See below a CNET prizefight video – its a good introduction to 2 popular streaming devices – video is a little dated but still introduces you to available tech

Is the future of TV really apps? IDK but deciding to cut the cord can absolutely save you some money; however, the decision is not without some trade-offs. I believe the decision comes down to motivation – a couple years ago my wife and I decided we needed to save some money and this was one area we chose to focus on. We went with basic cable – it was about $8 per month with time warner cable (TWC). That was a big savings compared to the full compliment of channels we previously had with TWC (their “digital” package) but the basic cable package only had a handful of stations. We did that for a few months and decided there had to be a better way to save some money and still find some TV shows we both enjoyed.

We embarked on a fairly lengthy process to get an antenna to get free over-the-air broadcasts (local channels only) and eventually got a streaming device (Apple TV) to get Netflix. We dropped cable altogether and our monthly TV expense was still only about $10 (Netflix). The antenna allowed us to receive most of the basic cable channels (for free!) and the large Netflix library was a huge upgrade in available entertainment options.

My point in telling you all this background is that my blog is different than some articles that help you navigate the byzantine choices/options to cord cutting. I have done cord cutting and fully understand the challenges and benefits that come from saving a tremendous amount of money.  I have had one of TWC’s top packages – I have also previously had DirectTV and Dish (with the hoppa’).

I will do another blog post to help you get started (with cutting the cord) but really want to emphasize that the process isn’t easy and definitely isn’t for the faint of heart – new technology takes some getting used to and as the saying goes – nobody likes change, except for a wet baby and he cries about it.   .     .

A little more background before we finish this post. I had to choose a streaming box because our TV was not a smart TV and a streaming box was the only way we could get Netflix on our TV. Technology has changed tremendously since we started our process – both the hardware (smart TVs are quite prevalent) as well as available over-the-top services (and apps), a few of the more popular:

DirectTV now

Playstation Vue

Hulu

Sling

Youtube

Note that these over-the-top services mimic, in most ways, your traditional cable or satellite package (including live TV). You can get most, if not all, of the channels you want, in addition to things like DVR and voice control. If you opt for a large selection of channels in 4K however, your savings vs. traditional cable/satellite will likely evaporate like snow in the hot Carolina sun.   .     .

Let’s leave it there for now and we can explore how to get started cutting the cord in the next post and I will give you an idea of which products and services I like best and help you achieve your goal of saving money!