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Old 05-06-2013, 09:41 PM   #21
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I'm pretty close to cutting the cord completely. Right now I have Bell satellite and a fair bit invested in their equipment but if I sell hopefully I can recoup some of my investment. Here is my plan:

I have 2 x jailbroken Apple TV 2's, with these and XBMC I am able to access a good variety of streaming content with some of their video plugins (1channel, navi-x, icefilms, and various adult options) Also on the ATV 2's I am able to get both US and Canadian Netflix with the help of unblockus (http://www.unblock-us.com) and also hulu plus again with the help of unblockus. This gives me a great variety of movies and TV shows. For newer cable TV shows I use torrents or newsgroups to download. For NHL gamecentre live (again using unblock us to prevent local blackouts) The only thing stopping me from cutting the cord now is I do watch a lot of MMA and once in awhile a jays game or some CFL football. I think its time to do it but for whatever reason I'm just not ready quite yet.
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Old 05-07-2013, 08:28 AM   #22
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I'm going to pick up an antenna one of these days and give it a try. I have an older style rabbit ears that aren't very good so am going to try one of the new antennas. My TV is a 42" Panasonic plasma from 06 or 07 and according to the specs I found online it looks like it has a built in ATSC tuner.

For streaming I'll likely keep my eye open for a cheap laptop. If I'm only using it for streaming I would assume the basic one will be fine.

Are there any online directories that have links to all different sites where I can legally watch streaming shows? Or do I have to go to each channels website to see what online content they have? I've noticed that the BBC and stations from the US are often blocked. Is the unblockus link above legal? Or are there other legal ways to watch them online?
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Old 05-07-2013, 08:49 AM   #23
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I cut the cord after the cord cut me (got fired by Shaw) and I simply went out to The Source and bought a HD OTA antenna for $60.

I'm set up with Unblockus as well, works great. I just have it on my Apple TV. I also managed to get a Hulu subscription working as well. Had a baby in January, so I barely watched any hockey this year, but that worked with my resolution to not give any money to the NHL. Next year I'll probably have Game Center. I had NFL Game Pass hooked up through my laptop and that worked really well.

NBA blows and MLB is too boring but they do have the MLB app on Apple TV and that's apparently pretty good.
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Old 05-07-2013, 09:12 AM   #24
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I've cut the cord twice in the past 2-3 years and both times Shaw has offered me deals that my wife could not pass up. Both times within 6 months of having cancelled.
But while I was off of cable I used the browser on my Samsung smart tv (the browser sucks)/xbox/ps3 to watch shows from the network sites and had Gamecenter Live this season with unblockus to watch all the Flames games. Also have Netflix and using the free Hulu version to watch. Never tried with an antenna. Is the reception for the HD OTA very good in Calgary? NW if any one knows.
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Old 05-07-2013, 10:27 AM   #25
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Can I watch TV shows such as New Girl or Elementary? I could use ps3 for gamecenter, though the resolution often gets choppy. I have an old 50" plasma, but would apple TV get me those options? My wife also loves cooking shows such as chopped. Would be nice to save the money...
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Old 05-07-2013, 10:37 AM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jeep991 View Post
I've cut the cord twice in the past 2-3 years and both times Shaw has offered me deals that my wife could not pass up. Both times within 6 months of having cancelled.
But while I was off of cable I used the browser on my Samsung smart tv (the browser sucks)/xbox/ps3 to watch shows from the network sites and had Gamecenter Live this season with unblockus to watch all the Flames games. Also have Netflix and using the free Hulu version to watch. Never tried with an antenna. Is the reception for the HD OTA very good in Calgary? NW if any one knows.
I'm in Renfrew and find that for the most part reception is pretty good unless I'm standing in front of my antenna.

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Can I watch TV shows such as New Girl or Elementary? I could use ps3 for gamecenter, though the resolution often gets choppy. I have an old 50" plasma, but would apple TV get me those options? My wife also loves cooking shows such as chopped. Would be nice to save the money...
New Girl is on Hulu. Not sure about Elementary, I've never heard of it.
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Old 05-07-2013, 10:40 AM   #27
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Apple TV would give you options for Gamecenter, Netflix and iTunes. If you jailbreak, you can get xbmc for even more content.

To get new TV content, Hulu (or Hulu Plus) is a good option (US only, so need a proxy), but you would have to look at it to see if it has what you want. Plus most networks offer streaming of recent TV shows on their website.

The other option begins with Arrrr!
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Old 05-07-2013, 11:37 AM   #28
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Apple TV would give you options for Gamecenter, Netflix and iTunes. If you jailbreak, you can get xbmc for even more content.

To get new TV content, Hulu (or Hulu Plus) is a good option (US only, so need a proxy), but you would have to look at it to see if it has what you want. Plus most networks offer streaming of recent TV shows on their website.

The other option begins with Arrrr!
What about Internet caps? I have a young one so the TV would be on a lot for kiddie shows. Anyone run into this problem? Might be good to have it turned off. It really is just background noise for him anyways
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Old 05-07-2013, 03:31 PM   #29
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What about Internet caps? I have a young one so the TV would be on a lot for kiddie shows. Anyone run into this problem? Might be good to have it turned off. It really is just background noise for him anyways
I have 400 gb included with my Broadband 50 on Shaw and the closest I've gotten to that was almost 300 gb last September. That is with me watching usually on the pc (gamecenter), wife on tv (streaming), and kids on netflix. As a family, we usually use on average about 150 gb.
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Old 05-07-2013, 06:00 PM   #30
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What about Internet caps? I have a young one so the TV would be on a lot for kiddie shows. Anyone run into this problem? Might be good to have it turned off. It really is just background noise for him anyways
I have Apple TV and a 16 ota antenna from wallmart. Netflix has a good selection of kid shows, especially US Netflix. I cut the cord 1.5 years ago. I watch CBC for hockey and download bike races to watch. I don't watch other sports so this works fine for me.
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Old 05-07-2013, 06:01 PM   #31
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What about Internet caps? I have a young one so the TV would be on a lot for kiddie shows. Anyone run into this problem? Might be good to have it turned off. It really is just background noise for him anyways
I have Apple TV and a $16 ota antenna from wallmart. Netflix has a good selection of kid shows, especially US Netflix. I cut the cord 1.5 years ago. I watch CBC for hockey and download bike races to watch. I don't watch other sports so this works fine for me.
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Old 05-07-2013, 08:55 PM   #32
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ctv.ca, globaltv.com, citytv.com will get you all the new shows you need. Or, if you run a proxy NBC/ABC/CBS/FOX.com will do. New shows on the same night as tv and some times two or three episodes deep.
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Old 05-08-2013, 06:11 AM   #33
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According to TVfools I should be able to get 3 channels where I live (CBC, CTV and Global). I hooked up an old set of rabbit ears last night and am able to get CBC and CTV both of which have excellent quality and much better than my digital cable. I’ll fiddle around with the antenna the next couple days to see if I can get Global too.

Is Unblock US or running through a proxy legal in Canada?
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Old 05-08-2013, 06:25 AM   #34
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What about Internet caps? I have a young one so the TV would be on a lot for kiddie shows. Anyone run into this problem? Might be good to have it turned off. It really is just background noise for him anyways
I never have issues with caps. If you do, you can downgrade your stream quality for Netflix as needed.

Apparently Shaw has removed my ability to view my usage, but I rarely go over about 250GB, out of my 450GB cap with BB50
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Old 05-08-2013, 08:35 AM   #35
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Is Unblock US or running through a proxy legal in Canada?
There is nothing illegal about the proxy, but you are likely violating the TOS of the content providers (Netflix, Hulu), if they decided to pursue you.
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Old 05-08-2013, 10:12 AM   #36
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There is nothing illegal about the proxy, but you are likely violating the TOS of the content providers (Netflix, Hulu), if they decided to pursue you.
There would be like a a .001% chance they'd pursue you legally. However, as the practice gets more common, I'd guess Canadian companies that own the rights to the shows, and teams that own local rights to sports programming will likely go after Netlix, nhl center ice, etc. to crack down on the practice by requiring more robust location verification.

Sports is the one thing holding me back from cutting the cord. NHL game center is just not acceptable frame rate. Local sports requires going through hoops above that may or may not still be available. Things like golf and anything on espn are not fully available online without a cable subscription.

If not for sports, I would have cut the cord a couple years ago.
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Old 05-08-2013, 11:20 AM   #37
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For those of you who have cut the cord, how have you been able to watch any of the playoffs? Since it seems that most of the games have been shown nationally in both Canada and the US, wouldn't that blackout the games on Gamecenter?
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Old 05-08-2013, 04:03 PM   #38
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CBC streams their games. The quality isn't the best and there seems to be some lag, but at least you can watch.
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Old 05-09-2013, 12:22 PM   #39
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For those of you who have cut the cord, how have you been able to watch any of the playoffs?
They are still playing?
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Old 05-10-2013, 07:36 AM   #40
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This one seems quite interesting although I haven't looked into it much. It has a built in browser so I'd be able to access the net and hopefully be able to download video content from sites like CBC, Discovery, etc.... it even has wi-fi since I don't have an ethernet cable where the TV is.

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ...rchPageIndex=1
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