Just get your Internet from whatever monopoly you can get it (Comcast in your case). Get a SIP provider for phone (not the proprietary crap from MagicJack or Vonage) for ~$8-12/month and depending on your TV-usage you can either YouTube, Netflix, iTunes. Even over-the-air with an antenna, the major networks (NBC, Fox, ABC) are on 720p digital antenna and the quality is usually higher than cable which in my case scales it down to 360p. There are no IPTV providers (yet) in the US unless you have AT&T U-Verse or Verizon Fibre (bundles again) or you can get a commercial license (don't know the costs though).
Please give me your ideas to beat the cost of internet/phone/cable package...
by FlyingHighNow 36 Replies latest jw friends
-
-
Bonnie_Clyde
Magic Jack for phone service? Anyone try it?
I tried it two years ago at the recommendation of a friend. It worked good for him. It didn't work for me--the reception was bad. I use a Verizon wireless card. Also the toll-free number that I use to call my company actually went to one of their branch companies. I finally gave up on it.
Just saw an info-merical yesterday about Net 10. Unlimited minutes for $50/month with no contract or hidden fees or $25/month for 750 minutes. I may look into it.
-
botchtowersociety
Damn Comcast just raised my bundle to $171.99 for the three. Not only can I not afford this, I am not going to support these crooks anymore.
Please tell me how you beat them and the pros and cons of your ideas.
I am thanking you in advance and will be forever beholdend to you. I know we have had threads like this in the past, but technology marches on and maybe there are new things to use these days.
Do you have wireless service? You could dump the land line. If your wireless reception is poor, you could buy a femtocell/cell phone booster/wireless extender and hook it up to your Comcast internet and get rid of a fixed phone line. You might be able to save some money there, although it would take a few months to amortize the original expense.
-
WhatWasIThinking
I cancelled my cable through Cox and just have internet service. Between the subscription fees, fees for the HD DVRs and the DVR service fee I cut about $125 a month off my bill. For my phone I just use my cell. For TV I subscribe to Hulu Plus and Netflix and I watch programs on the broadcasters websites. I will never pay for cable or satellite TV again.
I really like some of the shows on HBO, Starz, and Showtime but I can buy an entire season of a show on Blu Ray for half of what I paid a month for cable without any movie channels. If I really want to watch a movie and don't want to wait for Netflix I just go on Redbox's website, reserve the movie at one near me, and then go pick it up.
-
minimus
I have a 2 yr. contract and I pay $79.99 for all 3 on my business line with Comcast.
-
Lore
You don't need phone and you don't need cable. You just need high-speed internet.
This applies to EVERYONE on the fricken planet!
You can replace cable with Netflix streaming video and torrents. Trust me it's WAY better. I wouldn't use cable anymore if it was FREE. Stinking ads every couple mins, stuff not on when you want to see it. It's crap.
Netflix and the piratebay.org can eleminate ANY need you may have for Cable. Unless you're into sports. I'm not, so I never researched it, but I'm sure there are other options besides cable for watching live sports via internet.Phone is not needed. You can set up a skype account, get a cell phone, etc. I reccomend geting a tracfone, piling a bunch of minutes on it and using it as your home phone. I dunno how much you talk on the phone but there's definately an online service that's better than the crappy comcast bills. Buy a magicjack.
-
-
FlyingHighNow
Thank you, everyone, if there are ideas anyone else has in addition to all these good ideas, please keep posting them.
Something to keep in mind about phone: I have my grandson living with me, so I do need a phone that we can both use. I have a tracfone for emergencies. I am thinking of trying to get one of the free phones and services you can get when you have a child on the free or reduced lunch program. But I will likely need a magic jack or look into the other ideas you have all mentioned.
Does anyone have ideas about getting the tv shows on line to show up on your tv? What kind of equipment do you need?
-
botchtowersociety
What Lore said, but people don't usually want to give up cable.
Those of you who have wired broadband internet should count yourselves as lucky. I don't. I am stuck with a crappy 3G wireless link ast my place.
-
botchtowersociety
Does anyone have ideas about getting the tv shows on line to show up on your tv? What kind of equipment do you need?
Sure. Most newer TV sets have a VGA or HDMI connector. Most newer PCs have an HDMI output. Just get an HDMI cable and connect from your computer to your TV set. HDMI carries both video and sound.
If you don't have HDMI, just VGA, you can use that instead, but that will only carry video, not sound. You will need a separate connection for sound unless you decide to use built in speakers. You can connect your audio output to a lot of things for sound. You could use PC speakers for example (that is what I do with the TV next to the elliptical machine when I exercise), or use an adapter to connect to your home theater system.