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Oct. 18, 2009 7:54 p.m. rebelgtp Dork

I'm looking at cutting back on a few bills and the like and I'm thinking of ditching my satellite service. Now at the same time a new high speed internet service has moved into my area (5 meg connections vs my current 1.5) for less money. Being in school I need to keep internet access, period.

That being said I know that there are a growing number of (legitimate) online streaming sources to catch full episodes from the various networks and the like. I was wondering if anyone here has done this switch already and has complied a list of links they wouldn't mind sharing?

Basically anything and everything that I can get I would be happy with because there are others in the house so it will take a bit of convincing to make the switch. Most TVs in my house already double as computer monitors, the only one that does not always have a computer on it is the one in the living room but that can be easily resolved, and there are always the laptops as well (between us there are 6 laptops/netbooks in the home).

So what do you guys have?
Oct. 18, 2009 8:11 p.m. PubBurgers Dork

I know you said you're cutting down on bills but the $9 a month Netflix subscription is about the most amazing thing on earth. They have something like 10,000 movies you can stream to your laptop (or tv with an Xbox 360 or other supported device) and they add more every week. With 5 mbs you can even stream in HD, though it's not quite as good as tv HD. On top of that you get one in the mail at a time and i've never looked for a movie and not found it there.

We are cutting back on bills too and still kept Netflix. (If all this sounds like an it's because i've got nothing but good to say about them)

Aside from that there's Hulu, which is free. They post some shows episodes the day after they air. It's a pretty good site.

Most tv stations and some cable channels post episodes on their websites.
Oct. 18, 2009 8:59 p.m. DrBoost HalfDork

I second netflix. And, I just get over the air tv and am surprised at how much I have. I live in a semi rural area 20+ miles from a major city and I have almost 30 stations to choose from, some from 75 miles away!! If you go over the air, I recommend the converter box sold by dish network. It has a program guide just like you are used to.
Oct. 18, 2009 9:02 p.m. stuart in mn SuperDork

I haven't dropped cable TV but I watch streaming TV fairly often. I know CBS has a lot of their episodes online (I just watched the latest episode of CSI last night and the video quality is excellent) and imagine the other networks do as well. www.hulu.com is pretty good for both new and old TV, plus a lot of movies. Comcast has a site for streaming video as well but I haven't explored it very far: http://www.fancast.com/ Many local stations stream their news broadcasts as well.
Oct. 18, 2009 9:34 p.m. blaze86vic Reader

I'll second the Hulu. I dropped TV entirely a few months ago. To watch it on Hulu it's usually a few days after it broadcasts on TV, but I don't mind. And I have a digital antenna for all the local channels.
Oct. 18, 2009 9:35 p.m. Osterkraut Dork

Don't own a TV. Hulu suffices.
Oct. 18, 2009 9:36 p.m. rebelgtp Dork

Yeah I have used Hulu a couple of times works decent tons of really bad old movies (can be fun at times). I've not looked at Netflix for quite awhile but will give it a look again.

Any ideas on what networks have full episodes available online? I know comedy central is just clip BS. Any resource for BBC stuff? Or is that basically just SOL?
Oct. 18, 2009 11:59 p.m. friedgreencorrado Dork

I let the cable go about 5yr ago. Only thing I really miss is Turner Classic Movies.

MTV doesn't show music, ESPN shows poker tournaments, the Weather Channel stops showing the weather for 12 hours a day so they can show the Shuttle Challenger explosion 72 times, and people dying in floods. The Cartoon Network started showing bad cartoons, and when the bad cartoons got bad ratings, they decided to show bad copies of live-action Disney & Nickleodeon shows instead of cartoons.

Any decent network series will be on DVD eventually, and without all the stupid graphics over the top of it telling you how "THE GREATEST SHOW IN THE WORLD WILL BE ON THIS FRIDAY!!!"

I don't even tell people I work in TV anymore, since the first thing out of their mouth is "..can you do anything about all that crap on the screen?.."

Our "ghetto home theatre" is an old Mitsubishi VHS player with two video inputs. One's connected to the roomie's xBox360 (which connects to Netflix-and also plays DVDs), and the other's connected to a Playstation2, so we can play our older games when we're not watching movies or playing xBox games. The PS2 will probably be replaced by a PS3 once Gran Turismo 5 comes out..

We don't miss television. As someone who works in the (cable) TV industry, I can't help but see the similarities with the "death" of FM radio twenty-five or so years ago as big companies bought up all the local stations, abandoned their "niche" audiences, and started chasing market share by attempting to appeal to the mass market. When the quality of programming decreased, everyone just went out and bought a cassette player (nowdays, CDs of course..) for the car. Fewer people listen to radio now than since it was invented, and the last stations standing just fight over the last little puddle of listeners.

Same thing's going on right now in TV. When I first disconnected five years ago, people thought it was weird. Nowdays, people like me seem to be everywhere. I'm hoping my company is still flexible enough to adjust, otherwise, I'll be out of a job.
Oct. 19, 2009 5:54 a.m. RedS13Coupe Reader

What?! Cartoon network is one of the few of them still doing original programing.. At least their late night...

They got some stuff that is a little TOO weird... But ATHF, Metalocalyps, Robot chicken, ect... good stuff.

Another one to check out is TVU player... Though I think it may be of questionable legality. The software itself isn't illegal, but I am not sure if they have permission... or are just slipping through by "simply offering a place for people to broadcast their own channels", as it seems they do let random people sign up to stream whatever.But it has a wide variety of international channels, and plays live (including F1). Not the greatest quality but good enough for most stuff, and they recently added pause rewind and fast forward to their software.

I have used it for a while, but be aware that when you close it it tries to just hide down in the system tray (by the clock), and it will keep eating up bandwidth... so make sure you close it for real (right click -> exit on the icon down in the system tray)
Oct. 19, 2009 7:44 a.m. alfadriver HalfDork

If you want cheaper than Netflix- try your local public library. It's already paid for.
Oct. 19, 2009 8:08 a.m. Grtechguy UltraDork

I canceled satellite and stream everything.....works great.

sometimes buffer stuff to be ready when I get home
Oct. 19, 2009 10:11 a.m. rebelgtp Dork

I think I'm going to try and just stream stuff this week and see how it works out. Working on compiling a list of links for the various networks etc that stream off their sites.

EDIT: Here are the links I have so far (in case someone else wants them). Also if you have any others feel free to post them up.

http://www.hulu.com/

http://www.fancast.com/

http://abc.go.com/watch

http://www.fox.com/fod/index.htm?src=menu_item_full_episodes

http://www.cbs.com/video/

http://www.nbc.com/shows/

http://www.syfy.com/rewind/index.php?__source=Syfy_Global_Nav

http://www.foodnetwork.com/video-library/index.html

http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/video/index.html

http://www.usanetwork.com/fullepisodes/

http://www.tbs.com/video/index/#/all-video/full-episodes/

http://www.spike.com/spiketv/full-episodes/

http://www.tvland.com/fullepisodes/

http://www.history.com/video.do?action=home

http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/

http://animal.discovery.com/videos/

http://www.theanimenetwork.com/Watch-Online

http://www.southparkstudios.com/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/

http://www.comedycentral.com/funny_videos/index.jhtml

BBC and Comedy central are only clips but maybe that will change sometime.
Oct. 19, 2009 10:49 a.m. pigeon HalfDork

Don't forget about the wonderful world of torrents...

I've looked into dropping cable tv and going streaming but with 2 tv watching kids it would be too much of a pain in the tail.
Oct. 19, 2009 11:09 a.m. fiat22turbo UltraDork

You might look into Boxee as a way to consolidate a number of those sources and your existing ones.
Oct. 19, 2009 12:32 p.m. stuart in mn SuperDork

The AMC network has some streaming video as well.
Oct. 20, 2009 12:12 a.m. friedgreencorrado Dork

RedS13Coupe wrote:

What?! Cartoon network is one of the few of them still doing original programing.. At least their late night...

That's the weird thing..Adult Swim started as an outlet for some of the wilder stuff after the "Anal Retentive Parents' Group" got so loud about some of the more subversive stuff

EDIT: "They".

were showing. As the volume of hate mail (mostly illiterate morons screaming "CARTOONZ IS FER KIDS!!", neglecting that most people today grew up watching the animated shorts done for movie theatres during the 1940s-which were created for an "all ages" audience-and don't think of the art form as a child's pastime) got larger during the late 90s,

EDIT: "they"

tried to do the "split-channel" think like Nick & Nick at Night. It was tougher for Cartoon than it was for Nick, since Nick at Night was largely old live-action TV series. On one hand it paid off. Adult Swim at one point delivered better ratings than Leno & Letterman combined. On the other, it didn't. All of the original executives who made Cartoon Nework such a great channel during the 90s moved over to Adult Swim, and were replaced by (mostly) ex-Nick folks that didn't understand that Cartoon was intended to be a "shrine" to the art of animation. It was bad enough that some of the audience thought "cartoons are for kids"...it got worse when the place was run by executives who made the same mistake.

RedS13Coupe wrote: They got some stuff that is a little TOO weird... But ATHF, Metalocalyps, Robot chicken, ect... good stuff.

Oh, yeah. It's all an experiment. Personally, I can't stand Tim & Eric..but the ratings prove I'm the exception. And after spending so many years in a "working class poor" neighborhood, I seem to be one of the few people on earth that understands "Superjail".

I really like this new "Titan Maximum" thing done by the Robot Chicken crew. If you haven't seen it, remember "G-Force" or "Voltron". Now imagine what would happen if the pilots of the ships that combined to make the giant robot actually hated each other.

RedS13Coupe wrote: Another one to check out is TVU player... Though I think it may be of questionable legality. The software itself isn't illegal, but I am not sure if they have permission... or are just slipping through by "simply offering a place for people to broadcast their own channels", as it seems they do let random people sign up to stream whatever.But it has a wide variety of international channels, and plays live (including F1). Not the greatest quality but good enough for most stuff, and they recently added pause rewind and fast forward to their software.

I have used it for a while, but be aware that when you close it it tries to just hide down in the system tray (by the clock), and it will keep eating up bandwidth... so make sure you close it for real (right click -> exit on the icon down in the system tray)

I'd not heard of TVU, but I'll certainly reasearch it..sounds like pretty good stuff.
Oct. 20, 2009 9:59 p.m. curtis73 HalfDork

Seriously... buy HD rabbit ears. I'm actually getting 10 HD channels with one of those Radio Shack rabbit ears from 1986. I could get about 3-4 more if I invested the whole $29 on actual HD antenna and got it near a window instead of right in the middle of my apartment.

Give yourself one month without it, try Netflix and the online streaming stuff, and you'll find you won't miss it. I had DirecTV for 8 years. I dropped it when we moved to an apartment that didn't allow dishes and I missed it for about 45 seconds.

NPR and PBS for news, Fox for the Simpsons and Family Guy, and the rest is just junk.
Oct. 20, 2009 10:23 p.m. friedgreencorrado Dork

curtis73 wrote:

NPR and PBS for news, Fox for the Simpsons and Family Guy, and the rest is just junk.

Funny you mention that...when I first dropped the cable, my TV set had two settings. PBS, and off-except for the occasional sports thing. I think either CBS or NBC had a few ALMS races that year, and since I live in Atlanta metro, I could still get the Braves games on the local TBS feed (TBS started as a broadcast station, and still owns a kicking UHF transmitter & a really big tower).
Oct. 21, 2009 9:42 a.m. fiat22turbo UltraDork

A set of HD rabbit ears and an HD capable TV Tuner card and you can watch TV on your computer, record your favorite shows, etc. plus you can still stream TV off the 'net.
Oct. 21, 2009 9:54 a.m. GameboyRMH UltraDork

I can't imagine why anyone in the states has sat/cable TV (well apart from sports stuff I guess). Not only do you have torrents and youtube like the rest of the world, you also have hulu and netflix!
Oct. 21, 2009 9:59 a.m. mtn SuperDork

For live sports, use ATDHE.NET . I think they might have regular TV too.
Oct. 21, 2009 11:43 a.m. awebb New Reader

Kinda funny this is exactly what my wife and I did, hooked the pc up to the tube and BAM any show we want right that minute. Like previously stated Hulu.com works great, Netflix is good for a limited supply, and most TV channels post their full episodes online after they air...
Oct. 21, 2009 12:02 p.m. Snowdoggie HalfDork

Is there any site out there that shows you how to hook up the PC to the tube. I'm talking about setting it up for all the tvs in my house, maybe through my wireless network. Internet radio throughout the house would be nice too.

I'm getting tired of Dish Network. They have added too many shopping channels to the mix. CNN is looking more like Fox every day. Sci Fy or whatever they call it now is getting to be the bad horror movie and reality show channel. There isn't much left.
Oct. 21, 2009 12:50 p.m. stuart in mn SuperDork

curtis73 wrote: Seriously... buy HD rabbit ears. I'm actually getting 10 HD channels with one of those Radio Shack rabbit ears from 1986. I could get about 3-4 more if I invested the whole $29 on actual HD antenna and got it near a window instead of right in the middle of my apartment.

'HD antenna' is really a misnomer...the antenna doesn't know if the signals are HD or not. A new antenna may be able to pick up more channels but it's still just an antenna.
Oct. 21, 2009 1:03 p.m. GameboyRMH UltraDork

Snowdoggie wrote:

Is there any site out there that shows you how to hook up the PC to the tube. I'm talking about setting it up for all the tvs in my house, maybe through my wireless network. Internet radio throughout the house would be nice too.

The easiest way is to get a PC (I recommend desktop running a Linux-based OS, maybe Boxee) with a gaming video card (they all support TV-out regardless of software). That only does one TV though. Going all around the house will be complicated, expecially if you want to keep DRM out of the equation.

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