Alternatives to Time Warner

Cherokeekid88

Cherokeekid88

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2007
Location
High Point, NC
So back when my wife and I lived in our apartment we had DirecTV. Enjoyed it, but hated when it would go out during a storm and hated that our bill just kept getting higher and higher. When we bought out house, we were going to continue our DirecTV subscription but they wanted to charge us $300 to fish wires from one end of the house to the other and they wouldn't budge... So we said "No Thanks" and went with Time Warner, which my Dad works for... so in the beginning it was great, I was paying next to nothing for service...but as time went on, our bill kept going up and up for the same service we had always had...well as of last week, my bill jumped $40. I have had ZERO problems with TWC and actually really like having the service. I however do not feel like paying $140 a month for TV and internet.

So here is my dilemma... My wife and I like to watch TV. I like to be able to turn the TV on and just watch something...not sure if I would be into having to search for something every time I wanted to watch some TV. I don't watch half the channels I have, but I like the option to do so.

So I think Netflix would kinda be out of the question. I have heard about sling. I know that streaming is the new thing now, but I am just not sure if that would be for us.
 
Not any help...subscribing as well. I know I won't be looking forward to my TWC bill once the intro rates are over. I wish there was a 'pay by channel' option. I have several hundred channels to get the 8-10 I actually want, which I don't really think are offered in many of the alternative viewing streams.
 
Cherokeekid88 said:
So back when my wife and I lived in our apartment we had DirecTV. Enjoyed it, but hated when it would go out during a storm and hated that our bill just kept getting higher and higher. When we bought out house, we were going to continue our DirecTV subscription but they wanted to charge us $300 to fish wires from one end of the house to the other and they wouldn't budge... So we said "No Thanks" and went with Time Warner, which my Dad works for... so in the beginning it was great, I was paying next to nothing for service...but as time went on, our bill kept going up and up for the same service we had always had...well as of last week, my bill jumped $40. I have had ZERO problems with TWC and actually really like having the service. I however do not feel like paying $140 a month for TV and internet.

So here is my dilemma... My wife and I like to watch TV. I like to be able to turn the TV on and just watch something...not sure if I would be into having to search for something every time I wanted to watch some TV. I don't watch half the channels I have, but I like the option to do so.

So I think Netflix would kinda be out of the question. I have heard about sling. I know that streaming is the new thing now, but I am just not sure if that would be for us.
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Unless you have fiber in your area, there's no real viable alternative to TWC for internet and such, at least not that I've found. Walk into your local TWC service center. Do not call, it's a waste of time. Be real nice to the lady behind the counter. Ask if there's anything they can do about your bill. There usually is.

UTfball68 said:
Not any help...subscribing as well. I know I won't be looking forward to my TWC bill once the intro rates are over. I wish there was a 'pay by channel' option. I have several hundred channels to get the 8-10 I actually want, which I don't really think are offered in many of the alternative viewing streams.
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Sling TV seems to be the closest you're going to come to that kind of service. They seem to have all the most popular channels available.
 
I have Sling and enjoy it. It has a good amount of the cable channels I watched (AE, TNT, History, like 5 sports channels, etc.) and they have different packages. Playstation Vue is another streaming service similar to Sling with a similar price point but some different channels.

Duane
 
They do still broadcast TV over the air, and now its in HD and has a channel guide and program info. $40 antenna and you're done. Then get some good internet and use netflix/hulu/etc and a Chromecast for casting your laptop screen to the TV.
 
catfishblues said:
Sling TV seems to be the closest you're going to come to that kind of service. They seem to have all the most popular channels available.
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jeepinmatt said:
They do still broadcast TV over the air, and now its in HD and has a channel guide and program info. $40 antenna and you're done. Then get some good internet and use netflix/hulu/etc and a Chromecast for casting your laptop screen to the TV.
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I'm primarily interested in all the sports channels during college football season. The ESPN's, SEC/ACC/Big 10/etc networks. Outside of that, don't really care about sports, but will watch stuff on History, Discovery, USA and FX (have to keep up with Archer).
 
UTfball68 said:
I'm primarily interested in all the sports channels during college football season. The ESPN's, SEC/ACC/Big 10/etc networks. Outside of that, don't really care about sports, but will watch stuff on History, Discovery, USA and FX (have to keep up with Archer).
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I understand. If I could get Speed TV (well, whatever version of Fox Sports it is these days) and a couple other channels only, I'd just do that. Instead, I split a MotoGP and World Superbike season pass with a couple friends, and watch AMA roadracing and motocross and other dirtbike racing on the internet for free.
 
Wish I had TWC Internet as an option...... Comporium charges $55 for 15gb internet... TWC is $35 for 50gb..... Comporium SUCKS!!!!!
 
Get just internet through TWC.
Here we have Comcast, we got the middle-tier service and it's only $39.99 month. Since there's no TV or phone it's literally just that, no taxes.
We use SlingTV, it's $20 for the basic package. For $5 more you can add a sport package, or they have others for entertainment channels etc. Worth it. Again - no extra fees, just $20.
Then get an antenna for network TV.
OR.... if you have a Roku, you can get the USTVNow app for FREE, then use that to stream all the major networks for FREE. USTVNow is free for the main networks - it's intended for US civilians who are overseas but you can watch it from domestic IPs too.

Also - buy your own cable modem, don't rent it from TWC. They aren't too expensive and it'll pay for itself in < 6 months.
When we cut the cord we went from ~160/month to $60/month.

the only time I have missed it was during the Olympics when I couldn't get NBCSN, and even then I should have just paid the $5 to add the sports package to Sling for 1 month.
 
Oh, another convenient thing about the Sling route - you can access the stream from anywhere, any device. Tablet, phone, Roku, Amazon stick, wherever you are. Long train ride? No problem, chill out and watch Comedy Central on your phone.
 
RobMcBee said:
Wish I had TWC Internet as an option...... Comporium charges $55 for 15gb internet... TWC is $35 for 50gb..... Comporium SUCKS!!!!!
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Is that the "xx month" price crap they do? I got rid of time warner as I got tired of playing the raise price, complain, lower price game.
 
RatLabGuy said:
Get just internet through TWC.
Here we have Comcast, we got the middle-tier service and it's only $39.99 month. Since there's no TV or phone it's literally just that, no taxes.
We use SlingTV, it's $20 for the basic package. For $5 more you can add a sport package, or they have others for entertainment channels etc. Worth it. Again - no extra fees, just $20.
Then get an antenna for network TV.
OR.... if you have a Roku, you can get the USTVNow app for FREE, then use that to stream all the major networks for FREE. USTVNow is free for the main networks - it's intended for US civilians who are overseas but you can watch it from domestic IPs too.

Also - buy your own cable modem, don't rent it from TWC. They aren't too expensive and it'll pay for itself in < 6 months.
When we cut the cord we went from ~160/month to $60/month.

the only time I have missed it was during the Olympics when I couldn't get NBCSN, and even then I should have just paid the $5 to add the sports package to Sling for 1 month.
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We watch a lot of local channels, so getting the antenna would make a lot of sense and then just get the sling for other channels
 
Cherokeekid88 said:
We watch a lot of local channels, so getting the antenna would make a lot of sense and then just get the sling for other channels
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yup. And like I said even w/o the antenna you can get the main networks via USTVNow. I'm pretty sure it streams your local affiliate.

And then there's always Kodi, which you can get on any device that will do Sling, and through that you can find a stream of just about any network.
 
So you guys would keep TWC internet, buy my own modem, Get SlingTV, buy Antenna for local channels and call it a day?

Since I have a smart TV, maybe Netflix wouldn't be such a bad idea... I just know now wont be so bad, because we spend a lot of time outside this time of year, but I know as soon as winter comes, we will be needing some TV entertainment.
 
Cherokeekid88 said:
So you guys would keep TWC internet, buy my own modem, Get SlingTV, buy Antenna for local channels and call it a day?
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Yes.

And once you cut the cord from them for TV, you'll magically start getting great offers for good deals on cable...
 
TARider said:
Is that the "xx month" price crap they do? I got rid of time warner as I got tired of playing the raise price, complain, lower price game.
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When we lived in Charlotte, I had TW internet. Initial cost was 19.99 then went up to 34.95 after 1 yr. Same scenario here but less gb and higher cost....
 
Gave up my TWC TV in January 2016. I kept the basic 5GB $14.99 a month internet. My kids say it's SLOW when they visit but it works OK for me and my wife. I even use it to stream some programs without too many issues. I have a $35 antenna from WalMart that pulls in ABC, NBC, CBS and UNC-TV along with a few others. I stream FOX NEWS and PGA Tour Live ($40 annual). I do miss the NFL Network, The Golf Channel and occasionally ESPN. We are making it work and can usually find something we want to watch. Have even found a few new favorites we never watched before. My wife would really like to go back to cable but our bill has gone from $150 a month ($1800 annual) to $14.99 a month plus my PGA Tour Live membership ($220 annual). I'll see how it goes during football season before I make any changes.
 
If you do decide antenna do a search on signal strength in your area. I happen to live in the Damn black hole of TV Signal land. Without a very big booster posistioned just so I want receive crap. Partly due to 100 year old Penn Oaks and a real crazy signal zone.
 
Buy a FIRE TV STICK and install Kodi on it (or buy one off ebay with Kodi already on it). Use an antenna for locals. Don't look back.

You're on your own for internet, which you must have for the Fire TV Stick.
 
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