we turned back in their HD DVR and instead bought a like new Tivo Roamio from a pawn shop for $70 and lifetime subscription to Tivo for only $200 . We dropped our HBO/Showtime, Movie Pak and Bonus Pak.

Turned in the modem/router we were renting and bought our own (refurbished NetGear R6300 for $67 online - Cox wants almost $200 for the same one new).

Cancelled our Cox phone and have been using MagicJackGo (I know, I figured it would be crapola, but so far its worked great and is so cheap - also its just an extra phone in case cell service goes out).

We now have Cox down to $83/month (after taxes/fees) for an 'economy' TV lineup and 'premiere' internet. Anyone else have this same combination that wants to share what rate they are paying? I hate that Cox makes each customer negotiate a rate instead of a flat fair rate for everyone. I was hoping for closer to $70/month.

We are going to monitor what shows we watch/record with Tivo and if overwhelmingly they are local channels, then I'm cutting the cable completely and just going with Internet.

I've cut the satellite cord completely. I use Roku, OTA antenna and Sling. I pay a little less that $25 a month for TV. I'm held captive for internet because I have two choices, of cable or the phone line and I choose cable because of the faster streaming. It's surprising how much I don't miss it.

[BBatesokc]

I've cut the satellite cord completely. I use Roku, OTA antenna and Sling. I pay a little less that $25 a month for TV. I'm held captive for internet because I have two choices, of cable or the phone line and I choose cable because of the faster streaming. It's surprising how much I don't miss it.

I'm guessing my cable tv is about $25/month and my faster Internet is probably about $55. I'm good with that and its a tax write off, but I would consider ditching cable TV altogether.

[FighttheGoodFight]

Also if anyone is looking for a good DVR for an OTA antenna I recommend the Tablo DVR. https://www.tablotv.com/

Nice to record some OTA shows then stream them to pretty much any box, tablet or phone. Loads better than SimpleTV

[ctchandler]

I'm held captive for internet because I have two choices, of cable or the phone line and I choose cable because of the faster streaming.

Kelroy,
There are other alternatives for internet that I believe are competitive with the two choices that I'm assuming are AT&T (DSL or Uverse) and Cox. I used one of them for a few years until DSL became available in my area and due to price at the time, I went with DSL even though I hated leaving a local business that had been good to me. Now, his prices are about the same as the big boys.
C. T.

[okclee]

My family and I went 3 years without Cable TV.
We went with, high-def tv antenna, high speed internet, Netflix, a Jailbreak Apple Tv and other Apple devices.

The way to go is with a jailbreak Apple TV that will stream 1000's of other options that are not available in the US. I don't think that the newer version of Apple TV can be jailbroken, but I'm not up on all of the latest since now I do have Cox once again.

I recently moved to another house and while moving Cox offered me 2 years of essentially free digital cable along with my high speed internet and home/office phone lines. It's hard to say what I pay right now because I have multiple phone lines wrapped in to the bill. But the digital cable is costing me about $20 more per month than I had been paying.

I'm sure after this 2 year offer runs out, that I will dump Cox tv again.

[kelroy55]

Kelroy,
There are other alternatives for internet that I believe are competitive with the two choices that I'm assuming are AT&T (DSL or Uverse) and Cox. I used one of them for a few years until DSL became available in my area and due to price at the time, I went with DSL even though I hated leaving a local business that had been good to me. Now, his prices are about the same as the big boys.
C. T.

I've used DSL before and got about 128 Kbps to 3 Mbps and with cable I'm getting around 30 Mps and since I do a lot of streaming that works best for me at this time.

[ctchandler]

I've used DSL before and got about 128 Kbps to 3 Mbps and with cable I'm getting around 30 Mps and since I do a lot of streaming that works best for me at this time.

Kelroy,
Actually, I was referring to local businesses that offer competitive broadband, not DSL. I have DSL and I do a lot of streaming and have never had a complaint. I would return to the local company that I used if I weren't moving out of the area he serves which is N. E. OKC, Edmond, Guthrie, Jones, and Choctaw.
C. T.

[kelroy55]

Kelroy,
Actually, I was referring to local businesses that offer competitive broadband, not DSL. I have DSL and I do a lot of streaming and have never had a complaint. I would return to the local company that I used if I weren't moving out of the area he serves which is N. E. OKC, Edmond, Guthrie, Jones, and Choctaw.
C. T.

Unfortunately I like in a somewhat new development area and I only was able to get cable was because I talked the only cable company in the area to run it's lines another 300 feet. My only other other option was DSL and I didn't want that so my option was pretty limited. I'm grateful Charter came out and ran a single line down to my house.

[FighttheGoodFight]

Kelroy,
Actually, I was referring to local businesses that offer competitive broadband, not DSL. I have DSL and I do a lot of streaming and have never had a complaint. I would return to the local company that I used if I weren't moving out of the area he serves which is N. E. OKC, Edmond, Guthrie, Jones, and Choctaw.
C. T.

What companies? I don't know of any local places that offer broadband just some that do wireless like Windstream and AtLink

[Bits_Of_Real_Panther]

We just recently cut the Cox cord, now internet alone is still 66$.

[Zuplar]

I really wish I had more options. I have AtLink now and my only other options right now seem to be satellite. ATT has phone lines, but say they can't do any kind of DSL. I have 3mb down which usually does netflix fairly well, but I'd really like the option to have about twice that speed for when I have multiple devices.

[jerrywall]

Has anyone looked into or tried wireless internet at home? I know Verizon is offering the 4G LTE at home service, with 5-12 mb down speeds (claimed).

[Pete]

I have FIOS (which is all fiber optic and pretty great) and since I need high-speed Internet, the basic HD TV package is only $20 more.

So, I can't justify cutting the cable just yet.

Plus, I'm fairly addicted to my TiVo units and they really don't work without some sort of cable access.

[Pete]

Has anyone looked into or tried wireless internet at home? I know Verizon is offering the 4G LTE at home service, with 5-12 mb down speeds (claimed).

Don't they charge you for usage?

That would never work for me.

[jerrywall]

Don't they charge you for usage?

That would never work for me.

I'd assume so, but I can't seem to find any pricing or details on their site. It looks like you have to go into a retail location.

[hfry]

It's a little different then cutting the cord completely but I have been using an Apple Tv the past week and really enjoying it. I did it more for HBO now which just started yesterday and so far has been working great but as a big sports fan the ESPN app no different than cable and with fox and abc having their programs on it, its a step in the right direction for being able to use it without cable.

[ctchandler]

What companies? I don't know of any local places that offer broadband just some that do wireless like Windstream and AtLink

Fight,
I used Airosurf but there are quite a few in the metro area. Check your yellow pages either online or your phone book. Airosurf is owned by a local very nice man and has been in business for more than eleven years.
C. T.

[zookeeper]

Update on our cord cutting for those who may be considering it.

We went from $125 month in 2010 for cable/DVR, high speed internet and phone all the way up to $175 for the same thing just a couple of months ago (after some promotions we were on ended that had us around $145/month).

To get our bill down from $175 we turned back in their HD DVR and instead bought a like new Tivo Roamio from a pawn shop for $70 and lifetime subscription to Tivo for only $200 . We dropped our HBO/Showtime, Movie Pak and Bonus Pak.

Turned in the modem/router we were renting and bought our own (refurbished NetGear R6300 for $67 online - Cox wants almost $200 for the same one new).

Cancelled our Cox phone and have been using MagicJackGo (I know, I figured it would be crapola, but so far its worked great and is so cheap - also its just an extra phone in case cell service goes out).

We now have Cox down to $83/month (after taxes/fees) for an 'economy' TV lineup and 'premiere' internet. Anyone else have this same combination that wants to share what rate they are paying? I hate that Cox makes each customer negotiate a rate instead of a flat fair rate for everyone. I was hoping for closer to $70/month.

We are going to monitor what shows we watch/record with Tivo and if overwhelmingly they are local channels, then I'm cutting the cable completely and just going with Internet.

Our internet for the Premier package with Cox is $73.99. We also have the Economy/Starter - they charge us $30.49 for that!

Experimenting now with Sling (love it so far).....$20 + $5 for a package she wanted because it has LMN. Here's what we get:





Yes, lots of duplication. But this is just an experiment right now.

We access Sling, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu through a single device (a Roku).

As of today, I think the Internet Services (above) are going to win out. With an easy A/B to Over-The-Air for networks and all the sub-channels, which I watch more than anything else OTA (MeTV, Antenna TV, etc.)

[BBatesokc]

Our internet for the Premier package with Cox is $73.99. We also have the Economy/Starter - they charge us $30.49 for that!

...

So you are $73.99 + $30.49 = $104.48 for just premiere internet and economy TV?!!? That's what they quoted us $83.84 for.

If so, makes me feel better about the price they quoted us. We were also quoted $139.69 for Premiere internet, telephone, economy TV with HBO/Showtime and the movie and bonus packs. But that was only when they thought we were canceling everything.

I'm going to look into Sling. If we give up cable altogether, that could be our solution until Apple unveils their version of cable TV.

Thanks for the info!

[Of Sound Mind]

So you are $73.99 + $30.49 = $104.48 for just premiere internet and economy TV?!!? That's what they quoted us $83.84 for.

If so, makes me feel better about the price they quoted us. We were also quoted $139.69 for Premiere internet, telephone, economy TV with HBO/Showtime and the movie and bonus packs. But that was only when they thought we were canceling everything.

I'm going to look into Sling. If we give up cable altogether, that could be our solution until Apple unveils their version of cable TV.

Thanks for the info!

That's pretty close to what I was quoted this morning. I dropped DirecTV this past weekend. Pretty much going internet only and over-the-air local TV, although having an issue picking up KWTV.

[zookeeper]

Yes, when all the promotions end, it seems like Cox doesn't give the same rates to everyone. Based on what Brian is paying - we're paying way too much. I also noticed a $6 "Broadcast TV" charge on this months bill. I don't remember ever seeing that before. (?)

[FighttheGoodFight]

That's pretty close to what I was quoted this morning. I dropped DirecTV this past weekend. Pretty much going internet only and over-the-air local TV, although having an issue picking up KWTV.

Post your TVFool report on here or PM me. Usually in okc I get good reception. In Norman I am getting all channels HD with an indoor antenna

[Pete]

Just FYI, if you've been a customer of DirecTV or cable, I'd highly recommend you call them before switching because they'll almost always offer you a better deal.

I was with DirecTV for a long time but really like TiVo and they stopped supporting it for a while, so I cancelled. They were all over me and made a pretty generous offer. The know darn well that once you go through the trouble of switch out and getting all new equipment, the odds are low you'll ever come back.

And they were right. I moved over to FIOS as soon as they ran it in my neighborhood, and that was almost 10 years ago.

Anyway, there is quite a bit of flexibility in pricing, which is why you see them offering low rates to new customers. If you've been with them for a while, they'll usually give you the same deal, if not better. But you have to ask and negotiate with a live person; not do the on-line stuff.