Ready to ditch the cable company

[live&die40acres]

I've looked for this topic but didn't find anything. Apologies if it has already been discussed. So, I'm ready to lose my Directv bill and as Time Warner is my only other option, I'm beginning to look into other options such as Roku, Mohu leaf, etc. Anyone use these or similar services? Thoughts? Advice? My limited knowledge of Roku leads me to believe we have to then subscribe to a bunch of channels. Looks like an HD antenna will get most local channels but am I F'ed on sports, such as UT football, of course? Thanks y'all. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[Oakhill Horn]

No real advice to offer. I cut the cord about a year and a half ago. I am pretty sure loop has been in the lifestyle for at least 2-3 years. It is nice not blowing $100+/month for so many channels with nothing I was interested in watching. If I could get the 6-10 channels I am interested in a la carte, I would be in heaven. I do not think that is going to happen anytime soon. The thing I miss most is sports. in particular Longhorn sports. Of course the advent of the LHN has made it a moot point for me as the only providers I have access to do not carry the LHN. For some of the games that have been regional broadcasts not available in my area, I have had a friend or two loan me credentials for an ESPN game or two.

I am still exploring other options for viewing entertainment. Have subscribed to Netflix for a long time, but never find the time to stream much. I recently have tried Amazon Prime. One thing I noticed about Prime was that not all of their streaming content is included with the annual subscription. It appears some items still charge a per viewing fee from $1-4.

I have looked into Roku, but come across conflicting info. There are apparently a number of "channels" to which you may subscribe. Some may or may not carry sports that we would be interested in viewing. It looks like there may be a number of interesting programming options, but I fiind I have so little time for more junk entertainment. Once you add on the subscription fees for Netflix, Hulu+, Amazon Prime, etc. all at about $10/month each, the proce tag starts to add up. Of course, you lose much DVR type functionality, but most of the programs are on-demand anyway and you can crudely pause and rewind. However, this is not possible with the live streams as far as I know. THat is unless you set up a computer as an HTPC.Then you have to purchase devices for use with each TV set you have in your house, or move the receiving equipemnt around. There are options with HTPC for hole-home type DVRs using ethernet over existing cable (MoCA). I have decided not to go to the expense of an HTPC and other related equipment.

All in all, at least for me, I have not found many of the options to be worth it in the long run outside of an antenna to pull in the OTA programming from the majors. I find that I have shifted time to a few more, in my estimation, worthy pursuits.

 

[l00p]

Howdy, a two year cutter of the cable here. Still loving it and any adjustments i had to make are easy as pie now. I am watching last nights Pawn Stars on the network website and going hdmi from my pc to 55 inch tv screen, great picture. So in that way it's a dvr.

I have many places to watch any sports I may miss and as Oakhill said, i am getting more things done and pursuing more things with the time I actually wasted channel surfing channels I did not watch.

I don't miss cable one little bit and honestly cannot see myself going back to it.

 

[nashhorn]

hey loop - how do you go HDMI from PC? Have a converter connector of some sort?

 

[l00p]

My computer has an HDMI plug or outlet on it. yours may have just a VGA, I don't know. Both my laptop and PC have HDMI. I simply plug cord into both, into one another.

There may be VGA to HDMI but I don't know the quality would be that great. A PC or laptop with HDMI is standard now, I think, and not that expensive. If you do need to upgrade your computer you will make your money back in a few months AND have a new updated faster computer.

I know my brother-in-law uses his tablet to stream things too. He has the wifi's in his home and accesses the interwebs with it. He has the one with the bigger gb's.

And do not buy your HDMI cable at Best Buy or a store. Amazon all the way...unless they will match the Amazon price.

 

[nashhorn]

Yep, my PC only has the VGA, and the Mac, which is new doesn't have HDMI - it does have thunderbolt - whatever in the heck that is good for.
Thanks - that explains your connections to me.

Hookem

 

[l00p]

I don't have a MAC but am now curious what the heck a Thunderbolt is or what it does. So when you find out, zap me a message just for a fyi type thing. Thanks.

 

[Horns11]

I'm still working out the kinks with my cutting-the-cable process. I went ahead and purchased a ****-ton of equipment, including a brand-new computer, so that I could make this happen and still be happy with the results.

I guess one of my main issues that wouldn't affect everyone else is my proximity to the Dallas/Forth Worth TV station towers. I'm like 50 miles away, and with an amplified roof antenna, I'm still only pulling in like 60-70 percent signals on most of the local channels. Occasionally they'll even drop in bad weather, which is frustrating because I always had cable or Verizon FiOS before this. The up-front costs and digital TV signals have been my least favorite part of the process.

My other huge drawback is the sports. I know every major sports channel has stated they are moving forward with live online streaming, but so far ESPN is the only one who offers ESPN3 or Watch ESPN online without a cable package (our Internet is still with FiOS). And of course that wouldn't include LHN streaming. Fox Sports really needs to get on board with this. I can still watch the stuff that's on the major networks, but that might be less and less for Texas sports if we don't improve our on-field product. I really miss the other sports like NHL, but I could get MLB.tv if I wanted (I'm not a Rangers fan so it wouldn't be blacked out).

The good parts are really good though. I can record live TV on my computer because it's pretty badass now. I can stream the shows to my other TV's through wifi. So I still sort of have a DVR, but I have to carry around the Windows remote if I want to watch it in other rooms. Not a huge issue to me except when my kiddo leaves it somewhere else.

Netflix/Hulu work just as well as they always have. Never any quality complaints about those except they don't carry every single program I've ever watched.

I know I'll save money in the long run by doing it this way, but it's going to take until early 2015 to break even. I guess if I live another 50 years it'll seem dumb that I waited so long to do this.

 

[l00p]

Either today or tomorrow is my exact two year anniversary of cutting the cable. At first it was tough to have less sports. I love Soccer, Aussie Rules Football and Rally Racing quite a bit. Those were no longer options to watch live, only delays online a couple days later. I got used to it and realized I could live without them all the time.

I have friends that have those channels and head over to their place sometimes but even that dwindles as it's not as important as it seemed to be back then. I just basically watched because it was there.

I can see where it's an issue being so far out with weaker signal. Hope that gets fixed soon somehow.

To date I have saved just short of 3 thousand dollars.

 

[14tokihorn]

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[georgecostanza]

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[nashhorn]

Hey George - thanks - just ordered it! If I have any problems with set up will get son to come by and instruct Dad, which is what usually happens.
I am seriously hoping this moves me one giant step closer to having the guts to cut the cable.
Hookem

 

[Horns11]

"Which video capture solution are you using? I've been trying to learn this stuff and have info. from several vendors.... Hauppauge and the like."

Correct, Hauppauge.

Honestly, I just use the Windows 7 Media Center to record TV. Just enter the info and it works like a charm. My video card has an output to the nearest TV so I only need to switch the input to the other HDMI and it works well. The audio takes a little getting used to on that setup because the HDMI-out doesn't support audio for most video cards, so we just turn the computer speakers up.

My family has enough working knowledge of Linux and stuff to set up the TV connection on the other setups. It's a pain, but it does get the job done.

"If you capture HD OTA programs, do you need a video card that is capable of the HD format to playback the content in HD? Or is the media going back thru the Over-The-Air capture device - not the video card."

Yes and Yes. The video card has to be strong enough to do the 1080i signals quickly enough (without loss and/or stuttering), AND the capture device has to be rated for HD. Almost all of them are now, unless it's some cheap "bought-at-Walmart" off the rack USB tuner.

 

[nashhorn]

GC,
Part (connector) came in - plugged into the port on Mac then HDMI and over to TV - works great, picture sharp and beautiful, anything on computer screen shows on the TV in clear HD. Thanks for the info!
Step one in my breakaway from the cable monster.