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Is anything other than basic cable / DBS worth paying for?

post #1 of 14
4/2/11 at 3:17pm
Thread Starter 
I'll be moving into a new apartment soon where Comcast and FiOS will both be available. It will also be my first time buying a TV. For a long while I had the idea that anything beyond basic cable was worthless, as they're mostly channels that have crap on all day long except for one or two things you might want to catch. For this reason I planned to get basic cable and build an HTPC for recording clear QAM and streaming videos over my network. However when looking at FiOS's internet + TV bundles and their guaranteed 2-year price, and considering the cost of an HTPC build vs. a FiOS DVR and a cheap media streamer to handle everything else, it seems it wouldn't cost much more at all to get full cable and their DVR.

So I pose the question to you: do you feel the full cable package is worth it? Do you find enough interesting programming and HD content that you would miss if you didn't have it? Or is 90% of your viewing time spent on the major local networks? I don't watch many major sports and don't care about channels like Versus or ESPN, so that's one factor that can be eliminated.

Thanks!
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post #2 of 14
4/2/11 at 4:14pm
How else would I watch Jersey Shore?
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post #3 of 14
4/2/11 at 4:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hdtec View Post

I'll be moving into a new apartment soon where Comcast and FiOS will both be available. It will also be my first time buying a TV. For a long while I had the idea that anything beyond basic cable was worthless, as they're mostly channels that have crap on all day long except for one or two things you might want to catch. For this reason I planned to get basic cable and build an HTPC for recording clear QAM and streaming videos over my network. However when looking at FiOS's internet + TV bundles and their guaranteed 2-year price, and considering the cost of an HTPC build vs. a FiOS DVR and a cheap media streamer to handle everything else, it seems it wouldn't cost much more at all to get full cable and their DVR.

So I pose the question to you: do you feel the full cable package is worth it? Do you find enough interesting programming and HD content that you would miss if you didn't have it? Or is 90% of your viewing time spent on the major local networks? I don't watch many major sports and don't care about channels like Versus or ESPN, so that's one factor that can be eliminated.

Thanks!

You're the only person who knows the answer to this question. If you don't watch a lot of sports, you may well be able to get along just fine without subscription TV, between OTA & Internet.
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post #4 of 14
4/2/11 at 5:43pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken H View Post

You're the only person who knows the answer to this question. If you don't watch a lot of sports, you may well be able to get along just fine without subscription TV, between OTA & Internet.

Yeah, I know this is a very personal decision, but I was curious to hear some opinions of the channels that are available, since I don't know much about them. Channels like HD Theater, NatGeo, Discovery, Food Network, etc. may have interesting things we would like to catch, or it could all be boring. I already know we could get along fine with just basic cable, but given the smaller price difference than I expected, I'm seeing if I can find any justification.
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post #5 of 14
4/2/11 at 5:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hdtec View Post

Channels like HD Theater, NatGeo, Discovery, Food Network, etc. may have interesting things we would like to catch, or it could all be boring.

Well, you know what they say; one person's silk purse is another's sow's ear.

I find interesting programming on a number of channels, like History, Food, and Discovery, but have no interest for any program on HGTV.
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post #6 of 14
4/2/11 at 6:12pm
I would certainly learn what may be available to you by using an antenna for over-the-air reception. The TVFool website can give you an idea of what is available free. Also, search the individual channel call letters to find out what sub-channels they may be carrying. A PBS sub-channel, that I can't receive via satellite, is one of my most watched.
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post #7 of 14
4/2/11 at 6:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hdtec View Post

Yeah, I know this is a very personal decision, but I was curious to hear some opinions of the channels that are available, since I don't know much about them. Channels like HD Theater, NatGeo, Discovery, Food Network, etc. may have interesting things we would like to catch, or it could all be boring. I already know we could get along fine with just basic cable, but given the smaller price difference than I expected, I'm seeing if I can find any justification.

Well if just want basic cable why even do that and go with an antenna? As far as some of those cable networks. Many of them have a few full episodes online so that might give you an idea if there is anything interesting to watch.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.co...?channel=60850

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food-netw...eos/index.html

Unfortunately Discovery and all it's sister networks( TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel ) are to stupid to put full episodes online.

even cable channels like USA, TNT and TBS have full episodes online of some of their shows. Though not all. For example USA doesn't have full epsidoes of Burn Notice. They might as well be saying "feel free to download our show with torrents"
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post #8 of 14
4/2/11 at 7:54pm
It's not worth it unless there is specific programming you want that isn't available elsewhere. You could see this graphically using a website titantv.com. There, you can build up a list of channels and see what's on them for a week out.
Personally, I have about 90 reliable OTA's and a basic DN package integrated, plus an HTPC. I can't watch more than that and still hold down a job.
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post #9 of 14
4/2/11 at 8:13pm
To the OP -

Only YOU can answer this question for yourself. I find some cable programming enjoyable / informative to watch, and some that I won't even bother to look at (i.e. infomercials ) But then , I can also say that about some OTA network programming (Survivor).
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post #10 of 14
4/3/11 at 4:26am
Your HTPC would be a one time expense and FIOS would be high payments every month. Also you can get the Channel Master 7000 dual HD tuner DVR for $300 that works with OTA. Also get Netflix for $10 a month and you will have plenty to watch. What ever cable show you want to see will be online or on DVD later down the road. I've been OTA and DVD only since 2008.

Sports in HD is the biggest reason for having pay TV.
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post #11 of 14
4/3/11 at 5:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hdtec View Post

I'll be moving into a new apartment soon where Comcast and FiOS will both be available. It will also be my first time buying a TV. For a long while I had the idea that anything beyond basic cable was worthless, as they're mostly channels that have crap on all day long except for one or two things you might want to catch. For this reason I planned to get basic cable and build an HTPC for recording clear QAM and streaming videos over my network. However when looking at FiOS's internet + TV bundles and their guaranteed 2-year price, and considering the cost of an HTPC build vs. a FiOS DVR and a cheap media streamer to handle everything else, it seems it wouldn't cost much more at all to get full cable and their DVR.

So I pose the question to you: do you feel the full cable package is worth it? Do you find enough interesting programming and HD content that you would miss if you didn't have it? Or is 90% of your viewing time spent on the major local networks? I don't watch many major sports and don't care about channels like Versus or ESPN, so that's one factor that can be eliminated.

Thanks!


Those 2 yr packages are a good deal. You can get it, and at the end of 2 years, switch to Comcast for their package. However keep one thing in mind. If you use Verizon's e-mail domain, you will need to change it when switching to cable. So try to use a universal email like google or msn that does not depend on what carriers you use.
Also if you need phone service usually you can keep the same # when you switch providers.
Sometime there is stuff on cable/FIOS that is interesting to watch.
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post #12 of 14
4/3/11 at 5:35am
Ditto on the personal choice fact!!
What are you using for internet service?
From your comments you can get along with only basic cable but remember if you only take basic you won't qualify for the deals as a new customer (if you stick with cable).
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post #13 of 14
4/3/11 at 10:06am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jedi Master View Post
Your HTPC would be a one time expense and FIOS would be high payments every month. Also you can get the Channel Master 7000 dual HD tuner DVR for $300 that works with OTA. Also get Netflix for $10 a month and you will have plenty to watch. What ever cable show you want to see will be online or on DVD later down the road. I've been OTA and DVD only since 2008.

Sports in HD is the biggest reason for having pay TV.
Yeah, I considered the one-time expense vs. higher monthly bill thing, and that's the reason I've wanted to build an HTPC in place of a STB for a long time. However, the HTPC and DVR kind of break even over a 3 year period, at which point I'd probably be putting more money into the HTPC anyway. I'm not sure it really saves me any money. So at that point I need to just look at the monthly bill, which isn't all that higher than basic cable + internet due to FiOS's good bundles (for two years anyway).

Quote:
Originally Posted by mikepier View Post
Those 2 yr packages are a good deal. You can get it, and at the end of 2 years, switch to Comcast for their package. However keep one thing in mind. If you use Verizon's e-mail domain, you will need to change it when switching to cable. So try to use a universal email like google or msn that does not depend on what carriers you use.
Also if you need phone service usually you can keep the same # when you switch providers.
Sometime there is stuff on cable/FIOS that is interesting to watch.
Yes, I was thinking the same, attempt to renew the bundle at that time or drop the cable service if we can't get a price we like. We both already use Gmail so we're good on that. Really I'm just thinking about shows my girlfriend likes that she will miss. It seemed like a no-brainer when the price gap was $50-$60, but when it's only about $12, it seems like less of a big deal.

The other thing here is I'm really tempted by FiOS's symmetrical 25 Mbps internet package. I know I don't need it and it would jack costs another $15/month but it sure sounds nice.
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post #14 of 14
4/3/11 at 1:31pm
A few more ideas:

TiVo with lifetime service for either Limited or Extended Basic (from either FIOS or Comcast - you'd need a CableCARD) and internet, then you can stream Netflix (Blockbuster, Pandora, Live365, etc.) with the TiVo.

You could also use the TiVo for OTA, or a Roku or Blu-ray player for streaming.
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