Over the past several months I’ve been toying with the idea of getting rid of cable. It costs me just shy of $90 per month and all I really use it for is sports and PTI.
Sports includes tennis and NFL. And the shows? The Simpsons, American Dad, Family Guy and PTI. I can cover the animated shows and PTI with its podcasts. The NFL and other live sports though? That’s the challenge.
All I want are handful channels including ESPN/TSN, FOX, NBC and CBS. The major cable companies do not wish to cater to my needs though. They know what people like me want and purposely bundle the most desirable channels in the more expensive bundles.
The alternatives I’ve been seeking out include IPTV providers like USTVNow and Vmedia. I spent $7 for a trial of the full USTVNow experience and it is a subpar solution at best. The still image and very slow moving actions were fine but watching sports, news tickers and just about anything that moves? Awful. Poor framerate and abysmal motion resolution knocks this solution out of consideration.
I’m very skeptical about Vmedia for similar reasons. The user reviews and impressions have been less than stellar and their offerings shows a company that’s still in its early stages. I’m not comfortable transferring my internet and investing over $100 in fees and equipment just to “try it out”.
So what’s my solution then? Should I just stick with Rogers? Cancel? I’ll try to see what they will do to retain me but I really don’t want to pay more than $40 for cable TV.
I know it’s only a matter of time before cable TV providers will allow us to pick and choose what we want. I just want that time to be sooner rather than later.
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I’m enjoying my time with Beyond: Two Souls but I don’t feel as invested in the overall narrative or characters like I did with Heavy Rain. I lay the blame on the non-linear story telling. I believe I am nearing the end though.
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