Chronicle - Bell/Videotron's Rancart is on track.Now that replacement of the residential phone is set and we have a solid internet link, it remains to tackle the last item of the plan: television.

Your beautiful program ...

Of the three services, television is the one that led to the most questions from those around us.Because Canadians are (again!) Large television consumers.

According to the Canadian Radiation and Telecommunications Council (CRTC), each Canadian spends weekly over 27 hours before their small screen.

In short, people are attached to their favorite shows.Cutting the cord then becomes a painful gesture.

The real question remains complete, however: what are you really listening to?What chains are essential?Those you can do without?Do you have truly essential shows or series?

I have long been one of those who believed that I could not do without the cable.He is in my life as far as I can remember.A real drug!

But in substance, can the web overcome our use of traditional television?After a little reflection, it is obvious that we can do without a monthly cable subscription.

Indispensable, good to have, useless

So what is our consumption made up of?The news to RDI and some sports (hockey and baseball) are the only shows that we listen to live.I will come back to it, but all that is legally on the web.

For general consumption, Radio-Canada and Télé-Québec are our main destinations for French-speaking television.Most of the time, all things that are found on the digital platforms of stations or by digital signal.We do not listen to roughly cable television in English.

Yes, children and me (notice how I subtract my blonde from the equation) let's listen to sports channels a lot like RDS 1-2— Info or TSN 1-2-3-4-5.This is where reflection becomes interesting.Do we listen to these channels ... or do we listen to the sports they broadcast?

You see what I mean?

You have to differentiate between the channel and the content.Faced with the abundance of the latter, the canal becomes less and less important.We are then in a huge Chinese buffet.

Which brings us to the question of choice.What is essential, which would be ideal and what we can do without?

The indispensable

We are in the Stanley Cup series and we subscribed to the Rogers Gamecenter Live service.This allows us to listen to all the parts in real time or delayed.Until now, the only downside are the restrictions preventing the broadcasting of the French -speaking matches of the matches.It's a minor.The elimination of Canadians, whether described in French or English, is just as bad ...

We also subscribed to MLB.TV, an equivalent service for baseball.Blue Jays will no longer be the only team (or almost) that we can follow assiduously.We can now listen to all the matches, no matter what place.We still haven't met any restrictions like hockey.

For RDI, we go through a subscription from the Itunes store.Using the Radio-Canada application (available on iOS and Android), it is possible to subscribe to the week or month.We do not have access to the program Les Grands reports.However, to watch the TV from 9 p.m., it's perfect.

For the series, the only one that was really popular this winter at home was unit 9.It is available (slightly delayed) on the tou platform.TV.

Otherwise, all the rest of our TV consumption was already happening on the web.We have subscribed to Netflix for a long time and children find a lot on YouTube.I am also a follower of Vimeo, another online broadcast service.

The important

Generalist televisions (Radio-Canada, Télé-Québec, TVA and V) can be captured by the air using an HD antenna.Like rabbit ears, but even better.

Otherwise, the mobile applications of several channels like VAT and V allow you to listen to delayed content.

The rest…

I have no attachment to the rest.My TV package with Bell contains dozens of unnecessary or unnecessary channels for the household.That we finance gravely when it is possible to better target what interests us on the web ...

Broadcast the web ... on its TV

Yes, I already hear you from here: "JF, it's all good, but I will not listen to my favorite series on my phone" ...

There are a multitude of devices allowing you to broadcast the web on your existing television.I will not make an exhaustive analysis of each solution.A chromecast, an Apple TV or peripherals like those offered by the Roku company all allow it to do so.

In our case, our two televisions have a dedicated Apple TV.We use applications to display hockey, baseball, Netflix, Vimeo and Tou.TV.Then we use AirPlay technology (available only on Apple devices) to broadcast RDI from our phones and other imachins.If we had Android devices, Chromecast would be an interesting avenue to do the same thing.

For stations broadcast in the air by digital signal, there are five of us in the Quebec region.But if you live in the Montreal region, the number is much more imposing.You can capture the channels of our American neighbors.

Little aside: next week, I conclude this series with a DIY project.You will find on savings and cie the steps to assemble a house HD antenna which works better than those sold at the store.Synvain Rénova has only to get well!

Let's talk a little money ...

It’s all good, but in the end, are we winners?

Yes and no.

The current TV package with Bell costs us $ 62.95 per month.However, a juicy credit of $ 42 (granted at the signing of the most recent contract, but which we were going to lose in the coming months) decreases the total to $ 20.95.If adds the $ 10 that we are already paying for Netflix, we arrive at $ 72.95 per month ... or $ 30.95, depending on your reading of things.

The annual subscription to MLB.TV is $ 150.If we extend it over 12 months, we talk about $ 12.50.

For Rogers Gamecenter Live, it's a little more complicated.For the moment, we have only paid for the series, but it will certainly be more expensive than MLB.TV.With prices reduced at the start of the season, we are talking about about $ 180, so $ 15 per month.

For RDI, the cost is $ 3.99 per month, while we extend another $ 10 for Netflix (but we already paid for).

Result: these changes cost monthly just under $ 42.

So are we winners?Personally, I say yes, because I spare my mental health by no longer doing the negotiation tour.Without sports, the result would be breathtaking.

Does the Cutting Cord are worth it?

If I add the Internet, the phone and the television, the monthly total is just over $ 100 (plus taxes).

At Bell, it's $ 136 (plus the same taxes).

There is of course equipment to buy at the start (modem, wireless router, VoIP adapter, multimedia box).However, these are investments that will last several years and they may have more use.Depreciated over three years, they increase the monthly amount of $ ten dollars.

So yes, we are winners.