TV Show Budget

The easiest way for a cord cutter to catch up on their favorite TV shows is by buying the DVD or digital file on iTunes or Amazon. It's legal and you feel good that you are giving back money to the people who create great content. The tough part about buying shows is that you do not want to pay more for shows then you would for cable. It's true you get to keep your DVD's and will own them forever with cable if you miss your show you have to wait till it airs again or check the on demand system. The DVR service might work out well, but their is a cost for the service. What I like to do is figure out how many hours I will be free to watch TV I take into account my Netflix viewing and Boxee Box. In an average month I might have about 5 to 10 hours free to watch paid content. This means I can buy or rent a few TV episodes which I budget about $15 to $20 a month. It is still a lot less then what I paid for cable. When you buy TV box sets a season of a popular show will cost about $30 to $50 depending on the format you pick. The nice thing about DVD's is that after you watch your show you can sell the box set and get some of your money back. If you prefer not to have a clutter of discs and the hassle of having to sell them then just rent your shows. There are very few shows that I will want to watch more then once unless it's the Family Guy chances are one time is all I have time for.

If you buy digital copies then you will be able to watch the show as much as you like. The cost of a show on iTunes is almost the same as the DVD sometimes it even costs more. The prices for a season of a show can vary by format. The digital price also can be different from one marketplace to the next. It's a good idea to compare prices and make sure you are getting the best price for your show.

If you budget your time and money you will still be able to catch up on popular shows without having to pay for a cable subscription.

How to Get the Most of Airplay on Apple TV and iPad

If you own an iPad and an Apple TV 2 then you are all set for Airplay the neat little feature many people don't know about. The Airplay feature can send video or audio from the iPad to compatible devices like the Apple TV 2 which will allow you to watch a video clip full screen on your television. The sites that allow Airplay video streaming are still low in numbers. The CNN site for example will only allow me to stream the audio from a video clip I wanted to watch. There are clips embed in web site from vimeo and other YouTube type service that I had no problem streaming to the Apple TV 2, but I guess content providers want to keep users on their sites or just haven't seen the value of allowing streaming with Airplay. It's a neat feature and you should try it out if you get a chance.

Have You Called the Cable Company

If you are still paying for cable television and are still on the fence about canceling your service you can barging for a better price. It pays to call your cable provider and let them know you are thinking of canceling your service. Tell them that there are so many options for television viewing that you do not know if you really need cable anymore. Wait a few seconds before you speak another word and you should hear the rep make you a better offer. There is only so much the cable company is going to take off your bill, but any savings is better then paying full price. If they offer you a discount and you feel it's the best you are going to get then take the offer.

This works for your other services like phone and Internet you can always ask for a better deal. If you bundle your service with one provider the savings might be much better then having services spread out with different companies.

The ideal situation would be for you not to have to pay anything at all for cable, but if you must then at least get a fair deal.

Legal Pay Per View without Cable

The movie fans out there in cord cutter world might want to know that they can get new release online. If you had a cable subscription and rented movies on demand you can still get your fix. The quality of the video depends on what service you use and what equipment you connect to your television.

If you own an Apple TV 2 then you know it's easy to just rent HD content through your iTunes account. The price is about the same as what the cable company charges. There are also some other services online that allow the rental of new movies. You will need to check the device you have to see if any services are pre-installed. The Boxee Box uses VUDU and many other devices also connect to VUDU.

If you rent a few movies a month through the local video store or on demand then the convince of renting through a media streaming device can be super easy. You can also find large selection that your cable provider might not even carry. On average I have rented a couple of new releases each month through my Apple TV 2 and the experience is excellent. Keep in mind this is not about saving money as the rental costs are set by the movie studios and stay about the same through the different services. It's more about convenience and finding new content online without a cable subscription. It's also away for those who do subscribe to cable to pass the cable company and go somewhere else for your entertainment needs.

Netflix Now Running on Android

The long awaited Netflix app is now on some Android devices. It looks like Netflix decided to allow only certain Android smartphones and tablets to run the app. There has been online buzz that some Android users have been able to get the app to work on unsupported hardware. It a nice addition for those with tablets to be able to get their Netflix fix.

The previous stand from Netflix on Android was a concern for copyright protection. That might be a reason that they app is running on selected hardware, It could also be that Netflix wants to make sure the app runs correctly and the more hardware it's on the more chance of getting customer service calls.

What ever the reason for the limited release of the app it's a great step forward for the Android community.

Home and Garden For Cord Cuters

The Home and Garden channel is one of those rare channels that cord cutters miss. It's not the end of the world cord cutters you can still find many of your favorite H&G shows online. If you visit the Home and Garden web site at www.hgtv.com you can find many full episodes and some exclusive online content only available on the web site.

You can get the episodes to your TV with your laptop or Boxee Box. There are also many other home renovation shows online. You can find more content through podcasts and YouTube videos. If Home and Garden is important to you then no worries you can find alot of content online to satisfy your renovation needs.

Over The Air TV Still A Great Choice for Cord Cutting

There are many ways that cord cutters are getting free TV, but over the air TV is still he most used. The Internet might let people watch almost any show like a DVR on steroids and it works well. The problem with Internet TV is that getting a live stream is difficult or not legal. This means that to watch the American Idol final you either wait till it's online or you need to find it on a local station. There are some small upfront costs to getting your antenna and maybe a digital box for those with older TV's. If you have not played around with an antenna since the Nixon administration things have changed.

The first thing you will notice is that the signal is now in HD and not he fuzzy picture you got in he old days. There is no need to have your little brother holding the antenna every which way until you got a good picture. In the modern age you either get a great HD picture or nothing at all. The picture also depends on where the antenna is placed and you want to make sure you point your antenna towards the broadcast tower.

Once you get that signal now you can watch sports news broadcasts live. As much as I love all the content online there are many times that I want access to live television. This holds true for season finales of shows and when an important news story breaks. If you have not tried over the air TV and have a newer television that cost is about $50.00 to get an antenna. There are many indoor antennas that do a great job of bringing in over the air television. If you live in a rural area you mighty need an outdoor antenna. The channels that the antenna will tune is mostly network television and local channels. You might also get sub channels that bring in more content. In my area one channels runs regular programming on the main channel and movies and kid programs on the sub channels.

The change in technology has improved over the air television and the HD signals look great. When I have guest over most of the time they do not know that they are watching free TV through an antenna. It's always a surprise when I tell my guest that I do not have any cable and get most of my TV viewing from over the air channels or the Internet.

Give it a try you will be surprised how improved that signal is over antenna.