Do the Math - Cable VS iTunes

[aced411]

So I broke out the cost and I have to tell you, if you're not the kinda of person that requires a continuous stream of television running in the background, iTunes is way cheaper. Consider this:

My TV bill runs minimum $767 annually (promotional rate). That's one HD box and one HD DVR. Think this is enough content to get by?:

Rent entire season of 8 TV shows: $176
Buy 4 season passes: $192

So that's about half the cost AND you get to keep 4 of those shows. I didn't count the cost of Netflix b/c I'll subscribe regardless if I have cable or not. The savings goes up if you buy HD movies instead of Blu-Ray for new releases, although you might have to break even your first year if you need to buy adequate storage (2TB-4TB plus backup).

 

[drewc1138]

Heck, go ahead and throw in the cost of Hulu Plus for a year when it (inevitably) comes to the Apple TV. Hopefully by then the lineup will be expanded. That will make up for a lot of those shows you won't have to buy anymore.

 

[NightStorm]

This was pretty much the same conclusion I came to when I compared the cost of my monthly cable bill plus the DVD/Bluray season sets for the shows that I would have bought at the end of the season versus buying season passes on iTunes. I recently supplemented this approach with a Netflix account for streaming to my new AppleTV2 and am still saving quite a bit of money annually.

 

[mstrze]

Heck, with most cable bills you can PURCHASE 2 seasons of various TV shows each and every month and STILL come out ahead.

 

[OmegaRed1723]

I'd love to cut the cable, but likely won't ever be able to do so for one reason: live sports. I live in western New England where only one of the four major sports is available OTA; for the rest I need cable, plus the basic sports package and HD. Some say that online league passes are the solution to this problem. They aren't. NBA League Pass, MLB TV, NHL Center Ice -- they all blackout local market games, as well as nationally televised games.

 

[chapindad]

I'd love to cut the cable, but likely won't ever be able to do so for one reason: live sports. I live in western New England where only one of the four major sports is available OTA; for the rest I need cable, plus the basic sports package and HD. Some say that online league passes are the solution to this problem. They aren't. NBA League Pass, MLB TV, NHL Center Ice -- they all blackout local market games, as well as nationally televised games.

I cut cable anyways and am missing my sports but I just visit friends or go to a local place with a TV. But I agree with the blacking out, which is why ESPN3 is not the solution either. I just couldn't justify $960 a year just for 4-5 football home games on TV.

 

[dmm219]

I'd love to cut the cable, but likely won't ever be able to do so for one reason: live sports. I live in western New England where only one of the four major sports is available OTA; for the rest I need cable, plus the basic sports package and HD. Some say that online league passes are the solution to this problem. They aren't. NBA League Pass, MLB TV, NHL Center Ice -- they all blackout local market games, as well as nationally televised games.

just another reason that, much like car fanatics...being a sports fanatic is extremely bad for your pocketbook. i decided a few years ago to pretty much give up on the NFL, NHL and college football...haven't really missed it. Been much happier on weekends as well (an loss of my NFL team would ruin my whole week)...

24/7 news is another shortcoming of this method...but again...i'll easily argue my life has been better with either of them since I cut the cord.

 

[StruckANerve]

I really need to get around to adding up the Cost of all the TV shows I watch in iTunes. I don't think it will save me any money. The other problem I have is UFC ppv's. Sometimes I will watch them illegally on the computer but the picture quality is garbage.

I watch;

Sons of Anarchy
Weeds
Rescue Me
Project Runway
It's Always Sunny in Philedelphia
The Big Bang Theory
Smallville
The Ultimate Fighter
Breaking Bad
The Walking Dead
Nova
Dexter.

Then there are various live Strikeforce MMA events I watch on Showtime which there is no other option for besides Cable/Satellite.

I just don't think it's possible for me to convert to web based TV.

 

[newagemac]

So I broke out the cost and I have to tell you, if you're not the kinda of person that requires a continuous stream of television running in the background, iTunes is way cheaper. Consider this:

My TV bill runs minimum $767 annually (promotional rate). That's one HD box and one HD DVR. Think this is enough content to get by?:

Rent entire season of 8 TV shows: $176
Buy 4 season passes: $192

So that's about half the cost AND you get to keep 4 of those shows. I didn't count the cost of Netflix b/c I'll subscribe regardless if I have cable or not. The savings goes up if you buy HD movies instead of Blu-Ray for new releases, although you might have to break even your first year if you need to buy adequate storage (2TB-4TB plus backup).

One other thing you didn't mention is that all of the iTunes TV content is commercial free. Even if you have a DVR with cable, you have to fast forward through the commercials and it's still an interruption multiple times in your show. With itunes, you get a better experience than cable when watching your shows.

 

[rz22g]

Would never work for me. Content is to limited and iTunes has practically none of the things I watch regularly. Even if it did, my family watches multiple complete series so it would not be a better value.

Buying movies on Blu-Ray seems a better deal to me as well. Highest quality of both video and audio. Its also becoming common to get the digital copy of the movie with the Blu-Ray. The cost is not always better on iTunes for its Blu-Ray counterpart. Cant recall the HD title but it was a Disney title I believe. $19.99 on iTunes or $18.00 to own the Blur-Ray.

 

[WiiDSmoker]

Would never work for me. Content is to limited and iTunes has practically none of the things I watch regularly. Even if it did, my family watches multiple complete series so it would not be a better value.

Buying movies on Blu-Ray seems a better deal to me as well. Highest quality of both video and audio. Its also becoming common to get the digital copy of the movie with the Blu-Ray. The cost is not always better on iTunes for its Blu-Ray counterpart. Cant recall the HD title but it was a Disney title I believe. $19.99 on iTunes or $18.00 to own the Blur-Ray.

Not counting the fact that you own it and have the right to sell, trade, loan. Also Blu-Ray is WAY beyond any iTunes "HD" quality. Surely you apple fans appreciate better quality.

 

[Cabbit]

Not counting the fact that you own it and have the right to sell, trade, loan. Also Blu-Ray is WAY beyond any iTunes "HD" quality. Surely you apple fans appreciate better quality.

I noticed a much bigger difference going from my old TV to my new TV that upscales the video than i did playing a blu ray disk or watching something in HD on cable.

So i would not pay extra for a blu ray when it looks almost exactly the same, it was more a case of trying to find the differences in the picture than really being blown away.

 

[rz22g]

I noticed a much bigger difference going from my old TV to my new TV that upscales the video than i did playing a blu ray disk or watching something in HD on cable.

So i would not pay extra for a blu ray when it looks almost exactly the same, it was more a case of trying to find the differences in the picture than really being blown away.

Typically I find most Blu-Ray of the same title equal to or less in price with the exception of it being a very new release. If you actually see iTunes HD quality and Blu-Ray quality as the same then there is some factor preventing you from seeing the full quality of Blu-Ray. Either your equipment or configuration of the equipment. Besides the superior Blu-Ray quality you also have superior audio in True HD and Master Audio. You do not get those formats with iTunes HD. That might not matter to some but for those with up to date audio equipment it does.

All that aside I can see iTunes being the go to source for a lot of people such as casual viewers, owners of 720p displays and those who have older surround systems or no surround at all.

 

[Chodite]

Cable TV is a luxury convenience item. I have no problem paying my cable TV bill each month for the amount of content I'm receiving and viewing. Not completely taking cable's side, but tired of hearing everyone making it seem like cable TV companies are evil. It's not a necessity folks. P.S: you can call your cable company, bitch about the bill and likely get rolled into a pretty sweet promotion deal. I know that with my HD service (300+ total channels, tons of HD OnDemand, HD DVR), 16 MB/sec high-speed internet service and unlimited home phone service, we're paying about $130/month for all 3. Not bad at all, IMO.

 

[aced411]

Complaining about your cable bill doesn't do as much good as it used to (at least in my area). Believe me, I've tried several times. They give me a weak discount. Anyway I cancelled my cable a few years back and went all Netflix/Hulu. There was no shortage of content, but I missed not having to search for shows. With cable, you turn on the tv and mindlessly flip through channels. Sometimes you find something interesting that you otherwise wouldn't pick out.

Having two little ones in diapers it's kind of nice being able to just turn on a station and let it play while dealing with the youngsters. So I've had cable again for about 6 months and now with the new Apple TV and .99 rentals we're again thinking about canceling.

As for the blu-ray argument, you're right the quality is way better. Actually other than most new releases, you can usually find blu-rays cheaper or the same price. Of course, our toddler is always screwing with our tower of blu-rays so there's always the convenience factor.

As a starting point I think I might give back the DVR and supplement that with the rentals. We don't record a lot of content, b/c we just don't have much free time to watch it.

 

[klrobinson999]

If they would just get The Big Bang Theory on iTunes, plus some live sports, I would cut the cable completely.