teach me about non dish, non cable TV

Here is what I want:

No more paying for cable or dish and more channels than available with antenna on my PC or better yet on a dedicated tuner box that can play on a PC or a TV. I'll need this for two TVs. The price is easy, because just a few months worth of bare minimum TV will pay for it. It's gotta have the Disney channel and it's gotta have some sort of DVR function and it's gotta have a remote. It would be nice if it also did DVDs or whatever popular round things are available these days. Virtually everything else is negotiable.

OK, so I know there are alternatives on the internet for legal TV shows broadcast - maybe not realtime, but somewhat close. I don't remember any of them. I am not sure how these things work with two TVs. I have about 3 more minutes on the computer before the wife needs to do schoolwork, so hopefully you guys can spare me the time researching and just fill me in.

Thanks!!

maybe www dot hulu dot com?

Hulu, network websites and a digital converter box, or maybe Apple TV?

what you want does not exist. Though I certainly wish it did.

I want my Comcast with DVR, but I don't want to pay for HGTV, OnDemand crap, or TBS, or The weather channel (sorry FriedGreen...nobody watches your channel).

I want basic TV, Comedy Central, SpeedTV, HD Theater, History, Discovery, AMC, and occasionally I watch Adult Swim. Thats it!

I've pondered the same question for a couple of months after xing my dish. I've only come up with a couple of options. Netflix (shows are not up to date, but well worth the 9 bucks I spend every month) can be played through PS3, Wii or Xbox or something that Western Digital has called WDTV (similar to Apple TV). Another option I have looked heavily into is purchasing a new TV with a VGA input and using it in conjunction with a laptop. I have actually done this with the Visio we have at our studio. Since most networks have websites with shows that are recent it is a great way to watch up-to-date shows. The only thing I can't get to is races.

Platinum90 wrote: what you want does not exist.

This.

Platinum90 wrote: what you want does not exist. Though I certainly wish it did. I want my Comcast with DVR, but I don't want to pay for HGTV, OnDemand crap, or TBS, or The weather channel (sorry FriedGreen...nobody watches your channel).

No offense taken. Neither do I, anymore..the folks that made us a success back in the 90s went on to Adult Swim, and the new guys seem to want to be Nick or Diz.

Platinum90 wrote: I want basic TV, Comedy Central, SpeedTV, HD Theater, History, Discovery, AMC, and occasionally I watch Adult Swim. Thats it!

Only thing I've missed since "cutting the cord" is TCM and (oddly enough) the Food Network. I guess when the Corporate Overlords at Scripps decide to abandon niche broadcasting like everybody else on cable (and starts showing "REAL RESTAURANT FIRES!!" or something), I won't miss that one, either.

To SBF, the thing about "Internet TV" is that you can't use it like a regular cable or sat TV. You can't just turn the thing on and leave it there for the noise. You search for what you want to watch, and you watch it. When it's over, you either look for something else you want to watch, or go do something else.

Whether or not to use an "illegal" source is up to personal taste. I'm a big fan of FOX's "Bones", and I watch the current episode on FOX's website. The streaming/video quality is pretty good, but they will stop streaming to show a single :15 or :30 sec commercial every 8-9min or so. OTOH, SWMBO and our boarder don't want to put up with that stuff for the sake of vid quality. They find what they want to watch on vimeo or youtube, and watch that instead, regardless of how rotten the quality is.

I thought they were nuts, until I remembered my shortwave radio hobby back when I was young. I didn't care about all the static, because the content was so interesting. I really think the young folks today are doing the same damn thing with video.

As long as you're not one of those people who (like I mentioned earlier in the post) just likes to turn the TV on for "company", or wants to channel surf for something interesting when you're bored, living without cable/sat isn't that tough. We have a Netflix account (the xBox 360 will play streaming Netflix), and the computer will play the rest off the internet. Only thing we haven't done yet is connect the computer to our HDTV set..but there's cables to do that.

No cable for five years now, never even considered paying for satellite. I think it's a win-win. We still watch the stuff we really want to see, but don't waste time just sitting on the couch playing with the remote. We watch our shows, and when they're done, we get up and make sure the kid's homework is correct, the oil change is done on time, the dishes & laundry get washed, and the yard gets mowed.

friedgreencorrado wrote: No cable for five years now, never even considered paying for satellite. I think it's a win-win. We still watch the stuff we really want to see, but don't waste time just sitting on the couch playing with the remote. We watch our shows, and when they're done, we get up and make sure the kid's homework is correct, the oil change is done on time, the dishes & laundry get washed, and the yard gets mowed.

That's awesome. Seriously.

In reply to friedgreencorrado:

It amuses me that someone who is on here enough to become an UltraDork in less than 2 years boasts how much they don't let that evil brain sucker (TV) monopolize their life.

We just started doing this ourselves. Netflix just started in Canada and we're enjoying it so far. It's not cable, but for $8/month it's worth it. We stream it on the wii and we also have finetune in our favorites list on the wii. It's said to be a lot like Pandora. It's a wii friendly music site.

As far as tv for "company" goes, we are getting by happily with radio. I used to leave the news channel on for noise when I worked from home, but now I listen to CBC1 or a music station and it seems to do the trick for me.

We also have satellite radio in the wagon which allows us to stream it online at no extra cost.

So far so good.

Someone mentioned "Apple TV". It also streams Netflix, but it allows you to rent movies from Itunes too. It's $120cdn and tempting for the "pay per view" functionality.

How do you guys do sports?

We built a computer specifically to be a media center and have it hooked up to the 50" TV in the living room. We cancelled cable 6 months ago and that has nearly paid for the computer.

Like fried said, we watch what we want to watch, then do something else instead of mindlessly sitting in front of the TV.

I do miss Food Network/History channel/Adult Swim, but Netflix + the network web sites gets us most of what we want to watch (except The Big Bang Theory!) and Netflix is adding new content all the time.

I get the racing I want to watch now from some underground site or something.

Platinum90 wrote: ...I don't want to pay for ...The weather channel (sorry FriedGreen...nobody watches your channel).

I watch The Weather Channel. All of the time. It is usually on (with the sound muted) in my office most of the day, as it is while I'm typing this.

For some of us Dork is not just an honorary title, it is a way of life!

I have nothing constructive to add, on topic.

MrJoshua wrote: How do you guys do sports?

literally - that is the ONLY reason i have cable. because the Indians and Cavs are only on cable. used to be they were on local network TV. but once the yankees did that YES (noooooooooooooooo) network deal, they all followed suit.

I'm about 80% of my way thru my ditching of the dish. Antenna installed, house wired, HTPC built. Really, I just need to set aside a couple of hours for installing it in the entertainment center, and all of the wiring BS that involves.

Sports will be Antenna and ESPN.com for me. Most of the interesting SEC football games are broadcast in HD on a channel that I will receive with my antenna. Hulu, Netflix, etc. for a bunch of stuff. I still don't "know" torrents.

z31maniac wrote: We built a computer specifically to be a media center and have it hooked up to the 50" TV in the living room. We cancelled cable 6 months ago and that has nearly paid for the computer. Like fried said, we watch what we want to watch, then do something else instead of mindlessly sitting in front of the TV. I do miss Food Network/History channel/Adult Swim, but Netflix + the network web sites gets us most of what we want to watch (except The Big Bang Theory!) and Netflix is adding new content all the time.

This.

We're only 2-3 months into our HTPC / Netflix / OTA antenna experience though - and like most others we're doing fine but missing The Food Network more than anything else. They recently started offering some shows via iTunes but purchase only, no $0.99 rentals, and the only show I'd consider purchasing like that is Good Eats, which isn't offered....

Anybody tried Roku?

The CW isn't offered on any streaming service, and their site is the sux. If the wife can't watch 90210, then I'm in trouble so it's Fios for me!

pinchvalve wrote: The CW isn't offered on any streaming service, and their site is the sux. If the wife can't watch 90210, then I'm in trouble so it's Fios for me!

http://www.cwtv.com/cw-video/90210/?tab=2

MrJoshua wrote: In reply to friedgreencorrado: It amuses me that someone who is on here enough to become an UltraDork in less than 2 years boasts how much they don't let that evil brain sucker (TV) monopolize their life.

It's all about the cars. Nobody IRL wants to bench race, I know y'all are here.

And the other way is making a lot of short replies like this.

MrJoshua wrote: In reply to friedgreencorrado: It amuses me that someone who is on here enough to become an UltraDork in less than 2 years boasts how much they don't let that evil brain sucker (TV) monopolize their life.

Frankly, I can't believe that you would even try to equate the mindless ooze that comes out of a TV set with the brilliant, insightful, and downright intellectual discussions available on message boards such as this one!

Sounds like a hodge podge is the only way to go. The apple thing would get really expensive if it was the sole means of watching TV because the kids will watch five episodes (which means it's on, they watch it for 34 seconds, and then go be kids while it's on) during the day while we are at work. Hulu will be helpful. Can you record Hulu stuff onto your PC? We have 62 Good Eats episodes on our DVR. I would like to hang onto them even though Hulu only offers five at a time.

How does one get drag racing? The news? NCAA?

Drag racing? No idea. I mainly watch F1/BTCC/WRC, occasionally throw in WTCC/DTM/Moto GP/WSBK. I use torrents.

The news? Our local stations, I don't care about watching. We don't have an antenna and I'm not going to bother with putting one up.

DILSYI Dave, torrents are super easy, I was worried about it at first as well. I'm a member of a particular web site, that makes it super easy.

Download uTorrent, use site with hyperlinks to make it a super easy affair. Let me check my ratio, and if I have an invite I'll send it your way.

MrJoshua wrote: How do you guys do sports?

Apologies for dragging a dead thread back..but just finally found an answer for this question..

I don't care much for "stickanball" stuff, but I like international Football (the real footy, where the ball is round and you actually use your foot).

Buddy of mine sent me this link..

http://espn.go.com/espn3/

ESPN3. Not just live, but streaming replays as well. They're offering the replay of USCarolina vs. Florida on the home page at the moment.

It's possible. IIRC, I went through the whole World Cup on ESPN3, never had to worry about finding a bar with the TV on.

Apologies again for not remembering the damn thing when you asked the question a couple of days ago..

I cut the cord years ago. We did DirecTV for many years while we lived in an RV. Get out the tripod, set up the dish, and relaxed with 500 channels of nothing remotely entertaining.

We now have 1985-era Radio Shack rabbit ears hooked up to our HDTV. We get about 25 channels, four of which are either spanish-only or an automated weather/news channel. We get Fox, CW, ABC, NBC, CBS, and three excellent PBS channels including Create.

I realized years ago that the bazillion channels you can get with a dish along with a DVR is a great thing... but I'm an instant gratification kinda guy. With TV you are at the mercy of their schedule and making sure you program the DVR to capture it. Between TV, Hulu, Netflix, and Youtube, I get all the TV entertainment I need on demand.

Youtube, Hulu, and HD broadcasts are all free. The only thing I pay for is Netfilx and its $10 a month.

In my opinion, the only people who go for the dishes with DVR are people who are hooked on a few TV shows like a drug. They just have to see the latest episode of "Pregnant Self-absorbed Housewife" or "Implausible Rich Kid Drama" and they're willing to pay big bucks for it.

Because (let's face it), how many times do you turn on the TV, scroll through the channels, and actually find exactly what you're looking for? Its like hating chinese food and going to the worlds largest chinese buffet. Every once in a while they have something that you can tolerate, but wouldn't your rather have exactly what you want on demand?