Direct answer: A complete cord-cutting kit is shorter than the cable era wants you to believe: an antenna for free locals, one streaming device per TV, broadband that passes a peak-hour check, and one television service to trial first (IPTV covers the channel universe) – plus a free afternoon to set it up in the right order and one rule: the cable box goes back only after the replacement has survived a full weekend in your house. This kit lists the gear, the order, and the money traps.
Cord-cutting fails as shopping (boxes bought in a panic) and succeeds as a small project. Below: the cord cutting starter kit itself, the weekend plan, and the budget in honest ranges – no affiliate math, no “save thousands” confetti; the savings are real but they come from the comparison discipline, not from buying gadgets.
Cord cutting starter kit: the kit list
| Item | Job | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Antenna (indoor or rooftop) | Free local channels forever | Check your market’s reception by ZIP first (antenna comparison) |
| Streaming device per TV | Runs the apps/services | Current-generation stick for most rooms, a box for the main TV (devices guide, what a stick is) |
| Broadband, verified at peak | The new pipe for everything | Speed-test at 8pm, not 8am (speed guide) |
| Router placement / mesh node / Ethernet cable | Deliver the pipe to the TVs | Wire the main TV if humanly possible (Ethernet vs Wi-Fi, router settings) |
| One TV service on trial | Channels + library beyond locals | €0.99/24h trial first; monthly before annual |
| Optional: OTA DVR | Record the free locals | Only if recording network TV is a household habit (recording options) |
| A surge-protected power strip | The unglamorous hero | Every streaming setup deserves one; label the plugs while you are behind the TV |
Cord cutting starter kit: the weekend plan
- Friday evening — audit: list the household’s must-have channels/shows; check the antenna reception map; speed-test the broadband at peak.
- Saturday morning — antenna up: mount/place, scan channels, verify the locals on the main TV.
- Saturday — devices: set up sticks/boxes room by room; sign into your apps; organise favourites once, properly.
- Saturday evening — trial live: start the IPTV trial; run the trial protocol against your must-have list, including one live event.
- Sunday — family verdict: everyone uses it normally; note complaints factually (channel missing? buffering? remote confusion?).
- Monday — decide: monthly plan if the weekend passed; only now schedule the cable cancellation and box return (renewals/cancellation mechanics).
Money traps to step around
- Annual plans on day one – the trial-to-monthly-to-annual ladder exists because month one teaches what brochures cannot (choosing a plan).
- Subscription sprawl – five “cheap” apps quietly reassembling the cable bill; audit quarterly (IPTV vs streaming services).
- Over-buying hardware – premium boxes for spare rooms; one good device for the flagship, sticks elsewhere (multi-room plan).
- Cancelling cable before the trial weekend – pride is not a viewing strategy; overlap first (switching checklist).
Frequently asked questions
The variable pieces: antenna (modest one-time), devices (a stick per TV at the entry tier is deliberately cheap; a main-TV box more), broadband you likely already pay for, and the service from trial (€0.99) to a monthly plan (current tiers). The discipline is comparing the ongoing monthly total against your cable bill – that gap, not the gadgets, is the saving.
With one device family across rooms and HDMI-CEC enabled, most TVs run on a single remote (voice control helps further). The learning curve is a weekend, not a lifestyle.
Run the sports fan’s checklist inside the trial on a real fixture; locals via antenna cover the big network events; decide with evidence.
Yes – indoor antennas and sticks are landlord-friendly; the constraints are reception (window placement helps) and broadband quality, both testable in the trial weekend.
Conclusion
Antenna, devices, verified broadband, one trialled service, a weekend in the right order, cable cancelled last: that is the whole kit. Build it once, audit it quarterly, and the cable era becomes a story you tell – preferably while watching the match, on the setup that replaced it. Start with the trial; keep the cable box until Sunday’s verdict is in.
