An inexpensive alternative to satellite and cable TV

KUSA - Steve Carter, like many of us, was paying a lot of money for his satellite television service. He set out to find something cheaper, and he did. Now he says he's saving hundreds of dollars.

"I've paid $30 in the last six months for programming," Carter, who works at 9NEWS, said.

A product called Apple TV, used in concert with programming and movies on the Internet, can make it so you can watch TV without spending a bundle.

"When I first made the decision to drop satellite, it was mainly because I realized that 75 percent of the programs that I'm watching were available to me for free," Carter said.

Much of it is free, as in "over the air" network TV which is broadcast locally from the towers of the network affiliates on Lookout Mountain. He then recorded for re-broadcast on his Tivo.

Carter discovered he has access to thousands of movies and TV shows through a small Netflix subscription and access to thousands of additional offerings that are mostly free through Apple TV, which taps into his computer.

But sitting at his computer when he wanted to watch TV was not an attractive option.

"You know, a lot of people are watching television on their computer screens because a lot of it is free, a lot of it is available. I just refuse to sit in an uncomfortable chair and watch television on the computer screen when I've got a big screen and a comfortable couch," Carter said as he pointed to large Sony flat screen in his family room.

So to get back to his couch, it was out with the satellite and in with Apple TV, a box that sits right next to his flat screen.

Apple TV gives him access to most of the programs he initially had on satellite. Now, he only pays for those he wants to watch.

"Apple TV allows you to take your television, connect it to the Internet and basically gives you access to all of the programs available on the iTunes store," Carter said.

The iTunes store is a free online application that gives you access to more than 50,000 television episodes. You can buy an entire season of a show for around $24, or one episode at a time for $1.99. You save money by purchasing the entire season.

"I'll go the iTunes store and I'll find the programs that I like and I'll buy them. I don't have a problem with that because I can pay for them in HD, and through Apple TV, they will stream to my television in high definition and it looks terrific."

Netflix also allows him to draw from more than 17,000 movies and TV shows on a "watch instantly" program. That's a subscription service he pays $12 a month for that also comes with DVDs through the mail.

"There's so much material that's available to me, in high definition, old movies and old television shows, that I can't watch it all," Carter said.

Carter says he spends more time watching and less time sorting through on-screen menus.

"I'd sit down in front of the TV and I'd surf around for 10 to 15 minutes, and realize I don't know what to watch. Now I know when I sit down to watch television, I know exactly what I'm going to watch," he said.

That's because it's all sitting on a hard drive, recorded and ready for playback. He's now essentially his own programmer.

"I can sit down at 7:28, and start watching, you know, prime time," he said.

All for hundreds less than he was paying.

The Apple TV device cost $229. You'll need to use your Internet connection, and another a box that costs $79 that streams programs to your television. You could also use your Xbox or PS3, and Sony just announced on Monday a new partnership with Netflix to provide the "instant view" feature on their system. You will need a high speed Internet connection.

Carter was paying $60 a month for his subscription to satellite TV. He stopped four years ago. That means in the time since he would paid around $2,900 for that service. Buying the new technology, like Apple TV, costs just more than $300, and Carter says he only spent about $30 in the past six months on iTunes. With satellite TV in that same time period, he would have spent $360.

The biggest downside is that if you want to watch the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets or the Colorado Rockies, you have to head for a local sports bar because those are all cable offerings.