Internet TV Options?

[bayonetbrant]

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
Comet TV
PBS Kids
PBS Explorer TV
Heroes & Icons
Live Well  <-- being phased out
Laff
Antenna TV
Justice Network
American Sports Network
Some Christian-affiliated station
Bounce
GetTV
MeTV


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.

[Nefaro]

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 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.

[OJsDad]

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.

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.

[bayonetbrant]

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

[BanzaiCat]

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.

[Bison]

You don't have a choice?  Why not?

[mirth]

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.

[BanzaiCat]

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.

[mirth]

That's ALL my mother-in-law does, all f@cking day.

Sounds like the perfect reason to ditch cable ;)

[BanzaiCat]

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.

[mirth]

unless you want to be legitimate.

I gave up on that years ago.

[Wes]

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

[BanzaiCat]

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.

[mirth]

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.

[BanzaiCat]

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