LeavingLondon

Hi, we've just arrived in the US and are looking to set up our internet/phone/cable. We're looking at Comcast. Thing is, i hate adverts, What is the best way to watch TV without having to trawl through hundreds of channels with crappy adverts?

kodokan

Don't get cable, just have Netflix!

(We don't have a landline, either - depending on how good your mobile signal is, you may not need one.)

kimilseung

Many are dropping TV, using the internet instead.
We have internet only, even though the extra cost for TV and phone is negligible.
Look up sick beard and sabnzbd (like an internet DVR)

BubbleChog

+1 on this.
We have netflix (ad free) and Hulu plus which gets newer stuff and has minimal adverts. We used to have amazon prime too but decided we didn't need all 3.
I also use an IP proxy so i can watch BBC iPlayer and 4OD via HDMI cable and my lappy. the only thing I watch on tv is the basketball

civilservant

We have a Roku in one room, and an AppleTV in the other. Most of the time we stream content from the net through my Mac to the TV.

Guindalf

We have DirecTV an, to be honest, we find it essential for news, sports and the latest shows.

We also have Netflix streaming and Amazon Prime and that covers us for most stuff. Anything from the UK (like EastEnders and Luther) I just torrent.

In fact, we just binge-watched Prime Suspect.

I guess we could reduce it, but we rarely go to the flicks and this, plus a few movies obtained when there's a free weekend of the premiums and occasional Redbox rentals means we usually have plenty to watch.

We still, however, sit there and wonder what to watch!

robin1234

Yeah we've lived here since 1991 and never had TV, and never missed it. And prior to that in the UK, we watched it all the time so it's not that we're way out Luddites. We have a VHS player and a DVD player, and the two or three local libraries that we use have enough videos to last a person a hundred years or more .. all free of charge ..

As for news we listen to NPR and CBC on the radio.

Bob

What you use depend on where you are and what's on offer.

Going the internet route is a good one mouth, if you're not to bothered by live sports.

kodokan

We're not sports people, but watched the Superbowl live on the internet; I imagine you can find other live matches being streamed too on the relevant channel's website.

Doesn't get round the adverts issue, mind you - there's nothing like trying to watch a live match and having it randomly cut away from every 7 minutes, to reinforce a person's view that Netflix is king!

Ash UK/US

We have Direct TV.

Anian

I've noticed that I only ever watch the local news live on tv, everything else is recorded and I could see online. My wife on the other hand is very much into turning the tv and seeing what's on, flipping through the channels, so I'll have to convince her if I want to scrap the cable bill.

robin1234

Occasionally we stay at a hotel and flip through the channels and binge on TV. It is a mildly entertaining thing to do maybe three or four evenings a year! But I know there are people who do this all the time at home .. Seems a real waste of a life to me!

SultanOfSwing

We DVR most of the shows we watch (we have AT&T) because we're always about half a week behind

The upside is, we rarely have to watch ads because we just FF through them.

cluedweasel

There is the Dish Hopper option, which removes ads from network programmes. It's pretty spendy though.

We've pretty much given up on cable. It's horribly expensive in my locality, even for the basic packages. A Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime subscription, coupled with a VPN account to make use of iPlayer is a lot more value.

Bob

Yes, plenty of dodgy online streams, not to many on media boxes, though Appletv has a few.