Gyroscopic Investing

[quote=http://www.theverge.com/a/online-tv-stream-price-guide]

2015 is the year we can finally say goodbye to cable subscriptions and embrace online television.

Until now, internet services have largely catered to the back catalogs of older shows (Netflix, Amazon) or day-after replays (Hulu Plus). But even those companies are now creating award-winning original series, and services like Sling and PlayStation Vue have sprung up to offer traditional cable channels like AMC and ESPN live without signing long-term contracts with Comcast or Time Warner Cable. Hell, even HBO will very soon be available à la carte.

So here's the big question: can you "cut the cord" and still get all the television you want? How much will it cost you to do so? Our new internet TV guide should help you reach those answers. As new services come along and old services add more content, we'll keep updating this page. See something amiss? Got a suggestion? Like talking to humans? Let us know![/quote]

My problem is more that getting decent broadband at an acceptable stand-alone cost is impossible where I live and I'm sure that goes for many of us. Very very frustrating that there's so little competition.

iwealth wrote: My problem is more that getting decent broadband at an acceptable stand-alone cost is impossible where I live and I'm sure that goes for many of us. Very very frustrating that there's so little competition.

You can't do a HDTV antenna plus one of the streaming services?

It'd cost me $54/mo for standalone cable broadband internet, and it's $89/mo for a bundled cable+broadband package which includes twice as fast internet speed as the standalone version. There's some savings there, but I'd have to spend some time to determine what I'd be missing/gaining.

iwealth wrote: It'd cost me $54/mo for standalone cable broadband internet, and it's $89/mo for a bundled cable+broadband package which includes twice as fast internet speed as the standalone version. There's some savings there, but I'd have to spend some time to determine what I'd be missing/gaining.

I pay 54/mo too, which I don't feel is unreasonable. What's the speed they're offering you at that price. You really don't need much to stream video these days. 6 mbps should be more than enough.

I cut the cord a few years ago and have never looked back.  HDTV antenna (free) + Tivo Roamio ($15/month) + Netflix ($8/month) has provided plenty to watch.  I also recently hooked up a PC to the TV for certain sports and network streaming sites.  With a little research I can probably use that to ditch the Tivo in the long run.

My internet provider also presses very hard to get us to bundle TV back in (I swear we get a letter or email every other day) but I refuse.  I called last year to get a lower internet rate, and they told me the best deal was to get a TV/Internet bundle.  I had to ask for an internet-only deal several times (with a threat of leaving) and they eventually relented for a full year.  I'll probably have to call back soon to jump through the same hoops, but it's worth the effort.

iwealth wrote: It'd cost me $54/mo for standalone cable broadband internet, and it's $89/mo for a bundled cable+broadband package which includes twice as fast internet speed as the standalone version. There's some savings there, but I'd have to spend some time to determine what I'd be missing/gaining.

Ah yes thats the problem with double or triple play packages.  They price it so its a better deal than getting just standalone Internet.  In the triple play package, one of the three services actually becomes free at promo rates compared to standard rates (i.e. $33+taxes per service).  It makes it very difficult to junk the cable part if you keep re-asking for the promo rate every year.  If you're paying for standalone Internet and you pay an extra $20-$70 for like Sling, Apple or Vue, it'll cost more than a cable package with 200+ channels.  I don't see much incentive here for cable prices to go lower unless they start pricing the streaming services a lot lower.

Internet is $54 for 50 mbps

Local channels plus HBO and other on demand content is $16 more

I can't justify 'cutting the cord' for that price.

This isn't a promotion either, it is the normal price.

Pointedstick wrote:

iwealth wrote: It'd cost me $54/mo for standalone cable broadband internet, and it's $89/mo for a bundled cable+broadband package which includes twice as fast internet speed as the standalone version. There's some savings there, but I'd have to spend some time to determine what I'd be missing/gaining.

I pay 54/mo too, which I don't feel is unreasonable. What's the speed they're offering you at that price. You really don't need much to stream video these days. 6 mbps should be more than enough.

$54/mo for 15mbs vs 35mbs w/ the bundled deal. Just talked to my wife about it and she reminded me we also have a slightly discounted cable package as part of our HOA which brings down the bundle deal to $80/mo. So there's $26/mo of potential savings in there. This stuff is really down to a psychological science. $26 is just about the right number to lull me into complacency.

Pointedstick wrote:

iwealth wrote: It'd cost me $54/mo for standalone cable broadband internet, and it's $89/mo for a bundled cable+broadband package which includes twice as fast internet speed as the standalone version. There's some savings there, but I'd have to spend some time to determine what I'd be missing/gaining.

I pay 54/mo too, which I don't feel is unreasonable. What's the speed they're offering you at that price. You really don't need much to stream video these days. 6 mbps should be more than enough.

Article is a little old but I thought this had a bunch of interesting data in it for those with dial-up still.

http://royal.pingdom.com/2012/06/15/loa ... er-dialup/

1NV35T0R (Greg) wrote: Article is a little old but I thought this had a bunch of interesting data in it for those with dial-up still.

http://royal.pingdom.com/2012/06/15/loa ... er-dialup/

That's appalling... and nostalgic.  Doesn't HTTP 2.0 support built in compression?  That should help.

iwealth wrote: It'd cost me $54/mo for standalone cable broadband internet, and it's $89/mo for a bundled cable+broadband package which includes twice as fast internet speed as the standalone version. There's some savings there, but I'd have to spend some time to determine what I'd be missing/gaining.

Lucky you. I can't get ANY cable or DSL service where I live. It's only due to a stroke of luck that I can get anything resembling fast internet, namely LTE, for $90/month with a 60GB/month cap.