2015 Cutting the Cord
In January 2015 I decided to stop paying Comcast for cable TV that's full of commercials. I know there are tons of articles and reviews on how to cut the cord, but I keep getting asked how I did it.
Here it is (all prices include tax):
Wireless Routers: Two ASUS (RT-AC68U) Wireless-AC1900 Dual-Band Gigabit Router for $180.00 each ($360 total) from Amazon. It's works like a dream and it's superfast. It's fantastic for HD video streaming. I bought two routers because wireless signal from one room to another greatly diminished.
Cable Modem: ARRIS / Motorola SurfBoard SB6183 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem - (SB6183) Retail Packaging - White from Amazon for $130. This is so I don't have to pay Comcast $10.00 to lease their cable modem.
HDTV Antenna: Winegard Company FL-5000 FlatWave HDTV Indoor Digital Flat Antenna - Made in USA from Amazon for $40. This is so I can watch the major sporting events (March Madness, NFL Playoffs, World Series).
Stream HD Video to TV: Two Chromecasts $35 each ($70 total) for TV in living and bed room. This is so you can stream HD Video to your HDTV wirelessly.
TV Programming: Netflix and HuluPlus subscriptions. Netflix has House of Cards and a lot of TV programming from previous seasons. Hulu Plus has current season programming for most shows. Both are $8.00 a month each ($16.00 total). HuluPlus is a better alternative than streaming shows through apps like ABC because there is are less commercials and you don't have to wait a week (vs 1 day) for the show to be unlocked for viewing.
WatchESPN app has an ESPN3 channel that you can stream to your Chromecast. The Live programming is crap, but you can get most games on replay (which is what I was doing with TiVo anyways)
I was paying an average of $190 a month for Comcast Cable, Internet, and TiVo. Now I'm paying $75 a month, saving $115 per month from the previous setup. Since I spent $616, my break even point is 5.4 months (or July 2015).
Most of the equipment I bought is future proof. Meaning that it takes future speed and technology upgrades into account. So far I'm super happy with my decision and my only complaint is I don't get SportsCenter.