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Cutting the cable guy
#334988 01/19/11 11:45 PM
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I thought I post this up since the subject of a la carte TV has come up in the past.

I'm a HUGE Tivo fan, we currently own a Series 3 and Tivo HD. We've had them going back to the DirecTivo (non-SD). I've been using them w/ Comcast's TriplePlay for a few years. However, I got more and more frustrated with the increasing prices at Comcast. When my 1 year promo ended some time last year, they slowly increased my bill from month to month by almost $50. I called them to complain and said they could decrease my bill by removing some HD packages and get it down to about $150. I countered (knowing it wouldn't go anywhere...) that I could get those same package channels OTA on my Tivo and still have DVR functionality.

The tide turned in November when the PS3 finally had Hulu Plus capability. If I could do Hulu Plus on my PS3, I could use Hulu to supplement my OTA channels. Sadly, I did realize that not all streaming content is on Hulu Plus. It should be called Hulu Derivative, cuz you don't get more than Hulu, in truth, it's less. BUT, it's not Comcast. Then Roku had a sale on their XD box so then I had an option for my bedroom TV.

Last week I finally cut the Comcast cord (for cable TV), including mailing back the cablecards. I still need a landline so I kept their VoIP service. I also can't live w/o sub-15Mbps service so I kept the internet. But w/ this 'double play' package, I dropped my monthly cost by about $80/mo. I just bought an Arris modem on ebay so I can stop the $5/mo cable modem rental fee.

Here's some ways that I keep the home viewers happy w/ content.

1) Most of our TV watching is OTA, so using our outdoor Channel Master 4228, we can get quite a few channels in the Bay Area.
2) Tivo, Roku, PS3, Wii and our Macs all have Netflix capability so we're good w/ movies.
3) Slingplayer sits on one of the Tivos so we can watch on our Macs or iPhones anywhere in the world.
4) On the family Mac Mini, I use an Elgato Hybrid TV tuner. I was going to use it w/ OTA but for fun, I tried it on the 'dead' cable' line. Lo and behold, it pulls in the OTA channels unencrypted, along w/ some analog channels (including Discovery) and some unencrypted cable HD channels.
5) I have a lot of movies and TV shows on our home NAS that serves content to our iTunes libraries. Fortunately, I can use our Tivos as DLNA clients. I run a program on the Mac called PyTivo and it transcodes the videos for use on the Tivo. On the Tivo's Now Playing List, the videos show up on folders at the bottom of the list, after Netflix.

Some of the negatives
1) I am now only limited to broadcast sports. Fortunately, I can get NBC/Universal sports on OTA. I may opt for ESPN3, NBA, or MLB streaming packages but haven't felt the need.
2) I can't channel surf anymore but it makes me more efficient when watching TV. Plus I have more time to play video games and read.
3) I miss some of my cable shows like Archer, Tosh.O, and Psych. The wife misses Top Chef and a few other Bravo shows. Some of these can be watched online or on Hulu. Or there are other ways to get them.
4) Some content needs to be manually put onto the server. The good thing is that this really only involves 2 shows.

Overall, I'm happy with the decision and wish I did this a year ago. That saved money will be going to my new plasma this year...


Last edited by oldskoolboarder; 01/19/11 11:47 PM.
Re: Cutting the cable guy
oldskoolboarder #334994 01/20/11 12:32 AM
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Very cool.

I've been thinking about this for years. Unfortunately, I always run into a dead end.

I'd need Tivo hardware and service. And an antenna. And - almost certainly - something like a HD HomeRun or something. So, there's capital cost involved.

And I still wouldn't get Fox Sports Northwest, which would probably kill me during baseball season.

So I just keep writing checks, and swearing.


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Re: Cutting the cable guy
tomtuttle #334995 01/20/11 12:36 AM
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I needs my F1.


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Re: Cutting the cable guy
Ken.C #334999 01/20/11 12:58 AM
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Yeah, you'd need SpeedTV online or streaming. Haven't run across it. Although F1 is supposed to be in HD this year.

Re: Cutting the cable guy
tomtuttle #335000 01/20/11 01:05 AM
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Originally Posted By: tomtuttle
Very cool.

I've been thinking about this for years. Unfortunately, I always run into a dead end.

I'd need Tivo hardware and service. And an antenna. And - almost certainly - something like a HD HomeRun or something. So, there's capital cost involved.

And I still wouldn't get Fox Sports Northwest, which would probably kill me during baseball season.

So I just keep writing checks, and swearing.


I got my HD Tivo for $50. My Series 3 already had lifetime service. Yeah, there's a h/w investment, but it's not too bad.

FSN is a loss but could be supplemented w/ MLBTV. However, you wouldn't get the Mariners games streaming, only out of area games. For sports, I did a quick look at NHL Game Center, MLBTV and NBATV. Most of them are about $100 to $150 per season. At most, that's $450, which is still saving half my yearly cable bill. I've also heard that DirecTV's NFL package may be sold outside of their DirecTV package so that may be an option down the line.

Re: Cutting the cable guy
oldskoolboarder #335007 01/20/11 03:12 AM
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Check out iTunes for those missing shows you're looking for.Tosh.0 & Top Chef are available the day after network airing. Archer's there, but it's last season. Psych is there too, but I don't know the seasons to know if it's current or old.

A $99 AppleTV paired with $.99 rentals might be the last piece in your anti-cable puzzle.

smile

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Re: Cutting the cable guy
oldskoolboarder #335008 01/20/11 03:15 AM
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Originally Posted By: oldskoolboarder
I've also heard that DirecTV's NFL package may be sold outside of their DirecTV package so that may be an option down the line.


Already done. No DirecTV subscription needed. wink

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/nflstonline/overview


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Re: Cutting the cable guy
Ken.C #335015 01/20/11 04:03 AM
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Originally Posted By: kcarlile
I needs my F1.

Is WRC on anything these days?

I've been meaning to [censored] the past season from [censored].


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Re: Cutting the cable guy
ClubNeon #335017 01/20/11 05:44 AM
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I haven't seen WRC on anything for a couple of years, and the one year I did see it, it was 30 minute highlight shows on ESPN.


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Re: Cutting the cable guy
PeterChenoweth #335018 01/20/11 06:57 AM
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Originally Posted By: PeterChenoweth
Check out iTunes for those missing shows you're looking for.Tosh.0 & Top Chef are available the day after network airing. Archer's there, but it's last season. Psych is there too, but I don't know the seasons to know if it's current or old.

A $99 AppleTV paired with $.99 rentals might be the last piece in your anti-cable puzzle.

smile


Agreed. I just dusted off my original AppleTV. I'm actually updating the Boxee that's on there.

I can get to Hulu in the browser. Now if I can get my keyboard to work, I can do a login...

Last edited by oldskoolboarder; 01/20/11 07:05 AM.
Re: Cutting the cable guy
oldskoolboarder #335026 01/20/11 03:39 PM
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Originally Posted By: oldskoolboarder


Agreed. I just dusted off my original AppleTV. I'm actually updating the Boxee that's on there.

I can get to Hulu in the browser. Now if I can get my keyboard to work, I can do a login...


Cool, except that you can't do the $.99 rentals on the gen1 AppleTV. You can only buy TV episodes at $2-$3 each. Only the gen2 ATV can do the $.99 HD TV rentals.



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Re: Cutting the cable guy
PeterChenoweth #335027 01/20/11 03:50 PM
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Congrats on the switch! Not having TV can save many mountains of time. Also, if you watch some shows online, you get less commercials, and never have to worry about when a show airs, ever. Kudos!



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Re: Cutting the cable guy
danmagicman7 #335028 01/20/11 04:07 PM
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Not until they start adding them in.

Re: Cutting the cable guy
PeterChenoweth #335043 01/20/11 07:14 PM
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Originally Posted By: PeterChenoweth
Originally Posted By: oldskoolboarder


Agreed. I just dusted off my original AppleTV. I'm actually updating the Boxee that's on there.

I can get to Hulu in the browser. Now if I can get my keyboard to work, I can do a login...


Cool, except that you can't do the $.99 rentals on the gen1 AppleTV. You can only buy TV episodes at $2-$3 each. Only the gen2 ATV can do the $.99 HD TV rentals.



Ah, true. However, it does appear that I can share my library. I typically download everything to my Mac Mini's iTunes library. I use that at the master database, which I share w/ all the iTunes clients. The AppleTV seems to show all the TV shows under Shared TV Shows and plays them fine in HD over Wifi (11n 5 GHz). I tried it last night by downloading some free TV pilot episodes.

Re: Cutting the cable guy
oldskoolboarder #335644 01/26/11 01:23 AM
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Does anyone here use Playon? This looks very interesting. I figured out that since I'm still a Comcast customer, I have access to ESPN360 and Xfinity on Demand, but only on an Xbox 360 or PC/Mac. But if I run Playon from a PC, I can get all my web content streamed to my PS3, Roku, iphone and possibly my Tivo. In that case, I can forego Hulu Plus and stick w/ all the web content I want.

So far the experiment is going very well. I only miss the occasional NBA game but other than that, I love saving the $80/mo.

Seems that users have created a Playon plugin environment. I noticed a NASCAR one, didn't see an F1 though.

Re: Cutting the cable guy
oldskoolboarder #335648 01/26/11 04:06 AM
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You're still a customer of Comcast for ISP or for TV?

Can you view the Playon content directly on a PC, or does it only work as a server for the other devices?


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Re: Cutting the cable guy
tomtuttle #335651 01/26/11 06:01 AM
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Yeah, Comcast for cable modem. My only other option is ATT for DSL and it's doesn't go faster than 3Mbps. I can't give up 12 Mbps anymore.

Playon seems to be a server for DLNA clients. It has the added bonus of making web content easily available to those clients.

http://www.playon.tv/playon/demos?id=ps3

Last edited by oldskoolboarder; 01/26/11 06:10 AM.
Re: Cutting the cable guy
oldskoolboarder #335654 01/26/11 11:43 AM
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I gave up cable about 7 years ago, and never looked back. What helped was that the Phildelphia area had a large number of early OTA HD providers, so after buying a box I was getting HD for years ahead of the swutchover(although in the early days it was only prime time shows being broadcast in HD).

I'll confess that not having the sport channels is tough. But during baseball season my wife and I cope by going out to a local sports bar once a week. It's still cheaper than cable and it gives us an excuse to get out.

Re: Cutting the cable guy
Cork #335884 01/28/11 01:52 AM
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Where are you at in the Philly area Cork? I've thought about trying OTA, but am out in Chester Springs and don't know if it would make it out there. Don't want to give up Sportsnet either....I could live without everything else but broadcast channels though. Certainly silly to pay whatever it is for cable a month just for Sportsnet.

Cheaper to buy a slingbox HD for a neighbor with sportsnet with the agreement that I am allowed to connect to it when I want to watch a game smile

I would do the MLB package for baseball, but that local area blackout kills that idea. Football is still broadcast TV, and I can live without Flyers games, and don't really watch the Sixers (maybe they'll get good again someday).

I'd love to get rid of cable and do everything OTA and online.

Re: Cutting the cable guy
Zarak #335896 01/28/11 03:43 AM
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Those of us who live in Canada... in the sticks, hate you!!


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Re: Cutting the cable guy
fredk #335905 01/28/11 04:03 AM
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Even those of us not in the sticks hate you, OTA sucks up here, very limited channel selection let alone HD.


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Re: Cutting the cable guy
jakewash #335908 01/28/11 04:06 AM
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I haven't had cable or satellite for a couple years now. Finally broke down and got some "rabbit ears" last year. HD reception is not bad at all. I do miss watching baseball, though.

My favorite part is that it takes me about a minute to channel surf. If nothing good is playing on one of the five channels I get (assuming I don't move the antenna around) I look for something else to do.


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Re: Cutting the cable guy
St_PatGuy #335960 01/28/11 01:45 PM
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Hey don't hate me too much guys, I neglected to mention I only get 10 channels. I also have to confess I was never much of a TV person anyway - I DESPISE commercials. So these days I just wait for shows to come out on DVD; if Netflix streaming has it, even better.

Zarak, we're pretty damn close, I'm over in Audubon. You can use this site to guage your reception: http://www.antennaweb.org. It was very accurate when I used it back when. I tried the MLB package before I realized they blacked out the local games. And that Slingbox idea has a lot of merit - it works as an internet connection right? I think I may have to send my brother in CA a Slingbox!

Re: Cutting the cable guy
Cork #335969 01/28/11 04:32 PM
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The Slingbox method works, worldwide. My coworker transferred to Switzerland for 2 years. He was complaining that he couldn't watch the Wolverines anymore. I told him that if he paid for my sports package and my increase in cable modem package, I'd let him keep a Tivo HD and Slingbox at my house. He installed a Slingcatcher on his TV in Switzerland. Worked fine.

The other day I counted my OTA channels in the SF Bay Area. I receive about 58 or so and I know w/ some antenna tweaking I could probably get about 10 to 15 more. Granted 2/3's of those are Spanish, Chinese and Korean.

Re: Cutting the cable guy
oldskoolboarder #335983 01/28/11 05:39 PM
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I like the idea of saving the money, and actually, I kind of like the idea of geeking out on this project.

Problem is, any hybrid solution is going to be harder to use than good old DTV DVR. If I were the only user, that would probably be okay.

I dunno, maybe there is away to use MythTV, Boxee or something to tie it all together, but I just don't seem to have the energy.


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Re: Cutting the cable guy
tomtuttle #336015 01/28/11 06:25 PM
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Originally Posted By: tomtuttle
I like the idea of saving the money, and actually, I kind of like the idea of geeking out on this project.

Problem is, any hybrid solution is going to be harder to use than good old DTV DVR. If I were the only user, that would probably be okay.

I dunno, maybe there is away to use MythTV, Boxee or something to tie it all together, but I just don't seem to have the energy.


Agreed. In our house, I standardized on Tivos for the wife. I put her non-OTA content on our server and the Tivo sees it on the network as a share. The only manual thing I have to do is pull the content and save it to the share. My Mac Mini manages those share folders and transcoding w/ pytivo. For her, the Tivo interface is all she has to deal w/. We have the Roku as well but it's not perfect w/ Playon and Hulu Plus isn't there yet.

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oldskoolboarder #336019 01/28/11 06:35 PM
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Using OTA here I would get 4 channels frown


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Re: Cutting the cable guy
jakewash #336020 01/28/11 06:38 PM
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Anyone used the TiVo Premier interface yet? I read some pretty iffy reviews about it, so I'm a little concerned about when it comes time to upgrade.


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Re: Cutting the cable guy
Ken.C #336030 01/28/11 06:54 PM
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Originally Posted By: kcarlile
Anyone used the TiVo Premier interface yet? I read some pretty iffy reviews about it, so I'm a little concerned about when it comes time to upgrade.


I probably saw the same reviews. The interface is 'nice' but overall the box isn't that much faster than the previous HD boxes. From what I've gathered, the only things you get are the new search interface, iPad capability, and Hulu Plus as a promise. Don't get me started on those last 2, which don't even need a new box to support.

I struggled to decide whether my 2nd box would be a Premiere. Then I convinced a friend to sell me his old Tivo HD for $50.

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Ken.C #336031 01/28/11 06:55 PM
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Using OTA here, I might get one channel! It's not that I'm in the boonies, it's that Concord is in a valley...

Ken, I'm still using the older interface.


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Re: Cutting the cable guy
oldskoolboarder #336033 01/28/11 06:56 PM
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Originally Posted By: oldskoolboarder
Then I convinced a friend to sell me his old Tivo HD for $50.

Damn.

I need dumb friends.


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Re: Cutting the cable guy
MarkSJohnson #336034 01/28/11 06:56 PM
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Particularly if that had a lifetime on it.


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Re: Cutting the cable guy
MarkSJohnson #336135 01/29/11 12:53 AM
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Originally Posted By: MarkSJohnson
Using OTA here, I might get one channel! It's not that I'm in the boonies, it's that Concord is in a valley...

It must be the square room, because that's all I get. I thought at least I would win the prize, but now I gotta share...

Oh wait, Hulu stops at the 49th, I still win crazy


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Re: Cutting the cable guy
Ken.C #336136 01/29/11 12:59 AM
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Originally Posted By: kcarlile
Particularly if that had a lifetime on it.


Nope but I do have one w/ Lifetime so I just pay a smaller fee for a secondary Tivo.

Re: Cutting the cable guy
oldskoolboarder #336149 01/29/11 02:17 AM
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Here are some websites that you guys may be interested in. Hopefully they'll help you get some programming that you're missing from OTA-

I use this website regularly to stream the Leafs games that are on Leafs TV, and also English Premier League games. It streams all other kinds of sports like baseball, football etc., as well as movies and TV shows.

I use this website to also stream English Premier League games. It too streams other sports.

And the following is a bunch of websites I have bookmarked that stream TV stations from around the world.

wwiTV

TVduck

link

There are many more, it's just a matter of finding them.

Cam


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Ya_basta #336193 01/29/11 01:13 PM
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Do any of these stream baseball?

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Zarak #336224 01/29/11 08:03 PM
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Cam
Thanks. Definitely bookmarking those...

Re: Cutting the cable guy
Zarak #336351 01/30/11 03:26 PM
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Originally Posted By: Zarak
Do any of these stream baseball?


Zarak, I'm pretty sure the first link does, but I don't watch baseball, so I may be wrong.


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Ya_basta #336402 01/31/11 07:41 AM
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Hmmm, I just found "sources" for WRC, WTCC, and F1. I see races from the last two years, but not every race is included (F1 is best covered including practice, and qualifying). I'm going to try to keep up with the 2011 seasons for all three series, without cable (not that US cable would help me much). WRC is up first starting February 10th in Sweden. We'll see how this goes.


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Re: Cutting the cable guy
ClubNeon #336620 02/02/11 01:16 AM
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I think you let the cat of the bag....I clicked on the first link and it says the domain has been seized by homeland security investigations.

Re: Cutting the cable guy
Zarak #336623 02/02/11 01:32 AM
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Wow, we took a site down. Impressive.

I cancelled Hulu Plus (or Hulu Negative as I like to call it now). I installed PlayOn on my HP MediaSmart Server that runs Windows Home Server. Actually works pretty good on my PS3 as long as you have a wired connection. WIreless won't work well, nor does using a powerline Ethernet adapter. There's even a bunch of custom channels/scripts that allows you to watch even Versus live. Not bad. It costs $80 one time fee but that's cheaper than a year of Hulu Plus. AND, w/ Playon, I can stream full Hulu to my PS3.

Re: Cutting the cable guy
Zarak #336653 02/02/11 03:21 AM
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Originally Posted By: Zarak
I think you let the cat of the bag....I clicked on the first link and it says the domain has been seized by homeland security investigations.


That's pretty crazy, and really sucks.

Goes to show you what the REAL threats are.


The only reasonable argument for owning a gun is to protect yourself from the police.
Re: Cutting the cable guy
Ya_basta #336657 02/02/11 03:59 AM
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Pioneer PDP-5020FD, Marantz SR6011
Axiom M5HP, VP160HP, QS8
Sony PS4, surround backs
-Chris
Re: Cutting the cable guy
ClubNeon #336676 02/02/11 12:05 PM
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Thanks, Chris.


The only reasonable argument for owning a gun is to protect yourself from the police.
Re: Cutting the cable guy
Ya_basta #336840 02/03/11 06:54 AM
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More updates that would be helpful for iPad owners, or future owners.

I tried the Playon app on the iPad, the iPhone version is a bit small for me to be usable. Not bad. In fact, my wife is watching a cable show that aired tonight and I didn't even have to find a t*rrent file for it. The quality is barely SD but for free, I can't complain. W/ all the various plug ins (Big 12 Network, VS, ESPN, ESPN3, TNT, TBS, CBS, etc), it can carry a LOT of content.

Last night I pulled out my old AppleTV which had Boxee on it. Boxee has a UPnP client which just happens to find the Playon server. Lo and behold, I can use my AppleTV to stream Playon, even better than the PS3, probably because the AppleTV has a Core Duo CPU.

Going back to the iPad, I've wanted to give the Xfinity app a try. I tried to log into my account and it noticed that I don't have any active cablecards or DVR (dangit, it's too smart...). I browsed some shows but many seemed to be locked. So...I asked my coworker who has triple play and he logged into the ipad app. More content 'seemed' to be available but I'll have to double check. Regardless, I was able to stream some of the On Demand content and some of the premium channels. No HBO or Showtime because my coworker doesn't have it. Using the iPad and the Xfinity app, you may be able to 'borrow' someone's Comcast login and be able to watch cable content in the event you cut your cord.

Re: Cutting the cable guy
oldskoolboarder #336900 02/03/11 06:03 PM
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Am I missing something with the Xfinity app? I got the new version earlier this week and it mentioned being able to stream, but I didn't find anything to stream. Does it only work for certain channels?

Re: Cutting the cable guy
Zarak #336916 02/03/11 07:08 PM
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Re: Cutting the cable guy
Zarak #336952 02/03/11 10:04 PM
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Originally Posted By: Zarak
Am I missing something with the Xfinity app? I got the new version earlier this week and it mentioned being able to stream, but I didn't find anything to stream. Does it only work for certain channels?


Yeah, there's 'premium' channels listed that you are allowed to stream. For now, it's only a few but IIRC, they announced a few more channels yesterday.

And you can only get HBO and Showtime if you're a subscriber to those. Shows only stream on iPad, not iPhone 4 as far as I can tell. I was able to test some older HBO movies and some Cartoon Network shows like Ben 10.

Re: Cutting the cable guy
oldskoolboarder #337327 02/07/11 04:18 AM
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Just added an antenna mount powered pre-amp (my previous one broke). It upped my antenna gain so I was able to add a bunch more channels that I could barely receive. Now I'm officially up to about 79 OTA channels.

Now I must add that over 75% are Chinese, Korean, Indian, Latin, and religious channels. But heck, it's free...

Re: Cutting the cable guy
oldskoolboarder #337534 02/08/11 06:18 PM
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If I got one of these, would I be able to do an indoor antenna and still get channels? I don't really want an antenna on the roof. In the attic would be ok though.

Re: Cutting the cable guy
Zarak #337539 02/08/11 06:36 PM
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I have an outdoor antenna, destined for the attic, but still in a bedroom. It's mounted to an old pole lamp, minus the light fixtures.

This one.

Re: Cutting the cable guy
CatBrat #338970 02/18/11 12:19 AM
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I wanted to revive this thread, because of Playon.

They released PlayOn for Android, so I'm newly intrigued. Apparently, Netflix may or may not work with future Android devices, but won't with any existing ones. So, I'm considering giving Playon a shot to see if I can get Netflix to stream over 3G to my Droid. I don't see how it CAN work, but a lot of this stuff is seeming more like "magic" to me all the time.


bibere usque ad hilaritatem
Re: Cutting the cable guy
tomtuttle #338972 02/18/11 12:38 AM
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It's quite possible to do this. Netflix is a built in channel in Playon. Playon has a config option to run to 'outside' your LAN, though I haven't configured it.

You can get Playon for 2 week trial. You'll want at pretty decent PC, though. It works on my Core 2 Duo at 2 GHz w/ 4 GB of RAM.

Re: Cutting the cable guy
oldskoolboarder #338974 02/18/11 01:01 AM
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Well, I'll give it a go and let you know!

I'll be using a E7500 Core 2 Duo, so I should be okay.

THANKS!


bibere usque ad hilaritatem
Re: Cutting the cable guy
tomtuttle #338975 02/18/11 01:04 AM
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Google around, there are plugins/scripts for additional Playon content.

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