Just a stupid rant about "cord cutters"

[directv newb]

I was just in the mood to rant and I had no where to go to rant, so I came here I got an e-mail today saying my Time Warner internet monthly auto bill had been paid. I went into the e-mail and looked and my bill went up $5.00 a month. I will not get into all the specifics, there is no point. My mind just started thinking about all the people that use the term "I AM A CORD CUTTER", NO YOU ARE NOT!!!!!! There is no such thing as a cord cutter until you CUT the high speed broadband internet cable coming into your house. You have NOTHING without that cable, unless you go back to using a free OTA antenna, then you would be a true cord cutter. As long as the cable companies control the price of the broad band, you have NO control. If enough people cancelled cable and "STREAMED" their content the cable company could just raise their price super high for internet, or charge you per gig, wouldn't that be fun. There is no true "cord cutters" except those that use OTA antennas, and now my rant is over. Sorry for yelling

 

[Tampa8]

Many many of us have been saying that from the begining. Anyone who thinks the price of online programming and the internet connection itself would remain anything like it is now is foolish.

 

[Aridon]

/shrug most people are going to pay for internet and if they cut the TV cord they are still likely saving $50-$150 a month depending on what programming they had. Seems like they are winning while others are just.. well you know the word.

I pay Comcast $45 a month for 50mb internet which is more than adequate. D* gets $105 on top. I could easily save $1200 a year by cutting D* and downloading most of the crap I watch from private trackers or the websites. All for FREE. I keep D* for a number of reasons, none of which matter, but to imply that cord cutters some how get screwed or are doing it wrong by saving a c note a month just because they still pay for internet is foolish.

 

[Joe Diamond]

It is competition that keeps things going. Competition is expensive to those who choose to play and sometimes the loser goes out of business. But there was a time when the major TV OTA vendors thought they were the only game in town. Cable companies, likewise, thought they had their customers forever regardless of the quality of their product. This is where the rise of the cable cutters began. Cable customers were so angry about the low level of services they jumped from that service as soon as an alternative came along.
The competition that arrived was PrimeStar, a satellite service funded by the major cable companies. It was so good cable customers signed up wherever possible. They happily cut their cable from their buildings.
While PrimeStar was an improvement in service it was an early effort that would seem primitive when compared to what the two satellite providers compete to provide now. And the cable companies are trying to make a comeback. Having learned their lesson they have fixed their systems and are offering services that were just not part of their world when they began their businesses.
Today potential subscribers have many choices....including the ultimate choice....to cut all services, save much money and enjoy their silent houses. For those who wish to have one or two way communication the sources vary as do their costs but nobody should feel they are locked into any one provider.

Hooray!:I

Joe

 

[directv newb]

/shrug most people are going to pay for internet and if they cut the TV cord they are still likely saving $50-$150 a month depending on what programming they had. Seems like they are winning while others are just.. well you know the word.

I pay Comcast $45 a month for 50mb internet which is more than adequate. D* gets $105 on top. I could easily save $1200 a year by cutting D* and downloading most of the crap I watch from private trackers or the websites. All for FREE. I keep D* for a number of reasons, none of which matter, but to imply that cord cutters some how get screwed or are doing it wrong by saving a c note a month just because they still pay for internet is foolish.

I understand what you are saying, but as long as someone's "life line" is that broadband cable they are a slave to the cable, even if they have a cable t.v. package or not. You say you could "cut D* and download all you want for free", it is not free, it is the opposite of free. You are paying for that cable that comes into your house and gives you broadband internet. You say you pay $45/month to comcast, tomorrow they could change that to a "per gig plan" and you would have no say in it at all, and then you would be worried and watching every gig you used, and you would surely not use the term "free downloading" anymore. My point was simply that just because someone uses ROKU/GOOGLE CHROMECAST/APPLE T.V., ect.... they have attained NO REAL FREEDOM at all, it is just a mental trick, until you are free from the cable that feeds you, you are still in the Matrix.

 

[osu1991]

cord cutting is a misnomer, being used to apply to people cutting out traditional tv in favor of internet viewing or just OTA. There are savings to be had either way depending on ones viewing needs and preferences.

 

[directv newb]

cord cutting is a misnomer, being used to apply to people cutting out traditional tv in favor of internet viewing or just OTA. There are savings to be had either way depending on ones viewing needs and preferences.

Yes Sir I understand that, my point is that they may save a little now, but the one that owns the CORD ultimately controls it all!! You may call "cord cutting" getting rid of t.v. and just streaming and I understand that is just a term people are using. BUT I want people to understand that it is just that "a term" they are not really cutting anything and actually they are more enslaved to the "broadband wire" than ever!!! So instead of being called "cord cutting", it should be called "cable enslavement"!!! If my broadband cable goes out I can still watch my Directv and I am fine, If their broadband wire is cut or down, they have NOTHING.

 

[Mr Tony]

couple thoughts

-so if you are a true "cord cutter" according to the OP (You have NOTHING without that cable, unless you go back to using a free OTA antenna, then you would be a true cord cutter.) you wont be able to respond to this thread
-so the people who get free internet either by wifi, their neighbor, etc.....what are they? I don't have a internet bill (we have free wifi here at the apt complex) so I have no internet bill.
-folks who have slow DSL and can't stream really (when I lived in the house I had 1.5MB).....are they considered cord cutters as they really can't stream?

Yes I have Directv but it is heavily discounted (package free....all I pay for is HD & DVR). If I still lived in my house I wouldnt have D* (nor E* nor cable)

 

[Aridon]

Yes Sir I understand that, my point is that they may save a little now, but the one that owns the CORD ultimately controls it all!!

So let me get this straight, these people some how get screwed more than the people that have the same internet connection but also pay MORE for TV? They are laughing with the extra grand in the bank or more at people who are saying "yeah but you still need internet!"

Sure the data comes over the same cord, assuming you don't use some other provider like fiber vs cable vs dsl vs wireless or some combo. Doesn't in anyway change they are saving money for crap they don't have to pay for.

I applaud that. Enough people piss away enough money on stuff they really don't need. $100 a month over 30 years at 7% invested monthly in the market would net you over 121k.

 

[TheTechGuru]

Unless your TV has a built in OTA antenna and you're in the middle of the city for that to actually work, every source requires some kind of "cord" lol.

 

[Teehar]

Better cut that electric cable if you wanna be a true cord cutter.

 

[stardust3]

Better cut that electric cable if you wanna be a true cord cutter.

Plus get a horse & buggy.

 

[Jimbo]

Unless your TV has a built in OTA antenna and you're in the middle of the city for that to actually work, every source requires some kind of "cord" lol.

No TV's have a built in "ANTENNA", that said, EVERY TV since '07 has the ability to put an OTA antenna on it, most with varying results since the Government took the Analog signal away.

I have been using an OTA antenna since '99, along with D* and obviously internet.

 

[zim2dive]

For anyone who is able to "cut" their entertainment bill by ~$100/month by ditching pay TV service ... more power to ya.

every little bit helps.. the price increases for all the monthly bills (cable, cell, broadband, etc) are going up at an unsustainable rate.

 

[directv newb]

Better cut that electric cable if you wanna be a true cord cutter.

Lol, that would be the true cord cutter

 

[raoul5788]

Plus get a horse & buggy.

Preferably a Studebaker buggy!

 

[. Raine]

It's not always about the money, but quality. Our cable TV was horrible quality and they played the same stuff over and over and had countless channels of useless garbage. Our main reason for 'cord cutting' was quality, not money. Foolish to pay for something that isn't worth paying for when you can get better OTA, FTA, Roku, etc. Saving the money is a plus. I don't know how many countless times I sat down and went through every single cable station and could not find a single thing I wanted to watch. Not now, within a minute or so, I'm watching something good.

 

[raoul5788]

Hey A Raine, I didn't know we had another new guy here from CT!

 

[. Raine]

Yeah, just joined in August. Love this site, everyone's very friendly and helpful! A lot of people on here really know their stuff too!

 

[raoul5788]

Yup, lots of good people here. It starts at the top.