Money Saving Mondays – Television

Welcome to the second installment of Money Saving Mondays!

Who wants to pay $100+ for 8 bazillion channels with nothing on? Not me! There are a lot of websites out there about the practice of “cord cutting” (free or low-cost legal alternatives to cable).

To make this work really well, you’ll need a high speed internet connection. The internet companies will probably try to sell you on a fancy expensive 5 megabit per second plan, but I get along just fine on a 1 megabit per second plan. I used to have a 756 kilobit per second plan, and that was a bit slow, but it was for two people often trying to stream at the same time. It should be fine for one person. Also beware of data caps from your ISP. My plan allows 50 GB per month, which is good enough for a single light user like me, but if you watch a lot of internet based tv and movies, you’ll need a higher data allowance. An hour long tv show is usually 400 MB at standard definition. A full-length movie in high definition can run in the 2-4 GB range.

Depending on where you live, your options vary, but here’s my setup:

Rabbit ears
The first step to low-cost television is an antenna. Homeowners have the option of mounting an outdoor antenna on the roof, but since I’m a renter, I’m somewhat limited in my options. Federal law does allow renters to place an antenna or satellite dish 3 feet in diameter or less on the balcony/patio/porch regardless of lease provisions, but I opted for a set of rabbit ears sitting on top of my tv instead.

I spent $20 on an antenna, but if you get lucky, sometimes you can get one on sale for less. It’s the standard VHF/UHF antenna (two prongs and a ring). I can pick up about 50 channels, including some really good ones that are almost cable-like in quality. I live in an area that is populous but flat, so that increases the range. If you’re in a rural or mountainous area, you’ll get fewer channels. If you type your address into antennaweb, you’ll get an idea of which channels you can pick up with which types of antennas.

Netflix/Hulu/etc.
Another component is Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime Video, etc. I get a limited selection of streaming video included with my Amazon Prime account. Since I have the account for shipping anyway, I’m counting this as no extra cost.

Regular Hulu is free, but you have to wait a week for shows to go up. If you want them right away, Hulu Plus is your best bet. It’s something like $8 per month (I don’t know for sure because my sister lets me use her account, since it doesn’t cost her any extra to share). There are a lot of shows available, but usually only the most recent five episodes are posted.

Netflix is also reasonably priced (once again, in the $8ish range, but I piggyback on my sister’s account). There’s a large selection of movies and television shows, but it takes several months for the shows to be posted.

If there’s a show that you just have to watch, and you can’t find it anywhere for free, iTunes and Amazon also have season passes for many current shows. If you buy standard definition instead of HD, you can expect to spend $30 for an entire season. If you only have a few shows, it can be a real bargain, but it adds up if you watch a lot.

Other websites
Many television channels will post recent episodes on their website. This is a free way to watch shows that you missed.

There are also sites that stream specialty content (news, weather, documentary, special interest, religion, etc.). Finding them can be hit or miss, but if you google for whatever you’re looking for, you’ll probably find a whole treasure trove.

Computer (or streaming media device)
Watching all this stuff from a computer can get annoying. Sometimes I just want to sit on the couch and watch things on the television itself. This is where technology comes in. The Roku is a popular device to solve part of the problem. It’s a small purple box that costs anywhere from $50 up depending on the model. It’s wifi enabled and plugs into your television. It allows you to watch Netflix, Hulu, etc. on your television. There are hundreds of channels available for the Roku – some are free, and some are paid. When my sister and I lived together, I used her Roku, and I really liked the interface. However, you can’t surf the web or watch regular streaming video with it, so that limits its usefulness in my opinion.

I have an old desktop computer that was collecting dust, so I freshened it up and hooked it up to my television. I went to the computer parts store and bought a vga to rca converter box for $40 and plugged everything in. I had to turn the screen resolution way down and magnify the text, and it’s still sometimes a bit hard to read on sites with small print, but the video quality is fine. I can watch Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc. just like I could on the Roku, and I can also watch video from anywhere on the internet. I’ve ripped some of my dvds to the hard drive so I can watch them there, too. (I have a dvd player, but sometimes it’s easier to just use the computer instead of digging the discs out of storage.)

Redbox
If you love your movies, never fear. Redbox is an alternative to expensive movie channels. There are kiosks located at grocery stores, convenience stores, and gas stations all around, and rentals are just a dollar a day. Plus, if you use your google skills you can often find free rental coupon codes.

Public library
Last but not least, there’s the public library; it’s not just for books anymore. Libraries rent out movies and television shows on dvd, and they’re not just old dusty documentaries. Major blockbusters and popular shows are available. It’s one of the best kept secrets in the quest for cheap entertainment.