Moving On From Cache County

Cache Free TV is Moving on. Moving on... out of town, out of Cache County, and out of Utah, and away from Google's "Blogger" platform. I'll be keeping this blog online as a resource for those in Cache Valley and Northern Utah. I will continue to monitor the site and answer questions.

I have a new blog here:

www.CashFreeTV.tk

I'm also moving on from Blogger. I will be using WordPress on  the new site, it's a lot more flexible. I've copied the posts that aren't specific to Utah, and have lots of new posts coming concerning how to enjoy TV for free. And none of them are going to be specific to Utah.

Come and visit me at my new place!

Cash Free TV: Amazon Launches "Fire TV Stick"

Cash Free TV: Amazon Launches "Fire TV Stick": Amazon is now taking pre-orders for their new Amazon Fire TV Stick ($39) , a device that is positioned to compete with the Google's Chromecast and Roku's Streaming Stick. 

Read more:

Cash Free TV: Amazon Launches "Fire TV Stick"

I'm Not Here.

Well, it has come to pass - I am no longer a resident of Cache Valley, or Utah. I've moved back to Las Vegas. That means I can't install your antenna, or sell you an antenna in Northern Utah.

I will continue to maintain this blog and respond to reader's questions, however. I can still recommend antennas for your location and offer you advice - no matter where in the USA you live.

You can contact me at cachefreetv@gmail.com

Goodbye, Cache Valley...

They say that all good things must pass... And so it is for my time in Utah. As of mid - August 2014, I will be moving out of state. I will still maintain this blog, but updates will be few and far between. I can still answer your questions and make recommendations for you. But if you want to buy an antenna or have one installed, time is ticking. I have a limited number of antennas here that I can install or sell, and when they are gone, they're gone. Now's your last chance to save hundreds to thousands of dollars by firing your TV provider and having Cache Free TV install an antenna for free HD TV for life!

By my estimation, I've saved readers and customers thousands of dollars already, and they will continue to save money long after I'm gone. So tell me...

Why are YOU still paying for TV?

MOVIES! Utah's CW30 Adds Movies! Network on 30.2

I lost CW30.1 and ZUUS Country 30.2 a few times this past week. Sometimes when I re-scanned I found a 30.3 sub-channel - with nothing on it. Or nothing on 30.2, and ZUUS on 30.2. But on Saturday May 3 when it happened again - I re-scanned, I found ZUUS Country had been moved to 30.3, and 30.2 is now the MOVIES! network.

Movies! (stylized as "MOVIES!") is an American digital multicast television network that is owned as a joint venture between Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting and the Fox Television Stations subsidiary of 21st Century Fox. The network features an emphasis in its programming on feature films; it is available in the United States through the digital subchannels of broadcast television stations, as well as on select cable providers. Movies! is broadcast 24 hours a day in the widescreen picture format (available in either in standard-definition or high definition depending on the station's preference). The network competes with This TV, a similarly formatted network originally operated by Weigel (whose operational stake in that network was later taken over by Tribune Broadcasting on November 1, 2013); that network's primary source of programming is composed of feature films, though that network also broadcasts classic television series and children's programming.

Amazon introduces Fire TV Streaming device

Amazon Fire TV is a tiny box you connect to your HDTV. It's the easiest way to enjoy Netflix, Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, low-cost movie rentals, and much more

The TV Variety Show And The Golden Era of Television - Blogs - DTV USA Forum

 Here's a post I published over at DTV USA Forums:

The TV Variety Show And The Golden Era of Television - Blogs - DTV USA Forum

Anyone miss the classic TV variety shows? I sure do!

The Cost of Pay TV (revisited)

When I started this blog in 2011, I had just dumped DirecTV and put up an antenna. DirecTV was costing me about $70 a month. In my first post on the subject, I noted that this was pretty much average for Pay TV customers. I also calculated that this $70 a month added up to about $9000 over 10 years, and would only continue to rise over time.

So now just a few short years later in 2014 the average cost of pay TV is up to about $85 a month - over $1000 a year, over $10,000 over ten years. In fact, the average price of cable has been increasing at a rate of 6% annually. What is the cable company going to get from you over your lifetime? Let's assume that you start paying cable at age 20 for $85 a month and continue to pay until you are 70, a period of 50 years. If you were able to work out some magical deal with your provider to have no price increase for 50 years, you would spend $51,000 on TV during that time. Add taxes, Set Top Box rentals, and a 6% annual price increase, and your lifetime total for TV alone will approach $100,000.

Amazon Prime: Is it worth $99 a year?

Try Amazon Prime Free

I received the following email from Amazon this morning alerting me that the price of Amazon Prime was increasing from $79 to $99 a year:

Dear CacheFreeTV,
We are writing to provide you advance notice that the price of your Prime membership will be increasing. The annual rate will be $99 when your membership renews on August 5, 2014.

Even as fuel and transportation costs have increased, the price of Prime has remained the same for nine years. Since 2005, the number of items eligible for unlimited free Two-Day Shipping has grown from one million to over 20 million. We also added unlimited access to over 40,000 movies and TV episodes with Prime Instant Video and a selection of over 500,000 books to borrow from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library.

For more information about your Prime membership, visit our Prime membership page.

Sincerely,
The Amazon Prime Team

From the website- If your membership renews before April 17, 2014, you'll be charged at a membership rate of $79. If your membership renews on or after April 17, 2014, you'll be charged at a membership rate of $99.

While I've enjoyed Amazon Prime for the past 2 years, I have to make a choice between Netflix at $94 a year and Amazon Prime benefits at $99 (Free prime videos, Prime 2 day shipping, Kindle lending library). I think Netflix is a better value for my family, given that Netflix has a bigger library (including Disney), I can still get free shipping from Amazon if I order $35 at once, and I can get plenty of content for my Kindle for free on Amazon and the internet. I also have a Sam's club membership so I can get good deals there. I went to Amazon and selected "Remind Me Later - Remind me three days before my membership renews".

Sorry, Amazon. I'm out as of August, 2014.

If you're an Amazon Prime member, is it worth $99 a year to keep your Prime membership? Share your thoughts, please.

Satellite TV: $30, No Monthly Bill.

After setting up a FTA satellite system, I set a challenge for myself: Just how cheaply could I set up a FTA system for Galaxy 19? Turns out the number is around $30. Of course, the secret is getting a suitable dish for free.

The dish I used was a discarded DirecTV "Slimline" dish, it's about 22" x 36". (I wouldn't try anything smaller!) You can find them on Freecycle.org, Craigs List, ebay, on your neighbor's roof, or at the dump. If you can't find a suitable dish for free or cheap, you can buy one but it will add about $50 to your total cost. Try the Winegard DS2076 76 cm Dish.

Once you've obtained a dish, the rest of the components are easily available on Amazon. Here's how we do it:

Release Your Inner Nerd - Watch the New Cosmos.

Okay, I'll admit it. I am a nerd - and I was a nerd long before being a nerd was cool. I got beat up for being nerdy. I was born at the dawn of the space age. I watched Neil Armstrong land on the moon. I subscribed to Sky and Telescope. I built my own telescopes.

And I watched Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" on PBS.

On March 9 2014, Fox and Nat Geo networks will premiere “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey,” a follow-up to Carl Sagan’s 13-part series “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage”.

Where to watch the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics

Just a quick list of where to find Olympics coverage:

First, on broadcast TV, you can find events on your local NBC channel - in Utah, KSL 5.1 - but it's all delayed broadcasts. You may also find events on other NBC owned pay TV channels such as NBC-Universal.

NBC has locked down their internet streams and made them available only to pay TV customers - http://stream.nbcolympics.com/live-extra/ (thank you, Comcast!) You will need your Pay TV provider's credentials to log in - or your Uncle Ed's pay TV credentials . Other possible online sources include foreign sources such as Russia Today (RT), BBC, or other international sources. Some sources may be geo-blocked, however. Two other sources for coverage online are http://www.superusvoxtv.com/ and http://www.ilive.to

If you have access to Ku or C-band satellite, NBC may have feeds on AMC 1, AMC 6, and / or AMC 9 (Ku) and you may find some unencrypted feeds on Galaxy 14, 16, or 17 on "C" band. SatelliteGuys.US_TheList - nbc There also are reports of Olympics on Ku band satellites Satmex 8 116.8 (3719 H, 26999) and Satmex 6 (3833 H, 3620) - in Spanish.

First, on broadcast TV, you can find events on your local NBC channel - but it's all delayed broadcasts.
You may also find events on other NBC pay TV channels such as NBC-Universal. NBC has locked down their internet streams and made them available only to pay TV customers - you will need your provider's credentials to log in - or your Uncle Ed's pay TV credentials . Other possible online sources include foreign sources such as Russia Today (RT) or other international sources. Some sources may be geo-blocked, however.

If you have access to Ku or C-band satellite, NBC has feeds on AMC 1, 6, and 9 (Ku) and you may find some unencrypted feeds on Galaxy 14, 16, or 17 on "C" band. SatelliteGuys.US_TheList - nbc There also are reports of Olympics on Ku band satellites Satmex 8 116.8 (3719 H, 26999) and Satmex 6 (3833 H, 3620) - in Spanish. - See more at: http://www.dtvusaforum.com/sports-talk/53198-where-watch-2014-olympics.html#sthash.bZ3P1vfe.dpuf

First, on broadcast TV, you can find events on your local NBC channel - but it's all delayed broadcasts.
You may also find events on other NBC pay TV channels such as NBC-Universal. NBC has locked down their internet streams and made them available only to pay TV customers - you will need your provider's credentials to log in - or your Uncle Ed's pay TV credentials . Other possible online sources include foreign sources such as Russia Today (RT) or other international sources. Some sources may be geo-blocked, however.

If you have access to Ku or C-band satellite, NBC has feeds on AMC 1, 6, and 9 (Ku) and you may find some unencrypted feeds on Galaxy 14, 16, or 17 on "C" band. SatelliteGuys.US_TheList - nbc There also are reports of Olympics on Ku band satellites Satmex 8 116.8 (3719 H, 26999) and Satmex 6 (3833 H, 3620) - in Spanish. - See more at: http://www.dtvusaforum.com/sports-talk/53198-where-watch-2014-olympics.html#sthash.bZ3P1vfe.dpuf

First, on broadcast TV, you can find events on your local NBC channel - but it's all delayed broadcasts.
You may also find events on other NBC pay TV channels such as NBC-Universal. NBC has locked down their internet streams and made them available only to pay TV customers - you will need your provider's credentials to log in - or your Uncle Ed's pay TV credentials . Other possible online sources include foreign sources such as Russia Today (RT) or other international sources. Some sources may be geo-blocked, however.

If you have access to Ku or C-band satellite, NBC has feeds on AMC 1, 6, and 9 (Ku) and you may find some unencrypted feeds on Galaxy 14, 16, or 17 on "C" band. SatelliteGuys.US_TheList - nbc There also are reports of Olympics on Ku band satellites Satmex 8 116.8 (3719 H, 26999) and Satmex 6 (3833 H, 3620) - in Spanish. - See more at: http://www.dtvusaforum.com/sports-talk/53198-where-watch-2014-olympics.html#sthash.bZ3P1vfe.dpufFirst, on broadcast TV, you can find events on your local NBC channel - but it's all delayed broadcasts.
You may also find events on other NBC pay TV channels such as NBC-Universal. NBC has locked down their internet streams and made them available only to pay TV customers - you will need your provider's credentials to log in - or your Uncle Ed's pay TV credentials . Other possible online sources include foreign sources such as Russia Today (RT) or other international sources. Some sources may be geo-blocked, however.

If you have access to Ku or C-band satellite, NBC has feeds on AMC 1, 6, and 9 (Ku) and you may find some unencrypted feeds on Galaxy 14, 16, or 17 on "C" band. SatelliteGuys.US_TheList - nbc There also are reports of Olympics on Ku band satellites Satmex 8 116.8 (3719 H, 26999) and Satmex 6 (3833 H, 3620) - in Spanish.

KSL 5.2 Gets COZI, Drops LWN

I returned from my Christmas / New Years vacation to find that KSL has dumped the simply dreadful LWN (Live Well Network) from its 5.2 subchannel and replaced it with COZI TV (http://www.cozitv.com/). I realized that there are a few people (maybe 2 or 3) who will miss LWN, but all of their content is available online at their website (http://livewellnetwork.com) as well as on ROKU with the Nowhere Man private channel.