Sorry it’s been about six weeks, as I promised a follow up post to this post from January.

A few of you had inquired as to what we are doing if we are indeed getting rid of Comcast. My first tip (and if you read that old post you’ll see what I’m talking about) is to call Comcast and ask them to reduce your bill. Chances are they will offer you a reduced rate for six months. At least you’re saving some money while you pursue your options.

My frustration with Comcast skyrocketed on Super Bowl Sunday. I said to my husband “I can’t believe we pay so much money to Comcast, we’ve invested money in our HDTVs, and I’m sitting here on Super Bowl Sunday watching a crappy picture.”  See, I will not pay more for the HD part and for a long time we didn’t have to. Our HDTVs would produce the HD picture, we just had to find the channels. Comcast would move them around, we’d still find them. Now I think they have completely blocked them, except for one of our TVs. We have three HD sets and can still get the HD on one of them. And seriously Comcast, it’s 2011! I do not want some circa 1980s cable box cluttering up my living room! All right, back on topic, I’m starting to digress & vent…………….

This is what we purchased, pick and choose accordingly to suit your household.

HDTV antenna – gets network and PBS stations in high-definition for free (ABC may require a different antenna because it is VHF for some reason) $45
HDHomerun Dual – connects TV antenna to this Tv tuner box and then the tuner to your PC which ultimately lets all of your PCs watch TV.  We use this because all of our TVs are connected to a PC (PC is for online content like hulu and Netflix).  $125

This replaces basic cable and leaves you with high definition channels and a DVR.  Of course if you want Netflix or any other online content you have to find a way to connect the tv to your internet connection.  Options for online content include a set up like ours with multiple PCs for different zones in the house, you could buy a high end netbook and connect it directly to the tv you are watching, or you could buy a game console like ps3 or xbox.  Using an antenna plus a device for online content equals something much better than premium cable TV.

Keep in mind that my husband is an IT guy by trade, and he loves electronics. Our entire house is all networked together and the work was done by him. We can even run our entire home from one remote control if we want to (and our 2-year-old just LOVES to get a hold of that remote!). If you had to pay someone to do this for you, obviously there would be additional charges. He purchases almost all of our electronics stuff from New Egg. They consistently have the best prices and are on ebates. They also have price protection for 30 days, so if you find it cheaper they will refund the difference.