Re: Opinions of those who have ditched pay tv
I've been a Netflix subscriber for 6 years and had a Roku for over 3 years. Pre-ordered it directly from Roku and was one of the first 5,000 customers in the US to get it. Now I have 2.
Streaming Netflix is great. The list of movies/shows is getting longer all the time.
Streaming quality of Amazon Prime Video is lousy, practically unwatchable. Don't bother paying the $80/year if you mostly want the video service.
The other channels are nice, but to be honest, nothing else on there that's free is the equivalent of a cable channel.
I haven't had premium channels on my cable in almost 20 years.
Re: Opinions of those who have ditched pay tv
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Joseph
Keep me posted. I'm just doing the netflix and over the air thing right now about 99% of the time, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on Roku.
Pedro, thanks for those thoughts too. Good thought on the music aspect through it.
I got the Roku hooked up; it was incredibly easy, even for a dope like me. I really like it, although I admit to having cold feet about giving up the cable box and DVR - mainly because of sports. When football season comes around, I might get the shakes and start to twitch, but I think this is going to be a great thing overall.
Re: Opinions of those who have ditched pay tv
Okay, as of today we are ditching cable. I have hooked up antennas to my 2 digital sets for local channels, and have a Roku on my main set and my PS3 in the bedroom. We are subscribing to Netflix streaming and Hulu+.
Now, my question is about how to get llive sports. Specifically I'd like to be able to get ESPN for MNF and FSN-OH for Reds games. If anyone in the know could send me a PM, I would appreciate it.
Also, I had to convince my wife to go along with this, and she is a little upset that she can no longer DVR "General Hospital". It is only available online, and she doesn't want to sit in front of the computer to watch it. Any ideas on how I can get it to play on our tv sets? (I don't want to run a wire from my PC either, since it is in another room.)
Re: Opinions of those who have ditched pay tv
Dropped cable about a month ago and love it. We just stream Netflix. Some things I have to get used to, like not being able to watch live sports, but my feeling is that there will be little to watch in the future without paying a premium anyway.
Re: Opinions of those who have ditched pay tv
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Eric_the_Red
Also, I had to convince my wife to go along with this, and she is a little upset that she can no longer DVR "General Hospital". It is only available online, and she doesn't want to sit in front of the computer to watch it. Any ideas on how I can get it to play on our tv sets? (I don't want to run a wire from my PC either, since it is in another room.)
The $99 Logitech Revue is a Google TV device that connects to your HDTV (via HDMI jack) and the Internet and plays browser-based video. I have a PC connected to the same TV and this looks better.
Some sites block Google TV. I haven't tested ABC.com to see if it will play.
Re: Opinions of those who have ditched pay tv
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Unassisted
The $99
Logitech Revue is a Google TV device that connects to your HDTV (via HDMI jack) and the Internet and plays browser-based video. I have a PC connected to the same TV and this looks better.
Some sites block Google TV. I haven't tested ABC.com to see if it will play.
Today I tried to do this on my Revue and discovered that ABC.com blocks the Google TV browser. (Officially, the site says it's "not supported.") So it's not going to be a solution to watch any ABC shows online. Hulu is "not supported" either, but it's rumored that Hulu Plus will be available this fall. That doesn't help your situation, since General Hospital is not included in the programs available on Hulu Plus.
Re: Opinions of those who have ditched pay tv
I may have figured something out in regards to the wife's general Hospital. I am trying PlayOn and playing that through my Roku. With PlayOn I can watch the regular Hulu (not Hulu Plus), which will stream GH (along with a few other networks/channels available through PlayOn).
So, the wife is happy. I'm still unable to watch the Reds or NFL games on ESPN/NFLN. Any suggestions there?
Re: Opinions of those who have ditched pay tv
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Eric_the_Red
So, the wife is happy. I'm still unable to watch the Reds or NFL games on ESPN/NFLN. Any suggestions there?
It's an added expense, but you could get an MLB.TV subscription, which you can play through Roku.
Re: Opinions of those who have ditched pay tv
Quote:
Originally Posted by
RichRed
It's an added expense, but you could get an MLB.TV subscription, which you can play through Roku.
Being in market, the Reds would be blacked out unfortunately.
Re: Opinions of those who have ditched pay tv
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Eric_the_Red
Being in market, the Reds would be blacked out unfortunately.
D'oh! Should've realized that - sorry.
Re: Opinions of those who have ditched pay tv
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Eric_the_Red
NFL games on ESPN/NFLN. Any suggestions there?
If you get your broadband Internet from a "participating Internet provider," you can watch ESPN3. I don't watch the NFL or use this service much, so I don't know if that service includes NFL games, but AFAIK, it's the only legal source for streaming live, major league sports.
http://espn.go.com/espn3/faq#4
Re: Opinions of those who have ditched pay tv
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Unassisted
If you get your broadband Internet from a "participating Internet provider," you can watch ESPN3. I don't watch the NFL or use this service much, so I don't know if that service includes NFL games, but AFAIK, it's the only
legal source for streaming live, major league sports.
http://espn.go.com/espn3/faq#4
That maybe true in some cases. I have Directv for TV and my broadband is Time Warner Road Runner.
Since I don't subscribe to TWC television, I am blocked from ESPN3.
Here is what comes up when I try to login:
Quote:
It appears that your cable subscription does not currently include access to this content. If you would like to discuss your viewing options, or believe that you have received this message in error, please contact us at
www.timewarnercable.com/contact (Message: QE12DCSN01)
Re: Opinions of those who have ditched pay tv
Again, if anybody ever solves the "Reds Blacked out", I'd ditch pay TV in a heartbeat.
Re: Opinions of those who have ditched pay tv
Quote:
Originally Posted by
hebroncougar
Again, if anybody ever solves the "Reds Blacked out", I'd ditch pay TV in a heartbeat.
It seems the best solution is to move out of the blackout zone.
Worked for me!
:cool:
Re: Opinions of those who have ditched pay tv
Can't get anything faster than 1.5M DSL at the moment.
However, take my advice as a person that has had 23 years of marriage and NEVER had cable or any dish service.
Go with free TV!
The four channels as kids (ABC/CBS/PBS/NBC) has now grown to 14(15 if you count HSN)!