Well, after a previous post or so about mobile dongles, kicking SKY etc - i did it.
Here's a quick update.....
The T-Mobile dongle is £10 a month for 18 months. £180
Went through Quidco and got £80 cashback (paid) so -£80
Compalined to T-mobile that i had to fetch the dongle - told them i wanted £30 for call and petrol - no bother -£30
Works out @ £3.88 a month over the 18 months - service i find is overall very good if not excellent.
NOw - no SKY tv...... i now watch no crap - 95% of my viewing was normal channels anyway, and becasue i keep the box and dish, in effect i have freeview for nothing.
No landline - brill - no more sales calls, and i never used it anyway - use saynoto0870 if i need to dial an 08 number off my mobile.
So overall a HUGE saving (i think a smidge under £500 a year - i would heartily recomend the option to anybody that is looking to save money, who have fallen into the SKY rut - and add to that all of the Murdoch shite that's happened since, i'm really chuffed!
So got 18 months for £70
Fair play to you I know where you are coming from.
I had a fallout with sky and watched basic TV for about 2 years (you'll be suprised how good channel 5 is). I recently got Virgin media as my son 3.5 years old, love the cartoon network. It keeps him quite for a while.
You don't need Sky, it is nice, but not as important as you think.
I couldn't live without Sky. Freeview where I live is utter poop so no Dave (Top Gear re-runs) and as the EPL etc. is on sky / ESPN, I have to have it. I've just halved my monthly broadband bill and gone with sky broadband which is a lot better. Yes, they're getting £80+ a month off me but in my opinion it's good value. HD alone makes it worth it.
Got rid of sky. Sports package too costly imo. Basic packs are just full of shite, with exception of the knowledge pack with Discovery etc - but to have that alone is also not enough vfm. There's no package on offer that IS good vfm. can't believe that such a huge proportion of the public think it's worth their hard earned.
Good for you, thinking of ditching Sky too, the only thing holding me back is I would miss Sky Sports badly. If I could find a sensible solution to watching Sky Sports without subscribing to Sky I'd ditch it tomorrow.
The only vible alternative seems to be BT Vision which seems to be out of the frying pan into the fire...
I ditched sky quite a few years ago when I realised that most of the channels were an endless loop of repeats, returning to the beginning and starting over again about every 6 months. The discovery channel 'shark week' is one that sticks in my mind. That and they kept trying to fit 1 hour BBC shows into a 1 hour commercial squeezed slot and must have got a trainee monkey to do the editing down to 45 minutes. Some of the Top Gear commercial cuts were hilarious - chopping someone off mid flow or just after they introduced a feature, with that feature not appearing after the ad break :drunken:
There does seem to be some good stuff on there now (boardwalk empire, game of thrones etc) but that can be got hold of and wouldn't in itself justify the extortion they call a subscription fee.
If I see a series I like I have a furrage aboout to see if I can download the 'american' version of it and watch it that way.
^
There are indeed ways to 'obtain' any programme but for sheer convenience and the fact I like the various documentary channels and the sci-fi on Sky One, and the cricket, means I'll pay for the full pack, except 3D.
I have been with Sky for years, full package, HD, multiroom etc etc - I daren't think how much they have robbed me of. I am seriously considering at least cancelling some of the packages, but I would like to keep the sport/movie/discovery channels which is probably most of what you pay for. £75 a month is a rip off and I have read that Sky will be hiking their prices in September or something. I feel like I couldn't live without it, but do loathe how much I am wasting on it.
Never ever supported/paid a penney into any of Murdoch's enterprises, and now, in hindsight, am even more
delighted. SKY is NOT a 'must have' in my book :twisted:
Nearly a thousand pounds a year. :shock: Are you serious? Think how many DVDs and BluRays you could get for that!Originally Posted by doubledee
Personally, I went the Freesat route = no monthly cost.Nearly a thousand pounds a year. :shock: Are you serious? Think how many DVDs and BluRays you could get for that!
Buy the odd DVD and BluRay when something takes my fancy.
Far more cost effective - slightly less channels full of crap to choose from but it's free :)
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
I enjoy sport far too much to give up Sky. Their coverage of football and uninterrupted cricket make it worth the cost for me. The documentary channel are a bonus on top.
Now HD.....that I wouldn't miss.
I got rid of Sky last time we moved; 6 years ago now. I don't miss it; I don't watch sport, and the film channels never show anything good-you have to pay extra for the good ones.
With Virgin now, for TV, telephone and broadband, and it's significantly cheaper. And the reception doesn't start dropping out as soon as it starts raining-even the Sky shops/demo vans seem to have that problem.
And that's why BSkyB shares are an excellent punt. A growing, highly cash generative business with an über-loyal customer base that proved itself to be totally recession proof. Now that the Murdoch bid premium is out of the price, fill your boots.
Freesat is utter shite. Take away BBC HD and you're left with naff all.
Trust me, I spend enough on blurays and CD's as it is!
Decided to ditch ESPN and got 20% of my package for 6 months this evening, only just finished a 50% off for 6 month deal :lol: Feel a bit better now, but still a flipping rip off. Sky know you have them over a barrel, if/when they don't offer a discount I'll cancel the lot.
I don't even have a TV. Well, I do but it's just for DVD's.
Never ever watch television at home and have only watched two things in the last 6 months.
£1000 a year for more TV ?
I haven't watched UK TV for over a decade so things must have changed. People then were complaining about the BBC license at around one tenth of that !
I did once receive a free trial of satellite TV here, and Shark Week rings a bell. I also recall becoming something of an armchair expert on aviation disasters, submarines, Mayan civilisation, freestyle frisbee and kabbadi. I didn't take up the offer.
I do miss the beach volleyball though.
Paul
I'm having a mental battle on whether to chop Sky and go Freesat/Freeview
I would definately miss the sport but is it worth the money?
I've got the 50% discount at the moment but when it runs out I'm not sure what to do
Got Virgin cable for TV and broadband.
There is pretty much nothing I watch on terrestrial TV and I do enjoy the history, discovery channels etc.
The whole family watches various niche programmes so good value for us.
Cheers,
Neil.
I have whittled my Sky channels down to what we actually watch. That means the basic package plus HD and 3 add on packs. I also have Premier Sports for the NASCAR racing. It's that channel that keeps me on Sky. If it was available on Virgin I'd switch in an instant.
Depends on what you like to watch - personally I hated paying for channel after channel of shite on Sky - YMMV.Freesat is utter shite. Take away BBC HD and you're left with naff all.
Trust me, I spend enough on blurays and CD's as it is!
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
+1.
I haven't had a TV for nearly 10 years now as I realised i stopped enjoying it and was just watching it.
Still use DVDs and iPlayer (for The Apprenticeanything with Dave Attenborough) but can't say i miss the box. The downside is that I now have no idea about popular culture at all and have to talk to my wife a lot. Oh, and I sanctimoniously tell people to get rid of their TVs all the time.
Fantastic!
I never use to watch tv - then only had it on for background noise - now I have fallen into the trap of watching crap - a lot!
If I had to pay for the Sky I would probably be thinking along the same lines - but as I don't then it can stay - I'll see what I need when I get to Oz tvb wise - I'd still like to keep up with motorbike racing etc. so I'll need something I guess.
£1k a year is serious watch money - if a few people gave smoking and sky tv they could have some amazing treats - 116619 sub anyone?
It's just a matter of time...
Here's my plan:
Last year the Humax broke after 5 years of fab freeview recording. Replacement Humax ~£250.. And...... I finally got cheesed off with BT who are crap....
And....... my broadband was 1Mb provided by Orange and bundled in with my mobile phone for free. It was also awfull both for speed and customer service, infact it was worth what I paid for it, nothing.
Don't want many extra channels, certainly don't want sport or film premium channels.
Solution:
Ditch British Telecom (forever), ditch Orange broadband and my crappy livebox. Saving ~£200/year on BT line rental.
Start Virgin Media Broadband, phone, and telly.
£35/month for 30Mb broadband, basic (but fine for me) freeview channels, lovely shiny recording box including HD recording and inclusive phone package.
Happy.
As for Sky....... £80/month are you frickin serious? If I want HD sports I'll go to my local pub where they have lovely cold beer, and if I want HD films I'll go to the cinema.... or stream HD films at £4.50 per film through my virgin broadband. I honestly think that Premium film channels are dead in the water. Stream what you want to watch, not what they are showing.
I like watching rugby and cricket, so for me the BT Vision Sky Sports 1 & 2 plus ESPN for under £12 a month was a proper bargain and worth every penny - plus we live in an Infinity area so we get reliable 35mb broadband for £17 a month on top. So c£35 for calls (free weekend), line rental, fast interweb and the only satellite channels I watch (rest of family happy with Freeview), with a decent PVR thrown in too. Two year contract incidentally, and we've been running with the above for 9 months or so.
Downsides: sport is via a Freeview PVR so SD only for the sports channels and no red button options, and lots of folk hate BT - but we've found the service good (only needed when we went for Infinity), and I do wonder if some folk are confusing the significance of total number of complaints with complaints per thousand users - a much more meaningful measure I think.
Best
Richard
I'm happy with free Orange Broadband, Freeview HD and a basic Love Film subscription.
Total cost p/m £4.99.
If I was a sports fan like some of you spending £80p/m, I'd cancel SKY and spend £80 p/m on watching sport live, that way it's in real time, real HD, real 3D with no ad breaks.
Chris.
get an apple tv or similar and install xbmc, get icefilms plug in and a yearly sub to liveonlinefooty.com
job done ;)
I binned it off too £65 per month and watched hardly anything
Id seen all the films and am not a footie fan and F1 is in HD using box i still have hooked up as is moto GP
Bought a Samsung internet TV with wifi dongle so i took out a £9.99 lovefilm package which means i can select and stream movies from huge library and get them through post
Also has iplayer through TV
Saved £55 per month
I miss
2 and a half men
Dave for TG etc
Small sacrifice
I've never had Sky, and even with two sub 5's, will not consider it.
Orange internet with phone line addition, PS3 with iplayer content (BBC/ITC/CH4) and LoveFilm subscription.
Works for me (us).
But... how are you going to watch the new series of Keeping up with the Kardashian? :shock:
I've been a Sky customer now for over 8 years.
After reading this, i decided to phone up and tell them i wanted to leave,
Outcome was they gave me a 25% discount for the next 12 months, so worth doing 8)
I have a season ticket as well as a sky subscription. 8)If I was a sports fan like some of you spending £80p/m, I'd cancel SKY and spend £80 p/m on watching sport live, that way it's in real time, real HD, real 3D with no ad breaks.
Never did for me., I found them to be utterly hopeless. No broadband for over a month and 50 calls in one quarter to them.Orange internet with phone line addition, PS3 with iplayer content (BBC/ITC/CH4) and LoveFilm subscription.
Works for me
i am a freesat fan, 1 meter dish free sat box 3 or 4 sats quite a lot of sports for free, also plenty of subscription chanells for a fraction of $ly if i decide to shell out, one polish sub costs 180 euros for 12 months, 2 sports and 6 movie chanells, al jezera have some great deals, so do abu dabi tv, i have a morphine patch on so this may not appear as i intend it to, if one really needs to get a refunf from $ly google card shareing.
And a rubbish view mostly.
The movie channels are good value for film buffs. Sky Movies Classics and Sky Movies Indie show the kind of movies the BBC used to show. And you also get MGM HD and TNT bundled in, which turn up some gems that never get terrestrial broadcasts since the state brodcaster started chasing lowest common denominator audiences.
We binned the full Virgin package a couple of years ago when the Mrs was made redundant, since then we've had basic TV/phone/10meg broadband for £26pm. Phone is never used as we have mobiles and most landline calls were sales crap despite being on TPS :evil: I never watch TV any more at home, however the selection we do have keeps the Wife quiet, and as it's Virgin there is on-demand which means she can catch up on her guff without hogging the PC for iplayer etc. If I want to catch a footy match I go to the pub across the road.
We've also got a caravan in a remote part of the west highlands with very poor analogue reception (before it was cut off) so I fitted a freesat kit; total cost including a 24" widescreen Sony CRT was £85 :mrgreen: When there and there is a match on, I either listen to it on freesat radio or go to a mates house who has SKY and supply a few beers for his hospitality.
I know some people who're paying £100+ for their SKY subscription. Mental if you ask me when it could be used for mortgage overpayments/a toy in the garage/ holiday etc. However to each their own :thumbleft:
^
So, to summarise: you don't watch TV at home so you ditched Sky. Fair enough.
Now try staying at your mate's house from half-ten to seven watching a day's cricket and see how fed up he gets of you...
It's true. If you (anyone) don't watch TV then you don't need Sky. If you (anyone) download programmes illegally from wherever, then you don't need Sky.
If you enjoy films in HD, sport and legally obtained documentaries then Sky is the best option if the money is there.
Which is why I added my final sentence :wink: I perhaps should have added an 'IMHO'?
I'm still pretty old-skool and rent my DVD's from blockbuster, prefer my written media to be printed on pulped trees and enjoy the romance of radio for sporting occasions if I can't/won't view them live on TV. I also abhor plagiarism/piracy/hooky free stuff that's readily available, however you (anyone) wishes to interpret it. In fact I am a huge fan of the BBC and I'm more than happy to pay my licence fee, most of the TV I do watch is invariably from the beeb as is my radio consumption.
I do miss discovery and it's offshoots I must admit, but I'm yet to fathom out a sport that can be played out for five days and end up a draw :wink:
As I said previously "However to each their own :thumbleft: "
Am I the only one who never buys/rents dvds?
I'd much rather spend money on a sky subscription than buy the latest blockbuster on dvd.
I have a Lovefilm subscription for my movie watching. £8.16 a month gets 4 blu-rays.
Nope.
There are so many films these days I fancy watching but then find dire and ultimately switch off after twenty minutes. With a Sky subscription it doesn't bother me. It would if I'd bought or rented the DVD.
If anyone fancies a good Brit urban horror (shy guy finds London is really inhabited by demons [which should come as no surprise to anyone, in truth]) then 'Heartless' is worth watching.
Me neither.Nope.
Can't think of any modern film I would choose to watch.
Cheers,
Neil.
[quote=Neil.C]Me neither.Nope.
Can't think of any modern film I would choose to watch.[/quote:3ofz5mrf]
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching films, what I find odd is people moaning about repeats who then talk about buying dvds.
I've never bought a dvd and own about 3 pre-recorded vhs tapes, having a library of films doesn't appeal to me at all.
[quote=Neil.C]Me neither.Nope.
Can't think of any modern film I would choose to watch.[/quote:1u4vmggd]
You can rent the classic too.
You should be able to get Dave on Freeview.
I cancelled sky only to caught by virgin media at my next house, I've got to say fibreoptics is much better than copper lines!
being able to watch on demand is great and you also get newsgroups for 7 days so thats my downloading sorted as well!
How do you guys cope without Sky +? I'd love to enlightened about an alternative !
Is the 7 days the newsgroup retention ? If so thats not long !!
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote