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Question

Cable/ Satellite / General Television reception

Jul 23, 2015 6:19PM PDT

I live in a rural area and pay a ton for Cable to have hundreds of channels that I will never watch. I am very senior citizen and I keep hearing about Hulu , Sling and my head goes to the toilet. Not being a techie means I go out and buy a bunch of boxes when all I want to do is watch a few News outlets, some non X rated movies, and the weather. I do not want sports, music, pay for view. Is there a source to direct me to keeping my 50 mbs internet and dumping all the stuff I don't care about?

Discussion is locked

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Answer
We're not quite there yet.
Jul 24, 2015 10:09AM PDT

News outlets such as Fox and others are tied to cable TV subscriptions so not yet.

There are court cases in the works to unbundle everything. I won't bore you with examples.

Did you try the old antenna?

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The Old Antenna
Jul 24, 2015 4:35PM PDT

Not to be flippant but I am so far away from a town big enough to even sport a TV station that it was the 15th before I heard about 9-11. I am tied to satellite or cable and both offer what is economical for them. I love my internet at 50mbps ( sometimes) but the answer I get from my carrier is to use the favorite selection to just select what you want to watch. Note: I am pulling what little hair I have left out. Why must I pay for 800 channels that I absolutely will NEVER watch? As to the closest TV station I only watch for local because IMHO the alphabet network news is now just propaganda.

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The answer to that is in the courts today.
Jul 24, 2015 4:49PM PDT
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Answer
not sure if you have a data cap
Jul 24, 2015 5:24PM PDT

I am a cord cutter. I do not have any type of antenna, cable, satellite or whatever for my tv. I watch everything online. I have a cheap walmart computer attached to each tv and have cable internet. There are plenty of online sources where you can watch the shows you normally watch and most local tv stations are streaming their news and weather these days.

If you have a good box - I recommend roku, it will have most of the online services all together making it easier for you to find something to watch. It will have hulu, netflix, amazon prime, crackle, news services and many other channels available in that one box.

if there is a local walmart, get a roku and give it a try. You can always return it if it is not what you want or need.

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Data Cap?
Jul 24, 2015 7:48PM PDT

Not sure because I have a bundle of Internet, Phone and Cable TV. The Phone is going because I no longer have a business that requires it. I love my Internet but cable sucks. I'm offered 173 channels and I watch 7 or 8 at most. I am a news junkie and old movies for entertainment. Quit watching sports when the players made more than I did and I had to work for mine. I will look into Roku. It's a shame that I used to call my Nephew for advice but even he is scratching his bald head.

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Answer
leaving cable
Aug 11, 2015 9:25AM PDT

If you call and they tell you you're still under contract (meaning they may not let you make changes that means they'll lose money), try using an online customer support chat feature. I've had better luck with that feature than trying to get what I want over the phone. You can also try using Twitter and tweeting at their customer service account. For example, for Comcast/Xfinity, you can tweet at @comcastcares.

Once you have your services adjusted, try getting a digital antenna. I ordered the "ViewTV Flat HD Digital Indoor TV Antenna" from Amazon and it works great for me on both TVs I have in my home.

If you find yourself missing live TV, consider switching from cable to satellite. Satellite tv tends to be less expensive than cable (source: www.bestsatelliteproviders.com/satellite-tv-providers).