How do you do Internet TV?

[Chase]

I know quite a few of you guys stream TV over the internet here, this is totally new to me though.

I would like to cut my cable off or at least downgrade to a smaller, almost non-existant package through Verizon.

what we need is

local news, channel 6, etc
hbo
nickelodeon
disney
comedy central?
sports
movies

i was researching today and found the roku player, looks awesome, and cheap, then you just add subscriptions like netflix and hulu plus.

that looks fine, you can do both those for under 20 a month. but i think those 2 may not get what i need from the list above, and it's confusing.

any help?

[Robb]

For local channels, this is the best antenna
Leaf Plus Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna - Mohu Store

I bought their non-amplified one and I get all the channels in HD even clearer than Comcast except for Channel 6 WPVI. They just came out with the amplified version which may bring in WPVI but I haven't tried. I originally got it for Comcast outages during storms but it also works great when DVRing 2 programs and I want to watch a 3rd.

I have a sub to Hulu Plus but I don't use it much and seems they have the same restrictions on shows as the network websites (only 5 episodes for some shows, only posted after 30 days etc). They do have the full series for a lot of them though.

A friend of mine has been w/o cable for about 5 years now and has survived on Netflix only.

[Chase]

if it were me, all i need is a good movie channel and maybe comedy central, that is it.

but angela needs the local stuff, and the kids need the kid stuff.

[Roogle]

I watch everything through the web. XBL has hulu and Netflix. Which has more than enough for me. I watch the local stuff through the interwebs. Sports can be easily streamed from websites.

I just jack via torrents if i want anything else.

[Chase]

i checked out the leaf antenna, looks cool, the regular one has a review on amazon the guy claims he is getting signals from 70 miles away. i live 40-50 miles from most of the towers in my area.

[Robb]

i checked out the leaf antenna, looks cool, the regular one has a review on amazon the guy claims he is getting signals from 70 miles away. i live 40-50 miles from most of the towers in my area.

I have two of them on different TVs and they both are awesome. I prefer Channel 10 news so don't care too much about not having WPVI. WPVI must not be using as strong as a tower as the rest of them or their tower is in another area.

[Chase]

do you have to have one on each tv though?

like in theory couldnt i setup the leaf,run its coax to my basement splitter, then have all my tv able to feed off of it?

[Angela514]

I would need lifetime

[Robb]

do you have to have one on each tv though?

like in theory couldnt i setup the leaf,run its coax to my basement splitter, then have all my tv able to feed off of it?

I have one on each TV.

I did see someone on Amazon asking about hooking up more than one TV to it and they said they didn't recommend that due to signal loss but you could try it. The amplified one might be better for that to get a stronger signal or run the signal through a powered amp from Radio Shack or something. Probably the same as when you hook up too many TVs to your cable line and they say the db signal dropped.

[Josef]

Do Amazon Prime members still get free instant streaming on tons of shows and movies, like they offered last year?

[Robb]

Do Amazon Prime members still get free instant streaming on tons of shows and movies, like they offered last year?

Yeah but not a lot of new movies, they still charge you for renting those.

[Robb]

Chase, there are a ton of new things coming out with CES for cutting the cable cord. Was just over at Engadget reading their list of items.

[terri]

I have a Roku player on the tv in the boys' room, where there is no cable. The other two tvs in my apartment are Internet Connected Vizios.

All tvs have access to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Vudu, etc. The Roku has MLB.tv, which I pay about $200 for every year. You guys, being Phillies fans, would be blacked out of most of those games, so it wouldn't be worth it.

I don't know of any way to just stream the channels you're looking for through these devices. My kids don't miss the cable in their bedroom - they have plenty to watch that they can stream. They DO have access to the cable in the living room and my room, though.

[hockey]

I use Apple TV for internet stuff. I still have Netflix but am going to dump it since all it's streaming content sucks. I have Amazon Prime which is better but not enough there either.

Most of my time in front of a TV is for sports or news so I'm not ready to cut the cord yet.

Here's a review from CNET....

"Cord cutters take note. Apple TV and the Roku 2 XS are both very cool boxes that offer a lot of additional programming options beyond cable and satellite. But if you think you can buy either--or both--of these and then ditch your existing TV subscription, you're almost certainly bound to be disappointed--unless you also plan for over-the-air antenna reception. Without that free TV lifeline, you'll be sacrificing nearly all live local programming, including local sports and local news. And while ordering shows a la carte (Amazon or iTunes) or by subscription (Hulu Plus on Roku) is a start, you'll may well find that you're racking up a bill that's equal to or greater than that of the cable or satellite subscription you want to cut. Bottom line: these boxes can be part of a cord-cutting solution, but they're not the total solution. Your mileage may vary: we've had cord-cutting successes and failures among our colleagues, so just be sure to plan ahead before you cut the cord."

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20098857-1/apple-tv-vs-roku-2-whats-the-best-streaming-media-device-for-under-$100/

I prefer the Apple TV since I get most of my movies/tv shows via torrents on my Mac. (it can play those torrents thru the macbook with air play)

If you do choose to cut the cord.... make sure you are getting the internet speeds to accommodate these devices. Good luck.

[Curly]

Chase, that new PS3 you have does all of that. Hulu and Netflix. Whatever you use, hardwire it. I'm using a (radio shack) '75 ethernet cord from the router to a hub then two 6' ethernet cords to the PS3 and TV (The TV by itself streams too along with music, Slacker, Pandora etc.). I've rented new releases for $4.99 720 HD from Hulu and the picture is beautiful. You can go up to 1080 HD for $5.99 but I really don't see a difference. The PS3 does a lot of stuff. This is the first year I didn't use my 5 CD player for Christmas or anything for that matter. I downloaded the majority of my cds into the PS3. That thing will play for 2 days straight if I let it. It's got a pretty neat photo program too.

I still have Netflix but am going to dump it since all it's streaming content sucks.

For $8 a month, you can't beat it. If you want newly released movies, it does suck but there's a shitload of other stuff that I think is much better than cable TV.

Cable TV is on it's way out and Comcast knows it. You pay for what YOU want to watch, not what the cable company forces on you as "part of the package". It will be purely internet streaming.

[hockey]

Curly, good call on the PS3.
I forgot Chase had a PS3.

Netflix has been getting on my nerves lately. The last dozen or so movies we wanted to watch were DVD only. They aren't even new... just good.

Tristan & Isolde 2006 *
Death At A Funeral 2007 *
Mean Girls 2004
Easy A 2010 *
10 Things I hate About You 1999
Community tv series
Chocolat 2000 *
Mr. & Mrs. Smith 2005
Forgetting Sarah Marshall 2009 *
Shakespeare In Love 1998 *
Hot Fuzz 2007 *


During Winter break, I did a lot of entertaining of teens and this was the list they came up with and NOTHING was available. I ended up ordering most of them from Amazon (*). I think Netflix knows exactly what movies I like then makes them DVD only. Even my suggestions only has "Gosford Park" and a bunch of movies I've never heard of.

EDIT: Chase,
Just saw this article from CES on yahoo. Some interesting devices for you....
Top Gadgets of CES 2012: Our Editor's Choice Awards - Yahoo! Shopping

[Curly]

Thanks Hockey. I had to dig deep into their movie selections to find some pretty good movies. I was on a "Zombie" fix for awhile. Last month I watched the "Walking Dead" series from last year. It was pretty good. Now I'm getting close to finishing the 11 seasons of "Cheers". Last movie was the most recent "True Grit". There's tons of other movies I've watched that were really good. Last time I checked, I've rated over 2000 movies. Anyway, I read not to long ago that netflix wants to do nothing but streaming and eventually just released movies will be on there, for an extra fee of course. For now, $8 is a pretty good deal. One more thing, I've been able to see a lot of independent/foreign movies that otherwise I never heard of that are really good. Before you get rid of Netflix, (if you do) make sure you watch this one:
The Stoning of Soraya M.
If you don't mind subtitles, it's pretty intense.

[hockey]

Roku 2 XS Angry Birds Edition. Stream Movies, Play Angry Birds on your TV with Roku


What did you end up with, Chase?

[Chase]

nothing yet, too much going on

soon though