dickey moe
Fingerpicker
Surprised it already doesn't. I bought some cheapo $10 box at Staples that even has youtube on it.
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We've cut the cable (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Addai's Adidas
- Start date
Quez
Footballguy
I would "cut the cable" but it took my wife months to learn how to turn on the tv as it is now. I could imagine switching the source back and forth to the antenna would be a problem.Really, the monopolistic cable companies have been preparing for this for some time. It's all about the bundles. I just have the Lightning internet from BHN and regular cable with 1 box and I am paying like $90-$100. My parents get a phone, and the upgraded internet for only about $20-$30 a month more. The fast internet is like $70 for me but they upgrade bundle subscribers for free.
STEADYMOBBIN 22
Footballguy
Netflix just signed a big deal with Disney and has nearly every Disney movie available for streaming.We also "subscribe" to amazon prime which is sorta like Netflix and now exclusively buy movies through them. No more kids scratching the disks, no more losing them, no more dirty unreadbles, none of it. They are also cheaper then the physical media. 1-click and I own it forever.'LittleLarry said:
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Arizona Ron
Footballguy
It sounds like a big pain in the ### to save ~1k a year
Franknbeans
Footballguy
It's not, once you do it you 'll wonder what you ever saw in satellite/cable
Ministry of Pain
Footballguy
Wife and I bought a house on NYE, we have not even thought about turning on cable in the new place. So far we bought one of those Leaf HD antennas. I remember liking the ideas in this thread. Gonna skim thru but any step by step reposts would be most appreciated. High speed internet I'll shell out for, cable not so much.
Quez
Footballguy
I went ahead and called Brighthouse to see how much I would save by cutting everything except for internet.
They have their packages/bundles set up to prevent the consumer from doing this. If I were to only get internet it would be $65 + tax. Right now I am at $88 +tax. Its about $20 for the cable box & dvr service. I am also on an upgraded cable from the basic bulk condo one, but Im not sure what the difference really is. I think it is like an additional $30.
So they essentially would double my internet cost if I canceled the cable and just used the basic the condo pays for. I think she said right now with the bundle internet is only $30.
So the only real saving I could get would be about $20 a month. For me the benefit of the DVR and the convenience is worth paying the $20 I coukd save.
They have their packages/bundles set up to prevent the consumer from doing this. If I were to only get internet it would be $65 + tax. Right now I am at $88 +tax. Its about $20 for the cable box & dvr service. I am also on an upgraded cable from the basic bulk condo one, but Im not sure what the difference really is. I think it is like an additional $30.
So they essentially would double my internet cost if I canceled the cable and just used the basic the condo pays for. I think she said right now with the bundle internet is only $30.
So the only real saving I could get would be about $20 a month. For me the benefit of the DVR and the convenience is worth paying the $20 I coukd save.
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jhib
Footballguy
I just heard about this now while browsing on Amazon. I just bought the Roku 2XS back in January. Fortunately, I bought it at Walmart and I think it falls under the 90 day return policy.
Politician Spock
Footballguy
culdeus
Footballguy
I need some help. I'd like to have antenna support to a very hard to get to TV. I have a great antenna that can reach two of my panels, but to get to the 3rd will require several hundred feet of RJ6 or some holes in my walls.
What are the current options to have a second antenna, but better than the leaf which i can stash closer to my big panel which could cover me?
It needs to be pretty small and able to be hidden. Do any at all come close to meeting this criteria?
BTW: this is a requirement of my nanny while she watches TV during my kids naps that I hadn't considered.
I was like you can use netflix, nope. needs to be the daily bull#### on judge tv or whatever.
What are the current options to have a second antenna, but better than the leaf which i can stash closer to my big panel which could cover me?
It needs to be pretty small and able to be hidden. Do any at all come close to meeting this criteria?
BTW: this is a requirement of my nanny while she watches TV during my kids naps that I hadn't considered.
I was like you can use netflix, nope. needs to be the daily bull#### on judge tv or whatever.
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Jobber
Footballguy
We've had a new Roku 3 for a few days now. It replaced one of our original Roku boxes. It's a huge upgrade from the first gen Roku we had.
- Navigating the menus is very, very fast with no lag in button-push to response like the older device.
- Hulu+ is now actually usable versus how crappy it was on the old box. On the old one you basically couldn't pause Hulu without massive lag or plain reboot of the box. Now, Hulu+ is perfectly responsive with no lag or issues at all.
- It comes with Angry Birds and Nintendo Wii style remote.
- Other games are available for download to the Roku. My kids already have a few games on there. The games are mostly the kind of stuff you'd have on an iPod/iPad.
Definitely worth the $90 I paid for it.
- Navigating the menus is very, very fast with no lag in button-push to response like the older device.
- Hulu+ is now actually usable versus how crappy it was on the old box. On the old one you basically couldn't pause Hulu without massive lag or plain reboot of the box. Now, Hulu+ is perfectly responsive with no lag or issues at all.
- It comes with Angry Birds and Nintendo Wii style remote.
- Other games are available for download to the Roku. My kids already have a few games on there. The games are mostly the kind of stuff you'd have on an iPod/iPad.
Definitely worth the $90 I paid for it.
joffer
Footballguy
i may upgrade my Roku. i'm using the AppleTV more right now, but the channel selection is inviting.
joffer
Footballguy
i noticed that. that's one of the reasons i went to appleTV. i've been using HBOGO with my friend's email account on my iPad and streaming to the appleTV.
culdeus
Footballguy
Well, you can just stream via airplay to skirt this in a less than ideal way, no?
Jobber
Footballguy
I forgot to mention one more, minor thing I like. With Netflix, when you play a title, on the old Roku it would buffer up to 100% before playing. On the Roku 3, it plays almost immediately. At first a little lesser quality, but after a few seconds catches up to nice HD picture. It just saves a little time where you're not staring at that little red bar waiting for 100% buffering.
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Ministry of Pain
Footballguy
Thought I might share this with you all. We started using Clear Wireless internet service. I have the Clear Spot which is a little hot spot you hold in the palm of your hand, about 1/4" thick. This little sucker throws out a Wi-Fi signal 100 feet away. I actually sit this int he windowsill of my house in 1 of my bedrooms. Just leave it plugged into the USB adapter that came with it and into the electrical socket and I have a wireless 4G connection and can actually be in my living room away from this little hot spot.
I can connect up to 8 device to it wirelessly but I probably would not go above 3-4 or the speed is gonna be impacted. I can stream movies wirelessly right on my TV, Netflix no problem. The real kicker is this hot spot is obviously mobile. I just disconnect from the USB plug and I have a 6 hour charge, set my Android on Wi-Fi and I'm connected to the internet anywhere I want to go around town. You can even go to other cities with this thing. The company seems to be in very populated areas, rural not so much but they are in like 80 cities and growing right now.
I get unlimited 4G no throttle $49.99 a month, speed tests for me have been in the 7-10mbs for download but it remains very consistent, no lag/latency on what I am doing. Comcast used to drive me nuts. So now I have the internet without all the cable/sl/phone lines and my bill stays low.
go to Clear.com but I think I can find a promo code for something like $100 Visa rewards card when you sign up for service. The Clear Spot is $49.99 as well, they sell it at Best Buy and kiosks around.
of it here, kid a little annoying but it shows the device in great detail.
I can connect up to 8 device to it wirelessly but I probably would not go above 3-4 or the speed is gonna be impacted. I can stream movies wirelessly right on my TV, Netflix no problem. The real kicker is this hot spot is obviously mobile. I just disconnect from the USB plug and I have a 6 hour charge, set my Android on Wi-Fi and I'm connected to the internet anywhere I want to go around town. You can even go to other cities with this thing. The company seems to be in very populated areas, rural not so much but they are in like 80 cities and growing right now.
I get unlimited 4G no throttle $49.99 a month, speed tests for me have been in the 7-10mbs for download but it remains very consistent, no lag/latency on what I am doing. Comcast used to drive me nuts. So now I have the internet without all the cable/sl/phone lines and my bill stays low.
go to Clear.com but I think I can find a promo code for something like $100 Visa rewards card when you sign up for service. The Clear Spot is $49.99 as well, they sell it at Best Buy and kiosks around.
of it here, kid a little annoying but it shows the device in great detail.
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Zasada
Footballguy
I have Clear on my laptop (integrated WiMax) and like it. But at home the service is crap (too far from a tower). Be sure you aren't too far away from a tower and have line-of-sight to it. But it's not a big deal because my Comcast internet is really good. It hurt to say that.
Up to my third XBMC installation in the house now (2 HTPCs and one Raspberry Pi running Raspbmc). Ouya is coming soon, which will be the fourth. And that doesn't count the install I have on my Nexus 7.
Up to my third XBMC installation in the house now (2 HTPCs and one Raspberry Pi running Raspbmc). Ouya is coming soon, which will be the fourth. And that doesn't count the install I have on my Nexus 7.
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Moe.
Footballguy
Maybe. Eventually.
culdeus
Footballguy
You have to wonder what they lead out with. I mean, for example, Uverse to get HBO/Skin it's 29/month. I think that's pretty standard across most packages. If they lead out with lets say 30. Then most people will just keep stealing it. They might get some revenue, but not much.If they go 10-15 then the cable providers freak as people will just cut HBO and go with GO. These are the tough spots that content providers find themselves in right now.
Moe.
Footballguy
I think you'll have to pay a premium if you're not a cable subscriber. So maybe those with cable can get hbo for 16/month or whatever, broadband only people have to pay double that on top of their internet bill. We probably read the same interview, Plepler kept saying "we need to make the math work" so I'm not getting my hopes up. I've said this before but HBO and live sports is the only reason I still have cable, I really hope they are taking this seriously.
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Buddy Ball 2K3
Footballguy
Please elaborate.
Zasada
Footballguy
XBMC for Android. You can't plug a Nexus 7 into a TV though (which is why I didn't count it as a full-fledged HTPC-type install). Ouya (and other android devices) will/are be(ing) built around that capability though, enabling pretty low-priced XBMC options.
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I plugged back in last year after 8 years of being unplugged. Girlfriend moved in with me and bought a house. Thankfully I am at a point in my life where I have enough disposable income its not a bother but Uverse would be the first thing to go if we ever took a hit in the pocketbook or had to cutback for any reason.
Plugging back in after a long time has allowed me to discover some new shows. Another factor is I had netflix/amazon/etc for so long that I burned thru pretty much all of their content that interested me a long while ago.
Plugging back in after a long time has allowed me to discover some new shows. Another factor is I had netflix/amazon/etc for so long that I burned thru pretty much all of their content that interested me a long while ago.
culdeus
Footballguy
I'm one monoprice delivery from being done with cable.
Uverse gives the option to go to locals only which we've done for a month as sort of a "soft open" to the life without cable. So far no major complaints.
I've got to get everyone used to the idea of the other VOD services as backup TV, but mainly we just simply don't watch as much TV.
Biggest things the wife misses are cooking shows. Food Network is keeping a pretty tight lid on their content distribution.
Amazon Prime is getting better everyday. I'm leaning on that quite a bit more than I thought too. If you have it and haven't checked into it it is more than worth a look.
I don't know if down the line they will move to a paid VOD model for other releases or what, but for now it is all free.
EDIT: Apparently there is some for fee videos on Amazon, I just haven't noticed them.
Uverse gives the option to go to locals only which we've done for a month as sort of a "soft open" to the life without cable. So far no major complaints.
I've got to get everyone used to the idea of the other VOD services as backup TV, but mainly we just simply don't watch as much TV.
Biggest things the wife misses are cooking shows. Food Network is keeping a pretty tight lid on their content distribution.
Amazon Prime is getting better everyday. I'm leaning on that quite a bit more than I thought too. If you have it and haven't checked into it it is more than worth a look.
I don't know if down the line they will move to a paid VOD model for other releases or what, but for now it is all free.
EDIT: Apparently there is some for fee videos on Amazon, I just haven't noticed them.
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mr. furley
Footballguy
can i get a cliff's notes on this Roku 3?
am i correct in thinking that you buy the Roku and then have to pay per episode/show/movie??
am i correct in thinking that you buy the Roku and then have to pay per episode/show/movie??
Politician Spock
Footballguy
Our antenna gives us three PBS channels, one of which is the "Create TV" channel. It's a lot like Food Network and HGTV. There are a ton of cooking shows on it. My wifes favorite is Cooks Country. Kind of like "Good Eats" but the host doesn't talk nearly as fast, and it doesn't go overboard on the chemistry.
I highly recommend our setup of having the antenna hooked into a Tivo and just make all the free content coming OTA into on demand content too.
I honestly believe if DVR technology came out before cable and satellite services did, people would have been a lot less inclined to sign up for cable or satellite. When sitting down and only having four broadcast stations as your options for content, then having hundreds seems worth the cost. But today there are 20+ free channels being broadcasted, and when you Tivo them, anytime you sit down to watch Tivo there is a ton of already recorded content to choose from. Having down this for the last year, I would NEVER pay for cable or satellite again. It is so completely unneccessary for anything except the extreme sports fan... and even then it depends on the sport because with all the money I'm saving I decided to get MLB.TV this season, and have LOVED the first week of it. I can get it on my iPAD while I'm travelling too.
We watch probably around 80% of our stuff from the Tivo. We also subscribe to three seasonal cable shows via Amazon (my wife just has to watch Project Runway, and I get Breaking Bad and Doomsday Preppers). The rest we get from Netflix.
I agree that the free content from Amazon Prime is getting better... so maybe Netflix isn't necessary anymore. But getting rid of it will only save $8 a month. Nothing like how getting rid of DirecTV saved me $80 a month.
beavers
Footballguy
The day after the BB NCAA championship game, I cut the cord. I have rabbit ears for the local stations, which surprisingly are very clear.
A few questions for a cable-less newb:
1. I have a new Samsung Smart TV. Is there any advantage of purchasing a Roku or Apple TV? I think I get the Roku apps on my tv (Netflix, Pandora, Hulu etc).
2. I want to watch the NFL draft and there is a streaming option available. How do I access this from my TV? There is an internet browser (which is very difficult to navigate). Is there an ESPN app that I can stream from directly?
TIA
A few questions for a cable-less newb:
1. I have a new Samsung Smart TV. Is there any advantage of purchasing a Roku or Apple TV? I think I get the Roku apps on my tv (Netflix, Pandora, Hulu etc).
2. I want to watch the NFL draft and there is a streaming option available. How do I access this from my TV? There is an internet browser (which is very difficult to navigate). Is there an ESPN app that I can stream from directly?
TIA
culdeus
Footballguy
You are probably going to need something to pull in ESPN like a box. ESPN is pulling back on streaming support BIGTIME right now. They see the monster the created with ESPN3 and have really cut back. Uverse despite taking LHN lost ESPN3 rights so right now I have nearly no ESPN support except replays and some really ####ty programming. This could eventually cause me some problems this fall.
beavers
Footballguy
What type of box are you referring to? My dad did get the Sunday Ticket - I'm wondering if I could use his online access? Accessing through the laptop is no issue - I would like for it to be on the big screen. Even if I went through the browser, would it not play?
Buddy Ball 2K3
Footballguy
If you use your fathers online access you will have full espn to stream along with other "content" available through various networks. Connect your lap top to your tv, use a logitech wireless keyboard like this and you are good to go. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DKZTMG/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1
we use a HTPC hooked up to our big screen with the above keyboard and a logitech harmony 1 and it works out great.
beavers
Footballguy
culdeus
Footballguy
Getting Sunday Ticket through an online ID is not nearly as hard as ESPN. Your internet stream for ESPN has to be from a provider they have a deal with and your serve has to be through the right IP tunnel. Even a VPN and encryption can't fool that. Now if you go the Apple route and can give an online ID and jump airplay from your phone then that's the other option.
If there's an easier route to hijack espn I'm not aware of it.
Buddy Ball 2K3
Footballguy
You are 100% correct about the provider, however as far is the ip tunnel I am not sure. No idea about what constitutes the correct ip tunnel or not but I know for a fact that this works across state lines with out issue.
E-Z Glider
Footballguy
This is why I ultimately decided against it (and its more like $600 than $1k). With TV, you click the remote and its on. There's never an issue with choppy video, or internet/wireless problems, or a new firmware update that takes 20 minutes to download/update/reboot. The more devices we keep adding (iphones, ipads, laptops, smart TVs, etc) the worse it gets too. I dont even watch much TV at all, but for the small savings, its just not worth the hassle.
Politician Spock
Footballguy
This is why I went with the Tivo connected to an antenna setup.
This is why I ultimately decided against it (and its more like $600 than $1k). With TV, you click the remote and its on. There's never an issue with choppy video, or internet/wireless problems, or a new firmware update that takes 20 minutes to download/update/reboot. The more devices we keep adding (iphones, ipads, laptops, smart TVs, etc) the worse it gets too. I dont even watch much TV at all, but for the small savings, its just not worth the hassle.
I've got a wife and three kids all under the age of 10. The last thing I wanted to do was troubleshoot any issues they experienced. The Tivo setup is no different than a DVR setup you get from cable or satellite, but instead of recording from the cable or satellite source you are paying for, it records from over the air broadcast which is free. Where I live in Ohio we get 17 stations, but I hear in bigger cities people are getting 40 to 50 channels, all for free.
From the user experience it all functions just like one uses cable or satellite. You click the remote and it's on, including the Tivo's Netflix app. I've never had to troubleshoot anything for the wife and kids. I pay $15 per month for the Tivo and $8 a month for Netflix. That's $23 per month compared to $100+ we were paying per month for DirecTV. It saves us $80 per month, which is nearly $1000 per year. We also have Amazon Prime for $79 per year, but we were already paying for that for free shipping.
Easiest $1000 per year I have ever saved. I don't hesitate to buy MLB.TV for $125 per year now. It's totally worth it in my setup, where as when I was paying $100 per month, paying another $100+ for DirecTV's baseball package just didn't seem right.
I did end up buying a Roku so that the kids could watch Netflix on a second TV while we watch the Tivo. That was easier and cheaper than getting a second Tvio and paying another $13 per month. I sometimes watch a baseball game on it when the wife is watching her stuff on the Tivo.
Not a pain in the ### at all. Pretty easy if you ask me.
If I were to go the hole HTPC setup, I can see that being a pain in the ###, and is not worth it at all for me to just reduce my $23 per month setup.
Leeroy Jenkins
Footballguy
Are these HD antennae something you attach to the outside of your house? Do you need one for each TV?
Politician Spock
Footballguy
It can be outside or inside. Outside will likely get a stronger signal though. We use an amplified leaf indoor antenna. I got the amplified version because we are about 25/30 miles away from our local broadcast towers. If you are closer you could probably use the non-amplified leaf antenna. If we were any farther out, we'd probably have to get an outdoor antenna for a good signal.
ETA: you can split one anenna to numerous TVs, but splitting it will weaken the signal, so you may have to use something to strengthen the split signal.
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Ministry of Pain
Footballguy
We have been using this http://www.amazon.com/Mohu-Leaf-Paper-Thin-Indoor-Antenna/dp/B004QK7HI8 for the last 3 months. Just have it on the wall behind the TV where no one can see it. No dancing on the roof. They make a step up from this but we get Fox, NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS1, PBS 2, both PBS channels have a subsidiary like Create for example which has a lot of cooking shows whenever I flip over to it. There is ME which is Memorable Entertainment, CoZi(nostalgic) and then the WB, CW, ION...it's all the basic stuff but we get all the major sports on there for free and in HD.
Very simple and if you want to spring for the more expensive version please report back because I would like to know how many more channels I would really pick up. We have cut way back on TV and have been catching up on movies thru Redbox where blu Rays are $1.60 for the night, hard to beat on new releases. You can reserve online and they have tons of locations within a 2-3 mile radius of our house.
Buddy Ball 2K3
Footballguy
Agree for the most part except for the HTPC set up was a breeze. We record everything off of our antenna into windows media center and it works out great. We have 3tb of storage so that is never an issue. I actually record all of the eagles football games, edit out the commercials and then log the seasonThis is why I went with the Tivo connected to an antenna setup.
This is why I ultimately decided against it (and its more like $600 than $1k). With TV, you click the remote and its on. There's never an issue with choppy video, or internet/wireless problems, or a new firmware update that takes 20 minutes to download/update/reboot. The more devices we keep adding (iphones, ipads, laptops, smart TVs, etc) the worse it gets too. I dont even watch much TV at all, but for the small savings, its just not worth the hassle.
I've got a wife and three kids all under the age of 10. The last thing I wanted to do was troubleshoot any issues they experienced. The Tivo setup is no different than a DVR setup you get from cable or satellite, but instead of recording from the cable or satellite source you are paying for, it records from over the air broadcast which is free. Where I live in Ohio we get 17 stations, but I hear in bigger cities people are getting 40 to 50 channels, all for free.
From the user experience it all functions just like one uses cable or satellite. You click the remote and it's on, including the Tivo's Netflix app. I've never had to troubleshoot anything for the wife and kids. I pay $15 per month for the Tivo and $8 a month for Netflix. That's $23 per month compared to $100+ we were paying per month for DirecTV. It saves us $80 per month, which is nearly $1000 per year. We also have Amazon Prime for $79 per year, but we were already paying for that for free shipping.
Easiest $1000 per year I have ever saved. I don't hesitate to buy MLB.TV for $125 per year now. It's totally worth it in my setup, where as when I was paying $100 per month, paying another $100+ for DirecTV's baseball package just didn't seem right.
I did end up buying a Roku so that the kids could watch Netflix on a second TV while we watch the Tivo. That was easier and cheaper than getting a second Tvio and paying another $13 per month. I sometimes watch a baseball game on it when the wife is watching her stuff on the Tivo.
Not a pain in the ### at all. Pretty easy if you ask me.
If I were to go the hole HTPC setup, I can see that being a pain in the ###, and is not worth it at all for me to just reduce my $23 per month setup.
At this point its not even about the $, its about how easy it is. Any shows we do want to watch that are on cable we either wait until they are on netflix or amazon prime or we purchase the season on Amazon. We save about 1,200 a year and OWN the shows we purchase.
Ministry of Pain
Footballguy
Totally disagree. I cut my Comcast bill form $200 a month plus a $50 data plan we had for the phones...now I have a Leaf antenna and the Clear Wireless for $50 a month and we are saving about $2k a year. We are using some of that to go see 1st run movies at the theaters but we like not watching as much TV and then maybe we'll catch up on some shows when they come out on video. Also cuts way back on ads. Even DVR you gotta fast forward thru them.
This is why I ultimately decided against it (and its more like $600 than $1k). With TV, you click the remote and its on. There's never an issue with choppy video, or internet/wireless problems, or a new firmware update that takes 20 minutes to download/update/reboot. The more devices we keep adding (iphones, ipads, laptops, smart TVs, etc) the worse it gets too. I dont even watch much TV at all, but for the small savings, its just not worth the hassle.
I understand and if I were a rich man or just had it to blow I might have some form of cable/dish but honestly we have cut back our TV watching and are planning on doing a lot of other activities coming up.
I know this is mentioned within the thread, but if you are still getting high speed internet through the cable company you might still be able to get the same channels throught the cable that you would be getting if you purchased the HD antenna.
I had purchased two antenna after "canceling cable" and they worked really good, but ended up returning them when I realized I was still getting cable feed through the wall due to still getting my internet through cable. Took the money I got back and put it towards my Roku3.
I had purchased two antenna after "canceling cable" and they worked really good, but ended up returning them when I realized I was still getting cable feed through the wall due to still getting my internet through cable. Took the money I got back and put it towards my Roku3.
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Politician Spock
Footballguy
I do have my antenna split to my wife's computer in the kitchen running Windows 8 with Media Center (Microsoft had a limited time promotion to get it for free). She sometimes watches shows on it, and I've even had it record some shows. I even went so far as to install the media center app on my xBox 360 and view the live and recorded shows.Agree for the most part except for the HTPC set up was a breeze. We record everything off of our antenna into windows media center and it works out great. We have 3tb of storage so that is never an issue. I actually record all of the eagles football games, edit out the commercials and then log the seasonThis is why I went with the Tivo connected to an antenna setup.
This is why I ultimately decided against it (and its more like $600 than $1k). With TV, you click the remote and its on. There's never an issue with choppy video, or internet/wireless problems, or a new firmware update that takes 20 minutes to download/update/reboot. The more devices we keep adding (iphones, ipads, laptops, smart TVs, etc) the worse it gets too. I dont even watch much TV at all, but for the small savings, its just not worth the hassle.
I've got a wife and three kids all under the age of 10. The last thing I wanted to do was troubleshoot any issues they experienced. The Tivo setup is no different than a DVR setup you get from cable or satellite, but instead of recording from the cable or satellite source you are paying for, it records from over the air broadcast which is free. Where I live in Ohio we get 17 stations, but I hear in bigger cities people are getting 40 to 50 channels, all for free.
From the user experience it all functions just like one uses cable or satellite. You click the remote and it's on, including the Tivo's Netflix app. I've never had to troubleshoot anything for the wife and kids. I pay $15 per month for the Tivo and $8 a month for Netflix. That's $23 per month compared to $100+ we were paying per month for DirecTV. It saves us $80 per month, which is nearly $1000 per year. We also have Amazon Prime for $79 per year, but we were already paying for that for free shipping.
Easiest $1000 per year I have ever saved. I don't hesitate to buy MLB.TV for $125 per year now. It's totally worth it in my setup, where as when I was paying $100 per month, paying another $100+ for DirecTV's baseball package just didn't seem right.
I did end up buying a Roku so that the kids could watch Netflix on a second TV while we watch the Tivo. That was easier and cheaper than getting a second Tvio and paying another $13 per month. I sometimes watch a baseball game on it when the wife is watching her stuff on the Tivo.
Not a pain in the ### at all. Pretty easy if you ask me.
If I were to go the hole HTPC setup, I can see that being a pain in the ###, and is not worth it at all for me to just reduce my $23 per month setup.
At this point its not even about the $, its about how easy it is. Any shows we do want to watch that are on cable we either wait until they are on netflix or amazon prime or we purchase the season on Amazon. We save about 1,200 a year and OWN the shows we purchase.
it works, but it's a significant learning curve for my kids to use as opposed the ease of the Tivo.
Buddy Ball 2K3
Footballguy
I am confused as to what the learning curve is being that my wife was able to figure it out. I simply hit the WMC button and it goes to the recorded tv and live tv buttons, i click on recorded tv and it brings everything up that we have recorded. You can choose to have it bring it up by recording date, series name etc etc. If I use the Harmony 1 remote all we have to do is hit the recorded tv button and it brings it right up.I do have my antenna split to my wife's computer in the kitchen running Windows 8 with Media Center (Microsoft had a limited time promotion to get it for free). She sometimes watches shows on it, and I've even had it record some shows. I even went so far as to install the media center app on my xBox 360 and view the live and recorded shows.Agree for the most part except for the HTPC set up was a breeze. We record everything off of our antenna into windows media center and it works out great. We have 3tb of storage so that is never an issue. I actually record all of the eagles football games, edit out the commercials and then log the seasonThis is why I went with the Tivo connected to an antenna setup.
This is why I ultimately decided against it (and its more like $600 than $1k). With TV, you click the remote and its on. There's never an issue with choppy video, or internet/wireless problems, or a new firmware update that takes 20 minutes to download/update/reboot. The more devices we keep adding (iphones, ipads, laptops, smart TVs, etc) the worse it gets too. I dont even watch much TV at all, but for the small savings, its just not worth the hassle.
I've got a wife and three kids all under the age of 10. The last thing I wanted to do was troubleshoot any issues they experienced. The Tivo setup is no different than a DVR setup you get from cable or satellite, but instead of recording from the cable or satellite source you are paying for, it records from over the air broadcast which is free. Where I live in Ohio we get 17 stations, but I hear in bigger cities people are getting 40 to 50 channels, all for free.
From the user experience it all functions just like one uses cable or satellite. You click the remote and it's on, including the Tivo's Netflix app. I've never had to troubleshoot anything for the wife and kids. I pay $15 per month for the Tivo and $8 a month for Netflix. That's $23 per month compared to $100+ we were paying per month for DirecTV. It saves us $80 per month, which is nearly $1000 per year. We also have Amazon Prime for $79 per year, but we were already paying for that for free shipping.
Easiest $1000 per year I have ever saved. I don't hesitate to buy MLB.TV for $125 per year now. It's totally worth it in my setup, where as when I was paying $100 per month, paying another $100+ for DirecTV's baseball package just didn't seem right.
I did end up buying a Roku so that the kids could watch Netflix on a second TV while we watch the Tivo. That was easier and cheaper than getting a second Tvio and paying another $13 per month. I sometimes watch a baseball game on it when the wife is watching her stuff on the Tivo.
Not a pain in the ### at all. Pretty easy if you ask me.
If I were to go the hole HTPC setup, I can see that being a pain in the ###, and is not worth it at all for me to just reduce my $23 per month setup.
At this point its not even about the $, its about how easy it is. Any shows we do want to watch that are on cable we either wait until they are on netflix or amazon prime or we purchase the season on Amazon. We save about 1,200 a year and OWN the shows we purchase.
it works, but it's a significant learning curve for my kids to use as opposed the ease of the Tivo.
If its about setting recordings etc. Then I will assume your WMC is not set up fully yet. With WMC you can download a TV Guide Grid exactly like TIVO, Directv or Comcast (but better imo) that is good for up to two weeks. Simply click on a show in the guide, hit the record show, series etc and move on. The WMC guide actually provides far more information than the standard guides do through your local provider.
E-Z Glider
Footballguy
Totally disagree. I cut my Comcast bill form $200 a month plus a $50 data plan we had for the phones...now I have a Leaf antenna and the Clear Wireless for $50 a month and we are saving about $2k a year. We are using some of that to go see 1st run movies at the theaters but we like not watching as much TV and then maybe we'll catch up on some shows when they come out on video. Also cuts way back on ads. Even DVR you gotta fast forward thru them.
This is why I ultimately decided against it (and its more like $600 than $1k). With TV, you click the remote and its on. There's never an issue with choppy video, or internet/wireless problems, or a new firmware update that takes 20 minutes to download/update/reboot. The more devices we keep adding (iphones, ipads, laptops, smart TVs, etc) the worse it gets too. I dont even watch much TV at all, but for the small savings, its just not worth the hassle.
I understand and if I were a rich man or just had it to blow I might have some form of cable/dish but honestly we have cut back our TV watching and are planning on doing a lot of other activities coming up.
Sounds to me like you were paying way too much. All you have to do is call and threaten to leave and they lower your price.
