What Internet TV options are out there?
I ditched the overpriced cable tv package. Wasn't watching it often enough to justify the ever-increasing monthly costs. Yet the provider still raised my costs again after reducing it to only local channels. Getting rather sick of the constant squeeze. >:(
I have a SmartTV but the other one runs on a PS3 (soon to be PS4) and has no dedicated computer hooked to it. I think the PS consoles use Sony's "VUE", which seems to charge about the same amount for similar packages as cable. Since Sony makes good profits from their Vue app, I'm guessing that's the only internet tv service they allow on it..?
Someone recommended Sling TV (https://www.sling.com/package), which is just about perfect except for having restricted hardware support (and no SyFy). I don't think my Samsung TV is supported and my extra PC's old video card has recently had HDMI output issues so I would probably have to buy another vid card for that one if it were needed. The other TV is an older non-genius HDTV so there is some compatibility issues in my case.
I'm not in a big hurry, but just wondering if any of you had other suggestions. Even if it needs to run through a PC or other hardware.
SlingTV is a pretty good option if you only need 1 TV feed at a time.
You're not going to find any internet-based TV option with SyFy, or anything else from the NBC Universal family (Bravo, USA, E!, Sprout, MSNBC, NBC Sports, CNBC, etc) because Comcast owns NBC Universal, and they're not going to put their cable channels on a competing delivery platform that could take you out of their cable TV delivery revenue stream.
I'm not saying Brant is wrong, but when GE owned NBC, you could get their channels, or at least their shows, through Hulu. Unfortunately, unlike Sling TV, it doesn't look like you can get a list of what they carry with out signing up.
Yeah, you can get SyFy in a few places:
http://www.syfy.com/faq
(iTunes, Hulu and Amazon Prime)
The slingtv build in app on the Xbox One is one of the many things that tempts me about that particular console. Also Sony's PS4 tv program has some weird location issue where you have to be in certain very large markets to get the service, which is off putting if your console is not only a gaming platform but an entertainment one.
Nefaro, one other thing to keep in mind. A lot of ISP's are starting to put caps on how much data you can use each month. Those that also see TV services seem to be doing this more as a way of trying to limit cord cutting.
Quote from: Wes on January 28, 2016, 09:19:04 PM
Yeah, you can get SyFy in a few places:
http://www.syfy.com/faq
(iTunes, Hulu and Amazon Prime)
All of which are per-show services, not live broadcasting.
Quote from: OJsDad on January 28, 2016, 09:17:03 PM
I'm not saying Brant is wrong, but when GE owned NBC, you could get their channels, or at least their shows, through Hulu. Unfortunately, unlike Sling TV, it doesn't look like you can get a list of what they carry with out signing up.
Isn't Hulu just on-demand episodes of shows? IIRC, Hulu isn't the equivalent of flipping on the cable box and turning on a TV channel to just watch whatever's on the network at the time.
That's right. It's on demand, but that's really the attraction of the package. Watch whenever you want and not having to arrange your schedule around the TV programing schedule.
I'm pretty sure HULU is in bed with NBC.
Sling's got a built-in DVR
The real issue of internet television is live events in particular sports.
Quote from: bayonetbrant on January 28, 2016, 09:36:40 PM
Quote from: OJsDad on January 28, 2016, 09:17:03 PM
I'm not saying Brant is wrong, but when GE owned NBC, you could get their channels, or at least their shows, through Hulu. Unfortunately, unlike Sling TV, it doesn't look like you can get a list of what they carry with out signing up.
Isn't Hulu just on-demand episodes of shows? IIRC, Hulu isn't the equivalent of flipping on the cable box and turning on a TV channel to just watch whatever's on the network at the time.
Yes, I believe you're correct.
You may want to check this out. www.roku.com
Quote from: Bison on January 28, 2016, 09:42:44 PM
The real issue of internet television is live events in particular sports.
^This
It's one of the appeals of slingTV because you do at least get ESPN and ESPN 2 in the basic package.
Plus with just a basic HD antenna you'd be amazed at how much you can pick up on broadcast TV. Pretty much every local station is splitting their HD signals into 2-3 add'l feeds.
Here we've got (over the air)
ABC
NBC
CBS
FOX
PBS
WB/CW/whatevertheyarethisweek
Local indy station (MyNetworkTV, whatever that is)
Univision
Plus -
a full-time weather radar / forecast
24-hr country music video station
GritTV (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grit_(TV_network))
Comet TV (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_(TV_network))
PBS Kids
PBS Explorer TV
Heroes & Icons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroes_%26_Icons)
Live Well (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Well_Network) <-- being phased out
Laff (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laff_(TV_network))
Antenna TV (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antenna_TV)
Justice Network (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_Network)
American Sports Network (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Sports_Network)
Some Christian-affiliated station
Bounce (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bounce_TV)
GetTV (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GetTV)
MeTV (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me-TV)
And ALL of that is 100% totally free - just plug in a decent HD antenna. It's not all ESPN / SyFy / Comedy Central / Cartoon Network, but it's better than a sharp stick in the eye, and it costs you nothing.
If you're a single TV household (i.e., NOT us) and you're already paying for internet access, you've talking about adding $35 to your monthly bill for a SlingTV feed + sports package + HBO
We're not going for Sling b/c we need multiple feeds, plus the only way to get NBC Sports (soccer!) and our local NHL team is with a cable subscription.
Fortunately the only sport regularly watched here is football. Which can be had just buying a good HD antenna. Since I'm in the city, the signal shouldn't be an issue. Would just miss the DVR but F it. At the moment, I still have the local HD channels sub'd for around $12-$15/mo but would like to toss that monthly fee too.
Maybe the networks will start adapting instead of trying to fight the change, as happened with the music industry so many years ago. There was a recent LA Times article (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-01013-ct-ott-mania-20151229-story.html) about some of them beginning to join the crowd.
Frankly, I can wait until most of the stuff reaches Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. I spend far more time watching YouTube, gaming, and other geekery than sitting in front of the TV. So I can take my time deciding the if or what of it. :) Still a bit peeved about Google Fiber not offering to run their service down from the end of the block but it'll eventually happen... some year.
Quote from: Nefaro on January 28, 2016, 10:31:48 PMStill a bit peeved about Google Fiber not offering to run their service down from the end of the block but it'll eventually happen... some year.
Don't complain too much. We just got DSL service about 2 years ago, and only 1.7mb at that. The way the industry is going, it's all we'll ever get.
You can get a DVR that's not tied to a cable subscription. We've got 2 older TiVo boxes here with lifetime service that were hooking up till the spare TVs
I'm all about Netflix. If I had a choice, I'd ditch the hundreds of TV channels and just have Internet service. Besides Netflix there's too many free places in the interwebz to make regular TV, with its ridiculous number of stupid ads, attractive.
You don't have a choice? Why not?
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on January 29, 2016, 07:50:39 AM
I'm all about Netflix. If I had a choice, I'd ditch the hundreds of TV channels and just have Internet service. Besides Netflix there's too many free places in the interwebz to make regular TV, with its ridiculous number of stupid ads, attractive.
That's where I'm at. Internet only. I can watch pretty much whatever I want, when I want.
Quote from: Bison on January 29, 2016, 08:10:32 AM
You don't have a choice? Why not?
Because my wife and mother-in-law watch TV. That's ALL my mother-in-law does, all f@cking day.
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on January 29, 2016, 08:54:32 AM
That's ALL my mother-in-law does, all f@cking day.
Sounds like the perfect reason to ditch cable ;)
When I work from home, I listen to Sirius/XM streaming on my desktop while on my work laptop. After work, I generally play games or watch Netflix, or some other source (the latter, rarely).
TBH, there's really no reason to own DVDs anymore, unless you want to be legitimate.
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on January 29, 2016, 08:58:37 AM
unless you want to be legitimate.
I gave up on that years ago.
I quit broadcast tv when I started finding things like this:
https://vimeo.com/channels/staffpicks/152639172
Somehow Law & Order repeats just didn't cut it anymore...
(Note NSFW - language - topics)
or this one (watch in 720p if you can):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msIjWthwWwI
As long as you're smart with your antivirus updating and your site visitin', you can find plenty of places that stream everything under the sun.
Not that I encourage this at all. Perish the thought. I still am holding on to my epic-sized DVD collection...for some strange reason.
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on January 29, 2016, 03:43:12 PM
As long as you're smart with your antivirus updating and your site visitin', you can find plenty of places that stream everything under the sun.
Not that I encourage this at all. Perish the thought. I still am holding on to my epic-sized DVD collection...for some strange reason.
The main thing is not to ever download anything or install any plugins. Just streaming has proven fairly safe for me. Have a good AdBlocker installed too.
Exactly why I use Firefox. Never had any problems, thankfully. Then again Netflix almost always scratches my viewing itch.
Some of those sites make me shake my head...I mean, a movie will come out one day, then the next there will be a DVD-quality version of it online. It's rare when it happens, but studios press DVD versions of their big-screen movies for distribution to reviewers and the press in general, with dire warnings to never ever copy or illegally distribute them. And yet, somehow, they still show up. ;D