Internet TV (streaming movies, etc)

We haven't severed the tie with our Dish service but do have Roku device for extras like Netflix, Amazon Prime and several oddball channels.

Our Roku box has been flawless. You do need a fast enough internet connection. The biggest question is whether or not the programming you will find with an internet device will satisfy your programming desires or not. For instance, Netflix streaming has a bazillion movies and TV series, but most of them are old or 2nd or 3rd tier if they are newer.

We also have HD OTA. It has slightly higher picture quality than Dish and a few local sub-channels that aren't on Dish that occasionally have something worth watching. If it were just me I would cut Dish, but my wife watches some Dish channels that aren't available through the internet AFAIK.

 

I cut the satalite dish 18 month ago and only regret it if I want to watch a game on ESPN. I have hooked up a computer to the TV and use Media Player to get over the air HD. Media Player has a built in DVR. I also use Netflix through the computer.

 

We use OTA HD, and my wife uses netflix for streaming TV shows (I think.)
Once in a while I buy or rent a movie from iTunes; DVD use has become *really* uncommon in my house.

Disclaimer: I cannot remember the last time a TV serial interested me, and I have negative interest in the crud on the 99+ channels showing reality shows, sermons, "news," or soap operas. Every time I go to Costco I comment that as the TV displays become bigger, cheaper and more gorgeous, the content gets worse.

 

I've been using our macbook connected to our plasma. I use XBMC with the Navi-x plugin. Works for me . I still get local channels through my cable.

BlackBerry 9930 ?

 

I also have not cut the cable connection but do use Netflix extensively. I purchased a couple of Insignia Bluray players that have WiFi built in. Being cheap, I bought them at a pawn shop used, $50 each.

One thing I love about Netflix is that I can use it on my iPad, my Mac and even the iPhone if I'm really in a boring place.

 

i keep saying "the older i get, the worse the content." my kids watch all the new shows and get what they missed on netflix. when i was a kid, my parents used to say, "programming is done for 13 year olds".

 

The only time I've had TV in my adult life was the three years I lived in a rented, furnished condo in Mexico that had one. But I've subscribed to NetFlix for DVDs for nearly a decade and upgraded to BluRay a while back. Since the BD player has NetFlix on it, I now watch some stuff that way. They have some HD content which is very nice resolution, though far short of BluRay. Their Standard resolution is tolerable but not great. Most of what's available for streaming is second-rate stuff. But a flat monthly rate includes unlimited streaming and DVD/BD rentals, rate based on how many you have at home at a time. I watch on a projector with a screen about four feet wide. I spend a lot more time with my Kindle.

 

Which one of these services has the most educational and documentary programming? Thanks

 

I cut cable last year and switched to OTA HD. The only thing I miss is Golf Channel and live sports on ESPN. My wife gets all her stuff from the Internet already so she doesn't miss a thing.

We recently bought a Sony Google TV, which has some cool features and Android apps. Netflix and Youtube come pre-installed. Sony also sells a Blu-ray player that has Google TV built in.

Last season I bought the NFL Rewind package. It allowed me to watch all the games on my GTV or laptop (replays, of course.) I've recently bought the NBA League Pass Mobile package which lets me watch non-blacked out games anytime anywhere on my iPhone or iPad (either live or replay) The only downside is it can't show replay of a blacked out games even after the game has been broadcast. This restriction truly sucks. The upside is you still can listen to live audio of those blacked out games.

As for golf, I can watch the Masters on my mobile because they have an app for that. No other tournaments, major or otherwise, have anything similar (yet).

Btw, from my PC (or Google TV) I can also watch a lot of other sports on ESPN3.com, like college hoops, Australian Open Tennis, even cricket matches.

 

When I lived in Mexico I used to like the cable channel called CMC (Cine mexicano por cable) which showed exclusively old Mexican movies from the golden age of mexican cinema. Cantinflas, Relampago, Lola la trailera, Capulina y Viruta, etc., etc., etc.

 

Lola la trailera! Truck driving, pistol packing señoritas, never would have pegged you for that, dano. Kinky! :thumb:

 

That's my current setup, and I love it. Try for at least a 12Mbps connection (which of course will be a bit slower) and possibly a dual band router for best results. It's great, seems like the future of programming if only the major studios could be brought on board somehow so the catalog of movies could become more robust.

I'm not into episodic TV or sports or anything else, just like to watch movies and that's it. And doing so on my little MacBook Pro has become a bit tiresome over the last five years. Heck, I listened to the Niners lose in the playoffs this year on the radio, and it was really fun that way.

TV is a Sony Bravia XBR 55 HX929—has built in WiFi—and I'm using the 2Wire modem which came free with the broadband service. $14.99 per month (and that's for all my connectivity except voice) seems pretty reasonable in an age of $100/month plus cable. What's really cool is using an iPad as the remote control. Makes Netflix surfing easier, and controls the Blu-Ray player, AV Amp, etc.

 

When you go full internet full on-demand viewing, you miss getting stuck "forced" to watch whatever was on. Sure you can watch whatever you want. But what do you want? Same reason why people listen to the radio and complain about songs they don't like when they have all the CDs right there and an mp3 player with tunes next to the stack. Or when a movie comes on TV with commercials that you already own a DVD/BluRay of, you still watch it on TV.

It is nice to plop infront of the TV as background noise. Just sit there, turn on XYZ channel and do something else. When you are doing things by content streaming, you must actually choose what you want to watch and then rechoose every 22 or 44 minutes.

Yes that is nice sometimes too, but humans like complaining about things. I still watch satellite tv all the time, and have a bunch of movies and tv shows on my servers and of course Netflix and Hulu+.

 

I've never been a cable or satellite TV user. Initially it was just what came over the air. Then hulu (not hulu plus) sure gives dang good internet display quality.....for free. Any CD rental takes care of movies.

When I stay in a hotel with conventional cable, it seems like the view difference is a greater choice of garbage. That sure seems to be a raw deal for $1200/year.

 

Not me. When I'm cooking or eating, I listen to Teaching Company lectures or podcasts. In either case, I've downloaded several hours of content (sometimes many hours) and it plays until I'm done listening.

When I want to watch a movie, I've selected it and I sit down and watch it. No background TV for me.

And if I'm not busy with something or wasting time sitting here at the computer, then I'm probably reading a book on my Kindle.

Yep. I always go through the channels, and then generally end up turning it off and turning on my Kindle.

Those old movies were great. There was another one, I don't think it was Lola but I forget the name, where the lady crime fighter rides a motorcycle outfitted with a machine gun (like a WWII fighter plane) and her sidekick is a midget who rides a little motor scooter, sort of like a Vespa or something.

 

We dropped cable at $80/month for just the TV service.

We bought a Tivo and antenna for $100. Pay Tivo $9.99/month for OTA guide, $7.99 to Netflix for streaming content and $100/year for a subscription to The Economist.

We all miss some of the cable channels, but we adjusted after a couple of months.

 

My preference is different. I tend to research certain actors/genres, etc. first, then try to find those movies and see if I can't learn something. It's kind of like surfing the net, one thing leads me to another and soon I'm learning more about the directors, the technology, that sort of thing.

My background noise is KCSM jazz radio over the little Internet radio on my desk.

I made this little agreement with myself: I need to be spending more on books for my Kindle than I'm spending on movies and connectivity.