As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, I am a TV junkie.  The problem is not that I spend too much time watching television or that I ignore other parts of life because of it.  The problem is much worse.  I am also a gadget junkie and an HD snob.  Yes, I am willing to admit it.  If a program is available in HD, I must have it over the standard definition option.  If there is a new DVR or device that allows me to watch TV and/or movies on the go, I want it.  These three problems mixed together have caused my cable bill to inflate steadily over the last decade and I have grown sick and tired of the bottom line.  There has to be a better way and I think I have found it.

Right Now

Currently, I am a DirecTV prisoner.  What started as a comparable bill to local cable service has turned into a monster and I now pay over $100 a month for cable.  With taxes, my last bill was $105 and here is what I got for my money:

• 2 HD DVR Receivers
  • HR10-250 – TiVo bought 5 years ago – In the living room and NOT capable of recording HD stations since DirecTV decided to shut down my last 10 stations last month
  • HR21-200 – In the bedroom – capable of recording HD, only it is not a TiVo.
• HBO
• Pay Per View – movies are available for $4.99 – $5.99, but only at scheduled times

I have investigated upgrading the HD DVR in the living room to a newer model, but that would extend my contract another 2 years and require that I pay for the new box.  On top of that, I have to pay a lease fee for the box and a new fee to share information between the two.  Yes, you read it correctly, even if I go out and find another HR21-200 for $99, I will pay a monthly lease fee to DirecTV for the box, which they technically still own.  Failure to return the box at the end of my contract will result in major fees (several hundred dollars each).

The Change – Idea 1

My first thought was to cancel my DirecTV service and simply purchase season passes to the shows that we watch.  Season Passes are available from iTunes and Amazon.com for fairly reasonable rates.  On average, a TV show will cost you about $40 a year (HD quality) and then you own the download.  My first thought was “how many shows do we really watch?”  As it turns out, we have about 35 shows that we enjoy.  That includes the programs that my wife watches that I really don’t care for.

Unfortunately, there are some major drawbacks to this idea, starting with the fact that 35 shows would cost over $1,400 a year.  Since the idea is to lower the monthly bill, this just won’t work.  Apple has been investigating the idea of selling monthly subscription fees for all of the major stations (estimated around $30/month), but so far we have heard no announcements that this will happen any time soon.

There Has to be a Better Way

After some brainstorming and research, I figured out the answer.  Before you read any further, know that I have not officially made the switch yet. I am looking for the possible problems with this solution and would love input from anyone who has attempted a similar idea.

The idea is simple: Dump DirecTV and switch to 2 TiVo Premiere units.  Since TiVo announced it’s new Premiere model (Series 4), I have been itching to try it out and see how it works. Luckily for me, that meant I also researched it from all possible angles.  Here is why switching will add functionality to our current entertainment setup (cable) and save us money.

Functionality

• FREE Local HD – TiVo Premiere units have ATSC tuners that allow the DVR to record up to two channels at once from digital over-the-air broadcasts in full HD.  That means I only need an antenna (which I already have) to get FREE HD broadcasts from the local stations (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW).
• Downloads/Streaming- TiVo Premiere units connect to Amazon.com and Netflix (along with premium providers) and allows me to purchase TV Shows and movies, including season passes.
• Sharing – TiVo Premiere units can share programming between one another, so I can watch any show I want from either the living room or bedroom.
• Transfers – Many shows and movies can be shared to my PC and/or mobile device, so I can take my shows with me on my iPod Touch or PSP.
• Energy Savings – The newest TiVo units are Energy Star Compliant, which should cut down on the electricity bill each year.
• Expandable - External hard drives can be added for more recording space.

Savings

The math is simple and the first year will be slightly higher than my current setup, but every year after that will mean MAJOR savings for our household budget.

Year 1: Purchase 1 – TiVo Premiere XL ($499), 1 – TiVo Premiere ($299), 2 – Yearly Subscriptions ($129 + $99) and the remaining shows that are not broadcast over local HD stations ($295)
Cost: $499 + $299 + $129 + $99 + $295 = $1321

Year 2 and All Years After: 2 – Yearly Subscriptions ($129 + $99) and remaining shows ($295)
Cost: $129 + $99 + $295 = $523

Compare that to the cost of my current DirecTV “service” ($1200 a year) and the savings happen within the first 15 months.  From there on out, I will be saving $56.42 per month on my cable bill.  If I wanted to increase my savings, I could purchase lifetime subscriptions for both units and never pay a monthly or yearly service fee again.  The only problem with that is the out-of-pocket costs that I would be hit with today.

See what happened when I took the plunge and made the switch:

• Buh-Bye DirecTV, Hello TiVo – How I Ditched Cable
• Buh-Bye DirecTV, Hello TiVo – How I Ditched Cable – Part II

Related Articles:

• Finding a Cable Alternative – Dumping DirecTV for TiVo (posted on KilltheCableBill.com)

Tags: Amazon.com, bing, cable, cashback, Comcast, DirecTV, DVR, HBO, HD, HR10-250, HR21-200, Netflix, Premiere, Television, TiVo, TV

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 at 12:49 pm and is filed under Deals, Online Shopping, TiVo & DVR Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.