I'll weigh in on the tv/cable/sat discussion. We had satellite for years but living in FL which has a rainy season so regular you can set your clock by it, we got sick of losing the picture. So we switched to Comcast (already had them for internet anyways) The picture was actually worse than Sat but it was more reliable. We eventually picked up all the services - the HD Triple Play, phone, tv, and internet. Till one day I started wondering where all my damn money was going. Then I saw the $170 cable bill and said F___ it. Cancelled everything but the internet and bought a Roku box to stream from the internet wirelessly to the TV - gives me Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime and about 300 other choices of stuff to watch. Bought an antenna for $20 from Lowes - that gives me 15 channels of crystal clear HD local channels over the air.
I paid for the top Roku they have - $99. One time purchase, no recurring charges, you own it. I also have 3 Subscription Streaming services...lets round it and say $25/month for all. Plus the Internet, which was $60/month till I called last week to get the faster service they're supposed to be offering. They said they couldn't give me the faster service in my area yet, but they'd give me another promotion, which is the same internet I have now for $30/month for a year.
In a nutshell, I went from $170/month, down to $55/month - still have cable internet speeds, still get all HD local channels, can still watch just about any tv show or movie anytime I want without PPV charges. Took a few weeks to get used to streaming, but to cut my bill by 2/3, it was worth it.
just got up about 45 minutes ago.
