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Saturday, May 12, 2012

Cutting the cable ... revisited

    Yes, I know. It's been a long time since I have made a blog post, and for that I apologize. No, I have not given up on this blog, and yes I still plan to update regularly. If I could make a living running a blog, I would. Still bills need to paid, and with a son in collage those bills add up fast. Work comes first, and unfortunately for the blog, it has paid a heavy price for my absence. After more than a month, i'm back!



    On to the subject at hand, "cutting the cable", or as I like to call it, digital salvation.

    Back on the 29th of February I posted about watching cable online. I had a lot of fun with this and I still have not returned to cable television. While the CEO of HBO may call it "just a fad", I can tell you that at my place of work, myself included, many people are cutting the cable. I will admit that I have had a hand in that decision.

    The fact is, I save nearly $100 per month, or roughly $1200 per year just by streaming all of my content. I even have HBOgo, without cable T.V.. The trick? Find someone who has cable that will let you use their account. Since my server is really just a Ubuntu Linux PC, I just switch the T.V. over to the Linux box and open a browser. Easy-peasy.

    The reality, I have only used it twice. Once to watch "Star Trek II:The Wrath of Khan" and once to watch the Bill Maher show. Everyone says I should be watching "Game of Thrones", but I have yet to. Really, I am just not that interested in it.

    I have also backed up all of DVD's to my server, and thanks to the Plex Media server I no longer have to worry about scratched disks. All of digital entertainment is now on demand, and "mostly" commercial free. Hulu still has commercials, but honestly, I don't mind.

    I did not choose to "Cut the cable" to get away from commercials. I cut the cable to get away from the high cable bills.

    I am not sure if you've seen this yet. It's called Ora.Tv. Apparently its a new "broadcaster" for internet based T.V.. I know what your thing, "Oh great, more crappy programming". From the press releases and interviews I have been able to find, it seems legit. Seems they even got Larry King out of retirement for this venture. Its not open to the public yet, but it will be later this year. Personally, I can't wait.

    If you just must have some kind of broadcast television for whatever reason, just remember that cable companies also produce an unencrypted feed for free if you subscribe to their internet service. I recently discovered this. I get all of the "Basic" channels with out a bill, imagine that. Granted they are not in hi-definition, but you can always get an DTV Antenna to get those.

    I am at almost a year without cable, and I really can't see going back.

    Until next time ... 

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