Book Details
Publisher:
GigaOM Books
Language:
English
About the author
Janko Roettgers has been covering all things tech for more than 10 years. In 2003, he wrote the book Mix, Burn & RIP: The End of the Music Industry (Germany, 2003). Before that, he co-edited Net Pirates: The Culture of Electronic Crime” (Germany, 2001) and wrote “Netbeats – Internet music” (Germany, 2000). He first began contributing to GigaOM in 2007 and joined the staff in 2009. Janko is also the host of GigaOM’s Cord Cutters series, which has been exploring new and cheaper ways to watch TV in more than 40 episodes.
Cut the Cord: All You Need to Know to Drop Cable
$4.99
Introduction
No one enjoys paying those ever-rising cable bills, but cutting the cord, the increasingly common term for dropping your cable service – or even just cutting back on cable — can be a daunting task. Sure, we all want to save money, but we also like TV, and we definitely don’t want to give up on the shows we love — or for that matter on news, movies, or glitzy events like the Grammys.
The good news is: We don’t have to. These days, almost anything you’d want to watch on TV is available online for free or at a low cost. You don’t want to watch TV on your computer? No problem. A new generation of devices makes it easy to bring all those movies, TV shows, and sports events to your big-screen TV.
Still, cord cutting takes a little work, and it can be confusing to figure out what devices you need and how to find and watch the shows you love. That’s why I wrote this book. I’ve been writing about cord cutting, Netflix, Roku and similar topics for more than five years. I have personally tested and reviewed dozens of devices, sites, and services, and I’ve selected some of the best for this book to help kick-start your cord cutting adventure.
So what will you find in this book? We start by looking at how much you can save by cutting the cord. After that, dive right into the two main sections:
Where to watch is your guidebook to the services you’ll need to watch your favorite shows, movies, and sports teams, things like Netflix, Hulu, iTunes, and others.
How to watch tells you all about the equipment you’ll need. Not every service works with every device, so I’ll tell you everything you need to know about Roku, Boxee, Apple TV and some other devices you can use to watch the content you want to watch.
Both sections end with some specific tips that answer the question: What’s right for me? And at the end of each chapter, you’ll find a link to additional videos, reviews and resources from GigaOM, so you can always find the most up-to-date information.
Once you’ve read up on services and devices, you’re going to see that canceling cable – or just reducing your cable bill – can be pretty painless. But don’t take my word for it: We’ve also included the firsthand tales of three media, entertainment and gadget experts who’ve all cut the cord in recent years. Media blogger Jim Romenesko tells you why he decided to make his iPad his primary TV, gadget blogger Peter Rojas explains how he saves $100 a month and still watches the TV he wants, and home theater expert and HD Nation host Patrick Norton reveals how much more he enjoys watching TV now that he doesn’t have cable.
Finally, I’ll share a few musings about the future of cord cutting — which coincidentally also looks very much like the future of TV. That’s right: Cord cutting may seem daunting these days. But a few years from now, everyone is going to watch TV like a cord cutter — without big, excessive cable bundles and with new devices that make your cable box look like a relic from days long gone. And the best part? You can be a part of this future now — and save some money in the process.
