Cutting the cord

[kipperfan]

I've been considering "cutting the cord" for a while and just decided this weekend I am going to cancel cable a week from today. After extensive research I've found Apple TV version 2 is what I really need, unfortunatley the prices are 2-4X that of a brand new Apple TV3! Still think it is worth it for what I want though - will also be setting up NHL Gamecentre and NFL Game Pass (I know Apple TV doesn't have an app for this, but I will just watch via Airplay) for all my sporting needs. Once I have my Apple TV box setup with all the content I want I foresee this as being even better then cable with more options! I am going to be very happy to ditch the ridiculous $100/mth cable bill too!

[kipperfan]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

Also, how much does NHL gamecentre cost?

They haven't released pricing info for this season yet. Last year (shortned season) was $50 and they apparently had way more subscribers then usual. In 2011 I think it was $170, but I am holding out hope that,given the success they had last year, the cost will be somewhere in the $100-$120 neighborhood. But in reality it will probably be in and around $170 price point again.

[terminator]

Quick question about plex channels:

Are they like the regular channels, or do you pick and choose?

Also, can you add a guide?

Thanks

[Jordan!]

We use 2 apple tv's - with Netflix/Hulu and airplay from various apps takes care of it.

I watch all Diamondbacks and Coyotes games using a DNS address in the Seattle Area.

[Ace]

Apparently unblockus' advantage is they only route certain web pages (i.e. netflix) through the proxy, so it should not affect regular internet usage...

[fundmark19]

Originally Posted by terminator

Quick question about plex channels:

Are they like the regular channels, or do you pick and choose?

Also, can you add a guide?

Thanks

Plex channels are like mini hub/apps for example the ctv channel shows me little snippets of individual news sources. If you are looking for live tv there is a standalone plex channel for that which would include a guide and dvr functioning

[Rathji]

Turns out my wife accidentally ordered Amazon Prime at Christmas by letting it go over her free trial, so apparently I have Amazon Prime Instant Video for the next 5 months.

Problem is, I can't figure out a good way to get this content on my TV, Tablet or anywhere really but my browser.

Anyone have any ideas?

[shane_c]

Just thought I’d give a bit of an update…..

I am very glad we got rid of cable. It was such a waste of time and money. Initially I had the Terk antenna set up in the closet but the reception was kind of spotty, sometimes it would hold in the 90% range but would really fluctuate and get pixelated if us or the dogs moved around the house. So I decided to set it up in the basement window which just happens to face the direction that I need it to point and it has been steady around 97% since and hasn’t budged. We currently get CBC and CTV which is fine with us and the picture is 100x better than with cable. There’s not always something on but I’ve discovered a few new shows and for the most part have used the extra time to do more productive things like going out for a bike ride.

I had been holding off and waiting for the Roku 3 to come to Canada but gave up a few weeks ago because I saw the Roku 2XS was on sale for $89. Works like a charm and Plex is handy for when I want to watch some online content like Shark Week on Discovery Channel. I’m running the Roku over the Wi-Fi in the house. At first I was having some buffering issues but have since bumped my download speed from 20 mbps to 40 mbps and haven’t had any issues since. Even with the bump in our internet plan it’s still saving us over $50 a month. Apparently I have 90 days to return the Roku to Walmart so if the Roku 3 comes out within that time I may do an exchange and pay a few dollars difference but the Roku 2XS does what I need it to do.

[Tinordi]

I cut the cable 4 years ago.

You'll initially miss live sports, then you'll wonder why you sat infront of a TV watching live sports with the finite amount of hours you have on this planet.

[WilsonFourTwo]

I'm ready to take the next step, which is probably most people's first step, and cutting the landline as well.

Last week 100% of the calls were telemarketing related on the landline. Even grandma now uses my cell number.

So this will put me in the category of "Internet Only" in my house. Love it.....still get everything I want but the bill is half of what it used to be.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

I cut the cable 4 years ago.

You'll initially miss live sports, then you'll wonder why you sat infront of a TV watching live sports with the finite amount of hours you have on this planet.

I mean if you don't like watching sports, you don't like watching sports. Odd comment to make on a Sports related forum, especially coming from someone who posts a lot in the sports section, no?

[Tinordi]

I obviously pay for gamecenter and watch HNIC/Olympics on my antenna. My point was that I pared away sports watching for things that I wasn't really a fan of anyway.

[Canehdianman]

I'm usually an early adopter of technology, but I just setup Netflix last night.

Oh my lord. I thought Netflix would help me ease my addiction to TV (I'm sick of coming home from work and watching TV every night).

Anyways, "My List" is already about 500 hours long, and continues to grow every time I log in.

Cable TV is so screwed. Although I'll need to figure something out for sports.

[Galakanokis]

I just configured XBMC on all my machines including phones and tablets. I now just stream everything from there to my various devices. For some reason my little guy loves watching movies on a phone or tablet rather than the big TV. There are also some tv channels on there as well so other content is available.

The big one is still sports. I have a few things I do to watch but the quality is not the greatest. Not sure there is much I can do about this though.

Haven't had a phone line in years. Always had an extra cell phone so it acted like the home phone. Although I was just able to cancel two of my Rogers lines and I feel like a new man!

[Coach]

Is that game center charge just for the year?

[woob]

I'm so tempted to cut the cable. I think most shows we watch should be available online through various means. I know it would take some getting used to, but the cable bill is silly considering we don't even watch that much. I do wonder how much I'd miss sports, but if I sign up for Gamecentre, it might not be that bad.

Are there external HD attenas which could sit on a roof or such?

[kermitology]

I think that mounting the antenna on the roof is overkill. We have ours sitting on a ledge of our stairs and I get great reception.

[Rathji]

You can always build one in your attic.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/tech...tal-tv-antenna

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by woob

Are there external HD attenas which could sit on a roof or such?

Originally Posted by kermitology

I think that mounting the antenna on the roof is overkill. We have ours sitting on a ledge of our stairs and I get great reception.

It really depends on what part of the city you are in. If you are in Deer Run you better have it on the roof due to distance and terrain. If you live in Tuscany you could probably just use rabbit ears in your basement.

[Cheese]

Originally Posted by Rathji

You can always build one in your attic.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/tech...tal-tv-antenna

Did you build this Rathji? Does it work?