Have you gone internet-only?

gladerider said:

me too, i have cable to watch live sports. mostly ncaa football. don't know how others deal with this when they stream....

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Yep. The only time I have my set-top box turned on is for NFL and Red Sox games. MLB.com blacks out streaming baseball games to local regions so I can't watch the Red Sox unless I stand on my head to set up a fake billing address and use a proxy that is outside of New England. I've never heard of live high def video streaming of Patriots games. If' I'm not doing anything and they're not lousy games, I'll also watch the Thursday, Sunday Night, and Monday Night games.

If I could stream that content, I'd be done with the video part of my cable bill. I use my Comcast telephone service for business and couldn't quite function with cell phone-only on all the conference calls. The reception and voice quality just aren't quite good enough.

Great thread

A couple questions from a technology neanderthal.. Im about to can my business/home land line and port the number to my cell phone in turn giving me the ability to cancel DSL and go cable modem as well. As far as streaming TV goes:
Can you stream to multiple TV's ? In different parts of the house? Will I always have to use the pc to choose a channel or is there some type of device with a remote. This would be the kicker for me as we have three areas we watch TV in. Have not seen anything about wifi TVs?

o3jeff said:

How do you like that Roku box, saw it on Hulu site last night. Also what model do you have of it?

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If you haven't gone to BlueRay yet, you might want to consider a BR enabled player that has Netflix connectivity. That is what we did for little more than a Roku.

kbroderick said:

Does your checking account offer online bill payment? Mine does, and they will mail a check if the recipient is not setup to receive electronic payments. You can even sent payments to individuals. I'm still working on the same checkbook from several years ago because I only end up writing checks for a handful of transactions each year.

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It does, yes. I haven't put enough trust in it to replace my checks. It doesn't make sense to me that they would offer this service for free and it really would work. :lol: Sounds like stupid reasoning, I know! I figured it was only for accounts that could transfer funds electronically. I wasn't believing they would pay for paper, printing, envelope, and stamp plus any labor or component costs to mail checks for everyone for free. I'll have to give it a shot.

riverc0il said:

If you haven't gone to BlueRay yet, you might want to consider a BR enabled player that has Netflix connectivity. That is what we did for little more than a Roku.

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This is a good option too, just be sure to look at the offerings of each company first before buying. Some offer more streaming options than others. I got a Sony because I could stream my Slacker music account as well as Netflix, Hulu plus etc.
Also some are wireless and some must use a wired connection.

We are firmly rooted in the old and the new. My wife works at home so she won't part with the land line. I'm told though that DSL doesn't require phone service. Can anyone substantiate that?

The last time I subscribed to cable TV was for the 1990 Olympics since I was disgusted with both I've never gone back to either. When I lived in CT we were right around the corner from a Blockbuster. After moving to NH we switched to Netflix and now we stream (using a Roku) as well. While I'd love to watch a Sox or Pats game I could never take the eye rolling from my wife so I've been weened. I'd much rather watch World Cup skiing but nothing seems to be available on that.

Finally we still write checks for bills.

Morwax said:

Will I always have to use the pc to choose a channel or is there some type of device with a remote.

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Our PC is never on when we watch Roku. It comes with a small remote too. Its a little clunky especially the search option but it gets the job done

riverc0il said:

It does, yes. I haven't put enough trust in it to replace my checks. It doesn't make sense to me that they would offer this service for free and it really would work. :lol: Sounds like stupid reasoning, I know! I figured it was only for accounts that could transfer funds electronically. I wasn't believing they would pay for paper, printing, envelope, and stamp plus any labor or component costs to mail checks for everyone for free. I'll have to give it a shot.

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I've been using this for my checks almost exclusively for a few years now...

In fact, I used it to send a check to you for the Sugarloaf condo for the AZ Summit in 2010...

-w

I guess we all have to jump into the e banking thing, seems like the USPS is about to go under and every bill I receive they want you to go paperless, life is getting difficult

We like watching TV and movies, so having a setup for that is important for us. However, we don't have cable or cable internet anymore:

For entertainment:
We've got a PS3 (for bluray @ Redbox when we're at the grocery store and want something that night), Apple TV2 for when we want easily accessible paid streamable downloaded movies/content and also access to Netflix, and a Windows Media PC that contain two HDTV receivers, hooked up to a Winegard OTA antenna. I'm able to pull every channel in Prov and almost every channel in Boston, so we are able to record our network TV shows when they air. Basically, its a DVR without having to pay the cable company. With a couple TB drives, I can store quite a bit at full res. We also have access to newsgroups on the computers for when we are thinking ahead and are willing to take the time to download files of the interwebs. There are alot of websites out there with free content as well, so we use the windows PC for that as well. For example, the gf got into Big Bang Theory a couple weeks ago, so she did a search and was able to find every episode from every season online, for free. I also run Airserver on that PC box so we can view all the content on that pc to our iphones and iPad, as well as over the web.

For internet access, I'm using a 4G/3G hotspot. I get similar speeds to cable over 4G, and the portability to take it just about anywhere we travel. Its through Clearwire, which uses Sprint networks (or vice versa) and offers unlimited data over 4G.

For banking, I use Mint.com to deal with all my finances and multiple accounts. Its great to have all the info in one place.

We are planning on going full time travelling in our RV next year, for about a year. I'm busy outfitting the RV with some high power cellular and wifi antennas, in the hopes that we can keep our "connected" lifestyle going on the road. I'll probably add a Slingbox into the mix at that point as well.

dartmouth01 said:

We are planning on going full time travelling in our RV next year, for about a year. I'm busy outfitting the RV with some high power cellular and wifi antennas, in the hopes that we can keep our "connected" lifestyle going on the road. I'll probably add a Slingbox into the mix at that point as well.

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Keep us updated on this. My wife and I are thinking of doing this for a few years right after we retire.

Will do! I won't lie I'm a techie at heart so I'm definitely taking things further than is necessary on "wired" front. Besides dealing w/ the tv and Internet issue, I'm also tackling safety/security right now. I'm working on installing some Internet enabled security cameras that will also serve as backup/ blind spot monitors, and allow our friends/fam to follow us along. I'm also hoping to connect smoke/lp/CO alarms that will notifying of problems via email/text, and will be looking into going solar and lipo batteries if I can keep the costs down. Our testing will be trying to take it to the ski mountains this winter! If we can do that I think we'll be ready for full timing!

That sounds like a cool trip. Be sure to post updates. Love all the tech you're using.

We haven't had pay TV since 1999. Get tons of free over the air Boston stations...like others have mentioned, the only thing we miss is sports, but not enough to pay for TV. My kids would disagree, but I think them growing up w/o cable TV has been good for them - we get 5 PBS channels and Qubo.

We now stream Netflix through our Wii. Someone asked - you can use Netflix on as many devices as you have, just competing with bandwith, so all get slowed down.

We have landline - won't give it up since my kids are home alone sometimes and 911 is an issue with 'net/cell phones, and I just like the security. We have DSL for 'net.

We were without power for 4-5 days over October. All our FIOS friends were w/o phone and internet as soon as their back battery died (within a day), our cable friends were w/o cable for at least a week. We never lost phone, and as soon as we got a generator and could plug in our DSL modem and wireless router, we had internet. I like that safety net.

Netflix is sorta sucky on their offerings though..seems like they offer a movie for a few days, then you go to watch it and its no longer there. And it seems the movies, when browsing, are rarely rated more than 3 stars...no goodies. Definitely worth the $9/month, but need to look into other options too.

dartmouth01 said:

*** ....a Windows Media PC that contain two HDTV receivers, hooked up to a Winegard OTA antenna. I'm able to pull every channel in Prov and almost every channel in Boston, so we are able to record our network TV shows when they air. Basically, its a DVR without having to pay the cable company. ***

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After reading your post I feel like a Neanderthal. :sad: Please forgive my illiteracy but when you say "Windows Media PC" are you referring to Windows Media Player? I've never even heard of a computer having an HDTV receiver, and you have two.

I'm still barely getting off the ground for streaming onto the old flat screen. I've checked into many alternatives, like Roku, AppleTV, blue-ray players, etc., but I've been hesitant to commit to a platform that I might end up not liking. So I decided to go completely low-tech for a test drive. I got a VGA cable with 3.5 audio jacks and hooked it up to the laptop, basically converting the flat screen into a large monitor. True, it isn't wireless, but then again it only cost $7. Now I just have to figure out how to access all that free content off the internet.
Who knows, this could be our first baby step towards going internet-only.

Don't worry, you'll get it! One of my "hobbies" is following consumer technology development (ie I like to buy new crap) so I'm ahead on the curve in that area. Its like how some people here probably know everything and anything there is about skis. I can't keep track of the name of the skis and boots I have, let alone know what is out there every year! As for your current set up, thats how I started! I had an old data projector in college and plugged it into my home computer with two 15 foot vga cables since the projector was ceiling mounted. Things only get cooler from there.....

Basically, a Windows Media Center (WMC) PC is a type of HTPC (Home Theater PC), so its main job as a computer is to basically be a TV tuner (like a cablebox or DVR), as well as play your DVDs, movie files, music, etc. Window Media Center (WMC) is the name of the program that acts as the interface you see for playing those things. Instead of your tv screen looking like a normal desktop and having to interact with a keyboard and mouse, WMC instead gives you what looks like a screen from a cablebox/dvr, and you have a remote that works just like a cablebox/DVR remote. There are other programs out there that work similar to WMC, but WMC is the most popular, and often installed on the PC, if it has a tv tuner card built in. I built my HTPC from scratch out of older components I had lying around, but you can purchase pre built WMC PCs from most retailers like Best Buy, Staples, etc. The Windows Media Center link from Microsoft's website has some videos and good info to get you acquainted:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/windows-media-center

If you already have a computer and want to just try installing a TV tuner, you can get one from Hauppauge. http://www.hauppauge.com/ You can get them in many different styles/features. Some are plug n play (using USB) and some require installation in the computer. Be forewarned, you need a fairly powerful machine to be able to record HD signals, or spend a little more money and get the higher end cards that will do alot of the processing on the card, instead of using your computer to do it. These cards don't come with the Windows Media Center program, but I believe most Windows 7 versions already come with it. There is even a tuner you can buy that you can install a CableCard into, which allows you to get the encrypted channels from cable (like ESPN, etc). You have to get the Cablecard from the cable provider, and pay for the cable service, of course, but you wont have to pay the monthly charge for the DVR they supply, and you can do more things with the recordings since they are on your PC.

legalskier said:

After reading your post I feel like a Neanderthal. :sad: Please forgive my illiteracy but when you say "Windows Media PC" are you referring to Windows Media Player? I've never even heard of a computer having an HDTV receiver, and you have two.

I'm still barely getting off the ground for streaming onto the old flat screen. I've checked into many alternatives, like Roku, AppleTV, blue-ray players, etc., but I've been hesitant to commit to a platform that I might end up not liking. So I decided to go completely low-tech for a test drive. I got a VGA cable with 3.5 audio jacks and hooked it up to the laptop, basically converting the flat screen into a large monitor. True, it isn't wireless, but then again it only cost $7. Now I just have to figure out how to access all that free content off the internet.
Who knows, this could be our first baby step towards going internet-only.

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Geoff said:

Yep. The only time I have my set-top box turned on is for NFL and Red Sox games. MLB.com blacks out streaming baseball games to local regions so I can't watch the Red Sox unless I stand on my head to set up a fake billing address and use a proxy that is outside of New England. I've never heard of live high def video streaming of Patriots games. If' I'm not doing anything and they're not lousy games, I'll also watch the Thursday, Sunday Night, and Monday Night games.

If I could stream that content, I'd be done with the video part of my cable bill. I use my Comcast telephone service for business and couldn't quite function with cell phone-only on all the conference calls. The reception and voice quality just aren't quite good enough.

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2 things:
1) Wanted to bump your point about sports. I'm in the same boat. Anyone know how to get live NFL over internet??? I guess the other option is to just go out to watch the games (which I do half the time anyway).

2) landline for business. I've been using Google Voice through my laptop. Calls are free. And with a good mic/speakers or a good headset the quality is at least as good as a landline.

Cannonball said:

2 things:
1) Wanted to bump your point about sports. I'm in the same boat. Anyone know how to get live NFL over internet??? I guess the other option is to just go out to watch the games (which I do half the time anyway).

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You can't...The next best thing is to sign up on NFL.com but you can't watch them until Tuesday. If you have a PS3 you can get the NFL Sunday ticket and watch any game live.

I'm going to cancel my cable pretty soon, as long as I can get Mets games on MLB.tv through my XBox. MLB.tv is coming to XBox this summer, but I'm not going to cancel the cable until I'm sure that the games aren't going to be blacked out here . . .

Geoff said:

I can't watch the Red Sox unless I stand on my head to set up a fake billing address and use a proxy that is outside of New England

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Either that, or I could work up a mailing address trade-off with Geoff so he can have his Red Sox and I can have my Mets

ALLSKIING said:

If you have a PS3 you can get the NFL Sunday ticket and watch any game live.

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Sounds like a great service. Wonder why they limit it to PS3 besides having an exclusive deal with Sony? Seems like they could do much better financially by opening up that package to all systems.

dartmouth01 said:

*** Basically, a Windows Media Center (WMC) PC is a type of HTPC (Home Theater PC), so its main job as a computer is to basically be a TV tuner (like a cablebox or DVR), as well as play your DVDs, movie files, music, etc. Window Media Center (WMC) is the name of the program that acts as the interface you see for playing those things. Instead of your tv screen looking like a normal desktop and having to interact with a keyboard and mouse, WMC instead gives you what looks like a screen from a cablebox/dvr, and you have a remote that works just like a cablebox/DVR remote. ***.

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Thanks for the explanation. So if I'm following you, you're using your computer as the brains of the operation and your tv to display the signal from the computer; which means you don't need a "smart tv" with all those bells and whistles (which helps keeps costs down). You also don't need to buy a new, updated tv every few years because your upgrades are to your computer, not the tv. A fusion of computer and tv.

dartmouth01 said:

*** If you already have a computer and want to just try installing a TV tuner, you can get one from Hauppauge. http://www.hauppauge.com/ You can get them in many different styles/features. ***

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Interesting. Those USB tuners appear to be for Windows (which is the system I use)- I'm wondering whether they are compatible with Mac, as I think my son would be interested in one.