The Poojer Posted May 24, 2011 Posted May 24, 2011 in favor of streaming netflix and hulu etc...thinking about going that route soon, but is there/will there be an alternative or ala carte service that allows you to get sports programming? or is that simply a pain point in the money saving game? Granted, if I really want to see a game, i can walk the half mile to my local pub and do so. Also what about netflix/hulu for childrens programming...are they carrying the nickelodeon networks on those 2 services? Interested in hearing people's experiences with this alternative and whether they really are seeing a benefit. Thanks in advance.
BuffaloBill Posted May 24, 2011 Posted May 24, 2011 While I doubt this change will occur anytime soon, it does not surprise me that there is discussion of an ala carte concept for TV. the technology to allow people to watch what they want when they want it is already here. My wife and I hardly watch anything in its correct time slot as it is all on the DVR. It is simply easier and if you don't like a given show - delete it and move on to something else.
Pete Posted May 24, 2011 Posted May 24, 2011 I have been cable free for year now and love it! With a Roku player you can get all sorts of channels- hockey, mlb, lots of other subscriptions. You might be able to do that with a playstation too. Youtube is good for some shows. Netflix is the best. It is liberating giving up cable. Not to mention the money you save. And it is nice not being bombarded with commercials. Go for it Poojer
The Poojer Posted May 24, 2011 Author Posted May 24, 2011 Pete, I am not aware of ROKU, I will look into that. My main concern is watching sporting events. TV shows, movies, I can obtain via alternative(and sometimes frowned upon) methods, but I do want to be able to watch baseball, football and basketball et al. I will do some investigating into Roku. Thanks. I have been cable free for year now and love it! With a Roku player you can get all sorts of channels- hockey, mlb, lots of other subscriptions. You might be able to do that with a playstation too. Youtube is good for some shows. Netflix is the best. It is liberating giving up cable. Not to mention the money you save. And it is nice not being bombarded with commercials. Go for it Poojer
Just Jack Posted May 25, 2011 Posted May 25, 2011 Pete, I am not aware of ROKU, I will look into that. My main concern is watching sporting events. TV shows, movies, I can obtain via alternative(and sometimes frowned upon) methods, but I do want to be able to watch baseball, football and basketball et al. I will do some investigating into Roku. Thanks. Poojer, I've had a Roku since last Christmas, and am considering doing exactly what you want to do. I've currently got my Netflix account on my Roku for movie streaming. For TV shows, I'm looking at Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant Video. What I plan on doing one of these days is sitting down and making a list of exactly what shows I usually watch that are on each service as either free or a small charge, to figure out what my costs will be. Amazon offers some networks/shows "free" if you're a Prime Member. As for sports, Justin.TV is "available" on Roku.... Roku Private Channel List http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roku
UConn James Posted May 25, 2011 Posted May 25, 2011 We went antenna-only ~15 years ago after being tired of getting **** in return for --- at the time --- $40/mo. for cable. I hooked up our antenna, got a pre-amplifier and eked it out for a while. That is so much different than what's available today. Much like Fezmid is a DirecTV advocate, I am a huge advocate for cutting the cable. In many areas of the country, the digital switch improved reception remarkably for the major networks. Not that it's been without its hiccups, but generally, it's been great. It's really not very difficult or extremely costly (and it's a one-off purchase, if your house doesn't have an existing one in place) to put up an antenna. Start with www.tvfool.com and by interpreting the results, you get an idea of what type you would need. You're in VA iirc, and it's very possible that a small set top antenna might be enough. It gets more sophisticated from there, but it's not a bad idea to start small and work up. On the cusp of three markets, I get ~38 channels (some of which are redundant of course), many of them PBS which is the bulk of our viewing. If you have any questions re: antenna stuff, I've installed several, and I'm here. As technology has come around, things have come and gone. Netflix is an awesome supplement. For sports, there are certain sites that can deliver what you're seeking, with degrees of legality. If you're a straight-arrow, ESPN3.com actually has a nice selection of sports --- e.g. some MLB games, NBA, lots of college sports, tennis (French Open currently), they had World Cup streams, etc. Many ISPs provide access to that site for users. It would really be awesome if customers could have an ala carte option for cable. They've talked about it forever in Congress, and you can guess what that's accomplished.... Real progress, in that regard, will come from people like you/us who decide to stick up their middle finger at cable/sat. Losing customers and having to change their business model is the only thing that will force change. I would gladly pay for several channels just to have the ease of access, but they don't do that. Well, !@#$ them. I'm not going to be held hostage. There is evidence from viewing numbers and such that subscriber losses are not insignificant.
Fezmid Posted May 25, 2011 Posted May 25, 2011 It would really be awesome if customers could have an ala carte option for cable. They've talked about it forever in Congress, and you can guess what that's accomplished.... On paper this sounds like a great argument - I only want to pay for what I watch. In practice, it will suck away most of the channels and raise the costs on others. You'll also lose out on a lot of channels as fewer people subscribe, raising the prices, meaning even fewer people subscribe. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080713/1735351664.shtml That said, cutting cable is a good thing if you can get by with sports on local channels only.
GG Posted May 25, 2011 Posted May 25, 2011 That said, cutting cable is a good thing if you can get by with sports on local channels only. Which is precisely why cable channels are bidding like crazy for sports rights.
UConn James Posted May 25, 2011 Posted May 25, 2011 (edited) On paper this sounds like a great argument - I only want to pay for what I watch. In practice, it will suck away most of the channels and raise the costs on others. You'll also lose out on a lot of channels as fewer people subscribe, raising the prices, meaning even fewer people subscribe. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080713/1735351664.shtml That said, cutting cable is a good thing if you can get by with sports on local channels only. And what can be gotten online. Look, cable/sat are cartels. Many of the cable channels would do very well in a la carte and others would have to find their niche or put on better programming. That's capitalism for ya. Nevertheless, as tech advances and internet speeds increase, there will likely be more pressure for networks to offer individual online subscription services at reasonable prices (look what Netflix offers for $8/mo.), either through their own sites or through existing services like Hulu, etc. As older generations are replaced, the traditional means aren't being adopted. It's been true of newspapers, the land line vs. cell phones, and it'll be true for television. There was data out there in Fall 2010 that cable customers has dropped noticeably. And even if it is the 'Recession That Isn't, According to ____' that may be causing/contributing to it, a lot of people no doubt will be finding they can get by w/o the $100/mo. teevee bill. FT.com Although television services offered by telecoms and satellite providers added subscribers over the period, cable operators were hard hit, with subscriber numbers falling by 741,000 – the largest decline in 30 years. The figures suggest that “cord-cutting” – one of the pay-television industry’s biggest fears – is becoming a reality as viewers drift to web-based platforms. Edited May 25, 2011 by UConn James
linksfiend Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 That said, cutting cable is a good thing if you can get by with sports on local channels only. Sports is the only thing that keeps me hanging on. Also, a combo streaming media/DVR where you could locally download shows so your resolution wouldn't vary or the video shutter based on available bandwidth
boyst Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 I went without cable for a long time and found plenty of ways to enjoy sports without it. I realized that for most sporting events I am never home or able to watch them. Even Bills games, unless they are night games I would never be able to watch them. With Sirius I get all the sports I need, and the new OTA broadcasting chans are much better. Friday night they do a marathon of stooges, and there is always something on I can watch. Even music video channels. I only got cable because TW made it worthwhile by forcing my hand to pay $70 for internet or $99 for cable, internet, phone. I still only watch 5 channels and a few shows and there is never anything on in the 4-5 hours a week I watch tv.
rockpile Posted June 5, 2011 Posted June 5, 2011 There is no doubt that cable and DSL are fighting to keep their customers by overcharging for a service like basic internet access, and then bumping up the price "just a bit more" if you take all three services: cable, phone, internet, as a bundle AND quite often a 1, 2, or three year commitment. I am looking for alternatives too since these services cost me about $150 a month and that is way too much money for the actual benefit it delivers to ME. I went without cable for a long time and found plenty of ways to enjoy sports without it. I realized that for most sporting events I am never home or able to watch them. Even Bills games, unless they are night games I would never be able to watch them. With Sirius I get all the sports I need, and the new OTA broadcasting chans are much better. Friday night they do a marathon of stooges, and there is always something on I can watch. Even music video channels. I only got cable because TW made it worthwhile by forcing my hand to pay $70 for internet or $99 for cable, internet, phone. I still only watch 5 channels and a few shows and there is never anything on in the 4-5 hours a week I watch tv.
boyst Posted June 6, 2011 Posted June 6, 2011 There is no doubt that cable and DSL are fighting to keep their customers by overcharging for a service like basic internet access, and then bumping up the price "just a bit more" if you take all three services: cable, phone, internet, as a bundle AND quite often a 1, 2, or three year commitment. I am looking for alternatives too since these services cost me about $150 a month and that is way too much money for the actual benefit it delivers to ME. TW does not make you sign a commitment and Windstream is probably the worst large company I have ever dealt with... however, I figure I will do TW for a year or so and see if there is any better options out there for internets. If, by next year, some of the mobile internets are more affordable I may just go with that and back to Antenna TV. Although, I do kind of like having a home phone - especially since it was my grandpa's old number I got restored. He had it back when it was first available - a party line. He was the 7th house so it ended in 07 for his extension and when it went to 7 digits they duped the 07 to make it 0707. So, I have a number that my grandpa had for 50something years maybe. In fact, in 2006 while looking over his telephone bill my brother noticed he was still leasing his phone from the company, a popular option back in the day, for $1something a month. It was an old rotary phone that was the original that was put in with the house - we were not allowed to keep it. If we did we'd have to pay $100something for it.
UConn James Posted June 6, 2011 Posted June 6, 2011 TW does not make you sign a commitment and Windstream is probably the worst large company I have ever dealt with... however, I figure I will do TW for a year or so and see if there is any better options out there for internets. If, by next year, some of the mobile internets are more affordable I may just go with that and back to Antenna TV. Although, I do kind of like having a home phone - especially since it was my grandpa's old number I got restored. He had it back when it was first available - a party line. He was the 7th house so it ended in 07 for his extension and when it went to 7 digits they duped the 07 to make it 0707. So, I have a number that my grandpa had for 50something years maybe. In fact, in 2006 while looking over his telephone bill my brother noticed he was still leasing his phone from the company, a popular option back in the day, for $1something a month. It was an old rotary phone that was the original that was put in with the house - we were not allowed to keep it. If we did we'd have to pay $100something for it. I'm going to be looking into getting rid of the landline phone from AT&T with the number we've had since time out of mind. But, as I understand (and I have a cousin who's done it), you can keep the number and transfer it to a cell phone. That way you don't lose connection to people who only have that number. Just go first through whichever company you're switching to. Phone companies are keen on winding down their landline services due to the decline in popularity and the cost of upkeep of the lines. So, I think we're going to switch to DSL w/o phoneline (and double the connection speed; they just recently have this service in our area) and switch the phone number to a $10/mo. tack-on for an existing Verizon family plan --- and with all this, it'll ~ be the same or less costwise. It's just going to be a little tricky trying to coordinate it.... You know, my mum's side of the family had a dairy farm in WNY with a party line. My grandparents both died in the last few years (at 96 and 88) and so it goes like that Yeats poem that "things fall apart, the center cannot hold." My uncle, who kept on the farm, actually lost the old # when he converted to a cell phone. My sh--head of a cousin (nephew to said uncle) said he'd save it, and then for whatever reason, didn't. They still received calls from relations in Holland all those years, but now with the loss of the number they're out of touch.
Just Jack Posted July 15, 2011 Posted July 15, 2011 Poojer, an update on what my experience has been. On my Roku, I've added JustinTV, NowhereTV, and using Playon with the TVLinks plugin. Next step will be to either drop to basic cable, or get a digital convertor with a small TV antenna.
mead107 Posted July 15, 2011 Posted July 15, 2011 CPI $150 Cells for wife and I $110 Wine cost depends on how many free bottles I get.
ofiba Posted July 15, 2011 Posted July 15, 2011 (edited) ESPN 360 offers a decent amount of sports streaming live online provided you have an affiliated ISP. I got rid of the mega HD DVR cable/internet package which was costing well over 100 dollars and switched to basic cable (12 bucks) and cable internet (like 40 bucks). The biggest thing I was afraid of losing was DVR, so I bought a TV tuner for my PC, hooked up my PC to my TV I now have my own HD DVR (I use Windows Media Center) without having to pay an extra 15-20 bucks for it every month. I can schedule recordings and browse the guide just like I would on a regular digital cable box. I love it and highly recommend it. Edited July 15, 2011 by ofiba
Just Jack Posted August 14, 2011 Posted August 14, 2011 An update for those interested. It's been two weeks now since I went cable free, TW recently upped my cost of Digital TV and Road Runner to $142/month, so it pushed my decision. Thanks to UConn James for the antenna advice. A breakdown of what I've got now... Two digital converter boxes for my two analog TV's, along with some indoor "rabbit ear" style antennas. A Roku box, with Netflix Streaming and several additional private channels added A Playon server that connects with my Roku box and my Android phone So my cost based on a one year cost (August 2011 to July 2012) basis to pay off some of the initial money I paid out to make the switch, versus keeping cable... Free items - Roku HD box (last Christmas gift) 1 Digital converter box from my parents (they got an HDTV for Christmas and didn't need it anymore) One time costs - $358 HP Pavilion Slimline s5-1020 Desktop PC for my Playon server (it was on sale for $320+tax the week I bought it) $40 Playon 1 year License (I'll probably upgrade to a lifetime license later) $20 1 Digital converter box from my brother (he never used it, still sealed in it's box) $70 for two RCA - Amplified Indoor Off-Air HDTV Antenna (discussing with UConn James, all the stations in Syracuse are within 15 miles of me, so I tried an old pair of rabbit ears, got all but two stations, tried one of these and it picked up those two plus another two stations listed within 50 miles, so I bought another. Only downside is depending on what station I want to watch I may have to adjust the ears.) Re-occuring costs - $56/monthly Road Runner (got to see if I can get that dropped to their new customer rate of $30+tax) $16/month Netflix streaming with one DVD So working out my average cost including my one time purchases for the next year, it's $112/month. But after that it's just my RR and Netflix, $72/month. In the first year, I'll save about $360, year two and on, about $840/year. More if I get TW to drop their RR price.
/dev/null Posted August 14, 2011 Posted August 14, 2011 Another option, which IMO is where consumer electronics is going to go, is to look for an internet ready TV. I just bought a 55" TV to go with my new house . It has wireless and wired ethernet, plus preloaded Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc
SDS Posted August 14, 2011 Posted August 14, 2011 I heard if you dig a hole out back of your house - you can cut your water usage in half. Do you really think your free content on the internet is going to last? Content companies are already signing deals with cable/satellite providers to provide a verification scheme to prove you already pay for the content before you can view on line for free at the content provider's site.
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