I recently went through the process of cutting my cable TV. I was using one of my local provider’s higher end TV, phone and internet package plans, renting three DVRs and multiple basic boxes for the TVs in my house – yes I have way more than I probably should – all for around $270 a month. At some point I realized I was spending over $3K a year for these services. In today’s digital age there had to be a cheaper way. So I built a list of needs.

• Receive HDTV
• DVR or play back shows on demand for three different users
• Use any TV to watch shows
• Maintain house phone at a lower price
• Maintain internet service at a sustained or better level of service

The below is the new system I installed.  I needed three Simple TV DVRs and four Rokus for media streaming, so my system was around $1.4K.  A one DVR and one Roku setup can be done for sub $700, and less if you need lower sensitivity antennas.  I will talk more about some of the individual components in following posts.

Cutting the Cable Component Diagram (Images and products via Amazon.com)

Now I just pay for my internet ($840/yr for 50/50) and VOIP phone ($30 year). So I have gone from $270 to $83 month.  It is really nice to have that money back in the bank for other things.