Cutting the cord - my journey into a cable TV free existence

I will start this entry with the disclaimer that I was unable to completely part ways with my cable provider, AT&T Uverse, as I have retained their services for high speed Internet.

2 years ago I switched from Time Warner to AT&T Uverse. When I first signed up for T.W. service 10 years ago, it was great, I got over 200 channels, phone and Internet service for about $70. Over time they gradually increased my rates after the initial discount period, and after I would call them and threaten to leave they would keep my business by offering me more services for just a little more money. After jacking your rate from $70 to $120, then backing it down to $90, you think you are getting a pretty good deal. This annual mating ritual continued until I just couldn't take it anymore when it approached $200 per month. 

AT&T came into the neighborhood with the promise of fiber optic speed and offerings similar to T.W. for a cheaper introductory price. So I kicked T.W. to the curb and brought in AT&T for about $130 a month. Fast forward a year after the initial honeymoon phase expired and the mating ritual began again. My bill had increased to $220. I called to complain and they gave me more TV than I could possibly watch in a lifetime. All of the movie channels and a top-tier selection of TV channels for the bargain price of $195 a month. They discounted my phone service $5 ($35 per month-$420 per year), and gave me 3 receivers with whole house DVR discounted $30 per month and waived the HD fee. We had a veritable TV, phone and Internet smorgasbord for around $2,340 per year.

So when March rolled around this year and my discounts started disappearing, my bill crept back up to $214. I finally decided that enough was enough, I was done playing this annual game of "what have you done for me lately and what can you do for me now?" A former fraternity brother of mine had started a company called Antennas Direct that encourages people to free themselves from the evil cable companies, and another friend of mine had already done this years ago, so I knew it was possible, I just had to get the strength and courage to take the leap. I talked to my family about the changes that would occur and got them on board, then did a bunch of research, and started the process.

Before I completely cut ties I wanted to make sure that this was a viable option for me, so I bought the Clearstream 2V-J3 hd antenna from Walmart for $100, I figured if it didn't work Walmart is really good about returns. I first tested it with a spare 25' coax cable, I simply connected it directly to my TVs, opened the window and set it outside, aiming it in the general direction of the KC towers that I obtained from the antennapoint.com website. I had to change the input source on my TV and "program" the channels which took about 5 minutes, but to my surprise and delight I was able to pick up all of the major channels and some not so major ones with the antenna just sitting on the ground, about 30 in all, and I am at least 25-30 miles north of the farthest tower on the other side of a large ridge. At that point I decided I was committed. 

Next I decided to immediately start saving about $370 a year on my phone service. I was paying $420 through Uverse, and we have cell phones, but don't get the greatest reception where we live. We have a Sprint Airrave terminal hooked up to our network in our basement to help with reception, but we like the idea of having a dedicated landline in case of emergencies. So I bought an Ooma Telo2 Voip phone system from walmart for $109 online with free shipping. It was an additional $40 to port our existing number, and I will be responsible for $3.83 in state taxes every month, but we should see immediate savings in the first year. I put in an order to port the number from AT&T, which happened within under 2 weeks, but during that time I was unable to make any other changes on my AT&T account because it was locked for changes "for my protection." Keep that in mind if you are wanting to reduce or cancel TV services, you would have to wait until the phone port was complete. But this gave me a couple of weeks to catch up on the DVR'd shows that I had not watched yet and would lose when I sent the DVR back to AT&T.

The DVR was one of the things I thought I would miss the most. I did some research and found some alternatives. Tivo seems to be the best alternative, but after an initial purchase of $150 - $600, I would be paying a $15 monthly fee for the service, which I wanted to get away from, otherwise what is the point in cutting the cord? You have to be careful or you could end up paying the same as if you were to just switch to another cable provider. Channel Master also offers a decent looking product with no monthly fee but a slightly higher investment in the box. If you are tech saavy you can rig a computer with a decent video card and large storage to do the same thing, but ultimately I decided to hold off on the DVR and see if we can live without it. So far we are managing just fine.

I am a bit of a sports fanatic and I was hesitant to do this because I didn't want to lose ESPN and the SEC network, but then I heard about and signed up for Sling TV. I paid for 3 months up front for $75 (includes the additional $5 sports package with SEC Network), and I got a Roku 3 for $50. I also bought a Roku Streaming stick at Walmart for $50, so I have those on the 2 main tvs that we watch the most. They work like Apple TV or Amazon Fire, you can stream online shows from Apps like Netflix, Hulu, Pandora and Sling TV, etc. Sling TV has no contract required, and you can watch it on a laptop or cell phone as well, the only draw back is that your membership only works on one device at a time. So if I am streaming the tournament games on my phone at work, and my daughter gets home and turns on HGTV on Sling, I get disconnected. I have contacted Sling and they said that streaming on multiple devices is a high priority for them to make available. We deal with it for now.

After the phone was ported I called AT&T to renegotiate my Internet service. They realized I was lost and offered me a pretty good deal on bundled TV and Internet that was going to come out to about $100 a month, but I stuck to my guns, and got a faster Internet speed along with my existing wireless router for $64 a month. I watched one last show on the DVR over my lunch break and by the time I got home from work they had turned off my TV service.

Finally I mounted the antenna on the outside of the house. I was hesitant to mount the antenna on the roof because I didn't want to drill into my roof and breach that seal, so I decided to mount it on the back side of the house under the eave facing south. I called Antennas Direct and they recommended it be at least 10 feet off the ground, otherwise it didn't matter if it was on the roof or on the side of the house. I got full reception on 2 of my 3 TVs so I thought I might need a pre-amplifier. After purchasing the pre-amp off Amazon for $50, receiving it in the mail, and setting it up, I realized it didn't solve the problem. I called Antennas Direct and explained the situation, they recommended a DISTRIBUTION AMPLIFIER. I ordered it online for $39.99 from Cascio Interstate Music in Wisconsin and received it in less than a week, it solved all of my problems. Now I am receiving all channels on all 3 TVs and I even get partial reception from the St Joseph ABC channel.

I might have been able to save another $20 per month by switching to T.W., but it was easier to stay with AT&T, and I have not been disappointed with the Internet speed. The alternate list of providers is woefully short in Liberty, MO. We do not have access to Google Fiber on the east side of I-35, and the only other provider is Time Warner, who provides decent speed at a fairly reasonable price to new customers, but when I called to ask a simple question, I was on hold for over 10 minutes with "Bob" who clearly spoke English as a second language, and I finally gave up and hung up. It is worth the extra $20 a month to not have to deal with T.W. customer service on a semi-regular basis.

In conclusion, my effort to cut the cord is complete and so far I have not missed it at all. I had to shell out about $450 worth of equipment and accessories up front, but I will save more than $1300 per year on what I was paying before, so the investment was worth the trouble for me.

Projects

Household projects seem endless. "It is always something" is a motto around our house. We finish one planned project only to have 2-3 more unplanned projects pop-up in the interim. Redo a master bathroom, shoot a hole in the cold water pipe on the last nail of the final trimwork and end up fixing the ceiling in the dining room where the water leaked. Replace the fence and realize a large maple tree in your backyard has died. Cut down the tree and try to figure out what to do with the stump. Plan to put in an outdoor rock patio and realize your driveway is cracked, settling and part of it needs to be replaced. Get a new AC and furnace installed and realize the siding on your house is in dire need of drywall repair and fresh paint. Redo the kitchen and now the carpet in the living room needs to be stretched. It literally never ends....if it does, I am pretty sure I will be dead.

Jul and Glogg

What a terrifiic Christmas weekend! It was kicked off with a traditional caroling "flash-mob" around Northpointe with ~23 of the neighborhood family adults and children. We celebrated Friday day at GGMa and GGPa's, then capped off the night with a traditional Norwegian Christmas celebration (Julaften) at the McNabney's with the Bowers family complete with pickled herring, swedish meatballs, smoked salmon and glogg. We woke the next morning to a dusting of snow and plethora of gifts under the tree. The kids all got Nintendo DSi gaming systems, so it was a relatively quiet day. Now they are off to St. Louis to meet with the Snyders and Fesslers clans. Good times. I am resting and watching a great KC football game. Go Chiefs!

Fresh

     Let's face it, fresh is almost always good and usually better. Especially when it comes to bakery goods, produce and seafood. Granted, some things like wine and cheese are better with time, but most of the time I want fresh. If my wife is fresh with me I know it is going to be a good day.

It's Frozen

     Kids say the darnedest things, often reducing a roomful of adults to tears without realizing what they have said that could have been so funny. I remember one particular event through the haze of my years in Goodland, I must have been about 10 and my younger brother Jacob almost 4.

Face Shapes

All 3 of my children are prolific if not seasoned artists, but some of the works are quite good. Our refrigerator door and other available real estate on walls and windows and floors often becomes their canvas, or serves as a backdrop for their masterpieces.

Zap!

I decided today I have had enough. The dry air is bad enough by itself without the static electricity I generate as I shuffle across the floor to grab the nearest metal doorknob, beloved family member, or dog. We have experienced enough shock treatment this winter to light a small village in northern Clay County.