Who has done away with Cable or Satellite TV?

[mike31154]

So I've been off the cable TV for almost 2 months now. Took a while for the cable guy to finally disconnect or 'filter' my connection. Ironically in the news recently Rogers & Shaw execs are whining to the CRTC about going slow to implement pick & choose programming. It seems services like Netflix are finally starting to light a flame under someone's a$$, or not.

Meanwhile Telus is sending me plenty of glossy ads in the mail to entice me to buy into their optic TV world. More than once over the past few years I've mentioned to the Shaw telemarketers that I don't wish to pay for basic service with 5,000 useless channels that I don't watch and I don't intend to pay extra on top of that for channels I do find of interest. Is anyone listening?

And of course the CBC, subject to recent funding cuts from the government are also in "the sky is falling camp". I actually like some of the CBC programming but since I no longer have cable, no CBC television. The OTA ATSC transmitter on the hill in Vernon only transmits 2 HD channels, CHBC (owned by Shaw) & CHAN (no idea who they are, but the programming is identical to CHBC). Why does the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, who's mandate I thought was to bring Canadian culture & programming to Canadians everywhere not broadcast from up on the hill in Vernon along with CHBC & CHAN? Not a clue!

On the plus side, I'm getting a lot more work done around the house with only one channel to watch on TV.

[mikellini]

Originally Posted by LoJack

I hear ya there ... we just never really watch TV.

I'd love to find a place that would allow me to purchase CBC, TSN, and my NHL Center ice haha ... since all I watch is hockey

Are there online providers that anyone is aware of? Can you live stream hockey from anywhere for a fee?

Check out hockeystreams.com. Reasonably cheap for a 1 year subscription, and in high definition.

[The Guy]

I just came back on the computer tonite because I'm totally bored with all the useless channels offered, I just trimmed the shaw account down to only include internet, phone with grandfathered long distance in north America and some hd channels along with a bunch of useless basic junk that's not worth watching. If you want the HD ones your interested in the crap comes with it. There's got to be a better way.
Tell us more about "Ouya" & "XBMC" how and where you get it, what's offered etc. etc.

[mike31154]

Anyone close to the USA border (Fraser Valley), with a major city to the south should be able to pick up a whack of OTA HD programming with a decent antenna on the roof. It's free! Granted there are commercials on all channels except perhaps PBS if you can pull that in, but the basic cable programming has commercials too & you're paying extra for that garbage. Honestly can't understand anyone in a place like greater Vancouver or Toronto so close to the border paying for cable. I suppose if money is no object..... but I'm on a fixed income & cost of everything keeps rising.

I have a HomeWorx box with amplified rabbit ear antenna & am able to pick up the OTA HD channels transmitted in Vernon. Too far away from major cities or US border to get anything else, so roof top antenna won't help in my case. I'll need to get a new TV or some other device that is Netflix capable for more programming options. I enjoy soccer, so I'm knackered in that regard. All I can do is stream the games on my notebook after they've been played, but better than nothing & also better than to continue paying corporate cable TV providers that don't listen to the requests of their customers.

[mark]

wish I could just not yet brave enough

Originally Posted by mike31154

Granted there are commercials on all channels...

ATSC tuner with DVR takes care of that

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by mark

wish I could just not yet brave enough

Here you go
http://freetvedmonton.com/freetvedmo...-Edmonton.html

Before Shaw finally cut my service I compared the viewing quality of their HD version of CHBC (Global) with what I could get with my HomeWorx ATSC box. I was surprised to find the OTA version through the ATSC HomeWorx unit was actually better quality. I checked it out several times to make sure. A little research revealed that the OTA HD signal is UNCOMPRESSED, unlike the programming of the cable provider who needs to compress everything in order to cram 1,000 channels down their cable.

No harm in giving your provider a call. The simple request to remove the TV service will have them falling all over themselves to give you a better offer. As mentioned in one of my earlier posts, it's like pulling hen's teeth to get them to disconnect. It took over a month in my case. Getting hooked up is much easier. In most cases you can do it online, unlike getting disconnected where you have to phone them.

This link will allow show you where OTA transmitters are in your area. You just need to input your address.
http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?opti...pper&Itemid=29

EDIT: If you have a newer TV, chances are it already has an ATSC tuner built in, so you don't even need to buy the HomeWorx box I have for $60-70. So for an investment of just over $100 if you buy a good antenna with the HomeWorx box (which can be hooked to a hard drive & used as a PVR), you can give it a try before 'cutting the cable', so to speak. Don't know what your cable/internet/TV bill is, but it's likely more than $100 a month.