Getting rid of cable and going with TV on the internet has obviously changed the way we watch TV and treat our TV watching. A few observations:
- We don't watch as much TV. As I type this, I am sitting in front of the TV but it's not on. If we had cable still, it would be on ESPN or something and as soon as I closed my computer I'd get sucked in to watch some stupid game. We probably used to actually watch TV for 1-2 hours a night and have it on for another couple maybe, as we were just doing this and that. Now, we might watch a total of 1 hour with no background TV.
- There's no more mindless channel surfing. You have to know ahead of time what you want to watch- no more sitting down and mindlessly flipping through the channels.
- You have to wait to watch your favorite shows. Usually, you don't have to wait long, maybe a day or two, but some shows, like House, have an 8 day lag. Others, like LOST, are up almost immediately.
- Quality is an issue. Now that we're actually watching TV online, I realize this is the biggest deterrent from switching. For popular shows, especially ones posted on Hulu, quality is a non-issue. For the bootlegged, free, or purely streaming stuff, quality is more of an issue.
- Sports are easily accessible and high quality. This is what I thought would be the biggest deterrent, but it's not. As you probably know, I get CBS, Fox, NBC, and ABC in HD through the digital antenna and pretty much every other game is on ESPN, which means you can watch it on ESPN360.com.
- We have more flexibility. You don't have to program a DVR or save a show or even sit down right when the show comes on. You just sit down when you want to watch something and in a couple clicks, you're watching it. I'd say the time from when I sit down to when I'm watching something is no more than 30 seconds and usually faster.
Overall, this was a great decision. Yes, quality is somewhat of an issue, but only for a handful of shows and if that's the only real drawback, then it's definitely worth the money we're saving. Neither one of us has ever really gotten frustrated or annoyed with our new setup and I am enjoying not having the TV on all the time. There are so many resources out there to help you consolidate shows and you almost always have a backup means of watching a show. Everyone could potentially have a different experience but at this point, I would recommend this setup to anyone- even if you don't dedicate a computer to your TV.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Update
An update on how things have gone so far...
-We've had a couple issues with Boxee lately. I'm not sure what the problem is, but we couldn't play NBC shows through Boxee.
-Any time there is an issue, there is almost always a backup. Programs like Boxee and Windows Media Center, even Hulu, are just consolidation tools. When Boxee wasn't working with NBC shows, for instance, we just went to NBC.com and watched it in our browser- there is always a workaround.
-The Boxee "queue" feature is amazing. I've talked about it before, but it is basically DVR for internet TV. Even if you aren't able to watch a show directly through Boxee (like with NBC recently) you can mark a show as watched and remove it from your queue. A nice feature so you know which of your shows you need to catch up on.
-On our trip, we did have some issues with streaming video because of slow internet connections. These were public wireless networks though, so in your own home, you shouldn't have any issues. (Streaming video is just watching video online, not downloading the movie, but playing it on your computer when it is stored on a different computer via the web)
-The HD antenna was a great decision. I get great reception and watched UK's SEC tourney games no problem. I definitely recommend getting an amplified antenna and keeping some tin foil around.
-ChannelSurfing.net is a great site where you can stream live feeds of ESPN and other channels. The quality is not that good, though.
-ESPN360.com is great. I've watched parts of a couple games on it and it is great quality and is exactly what you get when you watch on cable.
-I have yet to catch Amy setting up something for her to watch by herself. We pretty much only watch TV together, so that probably explains most of it, but I'm not sure if she's 100% comfortable with this yet. Just a thought for those of you who are married/have roommates.
That's all for now. I'll try to update sooner next time. I know all 8 of you are really dying for more posts.
-We've had a couple issues with Boxee lately. I'm not sure what the problem is, but we couldn't play NBC shows through Boxee.
-Any time there is an issue, there is almost always a backup. Programs like Boxee and Windows Media Center, even Hulu, are just consolidation tools. When Boxee wasn't working with NBC shows, for instance, we just went to NBC.com and watched it in our browser- there is always a workaround.
-The Boxee "queue" feature is amazing. I've talked about it before, but it is basically DVR for internet TV. Even if you aren't able to watch a show directly through Boxee (like with NBC recently) you can mark a show as watched and remove it from your queue. A nice feature so you know which of your shows you need to catch up on.
-On our trip, we did have some issues with streaming video because of slow internet connections. These were public wireless networks though, so in your own home, you shouldn't have any issues. (Streaming video is just watching video online, not downloading the movie, but playing it on your computer when it is stored on a different computer via the web)
-The HD antenna was a great decision. I get great reception and watched UK's SEC tourney games no problem. I definitely recommend getting an amplified antenna and keeping some tin foil around.
-ChannelSurfing.net is a great site where you can stream live feeds of ESPN and other channels. The quality is not that good, though.
-ESPN360.com is great. I've watched parts of a couple games on it and it is great quality and is exactly what you get when you watch on cable.
-I have yet to catch Amy setting up something for her to watch by herself. We pretty much only watch TV together, so that probably explains most of it, but I'm not sure if she's 100% comfortable with this yet. Just a thought for those of you who are married/have roommates.
That's all for now. I'll try to update sooner next time. I know all 8 of you are really dying for more posts.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Cable-less Trip
Amy and I are in Boston and did a lot of walking today so we're hitting the hay early, but a couple quick notes.
We brought our laptop with the intention of being able to look up stuff we want to do, show times, etc. while we're here. There were a couple unintended benefits, though:
1) We were able to stream LOST through Boxee on the plane.
2) We're able to catch up on new episodes from last week like The Office, Modern Family, and 24 because of Boxee's "Queue" feature which basically acts like a DVR.
These aren't necessarily benefits of going cable-less in your home, but it does show some advantages of setting yourself up with a similar setup as a backup.
We brought our laptop with the intention of being able to look up stuff we want to do, show times, etc. while we're here. There were a couple unintended benefits, though:
1) We were able to stream LOST through Boxee on the plane.
2) We're able to catch up on new episodes from last week like The Office, Modern Family, and 24 because of Boxee's "Queue" feature which basically acts like a DVR.
These aren't necessarily benefits of going cable-less in your home, but it does show some advantages of setting yourself up with a similar setup as a backup.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Bunny Ears
So far, so good. Activity update:
-Streamed "Inglorious Basterds" online in HD from NinjaVideo.net (this has to be illegal)
-Downloaded "Crazy Heart" from Ninja Video and watched using Windows Media Player (had to download in 2 parts)
-I just rolled up aluminum foil and attached it to the end of my HD antenna. It worked. I wasn't getting CBS (WKYT) and now I am. Clear as a bell. Looks just as good as cable.
I know the whole point of this setup (and blog) is to watch TV online- not movies but there just haven't been many new episodes of our "stories" lately, probably because of the Olympics. I'll be sure to update on that front as soon as there's a development.
Go Cats!
-Streamed "Inglorious Basterds" online in HD from NinjaVideo.net (this has to be illegal)
-Downloaded "Crazy Heart" from Ninja Video and watched using Windows Media Player (had to download in 2 parts)
-I just rolled up aluminum foil and attached it to the end of my HD antenna. It worked. I wasn't getting CBS (WKYT) and now I am. Clear as a bell. Looks just as good as cable.
I know the whole point of this setup (and blog) is to watch TV online- not movies but there just haven't been many new episodes of our "stories" lately, probably because of the Olympics. I'll be sure to update on that front as soon as there's a development.
Go Cats!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Setup Details
After reading Dan's comment (under the Websites post), I realized I left out some details to my setup, specifically, how everything is hooked up.
The Dell Zino has an HDMI output so I am running an HDMI cable (the one that came with my TV) directly from the computer to the TV. There is no additional monitor, only the TV. From there, the wireless keyboard/mouse control everything.
The antenna is a digital antenna that plugs into the TV through the coaxial input (where you would normally plug regular cable).
The only other thing plugged into the TV or computer is the Wii- so it's a pretty simple setup.
The Dell Zino has an HDMI output so I am running an HDMI cable (the one that came with my TV) directly from the computer to the TV. There is no additional monitor, only the TV. From there, the wireless keyboard/mouse control everything.
The antenna is a digital antenna that plugs into the TV through the coaxial input (where you would normally plug regular cable).
The only other thing plugged into the TV or computer is the Wii- so it's a pretty simple setup.
A Couple Quick Thoughts
We've been watching TV online now for 2 days; it's gone pretty well so far. We've watched Lost in HD through Boxee and Curb Your Enthusiasm on TVGorge.com. LOST was HD so the quality was great, Curb was not as good, but definitely watchable. Plus, we didn't even have HBO beforehand so being able to watch Curb was nice. So far, we haven't had any issues- we haven't missed anything we wanted to see and we haven't had to give up on watching anything we started.
The biggest "lifestyle" difference so far is that you don't just plop down on the couch and turn on the TV. You actually have to think about what you want to watch. This cuts down on the pointless time you spend flipping through the channels and for me, cuts down on total TV time (a good thing).
The only other thing I wanted to mention is on the legality of the sites I mentioned. I really don't know anything about them, I'm just using them and relaying them on this blog so don't consider my endorsement of a website an answer to a question of legality.
The biggest "lifestyle" difference so far is that you don't just plop down on the couch and turn on the TV. You actually have to think about what you want to watch. This cuts down on the pointless time you spend flipping through the channels and for me, cuts down on total TV time (a good thing).
The only other thing I wanted to mention is on the legality of the sites I mentioned. I really don't know anything about them, I'm just using them and relaying them on this blog so don't consider my endorsement of a website an answer to a question of legality.
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