Alternatives to cable tv

yup. we don't have regular cable anymore. we use hulu on the tv and laptops for catching up on network tv, and we use our roku box & netflix for movies. it's a significant savings and surprisingly it seems to offer us more options

The Roku is amazing. $10 a month for a ton of movies & TV shows right to your home, plus you can still get 1 NetFlix DVD to your home in case something isn't available for online streaming. Catching up with all four seasons of "My Name Is Earl" right now and will move on to some other goodies.

What is the basic box unit going for now? $79.99? A bargain compared to getting rolled for $60 a month from Buckeye. If you have a Wii/PS3/Xbox, you have the capability to stream movies from NetFlix w/o buying the box. All for $10 a month.

Bye bye Buckeye...

I'm curious about something. The whole reason I switched back to Buckeye is because of the spotty internet I was getting through AT&T. As a distance learning student, I have to have reliable high speed access. Admittedly, I haven't really taken the time to explore other options than Buckeye and AT&T. What other options, if any, have been successful for people here?

I cancelled my cable TV about a year ago. I now have just basic TV for the local channels and Netflix. I can also catch programs on Hulu from my computer if I need. Not a day has went by where I've missed having Cable and it's saved me roughly $700/year.

Buckeye Cable hasn't caused me any internet problems in the years I've used it. It's maybe went out twice during storms, and was back up and running within hours. I'm very satisifed with them.

I've never paid the long dollar for any cable package. With that said, I do have BEX basic local cable package, cost is $15.00 per month. I also carry the BEX 2.0 internet service. No complaints. I do wish I had ESPN during football season though. That is the only regret. I know if I had enhanced services that my per week viewing would increase and that is not something I want to happen. I don't think you can beat the BEX internet, price or performance. My .02 cents worth.

same here MI builder - i wish i had fox-d for red wing hockey but otherwise the basic package is all we need. i don't want my kids watching non-stop disney, i don't want endless baseball games. it does have cbc for HNIC, both local PBS stations, local stations in HD, and a handful of other stations - go to hulu from there.

Time WArner was the worst and most expensive service I have ever used. Buckeye and AT&T so far have been the best providers for us.

I love my 300 plus channels I get from Buckeye, though I'd like more of them in HD...

I dropped cable a little over a year ago to save money and kept buckeye internet access. Then about 3-4 months ago I ran the numbers and could get digital cable (not regular or anything special) for $5 more a month so did that. Only reason was for Chiller, BBC America and VOD, cause I really liked Fearnet after seeing it at my mom's place.

Otherwise same as other folk here. Hulu for TV shows, Netflix for the bulk of my video entertainment.

Would ditch the few channels I have but for $5 a month to see the new Dr. Who I'm content lol.

We switched to the newer AT&T UVerse deal (tv through your phone line) and love it. Was cheaper than the DirecTV we had and just as reliable. Buckeye's always seemed too expensive to get the channels I wanted.

Most of the TV I watch is on Hulu though. That website is a Godsend

taliesin52 - you live in Toledo? We've been waiting for that... we had signed up to be notified what it came to our area.

We live in zip code 43609 and have had AT&T UVerse for 2 years and really like it. Very reliable.

"Time Warner was the worst and most expensive service I have ever used. Buckeye and AT&T so far have been the best providers for us."

agree with the first, they have to send a guy out for everything whereas Buckeye would just turn off or on remotely what you needed off or on. Buckeye has GREAT support people for the net, haven't had to call TW for the net yet. AT&T have terrble customer service, my son has them downtown due to his phone service and it reeks, nothing but problems.

The Hub is the TV watcher and he does not compute so I expect I'll be paying the big bucks for a long time.

valbee, sorry no-one has answered your question, I think these are your only choices. :(

Read a book.....

AT&T have terrble customer service, my son has them downtown due to his phone service and it reeks, nothing but problems.

Have your son checkout buckeye telesystem for their Business phone service, its MUCH MUCH cheaper. We have about 5 lines here at work including internet, fax and long distance and my company saved about $400 a MONTH switching over.

As for home service, i use att and its perfectly fine, never any problems. I will be getting rid of Buckeye cable though just because of the expense (i've never had a service issue or customer service problem with them). I only watch the food network channel anyway. 8-)

I second Max. Turn off the idiot box, get a hobby, go visit your parents, spend the time with your kids, volunteer your time, ride a bike, throw a potluck, etc.

And in anticipation of a "Don't tell me how to spend my time" response, I will say why are you letting advertisers tell you how to spend it? Think about what you would do if the box wasn't there, and do that.

It reminds me off a song by the band "The Bravery", that included the line "Whenever I look back on the best days of my life, I think I saw them all on T.V."

People tend to get all reminiscent of the "good old days" but don't make any effort to create any, I am glad I am not one of them.

Reneekk - Yeah, 43615 near Sylvania Twp. It isn't in all of Toledo, but if you go to their website and type your phone number in it will tell you if its available. I love it. I have a coworker though who lives in Oregon and ordered it. However because he was as far from the hub for his neighborhood as he could get, his internet speed was a bit slower than he purchased and he couldn't have HDTV. I guess he's kinda screwed until they can get another hub nearby, so it all depends on where you're at in your neighborhood.

AT&T U Verse has been top notch since we've switched from Buckeye Cable. Programming shows/sports to DVR when at another location, logging into the site when in a wi-fi area, no dish needed, simply nice.

i'm glad for you if you like to read books... of course you were not reading books but surfing the net when you had time to piously tell others what they should be doing - irony, a popular tool of many people who write books.