Cutting Fios cord(s)

I'm curious about the same thing. Thanks!

Also does anyone know what antenna works best around here? My son is a sports nut and watches all of the local teams so from what I've been reading I will need an antenna for that.

You buy an antenna for the over the air channels.  You will be shocked at home many there are out there - for free!  We bought a high definition antenna since our TV has HD.  (It is a Mohu Leaf.)  You just turn on the TV and watch the local news and the national news on ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS at the same time you have seen them before.

You can ditch cable for TV and phones but you will still need a company - an ISP - (Internet Service Provider) to "provide internet" to your house.  It will come into your house via a cable but you can broadcast the signal with a router (WiFi) and then your newer devices (like a TV) can access the internet wirelessly.  Our Samsung has a special button that pulls up a screen full of all the streaming apps we use.  I can click on the Netflix picture or on the Amazon picture and go straight to their sites.

One other thing.  Yahoo has a new Yahoo Video Guide app for phones.  It is great. You enter the show you want to watch and it will tell you which streaming services offers it and how much they charge (if the show is not free.) It SIMPLIFIES the hunt for a specific movie.

We were never able to get a decent signal with an antenna. I think it's our house's location, at the bottom of a hill. That's one reason I went back "on the cord." I wanted to be able to watch live shows and didn't have another way to do it.

We have recently added DVR but without that the cable portion of our bill is only about $50 a month. Adding in a Netflix and Hulu subscription eats away at that savings pretty quickly...so for us, it was worth it to stick with cable!

thanks kmk and tarheelsiNj for the good info, and to hopey too.

yup thanks to all. Lots to think about!

TarheelsInNj said:

We were never able to get a decent signal with an antenna. I think it's our house's location, at the bottom of a hill. That's one reason I went back "on the cord." I wanted to be able to watch live shows and didn't have another way to do it.

We have recently added DVR but without that the cable portion of our bill is only about $50 a month. Adding in a Netflix and Hulu subscription eats away at that savings pretty quickly...so for us, it was worth it to stick with cable!

You can share subscriptions with your friends.   I pay for Crunchyroll and Amazon Prime, and share with others who have Hulu Plus, Netflix, and HBO Go.    I have an antenna on one tv for network stations and have basic cable.  My bill went from $160+ per month with FIOS to $90 per month with Comcast Xfinity.  And now Verizon is trying to get me back, offering faster internet service for $54 a month (I pay $69 a month for comcast internet)   

TarheelsInNj said:

We were never able to get a decent signal with an antenna. I think it's our house's location, at the bottom of a hill. That's one reason I went back "on the cord." I wanted to be able to watch live shows and didn't have another way to do it

Ironically, this is exactly why cable TV was created in the first place... to allow those in valleys with poor reception to receive programs "cabled" in from an antenna at the top of a hill. 
That's why you may see old-fashioned references to CATV... it's not CAble TV, but "Community Antenna TV."

I discovered today that our Verizon 2-year contract expired and our rate went up from $114.90/mo (all prices are the total with taxes and surcharges) to $127.95 for Fios TV Select HD (no premium channels), Fios Internet 50/50, and Fios Digital Voice Unlimited, so I called Verizon to see what our options are.

Let me preface by saying that, in a household of 3, none of us watch TV, ever, but we got the TV part of the package after canceling cable when previously trying to lower our monthly bill because it was cheaper to get that package with the TV service than it was to leave it out. However, the cost of the set-top box has increased over time, and when I complained and asked if I could drop the TV from our service, I was told that our bill would actually go up, probably because it was, in a sense, breaking our agreement.

So here is what the Verizon rep offered:

1. Renew current contract for 2 years and pay $112.95
2. Renew contract without the TV for 2 years and pay $94.84
3. Go month-to-month without the TV and pay $119.84

When I asked if we could drop the TV but upgrade the internet speed, he said we could go to 75/75 without any difference in price, so I went with option 2, and they will send us a pre-paid shipping label to return the set-top box and remote. They will also send us a new "quantum gateway router".

I'm assuming that our internet-enabled TV (a Samsung "Smart" TV) should still be able to pick up the WiFi (especially with the "new-and-improved" router) and allow us to watch videos on demand from, say, Amazon, if we wanted, not that we often do that. We don't (currently) subscribe to any other streaming service.

Did I do the right thing, or is it stupid to forego having at least basic TV for an extra $18/mo?

If we wanted at least the basic "free" channels, would an antenna work if we live on the downhill side of Maplewood Ave?