Another Reason I Won't Use Comcast

There have been plenty of news reports about Comcast over the years, such as the time the company's so-called customer service kept badgering a customer who was trying to disconnect service. Well, as of late last year (2016), I think the company still has problems. Here's why...

In the last week of December, my wife -- that grandmotherly silver-haired fox -- was walking the house's adorable yellow lab in the 6200 block of Tennison Drive (ZIP 46236) when she came upon a tablet lying in someone's front yard. She looked around but there was no one in sight. Feeling that protecting the valuable electronics from the elements, accidents, or light-fingered pedestrians was the best option, she tucked it in a pocket and carried it on the rest of the walk.

Roku Streaming Stick or Google Chromecast: Why not Both?

Roku 3500R Streaming Stick

If you consider cable television’s combination of poor customer service, high prices and forced channel bundling; it’s no wonder many former cable customers have “cut the cord.” I did: tired after decades of paying a gigantic monthly bill for a channel bundle including more than 150 channels I didn’t watch, I bid AT&T’s Uverse farewell. I increased my internet speed, invested in antennas to capture over-the-air HD broadcasts and bought a pair of Google’s Chromecast sticks and two different Roku Streaming Players. 

Description and Installation of a Roku Streaming Stick

We installed a Roku 2 and a Chromecast on the television in our family room, a Chromecast in the master bedroom, and put a Roku 3500R Streaming Stick on the little TV in our exercise room. Roku’s stick can connect to any TV that has an HDMI port, which is different from a Roku 2 that can also connect with component inputs. It plugs directly into a female HDMI port on the television, drawing power either from the TV’s USB port or from a wall AC adapter.

Are You Ready to Cut the Cable? Entering the World of Streaming

I don't know about you, but one of the most irritating things about cable television is the "package." When we signed up for AT&T's U-verse service, we had to sign up for their U200 package to get the channels we wanted - SyFy, to be exact. We never signed up for HD, never watched anything on demand, and never added premium channels like Showtime and HBO. Yet after five years, our cable bill - not including internet - had crept up to well over $100 per month. Even more irritating, we were getting 300-plus channels, of which we never watched 275 and only glanced at 10 others a couple of times a year. Small wonder I'm in favor of a la carte pricing, since I got tired of subsidizing dozens of religious channels, fifteen flavors of ESPN, the golf channel, and the like. 

So we cut the cable three months ago: it's as simple as that - and you can cut the cable (or shoot down the satellite) yourself. It will require a little upfront investment, and probably requires rethinking the way you watch television as well, but I think it's worth it to never have to interface with the u-verse telephone support app again! 

Are You a Candidate for Cable-Cutting?

The way I see it, the people who are least likely to cut the cable are big-time sports fans and people addicted to shows on the premium networks. Anyone else can probably adjust, but a lot of real-time sports programming just isn't available to stream.