Cable cost cutting savings

Just curious to hear others' thoughts on the actual cost savings of cutting cable and using HTPCs as an alternative.

I am wading into this world slowly and carefully; my kids are all under 5, and I don't have the time to jump in by building several HTPCs from scratch and doing all the tinkering that comes with the turf of setting up media servers and streaming and optimizing my home network. I need to make a good use case to my wife before she'll grant me the time and funding to build HTPCs, build home servers, set up all these streaming services, etc etc etc.

But, that is my goal - partially for the cost savings, and partially because I want to be able to do things like transfer content, stream content, and show relatives pictures and movies more easily than I can today.

So, I started with a proof of concept Dell Zino in our family room, which is the least used room in the house for media consumption, and I justified the purchase by downgrading my FiOS package ($15/month savings), getting rid of 2 of our TiVO boxes ($20/month savings), replacing 4 S Cards with 1 M Card for the remaining TiVO ($12/months savings), and getting rid of 1 FiOS STB ($6/month savings) we didn't use that I was too lazy to return. This justified the cost of the Zino to my wife.

But here's the rub. If I look at the cost of dropping the cable portion of my package entirely, the lowest tier internet which FiOS offers is $54.99/mo on the website. Maybe I can get them lower, maybe not.

The current promotion they offered me when I called to change packages had the lowest FiOS HD tier TV + internet bundle for $69.99 for 6 months and $79.99 after 6 months. If I stick with Verizon and fully "cut the cord", all I'm saving is an additional $15/month if I can't get a better deal on just the internet.

So the question for cord cutters - did you have so much equipment before cutting the cord (lots of HD DVRs, lots of TiVOs, every TV programming package and premium package under the sun) so the cost savings of moving to a HTPC solution was greater, or am I missing something in my calculus?

My thought for now is cutting the cord is overrated for cost savings but well worth it for the benefits of a well configured HTPC.

I think you hit on where I was going with my post. If you're cutting the cord, you absolutely still require a reliable internet connection. And while there are clearly many benefits to having a HTPC which are becoming easier to justify, its cost savings are not necessarily as great as people tend to advertise.

So like you, where I live comcast internet is $59.99, comcast internet + limited cable = $47. FiOS 15/5 internet is $54.99. FiOS 15/5 internet plus limited cable is $67.99. FiOS 15/5 internet plus Prime HD is $69.99. If I dropped to just internet from Verizon, and subscribed to Hulu+ and to Netflix, then my monthly 'cable' bill would be $70.99. And in that case, I'd rather pay for the lowest tier TV/internet bundle and I would be advertising to my friends the benefits of a HTPC, and not focusing on the cost savings element.

The big savings is, IMO, if you were "overweight" on services and add-ons for your tv and internet. My parents as an example - they have FiOS triple play ($99.99) plus 2 multi-room HD DVRs ($19.99/each) plus the full movie package ($35.99) plus some other online services I'm fairly certain they don't realize they're paying for. Their bill is over $200/month after taxes. If they went my route, they could cut that from $200ish down to $77ish.

Please explain in more detail #1. I challenge you to justify your statement. There are plenty of cheap internet options in my area, but none would allow typical internet usage as we use it (streaming 1080 video from the internet, potentially from multiple users concurrently, downloading movies from iTunes or other streaming services, working at home, Skype video with family, VOIP, photo and movie sharing with family who are not local) for less than $50/month.

In my area, Comcast's cheapest internet plan comes with a monthly cap on GBs and they throttle usage. It costs $45, but again, with severe limitations on usage.

DSL is available, but also at $24.99 for a 1.5 Mbps connection, how is that useful for the future when more services and online usage are going to require a faster connection?

Clear is available in my area, an 'unlimited' plan with probably 2-3 Mbps down and up to 1 Mbps up is $45.

You are missing the fact most people who would even consider a HTPC alternative probably consume more data and require more bandwidth, especially as more networks move to models like ESPN where they have direct on demand access through the internet.

I'm sure the situation and math is going to be different for every household, but at the same time, a large % of people thinking about cutting the cord would probably have higher internet usage requirements and MAY find the savings is not so great once they take into account the cost of internet only service from a cable company, the cost of additional cable replacement services like MLB.com, Netflix, Hulu, etc.

On your second point, I agree, but most people I read or know about who cut the cord did opt for Hulu+.

For my situation, what I found is the biggest cost savings is getting rid of all the bloat in my cable bill, and not necessarily in getting rid of cable altogether. We could, but at $15 additional savings from where it costs now, it's not worth it to me.

From other comments I don't think I'm missing anything, and everyone is validating my point about the overall cost savings not being in ditching cable entirely per se, but re-evaluating your usage and setting up your home to maximize the capabilities which benefit your household most.