What are the best deals out there for pay tv?

[Wasatch Rebel]

I'm finally going to break down and buy cable, or satellite tv. Maybe. If I can find a deal I can afford that will get me what I want. What I pretty much care about is local college football, the Utah Jazz, and all the local stations, including PBS. What confuses me about all the ads is the hidden charges, like dvrs, hd antennas, etc. So if I take one of these deals that costs $29.99 per month for a year, what are the hidden charges I need to be aware of and how much will it really cost?

[Deathcricket]

I don't watch sports, but are all these things you want to watch on local channels? Just buy a HD antenna and call it day, get those for free. then get a media server, install boxee, Torrent episode dowloader (TED), and watch ANY show you want for free whenever you want.

If the sports aren't on local channels, then ya, you're screwed. Dish has a $19.99 basic package, plus $5 for locals, plus $5 for HD, plus $5 for a DVR, plus $7 for taxes/fees/surcharges and that's about the best deal out there. Think you have to sign a one year or 2 year contract, can't recall it's been a couple years since I sold that stuff.

Good luck.

[Wasatch Rebel]

Thanks, Deathcricket. I've decided with the economy being the way it is, and the horror stories I've already heard about people's insurance rates going up, that I'm in a "wait and see" mode before committing to any 2 year contract. I heard several people (I think they have private insurance) say that their insurance rates have jumped significantly--one was up 400 percent. Now I don't have private insurance, but if mine even doubled I would not have the extra money I need for pay TV. These scary times we live in.

[p40whk]

I'm not a sports junkie either but I've completely gotten rid of cable/satellite TV. I took an older PC and upgraded it to work as a media center PC and added a Netflix subscription for $10 a month and an inexpensive HD antenna on the roof. I stream just about any show I want to watch off Netflix and Hulu and get close to 40 local HD stations from the antenna.

My PC acts as a DVR so I can fast forward through commercials. The stuff from Netflix already comes without commercials.

You can stream Netflix with a PS3, Xbox 360, Apple TV or a number of add-on boxes without using a PC if you don't want to go that route.

If you're on a budget you may want to look in to this. I'll never pay for cable or Satellite again!

[Deathcricket]

Thanks, Deathcricket. I've decided with the economy being the way it is, and the horror stories I've already heard about people's insurance rates going up, that I'm in a "wait and see" mode before committing to any 2 year contract. I heard several people (I think they have private insurance) say that their insurance rates have jumped significantly--one was up 400 percent. Now I don't have private insurance, but if mine even doubled I would not have the extra money I need for pay TV. These scary times we live in.

Yeah bro I hear ya on that. p40whk sounds like he did the same thing I did but went a step further with the $10 netflix. That's also really good advice he gave regarding the PS3 as a media server. I stream movies to the tv (through my PS3) in the living room from the media center and it works awesome. So I would say go the free route. All you need is an old PC with an internet connection and you're set. Here is an article with more details than you need.

http://www.obsessable.com/feature/di...-media-server/

[Wasatch Rebel]

Yeah, that's a good idea. I won't get my Utah Jazz games though--or my college football--that's what I really would like to see. Oh well, I'll have to mooch off my mom instead, which requires travel across town, so I'll be selective as to which games I watch.

[p40whk]

After trying the Home Theater PC (HTPC) route I decided to build my own. I ran across this forum that goes into great detail on how to set everything up: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...7#post17591247

I use Window Media Center to watch everything including Netflix and running my PC as a DVR and there's a lot of good info here about it: http://thegreenbutton.com/

As far as the games go, if you search the internet enough, you may find a free solution to that as well.