Finally cutting the cable cord

[Guest Keal G Seo]

Yeah I learned this today, oh well. I am going to activate the free trials of hulu and netflix this weekend. I jsut can't believe I can "beam" something from my phone to my tv but not my laptop.

What kind of AV out do you have on your laptop? You should be able to for under 10 bucks regardless of the type of connection. If there is no HDMI my next guess would be either DVI or VGA. These are the classic connections with a screw to hold it in place on either side. Either way you can pick up a DVI/VGA to RCA adapter. This will send it through the old Red, White and Yellow analog ports.

(Now if you meant from your phone to your laptop...not sure to what to tell ya there except there is no point because your computer can do whatever your phone can.)

[Dustbuster]

I used a clear wireless box on a pay as you go for wireless and roku 2 for Netflix and such. Cost was 62 per month. Brought comcrap back in to get telephone and tv and wireless w out hbo and show time for 100 a mo. Made sense cause I wanted AT and T the ##%^^ out of my house. So for an extra 60 a mo I got faster net, kept netflix and got hi speed wireless net
I'm not on a comcrap contract so I can dump em like a Taurus 38 in a dark alley....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 of course it ate my spelling.

[analog_kidd]

I built a computer about a year ago that is dedicated to my entertainment unit. The case is designed to look like a stereo component, and blends in well with the rest of my equipment. We mostly use it to stream from Amazon Prime, but you can also find some shows online right from the broadcaster, like CBS or NBC, etc. It's a bit of a pain streaming from the broadcaster because their interface is not very streamlined.

 

I got tired of finding the DVD's we have for the grandkids laying around, getting scratched or lost after they visited and left them out. I have ripped most of them to the PC's hard drive and put the DVD's away for safe keeping. All of their movies are now played from the PC on our TV.

 

I also have XBMC installed on the PC. It's kind of like Roku, or Boxee. It finds shows that are stored out at various sites, such as the broadcasters, and does all the work of finding them and presenting them with an easier interface. XBMC has lots of add-ons or plug-ins that can be installed to bring additional content, such as Ted Talks, or Documentaries, as well as some free movie options like Crakle.

 

We got the Amazon Prime mostly for the free 2 day shipping, and the video streaming was a bonus. The movie options are definitely not as robust as Netflix, and I think Netflix choices are limited (especially for new content), so there's not a lot I watch there. We have found a few shows there that are not broadcast on our DirecTV, such as BBC's Sherlock that is on Prime, and they have a nice selection of old classics and Westerns (which I just started watching). I wouldn't recommend Prime if that was all you were getting it for. I think you can browse thru the movies and shows on Amazon's site and it will tell you if the shows are available for free for Prime members. You may want to take a look and see if the shows you want are there.

[overthemountain]

We've been without cable for about 2 years now.  I don't miss it at all.  When I'm at a family member's house with cable and I start flipping channels, I remember exactly why we did it.  Too much aggravation...and that includes cost...for too little content.  I hate the scrolling adverts and the channel indicators in the corner and the generally crappy programs. Can you tell I'm getting worked up as I type?

 

We use a PS3 for streaming and blu-ray/dvd.  It works great.  It has built in apps for Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Youtube and RedBox...among others.

 

We actually have both Netflix and Amazon prime.  You can get a cheaper deal with Netflix if you only want to stream, but since there's a Netflix hub local (making the turn around time on discs extra quick) we still do 1 disc at a time unlimited.  Amazon prime gives you the free 2 day shipping and other Amazon related deals that we take advantage of, so that generally pays for itself.  If you do a lot of ordering from Amazon, like us with subscribe and save, it's well worth it and you get the bonus of the streaming media.  I think if I had to pick one I'd do Amazon prime for all the other stuff you get.  The content between these two is getting really close to equal, but Netflix has the disc advantage if you're interested in more obscure titles.

 

My longwinded 2 cents.

[tnguy]

I have been researching this too. Only problem so far for me is Sports. No ESPN for college football.  Anybody figured this part out?

 

Find a buddy. The cost of a sports package can buy an awful lot of "thank you" beer.

[gunwhatgun]

what about using these services on multiple tv's? We have four, will each tv need it's own account?

[runco]

I can stream multiple movies on my pc at once.  If I had the right video card, I could stream movies on each of the TVs in the house. 

[Guest Keal G Seo]

what about using these services on multiple tv's? We have four, will each tv need it's own account?

Depends on the service. I think Netflix allows 2 or 3 streams at once. They recently (few years ago) capped them because people were sharing accounts. If you plan to use more than the allowed streams I know Netflix will charge you extra, if you sign off on it otherwise they just wont allow the stream. Not sure about Hulu or Amazon limits.

[2.ooohhh]

what about using these services on multiple tv's? We have four, will each tv need it's own account?

Ideally, each TV would have it's own set top box(appleTV, Roku, PS3, ect), but each set top box would be logged into the home's single shared account from each service you subscribe to.(Hulu+, Amazon, Netflix, and Crunchy Roll in my case) As Keal said some services limit how many streams you can have open at one time so while I have 5 TVs only two of them at any given time can be streaming shows provided by Netflix. In my case since it is just my wife and I it is NEVER a problem. Now if we had kids/guests and were somehow trying to watch 3 shows from Netflix simultaneously one TV would get a warning message with a web address to upgrade our account. Most often I am watching Netflix or Amazon while the wife watches Hulu+, unless the wife and I are watching something together.

[Joseg]

Streaming sports, you can do a search and find a few sources, some are great some are not. I've cut the cable cord a while back, I still have a few channels comcast sends over their wire for free, nothing to write home about but still free. I have roku (but stopped using it, started channel surfing), prime, and netflix (bout to cancel them), crackle on chrome, amd a few sites I use to stream sports.. 

 

I'm happy that I did cut it.. 

[Guest Keal G Seo]

Streaming sports, you can do a search and find a few sources, some are great some are not. I've cut the cable cord a while back, I still have a few channels comcast sends over their wire for free, nothing to write home about but still free. I have roku (but stopped using it, started channel surfing), prime, and netflix (bout to cancel them), crackle on chrome, amd a few sites I use to stream sports.. 

 

I'm happy that I did cut it.. 

Yeah if you have cable run to your house you don't need a digital antenna, just either a digital converter or digital ready TV. They have to broadcast the OTA stuff for free under the must broadcast laws. The trade off in the law is they don't have to pay the companies that opt for must broadcast when they sell them/list them as part of a package. The up side is they have a larger audience.

[tnguy]

Yeah if you have cable run to your house you don't need a digital antenna, just either a digital converter or digital ready TV. They have to broadcast the OTA stuff for free under the must broadcast laws. The trade off in the law is they don't have to pay the companies that opt for must broadcast when they sell them/list them as part of a package. The up side is they have a larger audience.

 

This used to be the case. I picked up a cheap tuner off ebay and tried setting it up today. No go. So I tried a television I knew had been working and it picked up only an advertising channel (and a channel showing a Fedora login prompt). Some research shows that the FCC decided to let Comcast encrypt everything and it appears they've started rolling it out.

Edited June 18, 2014 by tnguy

[Joseg]

This used to be the case. I picked up a cheap tuner off ebay and tried setting it up today. No go. So I tried a television I knew had been working and it picked up only an advertising channel (and a channel showing a Fedora login prompt). Some research shows that the FCC decided to let Comcast encrypt everything and it appears they've started rolling it out.

 

 

yes, they encrypt it, so went back and got the cheapest package they had.  :down:

[maroonandwhite]

yes, they encrypt it, so went back and got the cheapest package they had.  :down:

I can confirm this as well. I went through this a few months ago when setting up service with them. We recently decided to drop the TV portion (no contract) and just keep the internet. When I plugged the cable into the TV and scanned I got nothing.

[tnguy]

I am already antenna only so no big loss but I was thinking it would be nice to check out the local channel and they had a 3d channel that was running when I last checked. Oh well. Just passing on the info.

[Sam1]

comcast's 3d channel sucks, it has been playing the same 10 things over and over for the past year.  The 3d sports channel is ok, but most of those events are old.

[Guest princeshoko]

Go for the 47,  or if you can go even bigger. You wont regret it.    If you do end up with a Smart TV   a Roku still has plenty to offer.   Yes smart tv's have Hulu, Netflix and some big named apps.  But a Roku offers many many others. 

I cut my cable over 3 years ago and love watching stuff on the internet.  Offers me everything Cable did and more. 

Also if your a tech person   the PlexApp  is where its at.   Install plexserver on yoru PC  and plex app on Roku or Smart Tv  and stream all your movies, tv shows, images, mp3's everything right to your TV 

Edited June 19, 2014 by princeshoko

[Joseg]

If Roku, or anything else for that matter would get Discovery, I would take cable out, I know where to get my sports from, but I can't my discovery shows.. Most of the online show providers (tnt, Discovery, etc) are requiring you to have a cable provider to watch their shows. I'm sure there's "ways" to get it, but I was hoping something like roku or something similar..

[Mike A]

If Roku, or anything else for that matter would get Discovery, I would take cable out, I know where to get my sports from, but I can't my discovery shows.. Most of the online show providers (tnt, Discovery, etc) are requiring you to have a cable provider to watch their shows. I'm sure there's "ways" to get it, but I was hoping something like roku or something similar..

I'm pretty sure Discovery doesn't have a Roku channel but a number of the other "cable" networks do.  In most cases you can get some but not all of their content without a subscription.  I enjoy a lot of the documentary, nature, travel type programs from Discovery and similar networks (e.g. Nat Geo).  I don't know the exact ownership situations but realized at a certain point back when I had subscription television that a number of these networks must have common ownership with all the shared content.  

 

I'd just get a Roku (they're pretty cheap) and give it a try.  Do it as a both / and for a while rather than an either / or.  You may find that even if you can't get Discovery content you can get enough similar programming to satisfy your itch.  Hulu+, Netflix and Amazon Prime all offer free trials so you can give those a spin as well.

 

We cut the cord a few months ago and I really do not miss it.  There are probably a few shows I don't get to watch anymore but I never feel like I don't have something to watch (Disclaimer:  we do have the three above noted streaming services).  I have found that I probably (perish the thought) watch less television than before (not a bad thing).  Plus, I don't miss paying for and in that sense supporting the ever increasing cumulative-national-IQ-lowering parade of reality shows.  Apologies if reality television is your guilty pleasure but shouldn't there be a quota on how many stupid, vapid people have to become "famous?"      

[Joseg]

I have Amazon and Netflix, plus my roku. Just not really watching much TV either, but the cold ass winter had me with cabin fever so I went back to cable. I will probably evaluate where I am with TV, I'll probably go back to just internet.. 

[wtl]

It's been 8+ years I think since we had cable.

 

We do Netflix and Hulu Plus via Apple TV, some Amazon Prime video on an iPad (may pick up a fire tv at some point for it), and occasionally buy season passes on iTunes for a show we want to watch that isn't available elsewhere.

 

We were visiting family a week ago, and my just-turned-3 year old son was watching TV. At the first commercial interruption, he asked "What happened to my show?" Two commercial interruptions later he'd had enough and didn't want to watch any longer. It was the first time he had actually sat down to watch a regular TV show, and it hadn't occurred to me how frustrating it would be to a little guy who is used to watching shows all the way through with no interruptions.

[ted]

Have redbox for the latest moves way better than Netflix , been there done that with Netflix , also have itv with hulu plus and also have crackel free Tv and movies , best setup I think Edited June 21, 2014 by ted

[TrickyNicky]

Ted! How ya been sir? Haven't seen ya around!

[RodMyers]

I'm getting an outside antenna installed on Monday, and then I'll cut the cord. I have a roku 3,Hulu plus, and Amazon prime Sent from my GT-N8000 using Tapatalk