OT: Cutting the Cord Redux?

[Coronita]

So… I got this because I need to do something with it at work wrto software….

It’s suppose to be Roku-like I guess….
I don’t even know what to do with it practically speaking(tv/audio/video isn’t my thing)

So if any of you was thinking about getting one and was interested in finding out/testing out a particular feature, let me know before I rip it apart from it’s current retail form…

[img_assist|nid=19899|title=Nexus Player|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=400]

[svelte]

We’ve lived with Roku for a few months now, time for an update:

My wife watches about 80% of the TV that is watched in our house, and slowly Roku has won her over. She’s now a fan.

It takes a change of mindset: the cable provider doesn’t tell you when shows are available, you decide when the time is right for viewing (without needing to remember to record it in advance).

Now that she’s mastered that, she likes it so much better.

Drawbacks? There are a couple. Local news is spotty, but is available. I get my news from the internet so no big loss to me – it does bother my wife a bit as she’s not as much a computer junkie as I am.

And it is a little more complex. So many providers each with different structures to their offerings, it can be a bit like a maze at times.

But we’ve discovered some really good shows we would never have found using cable TV so to us it’s worth it.

Never going back to cable TV.

[FlyerInHi]

Pretty much all the people I know in their 20s and early 30s don’t have cable TV. They have cable internet but not TV.

Svelte, you can install an antenna for local TV. They are rearranging the broadcast spectrum so there will be more over the air TV in the future.

I’ve put up antennas in all my rentals. The tenants appreciate it because they have TV as soon as they move in.

I’ve tinkered with different antennas and the clearstream UHF/VHF is the best I found. It works inside the attic also, depending on your location.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA27624G7854&cm_re=hdtv_antenna-_-05U-006Z-00007-_-Product

BTW, cable companies are removing channels from clear qam to force people to rent their set top boxes. In San Diego, KPBS is no longer on Time Warner clear qam.

[an]

I know many 20s and 30s who have some form of cable TV. 5 years ago, before I experienced whole home DVR, I think it would have been much easier to cord cut. However, today, I would hate to have to deal with rabbit ears not have my shows recorded to watch later. I rarely watch things live anymore. I have all the shows I want to watch recorded and watch it later.

[svelte]

[quote=AN]I know many 20s and 30s who have some form of cable TV. 5 years ago, before I experienced whole home DVR, I think it would have been much easier to cord cut. However, today, I would hate to have to deal with rabbit ears not have my shows recorded to watch later. I rarely watch things live anymore. I have all the shows I want to watch recorded and watch it later.[/quote]

Yeah, I know quite a few people in their 20s with cable TV also. I’m ahead of both my kids on this one even. 🙂

I’ve never watched TV news anyway and that is the only reason I can see to get rabbit ears. I’m a little perplexed by my wife missing local news as I never saw her watch cable TV news stations either! ?

As of right now, I can find UT-TV (which I hate) on Roku and a LA station. I’ve noticed many new stations coming in so I’m hoping more San Diego stations will be onboard soon.

The other reason some folks give for not going Roku is live sports events. I never ever watch sports so again, not an issue for me.

[UCGal]

[quote=AN]I know many 20s and 30s who have some form of cable TV. 5 years ago, before I experienced whole home DVR, I think it would have been much easier to cord cut. However, today, I would hate to have to deal with rabbit ears not have my shows recorded to watch later. I rarely watch things live anymore. I have all the shows I want to watch recorded and watch it later.[/quote]

We have two tivos. You can feed any signal into a tivo (cable, antenna, etc.) I would not give up DVR.
I can transfer content between the two dvrs (whole home).

It’s still a monthly bill (for the scheduling) but I get value from the dvr/scheduling/wishlists/etc.

[svelte]

My wife and her friends have all missed shows because of dvrs…apparently dvrs fail to record correctly sometimes. With roku the shows are always available so there is no need to record. Just drill down the menu to the show you want and watch! A whole different mindset.

[joec]

I still like Netflix DVD option since it’s the only way we can still watch HBO stuff (Game of Thrones)…

Also, streaming doesn’t have every show and the DVD’s cover it. Cost a bit more though.

[Anonymous]

Amazon Fire TV has a lot of the HBO stuff.

[UCGal]

[quote=harvey]Amazon Fire TV has a lot of the HBO stuff.[/quote]

Question about Amazon fire tv…. I haven’t looked that closely at it. Does it stream the prime stuff? What’s the form factor? (Similar to chromecast or roku – like a usb stick – or is it a separate device with hdmi cable to the tv.)

I’ve tried streaming prime by casting from my computer to the chromecast – but it’s glitchy… so I usually just watch on my laptop. I might consider fire – if it solves my problem with getting prime to my tv and is cheap enough.

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