Cable+WiFi+Cellphone vs. Cellphone-Only, Watsonville, CA

With my recent move to the top of, ok, middle ways up a mountain, I lost access to normal cable/WiFi providers (Spectrum, Comcast, etc.). They simply don't offer service this far up "the hill". Now, there are satellite cable & WiFi providers, like HughesNet, but they didn't save much money and, frankly, were jerks on the phone. You could also go the route of Dish Network or DirectTV, but it's not my property and I would feel a bit odd about installing hardware on someone else's property or building.

So, I sucked it up and decided I'd go old school. For $20, I'd buy a simple HD TV Antenna (from Amazon) and see what I got. Well, it turned out to be about 12 channels in English (slightly more than that in Spanish as well). CBS comes in, but no NBC or ABC. It's really basic, but for the positive, it did remind me of childhood and "changing channels" by hand for the family. Ah, it was a simpler time.

Well, soon after seeing my basic TV options, I inquired with my cellphone provider about their options for viewing content on my phone. I thought I'd at least be able to stay abreast of some content and be able hold a conversation with someone else if a cool reality show came up.

Lo and behold, AT&T had me on a plan that was 5GB of data (with Rollover) for $80/month. What I was not aware of until I inquired on my own is that they had recently redone their plans and had one called "Unlimited & More Premium", also for $80/month (based on a single user/phone line). I did loose Rollover data (which is basically moot if you now have unlimited data) plus I gained access to their Watch TV app, which allows for a single premium channel and 30+ normal cable channels (TBS, Bravo, AMC, CNN, etc.). This seemed like a no-brainer to me - Done.

I did some quick Googling and also found out how to get the content from my phone to my HDMI/Internet-equipped TV (a ~4 year old Vizio model). For Apple there are at least two really simple options. Being a single user with a single TV, I decided to go for the cheapest and most simple, Apple's Lightning to HDMI Adaptor, at an MSRP of $50 (more on price below). I can plug this into phone and TV, and also charge the phone while viewing content. It seems so simple and easy now - who knew? More importantly, do cable providers want us to know?! I mean, AT&T owns Direct TV. But I digress - quickly, other options to stream this content include using Apple TV to mirror content b/w multiple devices (TV, laptop, phone, etc.) or a WiFi-enabled option like Google Chromecast or the like.

A note on the price of this adaptor - Target sells it at the time of this post for $39. BestBuy sells it for $54.99. I think it's easy to see where you should purchase it. Finally, as far as extra costs, for this set-up I also purchased some longer charging and HMDI cords. This allows one to use the phone as a "remote" further away from the TV, and also work on a better cell signal in your space, if needed.

It has worked good (not great) so far. I would not say the signal I personally receive is amazing by any means (your cell service may be much better), and there are some times it works poorly. But, I've watched GoT epsodes to catch-up and the finale live without much trouble. RedBullTV came through great live and previously taped content. Movies and shows from most of the cable channels stream well enough to watch without much interruption. It's not HD quality and ease as from a cable box, but I simply remind myself how much I'm saving.

And is there a cost savings? Is it significant? You friggin' bet there is! Here's how it breaks down for my bills over 12 months, below. This also means my new "hardware" (antenna, cords, and Apple HDMI adaptor) is paid off by then, as one-time costs.

If you find yourself in a multi-person dwelling, out on your own, or simply tired of paying for cellphone, cable AND WiFi, I think you might want to look into these new styles of "viewing content". #merica