Egret Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 I"m thinking about ditching cable/satellite. Most of the shows I watch are available through Hulu. I can also get crystal clear HD over the air through an antenna. I also get a ton of movies and older shows through Netflix. I can already watch Netflix streaming on my tv through my xbox. I could set up our other main tv w/ either a Roku box or a Tivo. Both of them can now stream Netflix. With a Tivo, I could record over the air HD and PBS shows for my four-year-old. Paying for a Tivo subscription is $12 a month. That's a lot less than my DirecTV bill that keeps inching closer and closer to $100 when all is said and done. Basically I'm having a hard time justifying paying that difference to watch ESPN and CNN. My son would lose the Disney channel, but he can watch a lot of it on DVD. No big loss there. I can get those movies for no extra money through Netflix. The only real cost I'd be looking at is either buying a Roku box for $99 or an HD Tivo for $249. Either way, it wouldn't take much time to make up the cost difference. I'm thinking after the football season when my Sunday Ticket expires, I might take the plunge. Anyone ditch cable or satellite and try something like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 I know people who just hook up a computer to the TV and use Hulu. I'm thinking that that's the way the industry is going. The only stuff I watch live is football and baseball. Everything else is on the DVR. Why am I paying for all this live TV when I never watch it live anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAYER Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 I"m thinking about ditching cable/satellite. Most of the shows I watch are available through Hulu. I can also get crystal clear HD over the air through an antenna. I also get a ton of movies and older shows through Netflix. I can already watch Netflix streaming on my tv through my xbox. I could set up our other main tv w/ either a Roku box or a Tivo. Both of them can now stream Netflix. With a Tivo, I could record over the air HD and PBS shows for my four-year-old. Paying for a Tivo subscription is $12 a month. That's a lot less than my DirecTV bill that keeps inching closer and closer to $100 when all is said and done. Basically I'm having a hard time justifying paying that difference to watch ESPN and CNN. My son would lose the Disney channel, but he can watch a lot of it on DVD. No big loss there. I can get those movies for no extra money through Netflix. The only real cost I'd be looking at is either buying a Roku box for $99 or an HD Tivo for $249. Either way, it wouldn't take much time to make up the cost difference. I'm thinking after the football season when my Sunday Ticket expires, I might take the plunge. Anyone ditch cable or satellite and try something like this? how are youi going to watch sports? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 (edited) how are youi going to watch sports? They broadcast HD for the local games and games carried on the networks. And I'm thinking that in the next few years, nfl.com is going to start streaming games for a fee. Doesn't mlb.com already do this? Edited October 26, 2009 by AtomicCEO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egret Posted October 26, 2009 Author Share Posted October 26, 2009 They broadcast HD for the local games and games carried on the networks. And I'm thinking that in the next few years, nfl.com is going to start streaming games for a fee. Doesn't mlb.com already do this? Yup, mlb.tv. I just installed the Playon media server. It allows me to view hulu through my xbox. I haven't tried it on the wii, but it says it's in the beta stage. I would miss sports on espn, but i already watch some games on espn360. The more I look into this, the more doable it seems. I'm watching House on my xbox through hulu right now. While it's not hd, it's dvd quality. It's also free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Roku, Tivo, Hulu Are those the Teletubbies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 I just did a show inventory, and I can't pull this off yet. I need more streaming kids shows. Wubbsy, Wonder Pets, Berenstain Bears... I can't do it. Soon though... soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 (edited) Keep us informed on how it goes if you decide to do it. I'm thinking of doing it. I hook the laptop up to the TV to watch my Netflix movies and the picture is acceptable for me (not DVD or HD quality, but good enough). Most everything else I can get online as well. If I could get my over the air channels through an antennae, I would be far more inclined to do it, but I'm way out in the country. I could maybe get a stronger antennae, but I don't know much about that "technology" or lack thereof. It's funny to have 800 channels and dozens of HD and TV still sucks. Well, it doesn't suck necessarily, but it's not worth that much money. $100 for DirecTV and almost $100 for phone/internet is bull though. First things to go if I had a cash crunch and I wouldn't miss phone or satellite TV. Edited October 26, 2009 by TimC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 $100 for DirecTV and almost $100 for phone/internet is bull though. First things to go if I had a cash crunch and I wouldn't miss phone or satellite TV. Wow, that's pricey. Does that include cell phones? The most I've ever paid was $150 for TV, landline, and internet... and I realized that that was just ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Wow, that's pricey. Does that include cell phones? The most I've ever paid was $150 for TV, landline, and internet... and I realized that that was just ridiculous. $117.57 for DirecTV...no movie channels, no sports package. $89.57 for DSL (highest speed) and a land line. $84.28 for 2 cell phones. Verizon Wireless. No text messaging, no GPS, barely use any minutes. That's $291.42 total. And we don't have any bells and whistles outside of DSL where I pay an extra $10 for the highest speed available. No Comcast, FIOS, etc available out here in the sticks. I need to start re-evaluating all of these. Most came with a 2-year contract and I'm in year 3 of living in the house now. My telephone company does offer a package deal with phone, DSL and Dish Network that's cheaper. I'm not sure of Dish Network yet. My neighbors switched to it last month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egret Posted October 26, 2009 Author Share Posted October 26, 2009 $117.57 for DirecTV...no movie channels, no sports package. $89.57 for DSL (highest speed) and a land line. $84.28 for 2 cell phones. Verizon Wireless. No text messaging, no GPS, barely use any minutes. That's $291.42 total. And we don't have any bells and whistles outside of DSL where I pay an extra $10 for the highest speed available. No Comcast, FIOS, etc available out here in the sticks. I need to start re-evaluating all of these. Most came with a 2-year contract and I'm in year 3 of living in the house now. My telephone company does offer a package deal with phone, DSL and Dish Network that's cheaper. I'm not sure of Dish Network yet. My neighbors switched to it last month. That's a lot for dsl. I think mine is around $35 for ATT's highest speed. I'm going to guess that a big ol antenna on the roof or in the attic would pull in all the hd channels in your area. I have an indoor antenna in the ceiling of our basement. That pulls in all of our local hd channels (They still don't offer hd locals in Lansing through DirecTV). There's only one or two shows that my son watches everyday after looking at the dvr. He can still get Curious George. I'll have to get some Imagination Movers DVDs to make up for not having the Disney Channel. There are some episodes on their website, but that's not enough. I read that I could also set up a rss feed for a bit torrent app to get all shows I'd ever want, but I'd rather keep all of this legal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsfan Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Anyone ditch cable or satellite and try something like this? Yup, cable free for two years now. Hulu, etc. are ok for a decent number of shows. You'll do better with a google search for some of the more obscure stuff. Justin.tv for anything live that I want to watch. Cable is a complete waste of cash with the high-quality streaming that is available these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 That $89 is for DSL plus my phone. I called my DSL provider and asked if I could have no phone line or just be able to use it only for DSL and they said you couldn't. I figured I could get my phone down to almost nothing by doing it that way. FYI... PS3 Gets Netflix Netflix and Sony have reached a deal to make Netflix streaming functionality available to Internet-connected PlayStation 3 console, the companies announced Monday. The deal provides PS3 users with a benefit that Microsoft Xbox 360 players received last year. Netflix also streams to several other devices, including the Netflix by Roku box and Blu-ray Disc players made by LG and other companies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmypg Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Starting in 2010 Hulu is going to charge a fee. I'm not sure how much. http://popwatch.ew.com/2009/10/22/will-you...arging-in-2010/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazinib1 Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 I'm thinking that that's the way the industry is going. In 10 years, it will be. TV won't be phased out completely, but when Hollywood finally gets the internet worked into the contracts for SAG, you will see a major push in that direction and it will come fast. Right now, everything produced on the internet, specifically FOR the internet, is non-union. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egret Posted December 2, 2009 Author Share Posted December 2, 2009 Boxee! I've been playing with Boxee for the last week or so. It does a slick job of organizing online content. We're still dumping the satellite line next month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 I use Vudu and I am happy with it. It has high WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) because it is easy to use and the movies are in 1080p but the sound only goes to 5.1 surround. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egret Posted January 5, 2010 Author Share Posted January 5, 2010 I called and canceled DirecTV just now. Actually, I suspended the account and they credited me my last month's bill. I can call to cancel in two months. That way I also don't have to worry about sending back equipment right now. I ended up getting a Tivo HD. It came today, and I just finished setting up the Netflix with it. My son instantly recognized the Netflix and knew how to get to his instant view movies. That was cool. I put the antenna behind the tv, and it picked up all the local networks and sub-channels. I was worried that I would have needed to do lots of adjustments. Now we can still get the networks w/ a program guide. I also got the playon plugin to watch hulu on my xbox for the basement tv. I can still hook up the laptop too. The xbox will also take care of Netflix. All told I spent $225 and lowered my monthly "cable" bill down to $12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isleseeya Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Rikki , Tiki , Tavi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egret Posted March 10, 2010 Author Share Posted March 10, 2010 I've put together a little blog to help me keep track of all the emerging techno stuff that you can use now instead of cable or satellite: www.gmotechno.com We're a little over two months into this. I officially canceled DirecTV. They offered to give me two months of free service and another year at $29.99 w/ whatever tier I had before. It wasn't even a bit tempting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 I was going to get a roku for netflix but I also have an xbox360 which can stream it as well. Is there any conversion loss for streaming HD through the 360. Mines an older box so it doesn't have an HDMI input which was why I was going to get the roku. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 I've put together a little blog to help me keep track of all the emerging techno stuff that you can use now instead of cable or satellite: www.gmotechno.com We're a little over two months into this. I officially canceled DirecTV. They offered to give me two months of free service and another year at $29.99 w/ whatever tier I had before. It wasn't even a bit tempting. The community has responded and started to create channels for all of the great content already out there. In the Roku forums, I found a poster named nowhereman who has done an amazing job creating channels. His list of channels makes me want to run out and buy a Roku today. I can watch streaming CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC news shows. I've got to believe this is the start of something great for streaming traditional tv content from the internet to your hdtv. Isn't this illegal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 I've put together a little blog to help me keep track of all the emerging techno stuff that you can use now instead of cable or satellite: www.gmotechno.com We're a little over two months into this. I officially canceled DirecTV. They offered to give me two months of free service and another year at $29.99 w/ whatever tier I had before. It wasn't even a bit tempting. Awesome! I've been doing this research myself recently, and you've got it aggregated well. I was focusing on building a Mythbuntu box, but I'll look into Roku a little more. I bought an antenna last week for 20 bucks and was surprised at how many clear channels I get... but I can't go back to live TV now that I've been spoiled by a DVR. I really believe that internet delivery of television programming is going to be up around 25% by the end of the year if not more. The cable and satellite companies should start worrying immediately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheikYerbuti Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 I put the antenna behind the tv, and it picked up all the local networks and sub-channels. Wait, what's this about an antenna? Wasn't there a big to do less than a year ago about TV no longer being antenna accessible? And it was put off for a few months by congress or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SayItAintSoJoe Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 I called my DSL provider and asked if I could have no phone line or just be able to use it only for DSL and they said you couldn't. I think your DSL provider is really jerking you around with that policy. I cancelled my land line phone months ago and still have DSL. BTW, We don't miss the land line phone one bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.