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OT - Cutting the Cord

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OT - Cutting the Cord 

Post#1 » by ReasonablySober » Sun Apr 29, 2012 6:58 pm

Some of you (I know Newz was interested) may remember a while back a a discussion on ditching cable/satellite. I would have, long ago, were it not for sports. If you want to watch your local teams, a cable or satellite provider is almost a requirement.

But I said I was going to investigate a VPN service that would allow me to have an IP outside my market. A couple months ago I started using what is consistently considered one or the best VPN services out there. I signed up for both an international (Netherlands in particular) IP (for torrenting TV and movies) and domestic IP. I've been using it consistently and it works great.

But starting last night I ordered a month of MLB.tv so I could watch Harper and Trout when they were on. The service is the best there is for sports. If you're a baseball fan it's a must have.

But they key to everything came today, when I wanted to see if I could use my domestic IP to watch the Brewers.

First I tried it without the VPN on the oft chance I was considered out of market. No dice, I was blacked out here in Eau Claire.

Then I connected to my VPN. It gave me an IP based in Alaska. I tried again, and up popped the Brewer game. Even over the bandwidth limited VPN the broadcast looked beautiful. Gamechanger. The next step will be to get a VPN friendly router so all my devices (Apple TV, iPad/Phone, 360) will work over the VPN and I can watch broadcasts on my TV.

I move from my current place in a month. When that happens I'm gonna use it as an excuse to dump DirecTV. I'll use an antenna to pick the local HD feeds. In the fall I'll order Sunday Ticket for the Packers, and in the winter (maybe) I'll order League Pass and the college basketball equivalent.

The total cost will still be far less than what a cable/satellite package is, and I'll be able to watch more sports than I ever was able to before.
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Re: OT - Cutting the Cord 

Post#2 » by humanrefutation » Sun Apr 29, 2012 8:18 pm

Thanks for sharing, DB. That was really interesting.

I will say, though, with the amount of TV shows you can find streaming online, it's not too hard to get away from cable if you don't feel the need for it. But, sports is another thing. Question, though: I'm guessing that you'd need a PS3 in order to access Sunday Ticket/MLB.TV/League Pass on your television, am I right? I don't have a PS3 right now, so is there a way I can access it on my TV without paying for one?
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Re: OT - Cutting the Cord 

Post#3 » by jeremyd236 » Sun Apr 29, 2012 8:36 pm

I thought this was a belly button thread
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Re: OT - Cutting the Cord 

Post#4 » by ReasonablySober » Sun Apr 29, 2012 8:46 pm

humanrefutation wrote:Thanks for sharing, DB. That was really interesting.

I will say, though, with the amount of TV shows you can find streaming online, it's not too hard to get away from cable if you don't feel the need for it. But, sports is another thing. Question, though: I'm guessing that you'd need a PS3 in order to access Sunday Ticket/MLB.TV/League Pass on your television, am I right? I don't have a PS3 right now, so is there a way I can access it on my TV without paying for one?


The leagues each offer their products to a variety of devices. MLB is supported on the PS3, Roku, Apple TV, 360, Android and iOS devices. NFL Sunday Ticket is available on iOS and most Android devices, along with the PS3. I know League Pass is available on iOS devices, but I'm not sure about elsewhere.
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Re: OT - Cutting the Cord 

Post#5 » by Newz » Sun Apr 29, 2012 8:52 pm

I think Apple TV has all three now, doesn't it?

Apple TV, IMO, is Apple's best product right now.
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Re: OT - Cutting the Cord 

Post#6 » by drew881 » Sun Apr 29, 2012 8:59 pm

humanrefutation wrote:Thanks for sharing, DB. That was really interesting.

I will say, though, with the amount of TV shows you can find streaming online, it's not too hard to get away from cable if you don't feel the need for it. But, sports is another thing. Question, though: I'm guessing that you'd need a PS3 in order to access Sunday Ticket/MLB.TV/League Pass on your television, am I right? I don't have a PS3 right now, so is there a way I can access it on my TV without paying for one?


I agree with this. If you know exactly what you want to watch, and don't want/need to flip around (a time suck for me), streaming is the way to go. I realize we aren't supposed to talk about sites on this board, but they are plentiful, and easy to find. Watching a Brewers game or something even more random during the day might be tougher, and you might be left high and dry, but I'll take my chances on streaming sites, and if there is something local I really need to watch that I can't find, I'll head out to a bar.

There are so many better things one can spend money on than cable. If I had cable I'm sure my hourly TV usage would go up, but I wouldn't necessarily be watching things I need to see.
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Re: OT - Cutting the Cord 

Post#7 » by aboveAverage » Sun Apr 29, 2012 9:23 pm

I came really close to cancelling this month, but Charter offered me a price for both cable and internet that was only about 20 bucks more than if I just had internet alone. So I think that's still a decent deal.

Call your cable company and threaten to cancel first. You can get a huge knock off of your price.
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Re: OT - Cutting the Cord 

Post#8 » by El Duderino » Sun Apr 29, 2012 9:28 pm

I get cable/internet/phone/DVR for 65 dollars a month.
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Re: OT - Cutting the Cord 

Post#9 » by aboveAverage » Sun Apr 29, 2012 9:32 pm

El Duderino wrote:I get cable/internet/phone/DVR for 65 dollars a month.

Where do you live?
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Re: OT - Cutting the Cord 

Post#10 » by MikeIsGood » Sun Apr 29, 2012 9:38 pm

El Duderino wrote:I get cable/internet/phone/DVR for 65 dollars a month.


What type of goat have you been slaughtering?
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Re: OT - Cutting the Cord 

Post#11 » by El Duderino » Sun Apr 29, 2012 10:05 pm

aboveAverage wrote:
El Duderino wrote:I get cable/internet/phone/DVR for 65 dollars a month.

Where do you live?


Greenfield, a few miles outside of Milwaukee.

I was with Time Warner for awhile and after my last 12 month deal with them expired and for basically the same service, my rate went from 108 a month to about 150. I called them and tried working out a more acceptable rate and didn't like the answers i was getting, so i set up a switch to U-Verse. I then called TW and set up a cancel date to coincide with the day U-Verse would get installed.

The same day a U-Verse tech was scheduled to come install it, i got a call from a guy at TW asking if i'd reconsider. I told him a U-Verse tech would be arriving in about two hours, so what was the offer. He offered to give me my previous 105 a month deal instead of the new 150 bucks, to which i said no dice, got a better deal from U-Verse. Then he says hold on and a minute later offers 85 a month, to again i said no dice because TW has crappy DVR's. I'm about to hang up and he says hold on one more time. Finally, he comes back and offers it for 65 a month and three months of free HBO, perfect timing since Game of Thrones was starting back up.

So i take the deal with TW and the crazy thing is as i'm finishing the call with him my call waiting beeps, it's the U-Verse tech saying he's 5 minutes away and wants to know if he can come early? I tell him i have to cancel the install and get back to the TW rep, letting him know who just called from U-Verse. Crazy timing.
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Re: OT - Cutting the Cord 

Post#12 » by ReasonablySober » Sun Apr 29, 2012 10:17 pm

That's **** awesome.
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Re: OT - Cutting the Cord 

Post#13 » by MikeIsGood » Sun Apr 29, 2012 10:24 pm

That's ridiculous. Nice job.
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Re: OT - Cutting the Cord 

Post#14 » by midranger » Mon Apr 30, 2012 12:40 am

I feel like I'm about 5 years too old to do anything like this.

Hell, I have an iPhone (3, I guess) and I use it for.... phone calls (which I find it sucks for).

I wish I had a buddy who could get me into this decade, but we're all 30 somethings now.
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Re: OT - Cutting the Cord 

Post#15 » by midranger » Mon Apr 30, 2012 12:41 am

Great work though. Both DB and Dude.
Please reconsider your animal consumption.
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Re: OT - Cutting the Cord 

Post#16 » by A Diddy2231 » Mon Apr 30, 2012 12:58 am

DB you still using icefilms?
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Re: OT - Cutting the Cord 

Post#17 » by El Duderino » Mon Apr 30, 2012 1:09 am

midranger wrote:I feel like I'm about 5 years too old to do anything like this.

Hell, I have an iPhone (3, I guess) and I use it for.... phone calls (which I find it sucks for).

I wish I had a buddy who could get me into this decade, but we're all 30 somethings now.


Hey, i turned 40 and am definitely behind in the technological curve. That said, part of it is by choice for me, especially when it comes to cellphones.

I see people like my kid, her boyfriend/friends, my sister, and others i know who nearly all seem like near slaves to their phones and i just have no interest in that. For example, i took my daughter and her boyfriend to a Brewers game last year they really wanted to attend, i think it was Nyger Morgan bobblehead night. They both must have spent 3/4 of the game playing with their phones texting and who knows what. Hell, i seriously question if she can go more than 5 minutes without taking out her phone for some reason and might even go through actual physical/mental withdrawals if her phone was taken away for say a month. .

FWIW, i'm not bashing her and so many others out there today who are constantly doing something on their phones. To each their own. I just have no interest in that at all. I have only a plain ass cell phone, never text, and have a 250 minute limit on my cell phone plan which i get for free. Given i rarely talk long on the phone, especially when i'm out and about, i usually don't end up using those 250 minutes.

This probably makes me seem like an old fart living in the past, but i don't care. Beyond having my cell phone on me in case i need to make a call when out or someone needs to get in touch with me, i don't want or need a phone. I guess if i'm waiting for an appointment or something like that, being able to go online would be nice, but i read a lot and generally bring a book that i'm reading to those places.
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Re: OT - Cutting the Cord 

Post#18 » by ReasonablySober » Mon Apr 30, 2012 1:24 am

A Diddy2231 wrote:DB you still using icefilms?


Not since the Megaupload crackdown. From what my brother tells me it's mostly back, but since I started using the VPN to protect myself while torrenting that's pretty much all I use.
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Re: OT - Cutting the Cord 

Post#19 » by gbmb34 » Mon Apr 30, 2012 4:50 am

I live in NC so I don't need a VPN to watch the Brewers or Bucks games. I also have access to ESPN3 and BTN2GO I can watch almost any Marquette or Wisconsin game as well. I miss about 6 live Brewers games and 2 Bucks games, but I end up going to some of those live anyway :)

Since the NFL doesn't have any kind of streaming service, I just use a pirated stream. They are easy to find and sometimes it can get a bit frustrating because you aren't sure if Finley, Jennings, or Driver caught the ball because 80, 88, and 85 look so similar. Since the Packers are pretty good, I can watch a lot of them over the air. But I'm not huge into having perfect picture so it's not for everyone. Give it a try with the NBA playoffs. Only MLB and the Big Ten network games are really hard to find. And I promise, no one wants free sex in your area.

I don't really watch dramas or comedies or anything like that so it was easy to cut the cord.

I would recommend to try to go without the Sunday Ticket unless you have commitments that force you to DVR a game. I am free Sunday's so I just watch it live.
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Re: OT - Cutting the Cord 

Post#20 » by blkout » Mon Apr 30, 2012 5:35 am

I remember looking into something like this a few years ago so I could get league pass and Netflix which was popular at the time, but now we have international league pass (with no restrictions) and our archaic download limits are largely a thing of the past so anything I want to watch I can just download.

Realistically the only thing I can't get at the moment that I'd like is live TV from the US and the UK, basically just throwing channels from both countries onto my own TV. I can probably stream them individually but the quality is never high enough. If there was a cost effective way to do this I'd be all over it.
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