Since the day i moved out of the house of my parents i have never purchased cable. Even when i got my apt my Dad offered to pay for cable and i said no. I have a home now and still don't have cable and never will. Just bought a flat screen high def Toshiba 18.5 inch TV from a local thrift store for $40 that has ever kind of input you can think of even PC. Yes free TV is Bliss.
While I still am with my mother at 22 1/2 years old (kinda cliché, I know), but, I honestly, I have the same intentions as you do in regards to getting subscription tv, I have NO desire to get subscription tv at all. Not that I'm saying that stingy or anything, but, I can use what ever the tv company (doesn't matter which one) asks for each month for something else. All I need is my cell phone and internet, both of which I get through verizon wireless. Plus, there isn't anything good on tv anymore, I can do like what this guy in the video is doing in the video with over the air tv.
You made me laugh so hard!!! I got tired of arguing with TWC for years, changing packages just to watch cable, just to end up with a bigger bill the following month and on the phone with people over seas giving me a hard time about my bill. Hopefully many more people will stop relying on cable and wise up.
Reading about the financial troubles cable companies are having, and companies like Disney and Paramount's streaming services... well, they did it to themselves.
@Games I Grew Up With looking back, I know. Imagine how much more money people could spend on other things if they weren't blowin $60/$100/$150/$200 plus on their subscription tv service. Like I mention in my comment originally, I don't watch that much tv anymore. My grandfather's friend's neighbor actually canceled her satellite tv service out of the idea that she really didn't need it and it seeming a little silly. I mean, what are you paying for? 5/6/7,000 channels when you'll only watch 10 to 15 maybe? No thanks. If I wanted to watch maybe 10 to 15 channels, I think I would get a over the air antenna and not have to pay for thousands of channels at several hundreds of dollars.
i bought a flat screen tv in 2008 had switched from xfinity to verizon fios on it in 2012 rarely used it two years or so only watched the thing maybe 10 times in 7 years pulled the plug on fios on my tv never looked back
You are so lucky to be living in an area with so many OTA channels. I'm in Canada and I am only able to get 2 channels (CTV and Global) and I live in a rural area just 3 miles from Mount Champlain, (according to tvfool). Mount Champlain is where all local TV and Radio stations broadcast from. I'm fine with those 2 channels but I wish I could get more. I would have 3 if the CBC actually cared about viewers and replaced all analog transmitters with digital ones.
+Laurie Flood Three years later, Comcast still sends incredible offers -- they just don't get it. Just bought a Roku (video to come), and there's more shows than anyone could ever watch in one lifetime.
@@artistmac I also have a Roku, bought it for $35 from Walmart a year ago - it seems to have UNLIMITED free television! Goodbye and good riddance to greedy pig cable companies!
@@CoopyKat So many streaming shows I never saw to begin with, and also great Britcoms like "White Van Man" and "The Young Offenders". Oops! In the case of that last one, Irishcom.
I've had antenna all my life. Had direct TV for 4 years and the antenna still coexisted with it due to the fact that they didn't provide local channels yet. Bought my own place and only had antenna since.
Comcast is the WORST at ripping people off. From their lousy customer service reps on phone, to increasing prices for no reason, lousy tech support, all I can say is good for you! HD is nice but actually compared analog on old SD w VHS and everything was sharp and crystal clear. Love my VCR and yes HOGGDoc they are still making them, just like hi fi vinyl is back, you have to look at the totally of the entertainment not just I want the next latest thing ... Thanks for the info!
I totally agree!! with Jonos Bedi I live in Belleville,NJ and we have comcast here never had comcast till I moved here near 2 yrs ago and they cut my service 5 times in that time because my bill was 3 weeks over due! I decided not to turn the service on with them any more, gave back their equipment. Now read this people this is what I did: First thank you ARTISTMAC for your post, Loved it!! I connected to my samsung 51" flat screen the same type of coaxial cable they use to connect their equipment. to the back of my flat screen. now the other end that would connect to the cable box, that pin inside the barrel that is for tightening to the threads on the cable box, I took an old am/fm home stereo antenna and connected the wires to it, you cannot make any contact with the barrel that surrounds that needle like pin. somehow find a way to keep the pin and wires in contact and tape it or something. make sure that the coxial cable reaches the window and hand the antenna on curtain rod. on tv progam scan using tv/air NOT cable.
phillies4100 verizon is one of the worst. i joined and two months later they wanted $700 !!! same with sprint, after 10 yrs with them, at about $100 a month. they sent me a bill for $4,200 !! so i quit both of these companies, now i'm happy with cricket
At my parents house, the cable is in the living room and basement. In my bedroom, I rely on a converter box and crappy rabbit ears that get channels outside of my area! I'm talking Connecticut and Boston stations from Rhode Island! Can't get that from cable!
To Techrecycle4u: If you're willing to fork over $400 for a 32" flatscreen 1040p, I'll be happy to get rid of a working 27" tube TV. If not, I'll keep it till it stops working. And I have plenty of uses for that $400 besides a new flatscreen. Gas, electric and property taxes, to name three. And I just found out I'm going to need a new lawn mower.
+artistmac I LOVE the fact that you are demonstrating this on an older TV! Most of the other "getting rid of cable" videos are showing smart TV's so we need to know what to buy that will work on older tube TV's. Honestly we can't justify that expense on a tight budget when we have perfectly fine tube TV's either especially not with small destructive children and our cable bills just keep getting higher! Great video BTW!
+artistmac the good thing about the flats screens are the energy use is cheaper...I still have old school tv in my room....and stopped using it for one month....and used a flat screen....my bill went up 50 bucks for using the old school tv compared to the flat screen.....ijs
Cleartv antenna is misguiding the ppl the way they are advertising.Any antenna even old Rabbit ear antenna would work as same like all other antennas including cleartv antenna.Stop wasting your money..
+Xavier Rose we have freeview here in the uk aswell, but most people have SKY which is a satellite and internet company. I personally use freeview but im getting SKY once my current BT contract ends....next year....
I use a cable subscription, it's called Foxtel which is out equivilent of Sky, since we get Sky New, Sky Weather and Sky Sports here, and it's all British when I watch it
I still had the old style, mount on your chimney, antenna from 30 years ago which I had stored in my pole barn. I put it on a 10' aluminum pole on the peak of my roof. I connected a coaxial connection to the 2 antenna connectors, ran coax cable from the antenna to my existing cable box, broke open the box, unhooked the line from the cable company I fired, hooked my antenna cable which ran to the coax outlets in my house and got 28 stations on my hdtv, clear as a bell.
I just bought the Insignia converter box. I am very happy with it. I get 63 channels (live in NYC). I want to upgrade to a better box with recording capability. I missed TV for a few days until I got the box. I feel like I've stepped back in time when I first had to adjust the RCA flat antenna to get a stronger signal but that was only for a few channels.
I hear you. I have been an off air viewer for years. Even took an old dishnet receiver that had an off air tuner in it, and made my own off air DVR, The guide doesn't work, and I had to keep a dish connected as it it doesn't see a dish signal it won't work, but it works like a jewel,and can be set manually like an old VCR, but records in the full 1080 broadcast quality. Problem we are beginning to find is that the ISPs that also own the cable networks charge a huge premium for internet only service if not bundled with basic TV at the least. Like the cost of internet is higher if not bundled than it is if bundled with basic TV.
12voltvids This is the kind of monopolistic behavior that breaking up the Bell System in 1984 was supposed to eliminate. It's back to the way it was before -- all the power in the hands of a few. Except much more expensive this time, and cable TV and wireless phones added into the mix. I just re-upped with AT&T for my wireless contract -- 1GB data plan vs 200MB before, at half the price. But they still wouldn't let me bundle my U-Verse internet! Insane.
***** Back in 1980 - 1982 I worked for a cable company. Back then the cable company was the only game in town, and the phone company sold you basic phone service. There was no ADSL, or cable internet, because there was NO internet. Computers were few and far between, and the way to go online was with a 300 baud acoustic coupled modem! This was the days of the monopoly that everyone wanted to see gone, because they falsely believed that competition would bring lower costs. On the government side they favored deregulation, and allowing competition in both cable TV and the local phone business. The owner of the company I worked for argued, as did CEOs from the phone companies that allowing competition would cause prices to go up. Their reasoning was that, and I will use small numbers so it is easy to figure out. Say you are run the only cable company in town. You charge 30.00 per month, and you have 10000 customers To every month your revenue stream is 300,000.00 Out of that revenue you have a staff of 50 people each making 25.00 per hour. Your daily expenses is 10,000 per day for wages. 200,000 for the month just for wages. Then there is the costs associated with running the business, such as interest, equipment maintenance, vehicle maintenance, liability insurance ect. Not allot left over as profit. Now enter company B. They have to over lay their wires, or rent satellite time to broadcast from. Immediately 50% of your customers jump ship because the competitor is offering an introductory special rate for 6 months. Now your revenue drops to 150,000 per month, but your wages alone are costing your 200,000. What is the solution? Lay off employees? Raise rates? Unfortunately with deregulation the answer was both. I am not normally one to agree with monopolies, but in some industry, like those that require a substantial infrastructure investment monopolies can offer a better deal to customers just because of the simplified business model described above.
12voltvids I remember those days. Back then cable was so cheap it was complimentary in my apartment building. Cable TV is obsolete to me. With broadcast TV going digital and the internet, who needs it? I have more than enough stuff to watch.
When I was 13 years old, we got rid of cable, in favor of Free OTA Broadcast TV, and when we moved in to a new apartment a year later, things have gotten along, until May 2015 where we sadly got cable back. I had cable in my bedroom for eight years until I got rid of it completely, there were too much junk on cable that seems worse than human society. I am so glad I got an antenna back in my room after a long period of time not having an antenna to pick up free TV. I now had 59 channels on my antenna, now I can watch MeTV and stuff. I can live without cable, and I'm okay with it! I never go back. Joseph
Very Interesting, Thanks for uploading, Over here in the UK we do not have VHF TV Channels (that was turned off in 1985) however 4 channel Analogue UHF TV was turned off in 2012, In my area it was turned off in 2010, and was replaced by Freeview Digital SD and HD TV, now I get about 50 to 60 channels (most areas get about 20), (all for free excluding the TV Licence). I use a indoor antenna and a box that records programs, I also have free satellite channels which come from the UK, Europe and the Middle East. Cable is only available in the Cities and not in my area.
We dumped cable tv a couple of months ago. We live 50 miles from Philly. We put up the cheap amplified antenna about 20'.We now get around 40 channels for free, many are 1080 HD! All football games are on the local channels!
For about a week, I've been watching TH-cam videos on plugging in portable digital TV tuners or iDTVs on their Android tablets and smartphones plus iPhones and iPads to watch OTA Digital TV instead of streaming video over the Internet. Since North America uses ATSC, have you heard of anybody using these kinds of TV tuners in the ATSC format?
I don't even need a converter box for my HD TV, I just use the coaxal thing and put it next to my window! That's more free than ever! By the way, my family might cut satellite tv and go with antennas. You are the TV warrior, my friend.
Kadeb Smash, the combination That's the great thing about the new HDTV's made since January 2007. All you have to do is plug in the antenna, and you're ready to go. flic.kr/p/nSKd5E
Kadeb Smash, the combination All HD flat screens manufactured after July 1, 2005 are required to have a built in digital tuner. There's a lot of HD sets out there (like mine) that have both an analog and digital tuner. www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/news-electronics-computers/pulling-the-plug-on-analog-tv-206/index.htm
I have an Ematic At103B digital converter box with the usb port ,I can't set it to show the channel number it will only show the order of the number channel 2 is number 1 on the box channel 5 is number 2 on it 7 would be 3.And the time is only displayed as 24hrs not 12 hrs so 1:00am looks like 13:00 and I cant find a phone number for tech support and no answer on emails either but the usb port allow me to watch what ever is on my drive pic and vid, that's what sold me !
People with all the premium channels can pay as much as $150.00/month. A friend who is a family man and who has suddenly had to start paying private school tuition dropped cable and now uses a Roku to stream shows.
Thanks for posting this video..I am about to take the leap and cut Xfinity TV from wallet/life. I really appreciate the video because I also live in Chicago and was nervous about the whole reception thing. I live 10 miles south of downtown and hope to have the same result as you! I worked for Comcast for a number of years and got spoiIed by the employee discount..didnt realize how astronomical their prices were until the discount was gone! I have an hdtv and will be getting an antenna
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I still have standard basic vanilla cable. I have Netflix and Hulu accounts. I got fed up with Time Warners's support when they wanted me to reset my cable TV box as a step to troubleshoot my internet connection. They have Customer Service reps that they try to pass off as "technical support". That was a year ago and I'm never going back to digital tv (at least with Time Warner).
I dumped Comcast cable last year, picked up a few cheap DTV boxes at Goodwill (over the course of a couple months, still find them) and a Mohu antenna and never looked back. Same situation as yourself, was a loyal paying customer for decades and the cost was getting astronomical for the few channels I actually watched. I'm working on getting my grandparents to break away as well.
It's 2017, Analog over-the-air broadcast TB has been replaced by Digital TV. I am several miles from the nearest broadcast TV tower, in a low area, surrounded by tall trees. Back in the Analog era, TV signals were full of snow and ghosts; one solution was a 10-15 meter Ham-radio-height mast for the TV antenna or cable TV. Digital TV is more line-of-sight than analog TV, so I'm back to snow and ghosts without a cable TV connection. As for satellite TV, this area is cloudy/rainy, which reduces those signals to hash. The local telephone company finally reached this "outlying district" a couple of years ago, so DSL is not longer "four miles away" as it was for five years. The local Time Warner/Oceanic company was just acquired by Spectrum, so it's a wait and see game for this "enhanced" analog cable TV subscriber.
There are a lot of options to get free tv out there. You don't even need rabbit ears. Some of the more advanced antennas offer HD channels on them. Go into your local discount store and take a look. You will find a wide range of antennas. You may even spot ours.
Trisonic Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Although with 65 broadcast channels coming in, I'm pretty well taken care of. "Route 66" and "Naked City" back-to-back at 3 in the morning. Even us nightowls have something to watch. ;)
Josh Westbrook Fantastic! I was in Belleville over the weekend, and my buddy tried out the broadcast channels on his TV -- he got 23, too, including COZI and Decades!
Revisited this video while I was checking youtube for related information. I still use an antenna and it's just keeps getting better and better. Local broadcasters are seeing the tend. In the past year, they've added 4-5 new channels. I hope the trend continues.
Mark Szorady Oh, it will. Cable and dish subscriptions are flat or declining, for the simple reason that everybody who wants them already has them, and these companies are simply poaching each other's customers. And now with AppleTV, Roku, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu Plus, there are even more choices. Why cable and dish companies don't just let people choose channels a-la-carte, is a mystery.
I did the same thing about 14 years ago never regretted a thing I get around 30 channels but have to have a antenna and tower My rotor is stuck in one direction and I`am still happy some day soon every city will have repeaters for all the main channels without any need for more then a small antenna with broadcast your privacy is not in jeopardy as well you made a excellent decision ,,,, I tee totally agree with you ......
Terrific video.:) I cut cable last year and have never regretted the decision. Rather than purchase a large screen flat panel TV, I'm making do with older analog TVs and converter boxes. I *try* to get converter boxes used because new are a bit too expensive (50 or 60 bucks). (I'm looking for two more). Which brand is the one you connected and how much was it?
At the start of 2017 Comcast raised their rates. They did this by raising fees on their boxes $2 each, broadcast fee by $2, and a regional sports fee by $2. If you have multiple boxes this adds up. My rate went up $10 to $186. I bought a Clearstream V2 antennae, put it in my attic, ran a cable down the side of my house to where the Comcast line comes into the house, plugged it in. I returned the cable boxes only keeping the slowest internet. My bill went from $186 to $65. We have Amazon Prime on the big TV. I have two Ethernet cables running from my computer room router to the main TV, one plugs into the Sony stereo system, which also has an Amazon Streaming App. Therefore, we can stream the free Prime movies and it doesn't buffer or cut out. I get 70 HD channels OTA (Over the Air). For TVs that are not digital, they have converter boxes, I have 2 of them and they work fine. In the past you could call the retention center at Comcast and they would lower your rate, but this is gone because they've raised rates across the board. Get the HD Antennae, put it in your attic or outside. You won't miss a thing.
I was brainstorming the other night on what would be a good alternative to cable. Cable fees are much to expensive my monthly bill in Memphis is 186.00 that calculates to 2232.00 per year! i was looking for extra money to pay for my daughters Piano classes, well there it is. Thank you for this information.
I try to be like you and dump my cable service but a month after I did I got bored without my mtv and history channels. So I reconnect my cable TV again... :(
I can NEVER be without cable or sattelite TV! I was right to let my childhood discoveries of Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network spoil me the way they did!
Getting 49 channels for free is good, here in the Netherlands we have a similar system called 'Digitenne' that use DVB-T instead of ATSC. Digitenne provides you 31 channels and it will cost you 12,50 euro each month. If you don't want to pay there are four free programs from the National Public Broadcaster, three national and one local program. There is no HD, but only standard definition (here 576i instead of 480i in the USA).
JG van Straten 12,40 euros sounds like a good deal for 31 cable channels; is there a pretty good variety of material? Also, has there been the kind of mass switchover from tube TV's to flat-screen LCD HDTV's that there has been in the USA?
***** The same happen't here, a mass switchover to LCD/LED HDTV. Digitenne provides the following programs. NPO 1, NPO 2, NPO 3 & Local programme (TV Rijnmond is my region): Public Broadcaster. RTL 4, RTL 5, RTL 7, SBS 6, NET5, Veronica / Disney XD, RTL 8 & FOX: Dutch commercial TV stations. één, Canvas & KetNet: Public Broadcaster from the Dutch part of Belgium. BBC One & BBC Two: Public Broadcaster from the U.K. Eurosport: European Sports Channel. Cartoon Network (6 am to 6 pm) / AT5 (6 pm to 6 am): Cartoons and local TV channel from Amsterdam. Xite: Music Television. 24Kitchen: Food Channel. Meiden van Holland Hard: Porn Channel. FOX Sports Eredivisie Live: Pay TV, Soccer only. I think that you know the following stations: National Geographic Channel, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, Nickelodeon/TeenNick, MTV, TLC, ID (Investigation Discovery) & CNN. Before the switchover to digital, we have three national channels (Ch 4, 27 and 30) and one local channel from the public broadcaster (Ch 49). In my region I had the possibility to receive two channels from the dutch Belgian public broadcaster (Ch 10 & 62), the third channel was later launched. There was also American Forces Network for the US military in the Netherlands (Ch 24), for this channel you needed an NTSC television, instead of a PAL system TV. I had an NTSC TV so I could watch A.F.N.
Welcome to the club, Artistmac! I dumped cable two years ago and haven't missed it at all! The difference is, my TV pulls in 49 channels with just an antenna...All digital!!! I have Netflix for movies and YT fills in the gap for other fare which I enjoy, such as old classic movies and documentaries. I am now looking into something called Gbox which comes with an online dvr with one of their channel services. Cable is a gouging mechanism designed to stay in your pocket. Good 4 u for dumping them!
Thanks for making this video. You have really help me out. I m taking that dam cable box back. They rasie my bill up to ""$91.00.I have had it wih comcast . Thank you very much.
I've too pulled the plug on all the expensive crap of today's television. It's ridiculously expensive and all the big channels (HBO, Showtime etc) all just repeat the same shitty movies over and over until your sick of it. I remember as a child growing up in the 80s and 90s we had the black box so that we could obtain all the paid channels for free. Nowadays it's of course more pricey then ever and just not worth it. If I feel like watching a movie I throw in the DVD instead. Otherwise I don't even watch it. Every modern flat screen tv we've owned since 2009 has stopped working out of nowhere or even from the slightest fall. So we broke out our old tv sets. One is 31 years old and the others we purchased in 1993 and they still work just as good as the the day we got them. We don't need HD to enjoy movies and the picture and surround sound on our 31 year old RCA tv is beautiful. And I'm definitely going to sound like a old fart here but they honestly don't make things like they used to.
I recently moved into the country from Chicago where converter box & antenna failed. To my amazement, reception works fine in rural Elgin. Now, any tips for free internet, or cheap ISP? :-)
Jack Rohan If somebody next door to you, or down the street has a unsecured wireless hotspot, you might be able to use that. Go into the wireless menu on your PC, down at the lower right, and if there's any around, they'll show up.
Good for you. When I canceled my Comcast service over four years ago, they tried to charge me $436.00. When I challenged them, they charged me one cent. The check was worth more than the bill itself. I have DirectTV now; way cheaper and I still have all the HBO channels.
I use to have TWC broadcast then used AEREO until they went down Now I bought a MOHU antenna put it in the window taped and get the basic stations with a bunch of other movie stations in HD broadcast, Still kept the TWC cable for internet This is in Manhattan.......
I was paying about $80.00 month to directv(which I loved) for 7 long years. But to many repeats plus I just was tard of paying for it....My husband brought all the equipment necessary. rotary,antenna now I'm all set. With all that was need I say about $300 one time charge.
+Sooner Science Nerd It sucks. I just bought a Sharp flatscreen on Craigslist. The seller lived in Aurora, 40 miles from the nearest transmitter, and with the antenna I brought along to test it out, I got nothing. Got back home with it (my house is about 5 miles from the major transmitters), and with the same antenna, pulled in 70 channels! Location, location, location.
+Sooner Science Nerd Here in Chicago, with my present digital antenna, the only two channels I'm missing on the new upstairs TV are REV'N (the broadcast version of the Velocity Channel) and Escape (the broadcast ID Discovery). The old TV with a digital/analog converter and rabbit ears still picks up those two channels. Go figure. ;)
I live in a cable ready apartment and I usually just watch netflix or some other movie app on my roku box.....or see a movie in theater or rental before it hits HBO et al. Last year around the time this video was posted comcast decided to encrypt all of the local channels so we could no longer use their wall outlet as an antenna.....they wanted us to pay close to 40 dollars a month for the boxes and a few local channels that I can get for free with an antenna. They even went as far as to lie to me and tell me that broadcast antennas no longer work and like a fool I believed them....for a little while. Then I did some research and stripped the insulation from the coaxial cables left over from their cable box teeehehehehe.......then plugged it into the port which takes coaxial cables at the back of the tv and I was able to receive all of the channels over the air and a good signal too. I get all of the major networks....CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC, CW, 2 different ION channels, qubo, 4 different pbs channels, like 10 religious channels, qvc, hsn, and a few other junk channels.
I got rid of cable a while ago. I keep Comcast internet because it's the solid service. Cable's programming was terrible, the resolution wasn't very good and they would hike prices like I wasn't paying attention. And you're right. They job out their customer support to the Philippines or something.
I hear you man! One of my main motivators for getting rid of my Direct TV is I read an article that stated the CEO of Direct TV just gave himself nearly a 200% raise! His yearly salary has gone from 5 million a year to over 16 million a year (this includes stock options). I consider this to be ridiculous, and I do not want to be a party to this obsenity any longer. I mean really! The best brain surgeons in the country don't make that kind of money, and they save lives!
Never ever subscribed and paid for cable service. I never had a need for it. Free tv satisfies my needs. And I get a greater satisfaction out of TH-cam, which even lets me access to global tv networks. I travel a bit, and stay at the big hotel chains. They come with all the cable offerings. But I never found anything on cable to capture my interest. I end up watching in cable what I watch on free tv. I subscribed to Netflix for three years. But I cannot say I watched more than half a dozen movies. Freedom means not having to be tethered to crap tv and crap movies. Pack a good book with you at all times. Go out in the sun and enjoy life. Try it and see.
ive paid for a full cable package for as long as I remember. Recently I was cleaning my house and found my TV remote. I realised that I hadnt seen it for months because I hadnt actually watched TV live on my TV for months. I guess I dont need cable TV anymore just internet
back in 1981 the cable bill with all movie channels and NO fucking commercials. ( that was the whole idea behind cable) was under 20 dollars. now with no movie channels and only medium speed internet and none stop commercials it's almost 200.
That was the plan all along. Get 'em hooked, then jack up the prices. Fortunately, I never got hooked. Watching Ken Burns' "Vietnam" on my local PBS station -- happy as a clam.
We have FiOS Internet and TV right now, but come November, we're going to be ditching Verizon and getting Internet from Cox. No cable TV in my house after November.
Love you dude I had com cast for a long damn time to my bill was almost the same as you but mine went up very high and I only had starz and encore and my bill went up to nearly $189 to $200 a month I had to leave and go to another company called Metronet now I pay $155 saving a lot more money but I been still thinking of going back to normal TV got me a Digital Tuner Converter box Ematic brand.
I have a neighbor who threatens to cancel his cable all the time. He calls to cancel his service and they keep giving him great deals. The cable company doesn't care if you keep doing that. They just want to keep you as a customer.
ldchappell1 Xfinity keeps trying to get me back. E-mails, snail mail, phone calls -- they may as well be talking to the air. Take my money for 25 years and then treat me like garbage, and then get all nicey-nicey when I say I'm going to cancel? I'm not into games.
I pulled the plug on cable a few years ago. Cable would be better if they went to an a la carte payment system. Pay for what you want instead of these lousy bundle packages. 200 channels of crap is still crap.
I cut the cord on Comcast cable 12 years ago. In 2002 there was only about 30 channels of broadcast TV in my area but since 2009 that number has tripled. I'm now getting 93 channels. With free internet service I have more than enough video content.
I too decided that Satellite TV was a money pit. Got rid of my Dish subscription in 2012. High speed internet+hulu is all I will ever need. Even OTA broadcasts have gotten a hell of a lot better over the years since Cozi Tv/Retro TV/METV stations started broadcasting.
+megacide84 The OTA broadcasts, and the variety of channels, is truly amazing. And with the selection of movies available for checkout for free at my local library, that's not even an issue anymore.
Good for you! Cable is mostly commercials and marathons of the same shows!!! They (Comcast) is just horrible, the customer service. They actually applied my payments to someone else's account and then charged me late fees!!
I live very close to WTwr also and I've always had standard rabbit ear antenna TV my whole life. Cable is kind of a waste because a lot of the times I'll only be watching discovery or animal planet but nowadays you can find more interesting non repeating content on TH-cam. All I watch on the normal TV is channel 7 and sometimes wttw 11
Cable probably could have kept more subscribers if they had let people choose channels a-la-carte. But it's either 500 channels or nothing. No thanks. Same with broadcast. Channels 7, 9 and whatever's good on the Channel 11 channels. And my new faves, Escape and Justice Channel. And you're right, TH-cam is a great resource.
You have to remember the cable companies would charge you for each room you had cable in back in the 1980s and early 1990s. It was a scam that people were willing to tolerate at the time. Cable tv is now for old people who cannot use the internet.
True. Most of the cable shows worth watching show up on the internet anyway, and I love the compilations of the best scenes from multiple episodes of a show.
most "old people' not only can use the internet but are pretty savvy about other things. Like canceling Direct TV Nov/'15 cold turkey and poof! Strictley Netflix. Life's way too short to watch all that tv. Wish I'd done it 25 years ago
When I moved out of my parents house several years ago, I decided not to get cable as I was not sure what my finaces would be. I got used to not having or needing it, so despite people making fun of me, I'm the one laughing all the way to the bank! Sadly I live in a small town the closest transmitters are over 60 miles away, so I don't get much with my attic mounted antenna.
Zufälligetanz Before 2009, all you needed here in the states to watch broadcast TV for free was an indoor rabbit-ear antenna if you lived near the transmitters and a tall outdoor antenna in remote areas. Now, you need a digital-analog converter and an antenna for TV's made before January 2007, and just an antenna for TV's made after that date. In both cases, it was and is totally free to watch.
I just wish it was 1981 again. Buy a pair of bunny ears and there you go! Too bad the world had to switch to digital instead of analog. It makes me sad to see how to world changes sometimes.
im getting TVplayer plus UK soon as my mom doesent want to pay for cable, (TVplayer plus UK is an iptv service that shows basic cable channels for only £5 on no contract which is why im getting it)
How to use on PAL? I want my TV shows coming from the broadcast TV, not internet streaming. Anyone? Tutorials or maybe just suggest the converter thingy? I'm going to cut my cable before this summer.
Yeah, in these days there's no need to watch TV, in fact I always watch my favourite shows online even if I continue to pay for SKY (and I still watch it anyway, but just for fun)
***** If you've got a TV made since January 2007, you don't need one. All you have to do is hook the antenna to the coaxial connection on the TV, scan for broadcast channels, and you're all set. Check first before you buy something you don't need.
Cable was a must have during the 1980s, by the early and mid 1990s I was on my own and could not afford it. By the late 1990s could afford it but did not want it. I had cable for a total of 6 months in the 1990s and zero months from 2000 to mid 2016. Just got verizon tv because it came with the internet but already called to cancel it. I recorded off of other peoples cable during the 1990s but now I do not even do that. There is nothing on cable. Free tv/broadcast tv has more on now than cable did back in the 1990s with the exception of anything related to retro music.
I have an old analog tv can anyone tell me which is the best antenna so I can get so many channels. with my converter and a simple antenna I only get 6 or 9 channels.????
Since the day i moved out of the house of my parents i have never purchased cable. Even when i got my apt my Dad offered to pay for cable and i said no. I have a home now and still don't have cable and never will. Just bought a flat screen high def Toshiba 18.5 inch TV from a local thrift store for $40 that has ever kind of input you can think of even PC. Yes free TV is Bliss.
While I still am with my mother at 22 1/2 years old (kinda cliché, I know), but, I honestly, I have the same intentions as you do in regards to getting subscription tv, I have NO desire to get subscription tv at all. Not that I'm saying that stingy or anything, but, I can use what ever the tv company (doesn't matter which one) asks for each month for something else. All I need is my cell phone and internet, both of which I get through verizon wireless. Plus, there isn't anything good on tv anymore, I can do like what this guy in the video is doing in the video with over the air tv.
You made me laugh so hard!!! I got tired of arguing with TWC for years, changing packages just to watch cable, just to end up with a bigger bill the following month and on the phone with people over seas giving me a hard time about my bill. Hopefully many more people will stop relying on cable and wise up.
Reading about the financial troubles cable companies are having, and companies like Disney and Paramount's streaming services... well, they did it to themselves.
It has been 7 years since my last comment and I still do not have cable and do just fine, never ever will I get screwed again by any company.
i can live without cable tv , but please dont take away my internet.
Same here, I can pretty much do without subscription tv, I don't watch TV too much anymore. Plus with all the garbage on tv these days, yeah.
@Games I Grew Up With looking back, I know. Imagine how much more money people could spend on other things if they weren't blowin $60/$100/$150/$200 plus on their subscription tv service. Like I mention in my comment originally, I don't watch that much tv anymore. My grandfather's friend's neighbor actually canceled her satellite tv service out of the idea that she really didn't need it and it seeming a little silly. I mean, what are you paying for? 5/6/7,000 channels when you'll only watch 10 to 15 maybe? No thanks. If I wanted to watch maybe 10 to 15 channels, I think I would get a over the air antenna and not have to pay for thousands of channels at several hundreds of dollars.
i bought a flat screen tv in 2008 had switched from xfinity to verizon fios on it in 2012 rarely used it two years or so only watched the thing maybe 10 times in 7 years pulled the plug on fios on my tv never looked back
God bless you brother
You are so lucky to be living in an area with so many OTA channels. I'm in Canada and I am only able to get 2 channels (CTV and Global) and I live in a rural area just 3 miles from Mount Champlain, (according to tvfool). Mount Champlain is where all local TV and Radio stations broadcast from. I'm fine with those 2 channels but I wish I could get more. I would have 3 if the CBC actually cared about viewers and replaced all analog transmitters with digital ones.
sassyface1943ho get a c band antenna and a fta box
I laughed so hard when you said, "They will pee on your leg and tell you it is raining." So true!
+Laurie Flood Three years later, Comcast still sends incredible offers -- they just don't get it. Just bought a Roku (video to come), and there's more shows than anyone could ever watch in one lifetime.
@@artistmac I also have a Roku, bought it for $35 from Walmart a year ago - it seems to have UNLIMITED free television! Goodbye and good riddance to greedy pig cable companies!
@Laurie Flood Me too - he should do voice overs for cartoons/TV shows!
@@CoopyKat So many streaming shows I never saw to begin with, and also great Britcoms like "White Van Man" and "The Young Offenders". Oops! In the case of that last one, Irishcom.
I've had antenna all my life. Had direct TV for 4 years and the antenna still coexisted with it due to the fact that they didn't provide local channels yet. Bought my own place and only had antenna since.
Comcast is the WORST at ripping people off. From their lousy customer service reps on phone, to increasing prices for no reason, lousy tech support, all I can say is good for you! HD is nice but actually compared analog on old SD w VHS and everything was sharp and crystal clear. Love my VCR and yes HOGGDoc they are still making them, just like hi fi vinyl is back, you have to look at the totally of the entertainment not just I want the next latest thing ... Thanks for the info!
I totally agree!! with Jonos Bedi I live in Belleville,NJ and we have comcast here
never had comcast till I moved here near 2 yrs ago and they cut my service 5 times in that time because my bill was 3 weeks over due!
I decided not to turn the service on with them any more, gave back their equipment.
Now read this people this is what I did:
First thank you ARTISTMAC for your post, Loved it!!
I connected to my samsung 51" flat screen the same type of coaxial cable they use to connect their equipment. to the back of my flat screen. now the other end
that would connect to the cable box, that pin inside the barrel that is for tightening to the threads on the cable box, I took an old am/fm home stereo antenna and connected the wires to it, you cannot make any contact with the barrel that surrounds that needle like pin. somehow find a way to keep the pin and wires in contact and tape it or something. make sure that the coxial cable reaches the window and hand the antenna on curtain rod. on tv progam scan using tv/air NOT cable.
That's why I switched to Verizon :)
phillies4100 verizon is one of the worst. i joined and two months later they wanted $700 !!! same with sprint, after 10 yrs with them, at about $100 a month. they sent me a bill for $4,200 !! so i quit both of these companies, now i'm happy with cricket
I've only been with them for 2 years!!!! U can only have cable because it's an apartment and u have 2 choices Verizon or Comcast
At my parents house, the cable is in the living room and basement. In my bedroom, I rely on a converter box and crappy rabbit ears that get channels outside of my area! I'm talking Connecticut and Boston stations from Rhode Island! Can't get that from cable!
Eli Plasse That's the great thing about living in a place that's flat -- you can pick up dozens of channels!
To Techrecycle4u: If you're willing to fork over $400 for a 32" flatscreen 1040p, I'll be happy to get rid of a working 27" tube TV. If not, I'll keep it till it stops working. And I have plenty of uses for that $400 besides a new flatscreen. Gas, electric and property taxes, to name three. And I just found out I'm going to need a new lawn mower.
+artistmac I LOVE the fact that you are demonstrating this on an older TV! Most of the other "getting rid of cable" videos are showing smart TV's so we need to know what to buy that will work on older tube TV's. Honestly we can't justify that expense on a tight budget when we have perfectly fine tube TV's either especially not with small destructive children and our cable bills just keep getting higher! Great video BTW!
+artistmac the good thing about the flats screens are the energy use is cheaper...I still have old school tv in my room....and stopped using it for one month....and used a flat screen....my bill went up 50 bucks for using the old school tv compared to the flat screen.....ijs
It was other contributors that led to a $50 increase. A TV by itself won't do it.
Like My 19in Flat screen TV+artistmac
Cleartv antenna is misguiding the ppl the way they are advertising.Any antenna even old Rabbit ear antenna would work as same like all other antennas including cleartv antenna.Stop wasting your money..
Australian broadcast TV (what we call 'Freeview') is actually far superior and has more people watching it then any subscription package here.
+Xavier Rose we have freeview here in the uk aswell, but most people have SKY which is a satellite and internet company. I personally use freeview but im getting SKY once my current BT contract ends....next year....
I use a cable subscription, it's called Foxtel which is out equivilent of Sky, since we get Sky New, Sky Weather and Sky Sports here, and it's all British when I watch it
I Am Getting My Cable Back its Better
Foxtel in Australia is better then Freeview
@@MrXavierRose i have foxtel from telstra
Great video! Good on you. Never bought cable, always thought it was outrageous to pay for hundreds of channels when one likely watches
I still had the old style, mount on your chimney, antenna from 30 years ago which I had stored in my pole barn. I put it on a 10' aluminum pole on the peak of my roof. I connected a coaxial connection to the 2 antenna connectors, ran coax cable from the antenna to my existing cable box, broke open the box, unhooked the line from the cable company I fired, hooked my antenna cable which ran to the coax outlets in my house and got 28 stations on my hdtv, clear as a bell.
I cancelled my cable about a year ago,I got tired of that housewife shows on tv.I 'm not paying for that.
I just bought the Insignia converter box. I am very happy with it. I get 63 channels (live in NYC). I want to upgrade to a better box with recording capability. I missed TV for a few days until I got the box. I feel like I've stepped back in time when I first had to adjust the RCA flat antenna to get a stronger signal but that was only for a few channels.
I hear you. I have been an off air viewer for years. Even took an old dishnet receiver that had an off air tuner in it, and made my own off air DVR, The guide doesn't work, and I had to keep a dish connected as it it doesn't see a dish signal it won't work, but it works like a jewel,and can be set manually like an old VCR, but records in the full 1080 broadcast quality.
Problem we are beginning to find is that the ISPs that also own the cable networks charge a huge premium for internet only service if not bundled with basic TV at the least. Like the cost of internet is higher if not bundled than it is if bundled with basic TV.
12voltvids This is the kind of monopolistic behavior that breaking up the Bell System in 1984 was supposed to eliminate. It's back to the way it was before -- all the power in the hands of a few. Except much more expensive this time, and cable TV and wireless phones added into the mix. I just re-upped with AT&T for my wireless contract -- 1GB data plan vs 200MB before, at half the price. But they still wouldn't let me bundle my U-Verse internet! Insane.
*****
Back in 1980 - 1982 I worked for a cable company. Back then the cable company was the only game in town, and the phone company sold you basic phone service.
There was no ADSL, or cable internet, because there was NO internet.
Computers were few and far between, and the way to go online was with a 300 baud acoustic coupled modem!
This was the days of the monopoly that everyone wanted to see gone, because they falsely believed that competition would bring lower costs. On the government side they favored deregulation, and allowing competition in both cable TV and the local phone business.
The owner of the company I worked for argued, as did CEOs from the phone companies that allowing competition would cause prices to go up. Their reasoning was that, and I will use small numbers so it is easy to figure out.
Say you are run the only cable company in town.
You charge 30.00 per month, and you have 10000 customers
To every month your revenue stream is 300,000.00
Out of that revenue you have a staff of 50 people each making 25.00 per hour.
Your daily expenses is 10,000 per day for wages. 200,000 for the month just for wages. Then there is the costs associated with running the business, such as interest, equipment maintenance, vehicle maintenance, liability insurance ect.
Not allot left over as profit. Now enter company B. They have to over lay their wires, or rent satellite time to broadcast from.
Immediately 50% of your customers jump ship because the competitor is offering an introductory special rate for 6 months. Now your revenue drops to 150,000 per month, but your wages alone are costing your 200,000.
What is the solution? Lay off employees? Raise rates?
Unfortunately with deregulation the answer was both.
I am not normally one to agree with monopolies, but in some industry, like those that require a substantial infrastructure investment monopolies can offer a better deal to customers just because of the simplified business model described above.
12voltvids I remember those days. Back then cable was so cheap it was complimentary in my apartment building. Cable TV is obsolete to me. With broadcast TV going digital and the internet, who needs it? I have more than enough stuff to watch.
I admire this guy, I miss those old CRT TVs...
You are hilarious! Good 4U...kicking cable to the curb:)
b nell Almost $2,000 saved since February 2013. Vampires and zombies for $91.00/mo!? No thanks ;)
When I was 13 years old, we got rid of cable, in favor of Free OTA Broadcast TV, and when we moved in to a new apartment a year later, things have gotten along, until May 2015 where we sadly got cable back. I had cable in my bedroom for eight years until I got rid of it completely, there were too much junk on cable that seems worse than human society. I am so glad I got an antenna back in my room after a long period of time not having an antenna to pick up free TV. I now had 59 channels on my antenna, now I can watch MeTV and stuff.
I can live without cable, and I'm okay with it! I never go back.
Joseph
Very Interesting, Thanks for uploading, Over here in the UK we do not have VHF TV Channels (that was turned off in 1985) however 4 channel Analogue UHF TV was turned off in 2012, In my area it was turned off in 2010, and was replaced by Freeview Digital SD and HD TV, now I get about 50 to 60 channels (most areas get about 20), (all for free excluding the TV Licence). I use a indoor antenna and a box that records programs, I also have free satellite channels which come from the UK, Europe and the Middle East. Cable is only available in the Cities and not in my area.
We dumped cable tv a couple of months ago. We live 50 miles from Philly. We put up the cheap amplified antenna about 20'.We now get around 40 channels for free, many are 1080 HD! All football games are on the local channels!
crazybobdj Now that's what I'm talkin' about! Great! :)
@1:53 HILARIOUS!
TYPICAL INDIAN CALL CENTER WHERE ALL THE WOMEN ARE NAMED MARY, AND ALL THE MEN, JOHN!
BAHAHAHAAA!
Wow going back a old school is good ...
Feels great not to have that cable bill hanging over my head.
For about a week, I've been watching TH-cam videos on plugging in portable digital TV tuners or iDTVs on their Android tablets and smartphones plus iPhones and iPads to watch OTA Digital TV instead of streaming video over the Internet. Since North America uses ATSC, have you heard of anybody using these kinds of TV tuners in the ATSC format?
Jonathan Truong I haven't heard of that! It would certainly give a new option to people on the go.
I don't even need a converter box for my HD TV, I just use the coaxal thing and put it next to my window! That's more free than ever!
By the way, my family might cut satellite tv and go with antennas.
You are the TV warrior, my friend.
Kadeb Smash, the combination That's the great thing about the new HDTV's made since January 2007. All you have to do is plug in the antenna, and you're ready to go. flic.kr/p/nSKd5E
Kadeb Smash, the combination All HD flat screens manufactured after July 1, 2005 are required to have a built in digital tuner. There's a lot of HD sets out there (like mine) that have both an analog and digital tuner.
www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/news-electronics-computers/pulling-the-plug-on-analog-tv-206/index.htm
Netflix screwed my parents over it said for basic 6.99 dollars but they overcharged them by 16 dollars
I have an Ematic At103B digital converter box with the usb port ,I can't set it to show the channel number it will only show the order of the number channel 2 is number 1 on the box channel 5 is number 2 on it 7 would be 3.And the time is only displayed as 24hrs not 12 hrs so 1:00am looks like 13:00 and I cant find a phone number for tech support and no answer on emails either but the usb port allow me to watch what ever is on my drive pic and vid, that's what sold me !
Holy shit! You guys in the US pay 98 bucks for cable?! Here in Europe, we pay like 10 for digital + analog.
People with all the premium channels can pay as much as $150.00/month. A friend who is a family man and who has suddenly had to start paying private school tuition dropped cable and now uses a Roku to stream shows.
In Connecticut, I know people who pay 250 to 300 dollars a month!
Thanks for posting this video..I am about to take the leap and cut Xfinity TV from wallet/life. I really appreciate the video because I also live in Chicago and was nervous about the whole reception thing. I live 10 miles south of downtown and hope to have the same result as you! I worked for Comcast for a number of years and got spoiIed by the employee discount..didnt realize how astronomical their prices were until the discount was gone! I have an hdtv and will be getting an antenna
I still have standard basic vanilla cable. I have Netflix and Hulu accounts. I got fed up with Time Warners's support when they wanted me to reset my cable TV box as a step to troubleshoot my internet connection.
They have Customer Service reps that they try to pass off as "technical support". That was a year ago and I'm never going back to digital tv (at least with Time Warner).
I dumped Comcast cable last year, picked up a few cheap DTV boxes at Goodwill (over the course of a couple months, still find them) and a Mohu antenna and never looked back. Same situation as yourself, was a loyal paying customer for decades and the cost was getting astronomical for the few channels I actually watched. I'm working on getting my grandparents to break away as well.
That's definitely how to do it.
That was fantastic and inspirational. I'm gonna have to remember this when my rates go up.
It's 2017, Analog over-the-air broadcast TB has been replaced by Digital TV. I am several miles from the nearest broadcast TV tower, in a low area, surrounded by tall trees. Back in the Analog era, TV signals were full of snow and ghosts; one solution was a 10-15 meter Ham-radio-height mast for the TV antenna or cable TV. Digital TV is more line-of-sight than analog TV, so I'm back to snow and ghosts without a cable TV connection. As for satellite TV, this area is cloudy/rainy, which reduces those signals to hash. The local telephone company finally reached this "outlying district" a couple of years ago, so DSL is not longer "four miles away" as it was for five years. The local Time Warner/Oceanic company was just acquired by Spectrum, so it's a wait and see game for this "enhanced" analog cable TV subscriber.
I was paying spectrun 110 dollars a month for shit rerjun now i have 32 freee tv fuck u spectrun ass holes
So funny! I did buried my TV a long time ago. This video makes me want to dig it out!
There are a lot of options to get free tv out there. You don't even need rabbit ears. Some of the more advanced antennas offer HD channels on them. Go into your local discount store and take a look. You will find a wide range of antennas. You may even spot ours.
Trisonic Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Although with 65 broadcast channels coming in, I'm pretty well taken care of. "Route 66" and "Naked City" back-to-back at 3 in the morning. Even us nightowls have something to watch. ;)
I live in the suburbs of at Louis and set this up and pointed it to the city. I got 23 Channels!
Josh Westbrook Fantastic! I was in Belleville over the weekend, and my buddy tried out the broadcast channels on his TV -- he got 23, too, including COZI and Decades!
Revisited this video while I was checking youtube for related information. I still use an antenna and it's just keeps getting better and better. Local broadcasters are seeing the tend. In the past year, they've added 4-5 new channels. I hope the trend continues.
Mark Szorady Oh, it will. Cable and dish subscriptions are flat or declining, for the simple reason that everybody who wants them already has them, and these companies are simply poaching each other's customers. And now with AppleTV, Roku, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu Plus, there are even more choices. Why cable and dish companies don't just let people choose channels a-la-carte, is a mystery.
I did the same thing about 14 years ago never regretted a thing I get around 30 channels but have to have a antenna and tower My rotor is stuck in one direction and I`am still happy some day soon every city will have repeaters for all the main channels without any need for more then a small antenna with broadcast your privacy is not in jeopardy as well you made a excellent decision ,,,, I tee totally agree with you ......
Terrific video.:) I cut cable last year and have never regretted the decision. Rather than purchase a large screen flat panel TV, I'm making do with older analog TVs and converter boxes. I *try* to get converter boxes used because new are a bit too expensive (50 or 60 bucks). (I'm looking for two more). Which brand is the one you connected and how much was it?
These videos inspired me... Too bad I can't get any TV channels period when I try antennas. I tried several different kinds.
i love this rant I LOVE IT YEEEEAAAAAA!!!!!!!
At the start of 2017 Comcast raised their rates. They did this by raising fees on their boxes $2 each, broadcast fee by $2, and a regional sports fee by $2. If you have multiple boxes this adds up. My rate went up $10 to $186. I bought a Clearstream V2 antennae, put it in my attic, ran a cable down the side of my house to where the Comcast line comes into the house, plugged it in. I returned the cable boxes only keeping the slowest internet. My bill went from $186 to $65. We have Amazon Prime on the big TV. I have two Ethernet cables running from my computer room router to the main TV, one plugs into the Sony stereo system, which also has an Amazon Streaming App. Therefore, we can stream the free Prime movies and it doesn't buffer or cut out. I get 70 HD channels OTA (Over the Air). For TVs that are not digital, they have converter boxes, I have 2 of them and they work fine.
In the past you could call the retention center at Comcast and they would lower your rate, but this is gone because they've raised rates across the board. Get the HD Antennae, put it in your attic or outside. You won't miss a thing.
PastTime, you've said it all. As far as antennas are concerned, it's back to the future.
I loved the Value City ad...
Those local daytime TV commercials are a hoot-and-a-half ;)
I was brainstorming the other night on what would be a good alternative to cable. Cable fees are much to expensive my monthly bill in Memphis is 186.00 that calculates to 2232.00 per year! i was looking for extra money to pay for my daughters Piano classes, well there it is. Thank you for this information.
*WHEN I BOUGHT MY HOUSE IT CAME WITH CABLE NEVER PAID ONE BILL IN YEARS LIKE ALMOST A DECADE......LOL YOU GUYS PAY FOR CABLE!*
I'll pray your cable never goes down and you have to call the cable company to fix it. Oops. ;)
Thanks mac, I knew I was missing something. DTV converter here I come.
You the man Mac! Mahalos!
I try to be like you and dump my cable service but a month after I did I got bored without my mtv and history channels. So I reconnect my cable TV again... :(
That's what the cable companies are counting on. If I can't watch it for free on MTV and History Channel's websites, I can live without it.
I can NEVER be without cable or sattelite TV! I was right to let my childhood discoveries of Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network spoil me the way they did!
***** You made my day with this post.
Getting 49 channels for free is good, here in the Netherlands we have a similar system called 'Digitenne' that use DVB-T instead of ATSC. Digitenne provides you 31 channels and it will cost you 12,50 euro each month. If you don't want to pay there are four free programs from the National Public Broadcaster, three national and one local program. There is no HD, but only standard definition (here 576i instead of 480i in the USA).
JG van Straten 12,40 euros sounds like a good deal for 31 cable channels; is there a pretty good variety of material? Also, has there been the kind of mass switchover from tube TV's to flat-screen LCD HDTV's that there has been in the USA?
*****
The same happen't here, a mass switchover to LCD/LED HDTV. Digitenne provides the following programs.
NPO 1, NPO 2, NPO 3 & Local programme (TV Rijnmond is my region): Public Broadcaster.
RTL 4, RTL 5, RTL 7, SBS 6, NET5, Veronica / Disney XD, RTL 8 & FOX: Dutch commercial TV stations.
één, Canvas & KetNet: Public Broadcaster from the Dutch part of Belgium.
BBC One & BBC Two: Public Broadcaster from the U.K.
Eurosport: European Sports Channel.
Cartoon Network (6 am to 6 pm) / AT5 (6 pm to 6 am): Cartoons and local TV channel from Amsterdam.
Xite: Music Television.
24Kitchen: Food Channel.
Meiden van Holland Hard: Porn Channel.
FOX Sports Eredivisie Live: Pay TV, Soccer only.
I think that you know the following stations: National Geographic Channel, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, Nickelodeon/TeenNick, MTV, TLC, ID (Investigation Discovery) & CNN.
Before the switchover to digital, we have three national channels (Ch 4, 27 and 30) and one local channel from the public broadcaster (Ch 49). In my region I had the possibility to receive two channels from the dutch Belgian public broadcaster (Ch 10 & 62), the third channel was later launched. There was also American Forces Network for the US military in the Netherlands (Ch 24), for this channel you needed an NTSC television, instead of a PAL system TV. I had an NTSC TV so I could watch A.F.N.
I haven't used cable for well over 8 years.nowna days you can just hook the internet to the TV, or your laptop chromencast.
Welcome to the club, Artistmac! I dumped cable two years ago and haven't missed it at all! The difference is, my TV pulls in 49 channels with just an antenna...All digital!!! I have Netflix for movies and YT fills in the gap for other fare which I enjoy, such as old classic movies and documentaries. I am now looking into something called Gbox which comes with an online dvr with one of their channel services. Cable is a gouging mechanism designed to stay in your pocket. Good 4 u for dumping them!
Welcome back? It never left.
+theedrstrangelove Yes, I know, I left it. Prodigal son and all that.
You said that very well, and I totally agree. If you think nobody cares, try missing a cable payment!!
Thanks for making this video. You have really help me out. I m taking that dam cable box back. They rasie my bill up to ""$91.00.I have had it wih comcast . Thank you very much.
WOWWAY is boosting rates in the Columbus, OH market and this is precisely our planned response. Good job!
I've too pulled the plug on all the expensive crap of today's television. It's ridiculously expensive and all the big channels (HBO, Showtime etc) all just repeat the same shitty movies over and over until your sick of it. I remember as a child growing up in the 80s and 90s we had the black box so that we could obtain all the paid channels for free. Nowadays it's of course more pricey then ever and just not worth it. If I feel like watching a movie I throw in the DVD instead. Otherwise I don't even watch it. Every modern flat screen tv we've owned since 2009 has stopped working out of nowhere or even from the slightest fall. So we broke out our old tv sets. One is 31 years old and the others we purchased in 1993 and they still work just as good as the the day we got them. We don't need HD to enjoy movies and the picture and surround sound on our 31 year old RCA tv is beautiful. And I'm definitely going to sound like a old fart here but they honestly don't make things like they used to.
I live in the W/Burbs & I think I am going back to broadcast. Only problem is Stations like
2, do not come in. I am 8-12 miles west of Willis tower.
hello I'm from Chicago Illinois thanks for ur video
You're welcome. Glad to help.
I recently moved into the country from Chicago where converter box & antenna failed. To my amazement, reception works fine in rural Elgin. Now, any tips for free internet, or cheap ISP? :-)
Jack Rohan If somebody next door to you, or down the street has a unsecured wireless hotspot, you might be able to use that. Go into the wireless menu on your PC, down at the lower right, and if there's any around, they'll show up.
Thank you. Will this occur with an old iMac too?
Good for you. When I canceled my Comcast service over four years ago, they tried to charge me $436.00. When I challenged them, they charged me one cent. The check was worth more than the bill itself. I have DirectTV now; way cheaper and I still have all the HBO channels.
I use to have TWC broadcast then used AEREO until they went down Now I bought a MOHU antenna put it in the window taped and get the basic stations with a bunch of other movie stations in HD broadcast, Still kept the TWC cable for internet This is in Manhattan.......
I was paying about $80.00 month to directv(which I loved) for 7 long years. But to many repeats plus I just was tard of paying for it....My husband brought all the equipment necessary. rotary,antenna now I'm all set. With all that was need I say about $300 one time charge.
1:52 A classic moment! The high-pitched voice of customer service reps!
In the Bermudas, MTV and Nickelodeon must be operated as free-to-air DTT multichannels of ZBM-TV Channel 9.
the channels we get on air antenna is what's available, and not what you want to see.
+Sooner Science Nerd It sucks. I just bought a Sharp flatscreen on Craigslist. The seller lived in Aurora, 40 miles from the nearest transmitter, and with the antenna I brought along to test it out, I got nothing. Got back home with it (my house is about 5 miles from the major transmitters), and with the same antenna, pulled in 70 channels! Location, location, location.
excellent!
hope its what you wanted to watch!
i'm trying to watch tv on my dell computer.
+Sooner Science Nerd Here in Chicago, with my present digital antenna, the only two channels I'm missing on the new upstairs TV are REV'N (the broadcast version of the Velocity Channel) and Escape (the broadcast ID Discovery). The old TV with a digital/analog converter and rabbit ears still picks up those two channels. Go figure. ;)
I live in a cable ready apartment and I usually just watch netflix or some other movie app on my roku box.....or see a movie in theater or rental before it hits HBO et al. Last year around the time this video was posted comcast decided to encrypt all of the local channels so we could no longer use their wall outlet as an antenna.....they wanted us to pay close to 40 dollars a month for the boxes and a few local channels that I can get for free with an antenna. They even went as far as to lie to me and tell me that broadcast antennas no longer work and like a fool I believed them....for a little while. Then I did some research and stripped the insulation from the coaxial cables left over from their cable box teeehehehehe.......then plugged it into the port which takes coaxial cables at the back of the tv and I was able to receive all of the channels over the air and a good signal too. I get all of the major networks....CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC, CW, 2 different ION channels, qubo, 4 different pbs channels, like 10 religious channels, qvc, hsn, and a few other junk channels.
Amanda F Good for you! You're saving almost $500 a year! I love it!
Don't have cable anymore was getting to high so I went over the air tv and I use my phone to watch u tube and can watch live TV channels
Comcast drove away a lot of customers with their policies. And they still haven't learned.
I got rid of cable a while ago. I keep Comcast internet because it's the solid service. Cable's programming was terrible, the resolution wasn't very good and they would hike prices like I wasn't paying attention. And you're right. They job out their customer support to the Philippines or something.
Amen brother amen!!!
I hear you man! One of my main motivators for getting rid of my Direct TV is I read an article that stated the CEO of Direct TV just gave himself nearly a 200% raise! His yearly salary has gone from 5 million a year to over 16 million a year (this includes stock options). I consider this to be ridiculous, and I do not want to be a party to this obsenity any longer. I mean really! The best brain surgeons in the country don't make that kind of money, and they save lives!
It's ironic that so many cable shows have moved their reruns to broadcast channels, that can be watched for free, free, free! No need for cable.
Never ever subscribed and paid for cable service. I never had a need for it. Free tv satisfies my needs. And I get a greater satisfaction out of TH-cam, which even lets me access to global tv networks.
I travel a bit, and stay at the big hotel chains. They come with all the cable offerings. But I never found anything on cable to capture my interest. I end up watching in cable what I watch on free tv. I subscribed to Netflix for three years. But I cannot say I watched more than half a dozen movies. Freedom means not having to be tethered to crap tv and crap movies. Pack a good book with you at all times. Go out in the sun and enjoy life. Try it and see.
Amen.
ive paid for a full cable package for as long as I remember. Recently I was cleaning my house and found my TV remote. I realised that I hadnt seen it for months because I hadnt actually watched TV live on my TV for months. I guess I dont need cable TV anymore just internet
how do you connect from youtube to tv networks ??
elimonjal I want to know too!!
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5 miles south of Willis Tower - man I do miss Chicago!
back in 1981 the cable bill with all movie channels and NO fucking commercials. ( that was the whole idea behind cable) was under 20 dollars. now with no movie channels and only medium speed internet and none stop commercials it's almost 200.
That was the plan all along. Get 'em hooked, then jack up the prices. Fortunately, I never got hooked. Watching Ken Burns' "Vietnam" on my local PBS station -- happy as a clam.
I tested my channels and got like 60 some channels using the extention cord method cool tip to test thank you.
We have FiOS Internet and TV right now, but come November, we're going to be ditching Verizon and getting Internet from Cox. No cable TV in my house after November.
+Jonathan Domenech Excellent! It's the same shows, just without Comcast and other cable companies doing the old shake-down routine!
Love you dude I had com cast for a long damn time to my bill was almost the same as you but mine went up very high and I only had starz and encore and my bill went up to nearly $189 to $200 a month I had to leave and go to another company called Metronet now I pay $155 saving a lot more money but I been still thinking of going back to normal TV got me a Digital Tuner Converter box Ematic brand.
AMEN preach it brother ! it's funny how nice they are when you say you want to quit service . LOL
I have a neighbor who threatens to cancel his cable all the time. He calls to cancel his service and they keep giving him great deals. The cable company doesn't care if you keep doing that. They just want to keep you as a customer.
ldchappell1
Xfinity keeps trying to get me back. E-mails, snail mail, phone calls -- they may as well be talking to the air. Take my money for 25 years and then treat me like garbage, and then get all nicey-nicey when I say I'm going to cancel? I'm not into games.
I pulled the plug on cable a few years ago. Cable would be better if they went to an a la carte payment system. Pay for what you want instead of these lousy bundle packages. 200 channels of crap is still crap.
great video bro. im cutting out my cable subscription too. going antenna and Roku.
4:05 rainy day fund, sheer rainy day fund, also elementary. btw, I cut the cord in 1997
I cut the cord on Comcast cable 12 years ago. In 2002 there was only about 30 channels of broadcast TV in my area but since 2009 that number has tripled. I'm now getting 93 channels. With free internet service I have more than enough video content.
I too decided that Satellite TV was a money pit. Got rid of my Dish subscription in 2012. High speed internet+hulu is all I will ever need. Even OTA broadcasts have gotten a hell of a lot better over the years since Cozi Tv/Retro TV/METV stations started broadcasting.
+megacide84 The OTA broadcasts, and the variety of channels, is truly amazing. And with the selection of movies available for checkout for free at my local library, that's not even an issue anymore.
Good for you! Cable is mostly commercials and marathons of the same shows!!!
They (Comcast) is just horrible, the customer service. They actually applied my payments to someone else's account and then charged me late fees!!
That's classic Comcast. How in the world do they stay in business.
I live very close to WTwr also and I've always had standard rabbit ear antenna TV my whole life. Cable is kind of a waste because a lot of the times I'll only be watching discovery or animal planet but nowadays you can find more interesting non repeating content on TH-cam. All I watch on the normal TV is channel 7 and sometimes wttw 11
Cable probably could have kept more subscribers if they had let people choose channels a-la-carte. But it's either 500 channels or nothing. No thanks. Same with broadcast. Channels 7, 9 and whatever's good on the Channel 11 channels. And my new faves, Escape and Justice Channel. And you're right, TH-cam is a great resource.
You have to remember the cable companies would charge you for each room you had cable in back in the 1980s and early 1990s. It was a scam that people were willing to tolerate at the time. Cable tv is now for old people who cannot use the internet.
True. Most of the cable shows worth watching show up on the internet anyway, and I love the compilations of the best scenes from multiple episodes of a show.
most "old people' not only can use the internet but are pretty savvy about other things. Like canceling Direct TV Nov/'15 cold turkey and poof! Strictley Netflix. Life's way too short to watch all that tv. Wish I'd done it 25 years ago
When I moved out of my parents house several years ago, I decided not to get cable as I was not sure what my finaces would be. I got used to not having or needing it, so despite people making fun of me, I'm the one laughing all the way to the bank!
Sadly I live in a small town the closest transmitters are over 60 miles away, so I don't get much with my attic mounted antenna.
Great vid. I may just give this a try myself.
Thanks,
Donnie D
Do you have freeview in the states we do in Britain and its just by a box and plug it in and use a analog plug in the wall and done free view!
Zufälligetanz Before 2009, all you needed here in the states to watch broadcast TV for free was an indoor rabbit-ear antenna if you lived near the transmitters and a tall outdoor antenna in remote areas. Now, you need a digital-analog converter and an antenna for TV's made before January 2007, and just an antenna for TV's made after that date. In both cases, it was and is totally free to watch.
we generally don't have as much choice of over the air TV here in the states either
I just wish it was 1981 again.
Buy a pair of bunny ears and there you go!
Too bad the world had to switch to digital instead of analog.
It makes me sad to see how to world changes sometimes.
Tayllor Lucas Agree with you big time! It makes me sad too.
im getting TVplayer plus UK soon as my mom doesent want to pay for cable, (TVplayer plus UK is an iptv service that shows basic cable channels for only £5 on no contract which is why im getting it)
Wow! That's a great deal. It would be great to have something like that here.
*****
yeah
Doddo MultiGamer wow
vidcraft tbh its just like the uk version of sling tv in the US, just infinately cheaper and better value.
thanks for the demo.
The increase from $77 per month to $91 per month is 18%.
Glad to know it; even gladder with the savings since I dropped cable. What's $91.00/mo. times 14 months? ;)
there's like 10 freeview channels in Estonia. everyone uses cable or some sort of cable box.
Simillar situation in Lithuania, anywhere from 15 to 22 channels over the air. (depending on the area)
How to use on PAL? I want my TV shows coming from the broadcast TV, not internet streaming. Anyone? Tutorials or maybe just suggest the converter thingy? I'm going to cut my cable before this summer.
Yeah, in these days there's no need to watch TV, in fact I always watch my favourite shows online even if I continue to pay for SKY (and I still watch it anyway, but just for fun)
RightON BROTHER LOVE YOUR POST THE TRUTH
+mark fisher Thanks. Going on 3 years, still no desire to have cable again.
I am getting a converter box from amzan. I have a sanyo full screen tv.i live in Greensboro
***** If you've got a TV made since January 2007, you don't need one. All you have to do is hook the antenna to the coaxial connection on the TV, scan for broadcast channels, and you're all set. Check first before you buy something you don't need.
Cable was a must have during the 1980s, by the early and mid 1990s I was on my own and could not afford it. By the late 1990s could afford it but did not want it. I had cable for a total of 6 months in the 1990s and zero months from 2000 to mid 2016. Just got verizon tv because it came with the internet but already called to cancel it. I recorded off of other peoples cable during the 1990s but now I do not even do that. There is nothing on cable. Free tv/broadcast tv has more on now than cable did back in the 1990s with the exception of anything related to retro music.
Very true. Zombies, vampires and bearded good-ol-boys I can live without.
How i can remove that 4 number on a trinitron?
I have an old analog tv can anyone tell me which is the best antenna so I can get so many channels. with my converter and a simple antenna I only get 6 or 9 channels.????