Cutting the Cord | A guide to getting rid of cable

 Cord cutting- a term that has popped up in the last couple years. What is it? The big argument with cable for a long time has been the cost for a bundle of channels you never watch. Now with all the new technology like Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire Sticks, Google Chromecast, Smart TVs, and more, it has revolutionized how everyone can watch TV. This change in technology has allowed for many digital services to pop up providing new options to replace, or “cut the cord” to your cable or satellite subscriptions.

Have you cut the cord and ditched cable? If you haven’t yet, here are some of the ways you can watch television and movies cable-free.

Keep it Old School

Some people just need the basics. With antenna technology you can easily get your network channels in HD (high definition) and for minimal cost. And with antennas you don’t even need any of the above-mentioned media hubs. If you do miss the idea of being able to watch shows later, there are Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) that can record over the air television. One suggestion is the Tivo Bolt at a reasonable price of $199.99.

The Head of Streaming

One of the great aspects of cord cutting is that you can take your entertainment with you as you can utilize your computer, tablet, or phone for viewing. The stalwarts that have got us to this point are Netflix, Hulu (now with live TV), and Amazon Prime Video (also includes all the other Amazon Prime perks). With these three enjoy full seasons of TV shows and movies.

The new frontier of these services is that they are now producing exclusive content which puts a new twist on cord cutting. If you want to watch the popular Handmaiden’s Tale or Stranger Things, you can only watch that with a subscription to Hulu or Netflix, respectively.

Watch it Live

If you want to watch your favorites from AMC, Comedy Central, FS1, etc. live, there are packaged services that are “cable light.” Buy smaller, more customizable packages at a fraction of the costs of cable with the likes of YouTubeTV, Sling TV, Playstation Vue, and FuboTV. Digital television services are becoming the standard that even DirecTV has entered the game with DirecTV Now. And as you see, it’s loaded with major companies like Google, Sony, and Amazon.

A La Carte

From all the premium options, basic cable, and network programming, nearly all offer direct streaming options. With premium options like HBO (HBO Now) and Showtime (Showtime Anytime), you will need to go through them directly or add them on services like Amazon Prime and Sling TV. But if you only watch a couple channels, this may be the best way to enjoy your content.

Free!

So far, minus using an antenna, all the services mentioned cost money. There are a few out there that are free. One of those is Crackle, a service provided by Sony. Watch movies and TV shows with commercials. We can also confirm you can watch episodes of the Great British Baking Show for free on the PBS App.

We recently did a poll on Nextdoor where we asked what people were using. Netflix was by far the winner, but in the comments, there were a lot of people that were very proud of their antenna use. Cheers to them. Let us know what you use and what you like/ don’t like.