Over 6 years ago, I cut the cord. For the following 3 years, we enjoyed OTA with Tivo, Netflix, YouTube and Hulu, etc... We took advantage of the savings and enjoyed the new TV and equipment we were able to purchase in lieu of paying for cable. After 3 years cable free, we moved and were offered a promotion as a "new customer" and plugged back in.
For the last 3 years, we have been enjoying 50Mbps Internet + Cable TV + DVR from Time Warner Cable here in Raleigh, NC.
{INSERT FRUSTRATING RANT HERE REGARDING RECENT EXPERIENCE WITH BILL JUMPING TO OVER $150/MO}
I decided to cut the cord again. The day of the issue (yesterday), I cancelled all accounts and all services.
I went to Best Buy on the way home and picked up the following equipment:
Tivo Roamio 1TB OTA $399.99
Mohu Leaf 50 $59.99
Netgear DOCSIS Cable Modem $59.99
Apple TV $89.99 (with Sling TV signup promo)
Total: $609.96
Straight out of my old playbook, I called Earthlink and ordered the latest promotion for 100Mbps internet (currently $39.99/month for 6 months with no contract, up to $49.99 after 6 months). Process was simple and easy. Called with my new cable modem MAC Address and service was activated in minutes.
6 years ago, we were pretty early adopters. I put a significant amount of time into researching how to do this. Granted, I have done it before, I am impressed with the ease of getting this done (literally in a matter of hours we were up and running -- watching a DVR of one of our favorite shows after putting the kids to bed). I want to credit Best Buy having all of the equipment in stock, Earthlink for the ease of placing the internet order.
We are still subscribed to Netflix, so nothing to do there, but wanted to record services and rates:
Tivo Guide $0.00/month (Free for life with Tivo Roamio OTA)
Netflix $9.99/month
SlingTV $25.00/month (Orange+Kids Extra for Disney Junior)
Total: $34.99/month
Total Monthly with Internet: $74.98, $84.98 after 6 months, No contracts
This give us a 9 Month payback on equipment assuming a $150/month alternative and ~$1700 additional savings over then next 3 years.
Overall, I'm impressed with the experience. The Leaf antenna is excellent and installs flat. No issue with signal across major local networks (CBS, ABC, NBC, etc...) Tivo Roamio OTA 1TB is very simple and intuitive (much like previous Tivo experience). Netflix, YouTube, Hulu and other streaming providers are integrated.
The only thing missing from this setup is SlingTV integration with Tivo Roamio OTA.
Never looking back...