Anklo blog

A couple of weeks ago I finally bit the bullet and cancelled our cable service. Almost. Well, not really the same way as I expected. The original vision was to drop all cable TV service and replace it with a combination of OTA using an antenna and internet streaming of Netflix, Hulu, etc.

I even bought the antenna and did some experiments with it attached to a step ladder on the patio. The results weren’t bad, but it was obvious that the antenna needed to be higher for good, stable picture quality. I’d still have to the get the signal cable routed, and so on, and so forth, and the PITA factor was increasing. This pushed me to make a modification of the plan.

For the short term, and maybe longer, I’d accept paying about $8 a month to get broadcast cable. That would get me all the local channels, including HD, on all the TVs with no work required. That’s a deal I can live with for quite a while. The internet piece would remain as is. All I had to do before turning in the DVRs was wait for American Idol and the Women’s CWS to complete, so as not to be a total ass in the eyes of the kids.

When the day came, I called the cable company and told them I wanted to downgrade to broadcast cable and keep internet access. I expected to get price reduction offers or at least a half-hearted interrogation, but there was nothing of the sort. Just a polite “Your new monthly bill for broadcast cable and internet will be $63. Is there anything else I can do?” and it was done.

That night the DVRs were offline, as expected, internet was still working, as expected, and I had all the local channels, as expected. What wasn’t expected was the continued accessibility of the basic cable channels. Hmm, did they misunderstand my request? I wanted the $8 a month broadcast package, not the $60 basic package. So, the next morning I loaded up the three DVRs, remotes, and power cords and make the trip to the cable office (literally across the street from my neighborhood) to return them. And to make sure I’d gotten the right cable subscription.

I explain that I downgraded my service and I need to turn in the equipment. The very pleasant clerk gets my info, scans in the serial numbers, then asks about the cable modem. I reply that I’m keeping internet access along with broadcast cable. She looks at her system again and gets a puzzled expression on her face. She asks if the cable worked last night and I reply that it did, and it still is this morning. She says that the system shows that I only had internet service, that there had been a work order in the system to come to my house, and that the work order had been closed out. She shrugs her shoulders, types a bit, then says that I’m good to go with broadcast cable and internet.

As another bonus, I switched my ISP (all the same hardware and service, nothing more than a billing change in the cable company’s system) and saved another $15 a month for a year. My lucky day.

So, it’s done, I’ve got more cable channels than I expected, and I paying less than I expected.

Just ran across one of the best quotes regarding money that I’ve ever read. From an article by Mark Chafkin at Inc.com comes this quote:

“Money is like gasoline during a road trip,” he says. “You don’t want to run out of gas on your trip, but you’re not doing a tour of gas stations. You have to pay attention to money, but it shouldn’t be about the money.” – Tim O’Reilly

In the previous post, I mentioned that the LCD rear projection TV is broken. Here’s what broken looks like.

There’s the intense, overpowering blue in the corner with the comet-like tail extending to the right. Don’t overlook the oval haze covering most of the left half of the screen.

It’s a Sony design problem with all of their LCD rear projection TVs. All you really need to know is that the repair is cost prohibitive and my $1800 TV is worthless after five years of service. Sony will never receive another dollar from me.

Turns out that the decision was the simple part of the process of dropping cable. Providing a semi-convenient video substitute to each of the viewing areas is the hard part. Let’s begin with a description of the current setup.

Family room: 42″ LCD rear projection HDTV (broken), DVD player, and TWC HD DVR. Bonus room: 27″ CRT TV, TWC DVR, DVD player, and Wii. Bedroom: 32″ LCD HDTV and TWC HD DVR.

In summary by gadget, three TVs each with a DVR. Two are HD and one of those needs to be replaced. The CRT doesn’t have a digital tuner. Note than none of these currently have a computer attached and only the bedroom TV has a VGA input. Also, all the computers we own are Macs, three of the four are PPC, and the lone Intel is Maria’s laptop (original Core Duo Macbook circa 2006).

Issues per room: Family room has digital tuner and DVD player, but no source for internet streaming. Bedroom has digital tuner and can accept laptop for streaming, but no DVD player. Bonus room has DVD and Netflix streaming via Wii, but no generic streaming and no digital tuner (so no OTA). Don’t forget that none of the rooms has a DVR substitute.

What all this means is that I’m going to have to spend money on gadgetry in order to save money on monthly cable fees. I’m okay with that, but it means there are a lot of options to consider and choices to be made.

Started the 30-day free trial with Netflix and yesterday we received the first DVD, “No Country for Old Men”.

Also in the mail was the disc for streaming Netflix to the Wii. Easy peasy. Pop the disc into Wii and load it. You’ll see an activation code. From a computer, log into your Netflix account and input the activation code. Boom, you’re ready to watch instantly. Browsed a few titles and, since Kinnamon was in the room, I picked “The Munsters” for the first test.

To my amazement, K was not impressed by Herman, Lilly, Grandpa, and Eddie. Kids today, sheesh. However the Wii streaming was excellent. I think the Netflix portion of the TV solution is going to work out nicely.