I hope cable TV dies!

[Politico]

No none of the streaming crap on the internet delivers the tv experience. The experience is the ability to turn on the tv and select the channel you want to watch with your remote in real time. That does not exist. Until people can do that internet content will just be just that. Internet content.

 

[FA_Q2]

No none of the streaming crap on the internet delivers the tv experience. The experience is the ability to turn on the tv and select the channel you want to watch with your remote in real time. That does not exist. Until people can do that internet content will just be just that. Internet content.

'in real time'

What is that supposed to be unless you are talking about sports or some other live content. You do indeed get that in real time on the net as well by the way. Other than that, you can select the show you want rather than the show that the cable providers allow and watch it in its entirety without commercial breaks or edited to fit an arbitrary time slot.

I fail to see any single advantage for cable's delivery method over internet equivalents. In every way it is better.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I couldn't agree more with the opinion that cable provided entertainment needs to die.
HBO will, in January, begin streaming ALL of their content. This is big. And it is a direct response to Netflix's ever growing subscriber base.
I have a Roku device with a Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime sub. (will kill Amazon Prime when it expires in December - it sucks)
I also rent movies via Vudu and Go!
My total cost per month, after killing Amazon, is about $30 including a couple rents a month. Once someone goes the streaming route - there is no going back to the UBER expensive cable rip off.
There is no comparison. Internet TV is here to stay and it will absolutely take over the cable market. Sooner than later.

 

[Stephanie]

BTW, particularly Steph....

My Alaska experience with DISH was when I lived in Nome for several years. It required a 1.5 meter dish mounted on the side of the upper story of a very tall house. Houses there shift each winter so the aim was constantly in flux. When the picture would start regularly pixellating I'd have to shut the cat in another room, open a window alongside the dish, lean out with a socket wrench on a pole to loosen the mounts and gently nudge the dish back into position. Lots of fun at -40 F. Generally took about 20 minutes and was good for typically a month before the house shifted again. Yeah, it was the house, not the dish, shifting. Sometimes a loose marble on the floor would sit there. Other time it would roll to the North; other times to the South. Damn thing never settled down and had to be professionally leveled about every other year 'cause the variation was up around six inches side-to-side.

I've been considering going to dish. I had a very bad experience with it in Alaska and am hesitant. but I am sick of being ripped off by cable and paying for repetitive channels that I don't want or watch

I've used DISH in three different states and found it better than cable almost always. Almost because, in one case, the "look angle" was so low that it skimmed the horizon and a storm 100 miles South would wipe out reception. There cable was better but was so expensive that using the satellite was worth the occasional outage. In one other state the look angle was better but occasional snow would accumulate on the dish which, since it was on the roof, was hard to clear. Finally I kept a hose attached to the water heater and when the dish packed up would just rinse it off with hot water. It didn't seem to mind light ice - but more than 1/2 inch of snow would kill it.

But satellite TV has the same problem as cable - to get what you want you have to buy (and pay for) tons of crap you'll never watch. That's not entirely the fault of the providers as many of the program providers require cable outfits to buy their junk "networks" in order to get access to the ones most people prefer to watch. Legislating just against the cable/satellite outfits will be futile so long as they're required to buy stuff nobody wants.

Thanks for sharing your experiences with it. I just can't justify the price for cable anymore and my guy just went out on medical from Ford with a broken hip and might need open heart surgery next... so we'll be in a tighter budget for awhile

yikes.....i hope everything turns out ok for you folks Steph....

Thank you Harry

 

[Iceweasel]

There's little difference overall with programing from Dish, DirecTV and cable. They all bundle packages to make their money. It will vary a bit, I've had all three and the biggest difference was the software/hardware.

I've had dual tuner HD DVRs for 10 years at least. The Comcast tuner was the worst, slow and many blank recordings. I have Dish now but a very basic package. I thought the Hopper sucked. Their DVRs need to reboot every day for some reason. The time period was not adjustable on the Hopper so I downgraded to the 722. Navigating the menus is an exercise in frustration for me.

DirecTV had the best DVRs and software but they charged more and wouldn't back off the price until I replaced the equipment with Dish. WTF?

Online streaming is the future, I use it now with Roku and a Gbox but the disadvantage is it doesn't have the functionality of the DVRs yet unless you are a guru and can set up a backend/frontend system with MythTV or one of those. Basically making your own DVR.

The DVRs are faster since the recorded program is on a local hard drive and you can set up auto recording. That said I will probably dump Dish when the time is up in Feb. and select streaming providers.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Online streaming is the future, I use it now with Roku and a Gbox but the disadvantage is it doesn't have the functionality of the DVRs...

I guess I don't understand what DVR functionality you don't have with Roku/streaming??
Netflix etc. is like a "super DVR". All episodes of every season is available at all times. You can't do that with a DVR. Or are you referring to cables "OnDemand" features?

 

[TheIceMan]

Nothing but a wasteland of crappy reality shows. Hopefully people will go for quality like HBO or Netflix. Pay TV is the future!

5 Packages That Will Replace Pay TV as We Know It - 1

Yes Netflix And Hulu Are Starting To Kill Cable

Who Actually Still Watches TV The Old

The grave is being dug as we speak.
I give CATV as we know it 10 years max.

Not unless someone can deliver it over the internet in the same format and function.

They already do.

Cable has to contend with that or die. You can get your TV completely free through bit torrent or go through a provider such as hulu or netflix. there is almost no point whatsoever to pay for the garbage that they sell you anymore. I have not had cable for almost a decade now and have no plans on ever going back. I cant watch anything that is saturated with commercials anymore - its downright annoying.

I still don't understand what is keeping them around other than pure habit of purchasing TV.

Excellent points. I agree.

 

[Stephanie]

There's little difference overall with programing from Dish, DirecTV and cable. They all bundle packages to make their money. It will vary a bit, I've had all three and the biggest difference was the software/hardware.

I've had dual tuner HD DVRs for 10 years at least. The Comcast tuner was the worst, slow and many blank recordings. I have Dish now but a very basic package. I thought the Hopper sucked. Their DVRs need to reboot every day for some reason. The time period was not adjustable on the Hopper so I downgraded to the 722. Navigating the menus is an exercise in frustration for me.

DirecTV had the best DVRs and software but they charged more and wouldn't back off the price until I replaced the equipment with Dish. WTF?

Online streaming is the future, I use it now with Roku and a Gbox but the disadvantage is it doesn't have the functionality of the DVRs yet unless you are a guru and can set up a backend/frontend system with MythTV or one of those. Basically making your own DVR.

The DVRs are faster since the recorded program is on a local hard drive and you can set up auto recording. That said I will probably dump Dish when the time is up in Feb. and select streaming providers.

Great information for someone like me trying to make up my mind if I want to get rid of cable. our cable costs are over a S100 a month but we do have the higher packages.

 

[Iceweasel]

I guess I don't understand what DVR functionality you don't have with Roku/streaming??
Netflix etc. is like a "super DVR". All episodes of every season is available at all times. You can't do that with a DVR. Or are you referring to cables "OnDemand" features?

One example is football. I can record two games at once and flip between them while pausing them, which I do because of all the commercials. Not a big deal and I don't know if the NFL add on will let me see a game on FOX or CBS etc.

I haven't looked into that yet since I'll have the DVR until Feb. The progaming is a bit older too but I'm sure that will change.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Great information for someone like me trying to make up my mind if I want to get rid of cable. our cable costs are over a S100 a month but we do have the higher packages.

I would recommend buying a Roku 3 device - Amazon.com Roku 3 Streaming Media Player Electronics
With a Netflix subscription and perhaps HuluPlus if you like network comedy shows - there is a ton of options to watch content. Roku also has 100's of other channels that you can put on your home page if you want, or not. You don't see them if you don't want to.
Also - and this is a GREAT feature, it has search capabilities that searches ALL channels for whatever you search for.
It also has solid options for renting new movies in full HD.
And at a small investment to buy the device - you can easily watch 10,000's of shows and movies for just the $9 a month Netflix subscription.
If you try it, you won't go back. Few do.
The disadvantage is no local channels (will soon change) and no NFL sports (also soon to change, probably by the 2015 season NFL Ticket will be streaming)
Once this happens - whey the heck would anyone still have cable?

 

[Stephanie]

Great information for someone like me trying to make up my mind if I want to get rid of cable. our cable costs are over a S100 a month but we do have the higher packages.

I would recommend buying a Roku 3 device - Amazon.com Roku 3 Streaming Media Player Electronics
With a Netflix subscription and perhaps HuluPlus if you like network comedy shows - there is a ton of options to watch content. Roku also has 100's of other channels that you can put on your home page if you want, or not. You don't see them if you don't want to.
Also - and this is a GREAT feature, it has search capabilities that searches ALL channels for whatever you search for.
It also has solid options for renting new movies in full HD.
And at a small investment to buy the device - you can easily watch 10,000's of shows and movies for just the $9 a month Netflix subscription.
If you try it, you won't go back. Few do.
The disadvantage is no local channels (will soon change) and no NFL sports (also soon to change, probably by the 2015 season NFL Ticket will be streaming)
Once this happens - whey the heck would anyone still have cable?

I have heard of Roku and one of my friends has it. But like someone else said, you can't get the weekly shows say, NCIS in real time can you? that might seem petty but we don't go out as much anymore and watch a few series, like the NCIS and a couple others

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I guess I don't understand what DVR functionality you don't have with Roku/streaming??
Netflix etc. is like a "super DVR". All episodes of every season is available at all times. You can't do that with a DVR. Or are you referring to cables "OnDemand" features?

One example is football. I can record two games at once and flip between them while pausing them, which I do because of all the commercials. Not a big deal and I don't know if the NFL add on will let me see a game on FOX or CBS etc.

I haven't looked into that yet since I'll have the DVR until Feb. The progaming is a bit older too but I'm sure that will change.

I firmly believe NFL Sunday Ticket will offer a streaming option with no cable subscription necessary by the 2015 season. Right now there is "NFL Now" - which cost $3 a month. GREAT channel. Although there are no live games, there is a plethora of video replays - old games and tons and tons of Fantasy football shows as well.
You are right, now there is little sports options. But that is soon to change.

 

[Siete]

got the bundle package ... BAD AAAASS internet speed, dirt cheap phone ... F the TV programming ... not a prob for me.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I have heard of Roku and one of my friends has it. But like someone else said, you can't get the weekly shows say, NCIS in real time can you? that might seem petty but we don't go out as much anymore and watch a few series, like the NCIS and a couple others

You can. HuluPlus shows a lot of these shows 24 hours after broadcast. With about 1/4th the commercials as live. Available shows and movies Hulu Plus

 

[Stephanie]

I have heard of Roku and one of my friends has it. But like someone else said, you can't get the weekly shows say, NCIS in real time can you? that might seem petty but we don't go out as much anymore and watch a few series, like the NCIS and a couple others

You can. HuluPlus shows a lot of these shows 24 hours after broadcast. With about 1/4th the commercials as live. Available shows and movies Hulu Plus

very good and thanks for the great information. I've been relaying it to my guy who is as unsure about getting dish or something else because of his experiences with dish.

 

[Iceweasel]

I firmly believe NFL Sunday Ticket will offer a streaming option with no cable subscription necessary by the 2015 season. Right now there is "NFL Now" - which cost $3 a month. GREAT channel. Although there are no live games, there is a plethora of video replays - old games and tons and tons of Fantasy football shows as well.
You are right, now there is little sports options. But that is soon to change.

That's good to know. I'm not a football fanatic but I gotta see how far the Hawks go this year at least.

I have the Roku streaming stick that came with the TV. Didn't take it seriously but am amazed at the ability to stream HD over the wifi.

 

[Harry Dresden]

$50 bet people will pay for Fox News, but none will pay for CNN or MSLSD.

why would anyone pay for the news?....

 

[iamwhatiseem]

$50 bet people will pay for Fox News, but none will pay for CNN or MSLSD.

why would anyone pay for the news?....

You do realize that is kind of a crazy question?
It cost money to seek/report/produce and finally print and or broadcast retrieved/edited information. Without the ability to charge money for it - you can't do it at all.
My only concern about internet based TV is how will news fit in to it.
My guess is you are young, and that is why the question even occurred to you. Being young you likely have never paid a subscription to a newspaper, news magazine etc. - therefore the thought of paying for news may seem foreign to you.
Fox News etc. gets their money from advertising. Internet-based TV at least now generally shuns advertising, so thus how will they make money in this space is a legitimate concern

 

[Harry Dresden]

$50 bet people will pay for Fox News, but none will pay for CNN or MSLSD.

why would anyone pay for the news?....

You do realize that is kind of a crazy question?
It cost money to seek/report/produce and finally print and or broadcast retrieved/edited information. Without the ability to charge money for it - you can't do it at all.
My only concern about internet based TV is how will news fit in to it.
My guess is you are young, and that is why the question even occurred to you. Being young you likely have never paid a subscription to a newspaper, news magazine etc. - therefore the thought of paying for news may seem foreign to you.
Fox News etc. gets their money from advertising. Internet-based TV at least now generally shuns advertising, so thus how will they make money in this space is a legitimate concern

yea i never done any of those ancient things......

 

[HenryBHough]

Not that there's anything wrong with it....

But a history lesson is in order. What we now call "cable tv" started out as "CATV".

That meant "Community Antenna TeleVision".

It started in hilly areas where on-air TV signals were blocked by the terrain. Communities (and that might mean as few as a couple of neighbors) got together and erected an antenna on high ground where signals were present and ran them down to individual homes.

Next thing was people who owned high ground started selling leases to others to put up antennas. Then the high-ground owners decided they could make more money by commercializing a service.

Then the individual little systems became big systems, largely through buying up the small operators.

That stayed pretty localized until satellite transmission became available. But NOT to the individual home. Only between major networks and their affiliates. Then to CATV systems. At some point "networks" were created that only use the satellites. You could tap those signals with a big, steerable dish but that didn't last long 'cause they started encrypting. Finally a couple of giants got into the act. You know them as DISH and DirecTV. Of course by then the "CATV" terrestrial systems were picking up the non-broadcast programming and peddling it to you.

Along the way a lot of folks got convinced they needed cable to get any TV at all and surrendered their existing rabbit ears and outdoor antennas. Now we have a digital system that has good and bad aspects. Lots of fringe areas that used to get a minimal but still usable service not get no service. But lots of other areas have seen that minimal service improve to better quality than they can get off cable. But only if the people have enough knowledge (it doesn't take much) and willingness to get off asses and hook up an antenna. In most urban areas a pair of decent rabbit ears, OK, maybe an amplified set, coupled with an internet connection will get you all the TV you can stomach.

Howsumever.....

Since most major internet providers are also "Cable TV" suppliers they got you by the nuts and if you want fast internet you're either going to be forced to buy a package you don't want or pay astronomical prices based on how much data you use beyond some ridiculously low "cap".

One solution would be to create an "Obamanet" where everybody gets FREE internet. Of course you'd only be allowed to see what the regime wants you to see but, hey, it'd be FREE!