Have You Cut the Cord? Dropped Dish? Gone Streaming-Only?

Tech Bargains surveyed readeers and almost 30% have cut cable TV. Among the results of the survey:

What services do you use?

• 74% Netflix
• 61% Youtube
• 47% Amazon Instant Video
• 23% iTunes
• 22% Hulu Plus
• 18% Torrents
• 14% Other
• 8% VUDU
• 4% Blockbuster

I love infographics, and here's part of the Tech Bargains cord-cutting infographic:

Have you cut the cord?

Comments

[burrado]

Yes! Since moving 3 years ago, I did not get cable or satellite. I only have DSL for internet, with which I stream Netflix, Amazon Instant & other video. I also have an antenna for local broadcast (NBC/ABC/CBS/FOX/CW/PBS)

[Lethargicj]

I'd cut cord in a heartbeat but the rest of the family won't. But hey, fine let's just keep paying 170 bucks a month for a bunch of useless channels we don't watch.

Seriously, when the Viacom channels went off I was like OH NO. Then I looked at the list and there isn't a single channel on there that I watch. I think it's pretty sad that they could cut off nearly 20 channels and I don't miss a single show.

[whocares]

My basic cable was hooked up when I moved it. I tried to have them hook it up before moving in and they told me my house didnt exist.

That said, I almost never watch anything on it.

Maybe a half dozen basketball games a year.

Mostly I watch neflix streaming & NF dvds.

Still get the DVDs for new releases.

[FearNo1]

Sample size is too small. Since its a "bargain" site, it makes sense that the respondents were so negative towards cable/sat subscriptions.

[Joe Math]

Me thinks you don't understand how to use percentages....

[Tim]

Streaming and getting 3 discs instead of 4. I removed Showtime and HBO right away. I still haven't gotten rid of cable due to the sports.

[CordCutter]

I cut the cord 2 years ago. There were some upfront costs... I spent probably 800-900 bucks, but sadly that paid for itself after about 7 months of no cable bill. I bought a Dell Zino HTPC and hooked it up to my LG Smart TV in the family room. I then bought Rokus for the bedrooms and lifetime Playon subscription. I'm lucky enough to live near enough to a major city that I get ABC, FOX, CBS, NBC, CW, etc. all clear via an OTA antenna. I am also lucky that I get ESPN3 via my ISP without the need of a cable sub. I can even get it in the bedrooms via Playon on the Rokus. If I had to guess I would say 80-90% of the live sports on ESPN/2 are available via ESPN3. You just don't get the shows like Sportscenter (which I dont care about).

I utilize Netflix Streaming, Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime (although we use prime primarily for shipping and the lenders library). If I want to see a new movie bad enough I get it via HDX Vudu.

The HTPC and Playon are great. I can get full episodes of storage wars, american pickers, the client list (the wife, lol) and all sorts of other shows via the official websites. I can then sling it to the bedrooms with playon.

If you're curious look into an HTPC (the Zino is no longer sold by Dell, but you can build one/find one pretty easily)... check out Playon.tv (they were running a combo deal with Roku and a lifetime sub, not sure if they still are) and I'd also recommend the following wireless mouse/keyboard for your HTPC:

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Multimedia-Remote-Keyboard-N5901/dp/B0036VO67I

[David]

We use Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and we have OTA HD signal with a DVR.

[Retro Hound]

We never had that cord. My wife and I have never had cable or satellite in 20 years. We have Netflix 2 disc and streaming and with the library and over-the-air broadcast, that's really more than we need.

[Daniel]

What are these people watching on YouTube?

[moviegeek]

"What are these people watching on YouTube?"

YouTube has PPV movies and a lot of free content, I watch about 6hrs a week. My Blu-ray player has all the apps in the survey but I also have basic cable because I like sports, I have gone two years without cable in the past.

[Fred Talmadge]

I miss Speed Channel but it would cost me $70 a month for satelite to get it. I live in a rural area so no cable and not enough bandwidth to stream. So it's Netflix disks and antanae for me

[Andrew Markley]

I can't yet cut the cord. Reason: lack of subtitling/captioning support. iTunes and Netflix don't yet offer the option on _every_ product (foreign films not withstanding)

Which makes no sense whatsoever. Look at "Falling Skies"; it's fully captioned on TV but not in iTunes.

The extended version of LOTR trilogy isn't captioned even though the DVD collection is.

[Jack]

I have. Between Amazon Prime, Netflix, my own video collection ripped to MP4, and other channels on the Roku and PS3, I can get pretty much anything I'd care to watch.

My fiancee is on-board, and willing to try. Her son might be less eager, as he may want to watch the newest episodes of various Nickelodeon shows on the night they air, and that's tough to work out.

But I'm determined to find a way to make it work. Cable bills are stupid.

[Cyaneed]

You could torrent his shows the next day .

[nann]

We cut the cord two years ago when we needed to realign the budget due to job loss. We have had cable or satellite at various times over the last twenty years but this was the first time we did without either. We have business cable internet and stream netflix on that. We watch some regular broadcast channels (NBC and FOX) over the air. We get videos from the local library (an entire season of a show for 1 week for only $2). Yeah, it is going to suck not to be able to watch the full Olympic coverage but we really cannot afford to go back to cable or satellite.

[Tim]

Since moving into my new apartment a year ago, I only use Netflix (streaming + 2 DVDS). Though I wish I could get OTA. I'm too close to a mountain.

[Groggie]

"Me thinks you don't understand how to use percentages...."

Me thinks you don't understand that people can stream in more than 1 way.

[Kenny Johnson]

I'm a cord cutter.

What services do you use?

Netflix
Youtube
Amazon Instant Video
Crackle

And some others.

[danny2300]

i have cable and live in canada but i like netflixs better because you get to choose what5 to see i hope to get rid of the satalight soon but i dont care

[Adam Gott]

I was one of the cord cutters in their survey. We dropped Dish after the hockey season ended and I don't miss it that much. I have Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime and I even managed to snag all of the local channels by connecting my cable provider's (internet only) coax to the house.

I do miss the DVR but I do have a PC with windows 7 and a tv tuner so I get an almost DVR there.

[Jon]

Obviously this is not a scientific poll of the general public. Only people who visit Tech Bargains Website.

74% of their visitors use Netflix. Netflix has how many customers? About 35 Million. How many people have access to Netflix? At least 400 million. So APPROXIMATELY 8% of them use Netflix.

[Jon]

I would never cut the cord anytime soon. I love live sports and Fox News too much.

[eviltimes]

After a great deal of calm, rational conversation with my wife about the overall subject; we - without intervention - cut out Netflix Instant Watch and kept the "advanced HD" cable service from Comcast. We truly use it a great deal more than IW, and IW is mostly unwatchable garbage, anyway.
Still have the 3 BluRay disc from NF, too.
That, Amazon and the rare visit to a real movie theater satisfy our viewing needs.
I don't understand cutting the cord unless you need the money to eat. Nor do I understand why anyone would watch a film on a tiny screen after a decade of purchasing large 1080p units.

[b]

No way I am cutting the cord as doing so is very expensive. After all, the only two options are satellite such as HugesNET (very low daily cap of 100MB to 250MB, not even enough for one movie) or cellular ($2 per GB, ouch).

[Gobotron]

-Netflix streaming plus 3-discs.
-Amazon Prime.
I just bumped my plan to 3-out-at-a-time. I'll drop back to two discs in a few months probably. I only watch on my internet connectable TV, and the TV only comes on for discs or streaming something. I haven't had cable in almost ten years and completely abandoned turning the for local channels because of the poor reception five or so years ago. A side effect that has developed is that I absolutely can not stand being at another person's house with the TV on and having to hear the commercials or just being stuck with content that doesn't interest me.

[Gobotron]

*To me, cable and satellite are the same. I guess since I never had satellite, I forget it exists and always just refer to cable.

[CordCutter]

Nor do I understand why anyone would watch a film on a tiny screen after a decade of purchasing large 1080p units.

What? Apparently you aren't keeping up with the times.

[SMD]

Cut the cord 10 months ago, all I have is a Time Warner internet connection now. As much as I hate cable companies, they have the best price vs bandwidth around my area.

If I REALLY want to watch something, I'll get the Season Pass on iTunes (Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, etc). Using an AppleTV (3rd) and a macmini.

- Netflix (Instant Only)
- iTunes
- HBOGo (via parent's subscription)
- NHL Gamecenter (via ATV)

- Hulu sometimes.

Anything else I get OTA-HD

I looked into Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus, still don't offer enough for me to subscribe.

If you are thinking of cord cutting but don't think you can.... just do it. The savings will blow your mind. After about a week, you won't miss TV one bit.

Then when these stupid conflicts come up where channels are getting pulled from PayTV services (like Viacom vs. DirecTV) you couldn't care less.
Its doubtful I'll ever go back to Sat/Cable company.

[TJ]

Not going to cut the cord for the simple principle of not putting all of one's eggs in one basket. Should your Internet connection go down or get too slow for streaming (which happens too often in our neck of the woods), you're dead in the water. In our case with DirecTV, as long as we have power, we can watch. Besides, we refuse to give up live sports, in particular NFL Sunday Ticket! If you’re budget doesn’t restrict you, why cut your nose to spite your face?

[Jesse Carter]

My internet connection goes down as often as Satellite/Cable TV does. In other words, not very often. I also have OTA-HD and my small collection of movies and TV shows. Even then I can just rent a movie or a TV show through the Blockbuster store or the library. Those don't need Satellite/Cable or an internet connection. No matter what you choose though, there is always a risk/consequence. Personally I cut the cord a long time ago and haven't looked back since. While Satellite/cable TV doesn't restrict my budget, for me it's mostly unnecessary and cutting the cord gives me much more money to use towards better things.

I like my sports but OTA-HD, the radio, internet and the occasional friend's house or sports bar are more than adequate enough for my needs. I had Amazon Prime before it came with Amazon Instant Video so anything that it has is just icing on the cake. Mainly I use Netflix, but I also have Hulu Plus. By proxy it's a DVR for local access shows I missed on OTA-HD because I'm out of the house so often. Plus I get my money's worth with their Criterion collection and miscellaneous entire series runs or other certain TV shows that I can't get anywhere else.

Most importantly these services give me more control than Satellite/Cable in terms of what shows I want to watch and when. All three put together for a year cost less than what DirecTV used to charge me in a month.