We recently made the decision to get rid of satellite television. Although the day has not yet come when it will actually be gone, I can't say that I'm worrying about missing it. I'm sure I won't.
When we lived in Illinois, we had DirecTV and enjoyed it for the most part. When we moved to Idaho in 2003, we had cable, then we moved to Dish Network. We weren't satisfied with what we got versus what we paid for cable. If anything, we're less satisfied with Dish.
We talked off and on for months about getting rid of Dish, complaining about the lack of watchable programming for what we were paying, but we did nothing to change or upset the status quo. Instead, we watched less and less and complained more and more.
Several months ago, we signed up for Amazon Prime, which gives free next day shipping as well as access to a number of free movies and television programming. We began to think more of a satellite and cable-free home. We had also checked out Hulu, although we were less than thrilled with the commercials, not to mention the interface through our internet-ready DVD player.
Then we decided to give Netflix a try. Between Amazon Prime and Netflix, we found a wealth of programming to watch, without lame commercials. The selection seemed much better than we were getting on Dish, and the cost was much less. The decision was becoming easier, especially once Dish announced it was raising our rates.
The rate hike solidified our decision to pull the plug, or the cable if you will. Dish begged and pleaded, but we said we're leaving. They do not make it easy to leave. They are charging us $15 to disconnect and making up ship our DVR and the LNB off our dish back to them. Presumably, the $15 charge is to pay for shipping on the box they are supposed to send us for returning things to them, but who knows.
As I write this, we should only have a few more days of Dish service. I can't wait. Aside from missing the occasional college football game, there is little to nothing I will miss about not have satellite television. It will mean more time for reading, for writing, for watching movies, and for discovering or re-discovering programs I had not seen before or had not seen in a long time. I see no down side to this change, except perhaps for another company that won't be getting my money.
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