Living Simpler: Lose the Cable

I have no statistics to back this up but I would imagine most people spend between $50-$150, and maybe more, for cable tv. I am clumping everything into the cable group that is not over-the-air broadcast tv. This includes standard cable, satellite, fiber... and anything else that requires a subscription.

Now I understand that alot of people out there have these big HD tvs and they want the best looking content to fill these screens and this is the reason for cable. Most believe that the only way to receive HD is through a subscription service... well i have a secret for you: YOU CAN GET HD TV FOR FREE!
"WHAT," you may be asking yourself, "I can get HD tv for free?" Yes you can and you do this by simply installing an antenna either the old fashion bunny ear type or a old fashioned antenna atop your dwelling.

Want to know another secret: The best looking HD content is that which arrives to every house freely over-the-air (OTA). In fact, it is this exact signal that these other companies, like satellite or standard cable, receive and then rebroadcast at a lesser quality. The best quality comes free!

Now I know there are other reasons for desiring cable such as the need for more content. OTA broadcasts only include ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW, PBS and then a dozen other smaller broadcasts that I have no desire for. There are many who "need" to have ESPN or some other random sports network but this desire can easily cost you over $100 a month which equates to $1200 annually! That is alot of money.

Katie and I decided to go the free route.

I mounted an antennae to our house and ran cable to our two TVs. One line goes to our TV in the bedroom and the other goes to our TiVo in the living room. This brings me to my next simplistic device: the TiVo.

Katie and I love our TiVo. Not only are we able to record seasons of our favorite shows but also have the ability to search youtube, podcasts and Netflix Instant Watch. The TiVo cost us around $200 and a monthly service fee of $12. Now I hate having to pay a monthly fee again but the ability to have a DVR record our favorite shows in HD is just worth it. Our lives our way to busy to actually sit and watch a TV show at it's actual airing time.

Through our TiVo and the fact that we live at the epicenter of the Entertainment Capital has turned us into TVaholics! We love good TV and probably love TV more then movies.  The TiVo makes it very easy for us to watch our favorite broadcast shows but for those shows that air on cable networks we use Netflix.

Netflix is another great way to save money. We our on the bottom tier service which gives us one disc rental and all the Instant Watch we can consume. Netflix is slowly growing their online library and the ability to watch our Instant Watch shows through our TiVo is a great thing.

For those who can say no to sports networks and the Disney Channel should take a look at OTA broadcasts. Its free!