So, I have this life philosophy I live by: “It’s what we allow ourselves to accept”. Now this has many meanings. If we allow ourselves to pay $700 a month rent for a one bedroom apartment, then it will continue to happen. If we allow ourselves to pay $2.00 for a glass of tea at a restaurant, then it will continue to happen. If we allow ourselves to pay $50 bucks for a hair cut, etc, etc…..which brings me to my point. If we allow ourselves to pay $80 bucks plus for cable television, it will continue to happen.
So, I’m cutting the cord. I am shutting my cable off. Have you seen the reception you get with an antenna since the digital conversion? Quite impressive. Broadcasts coming to your TV at 1080i (if you have an HDTV). Looks fantastic! Do you realize that the majority of the TV shows that come on can either be viewed online for free, or you can download from iTunes, or Zune Marketplace? Hulu and Fancast have thousands of TV shows for your viewing pleasure. Some old, some new, for FREE. Netflix now has streaming services of TV shows and movies for around $9 bucks a month. With all of these services out there, why in the world would I continue to pay $80 bucks a month for about 100 stations that I will never watch, when I can get all of my viewing pleasure for practically free? Sure it will have its drawbacks. Sports: Most sports programming comes on stations like ESPN. Luckily, I’m not that big of a sports fan, and can get my fix with the sports programming that comes on the local channels. News: Cutting cable would stink for a news junkie. There is not a good alternative to a news channel without cable. I can live without it, but CNN and FOX news will be something that I miss. Real Time: This is probably the biggest drawback. With services like iTunes and Hulu, new episodes are generally it not put up for viewing or downloading several hours or days after the show airs. Basically this means that you have to avoid all human contact until your show is available, and you are the last to know what happens. Still, this is a small price to pay vs. the cable bill.
So my antenna is installed (granted it cost me a trip to the doctor, and to be on crutches for a few days), I have my 32 digital channels programmed, and iTunes raring to go. How will it go once I shut down the cable? I will post my progress here, so check back often for updates.
Until next time,
–Kev
