I just moved and need to set up Cable/Satellite TV. Looking back over the last few years, we have not watched that much premium movie channels like HBO et al. We mostly watch TV series and sports. I know some of you have dropped cable entirely and stream. I am now investigating what it will take to get streaming setup. I am assuming that I will get Netflix ... but ... in another thread I read that people were hating/dropping Netfix. I did see that Netflix lost its contract with Starz and Netflix can no longer stream Disney and Sony movies. Since I don't watch a lot of movies this might be no BFD ... but ... if I could any movie anytime on demand I might change my ways. To get real time sports, I might have to get service from Cable/Satellite. For those of you here who stream, how do you do it?
Considering the same. Since it is summer, I have not watch cable once in months so I want to turn it off. We watch mostly Hulu Plus now. Commercials suck but MUCH less money so if fine. Only problem, sports. I wonder now thwt the Rockets Are starting their own network, if they will setup an online service. If so, that is my last holdout.
Four Netflix Alternatives Tested The best Netflix alternative depends on what you're looking for. Netflix may have unlimited streaming for just $7.99, but its selection isn't great--unless you're a huge fan of Animal Planet documentaries and obscure indie films. Netflix's player is simple, though you can't pop the window out, and quality can be sketchy, depending on server traffic. Still, Netflix has nearly 20,000 titles on hand for streaming, and it's available on a wide variety of platforms. Hulu Plus is the place to go if you're mainly concerned with keeping up-to-date on the latest TV shows. Movie selection, in contrast, is weak. Hulu Plus consistently has the best streaming quality and the largest number of shows available in HD, but it also has commercials, which it inflicts on paying subscribers. Hulu Plus is available on most popular platforms. Blockbuster On Demand has good streaming quality, but its website needs a lot of work, and the selection isn't great. Blockbuster's new Movie Pass might be worth getting--too bad it's only available to Dish Network customers (for now). iTunes isn't a streaming service at all, but it's worth checking out if you like to watch the latest releases. iTunes has almost every new release available for rental. However, if you want to watch more than a couple of movies a month, iTunes quickly gets expensive, since most titles cost between $2 and $4 each. iTunes rentals are available on PCs and Apple devices, but only Apple users can rent HD versions. Amazon Prime streaming is still mostly a bonus service for people who want fast, free shipping. Selection is lacking, and video quality is poor. But with the addition of 2000 new Fox TV shows and movies, it may be worth checking out in a couple of months. It's the least expensive of the five services I looked at. As for replacing the part of Netflix now known as Qwikster--good luck. Only Blockbuster currently operates a DVDs-by-mail service, called Blockbuster Total Access, and it starts at $9.99 per month, which is more expensive than Qwikster. Blockbuster's Movie Pass currently exists only for Dish Network customers but should roll out to non-Dish customers in the future. It combines DVDs-by-mail and unlimited streaming. You can also try Redbox, but you'll have to pick up your DVDs at a Redbox station. and you'll be charged per night. Plus, Redbox stations can hold only so many DVDs--so it's a good idea to check your local Redbox online for the title you want before making the trip to the kiosk.
I stumbled onto this ... <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WC3-cjAo9iQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> It appears that Roku is the way to go, versus a streaming DVD player. Roku appears to support the best streaming services: Hulu Plus, Amazon, Netflix and possibly soon VUDU (owned by Walmart). Roku noticeably does not support CinemaNow (owned by Best Buy) or Blockbuster on Demand (owned by Dish Network). Netflix appears to have gone to ground. They don't have new TV shows or movies and the big movie studios fear that Netflix will take over the post-release market (like iTunes owns the retail music business).
This is old and outdated (October 2011) Amazon Prime has great quality. I wouldn't trust this article. There have been many changes to the above services since October 2011.
I am currently "testing" a free month of AMAZON PRIME, in which the streaming of some older movies is free, and it is free shipping and downloading of books onto a Kindle. I don't think this will replace anything, but it's just a test drive. So far, it's OK. I am using my U-verse internet connection to my PS3 for that. I will also try HULU Plus.
Thanks. I suspected as much. The people with the deep pockets (Apple, Amazon, Google, Walmart) are going to make this market over the next year or so. It will be interesting to see if Netflix can keep up.
I have a Roku with Netflix and Amazon Prime. I use Netflix a lot, and almost never use Amazon Prime. I do use Amazon VOD every now and then. If there's a particular series I want to watch, I buy the season pass, about $30 per season. I've bought Walking Dead and Breaking Bad this way. You can also get NBA League Pass Broadband on the Roku, but the last two years the app sucked. Last year I tried it for a few games but it kept "skipping" (would rewind and replay over and over) and crashing (exiting the app). I'd wait to see what others thought before buying a Roku just for League Pass. Also, NBA blackout rules apply - if you live in Houston, you can't watch the Rockets through LPBB. You can also get MLB and NHL but I never watch those. Definitely recommend watching sports OTA if possible. It's the highest quality video, better than when I had UVerse or Time Warner. You can also control your Roku with your smartphone, which is pretty cool. If you know somebody with cable or satellite, you might try to get HBO GO. You could pay them $5-10/month for access to it and still come out ahead.
In the same boat. I've always had cable but lately I can't seem to come up with a legit reason to pay for it. The majority of my entertainment comes from streaming. Anybody ever use Slingbox or Roku or any of those media player devices?
do i really need a roku 3 over a roku 2 XD? roku 2 is $20 cheaper and outside of just a few things that don't look all necessary, is the way to go right? heres the comparison chart: http://www.roku.com/roku-products
You can't watch local sports via Roku or HBO yet without cable. That's the only reason I still keep my cable.
and that's the worst part about it...I only have cable to watch a handful of sports channels and I hate having to pay so much for it
connect computer to tv and watch movies and tv shows for free... http://www.1channel.ch/?tv=&sort=featured http://videobull.com/ http://www.vipbox.tv/sports/basketball.html hard line..no wifi..all free..
I've been trying this for about a year now. Honestly I think I'm going to go back to having cable/satellite. And the primary reasons for that is 1)sports and 2)current cable shows like Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad and 3)a lack of a good, multiple DVRs. There are solutions to that, of course. I built one HTPC but would still need another. You can get some shows on VoD but usually it's at least the next day (iTunes is the best with this, other services like Amazon or Google Play would take sometimes into the middle of the week) and you are still paying. And you can find ****ty streams I guess and just hope you dodge whatever Java exploit is loaded this week. And of course there's always pirating/downloading. All in all if you are willing to use up the time and effort you can find (sub par) alternatives. But I don't think I want to bother anymore. Really, watching NBA games when they happen to be OTA (which is awesome quality BTW) just makes me miss having it big screen HD.
If you have a nice HDTV, don't know why anyone would want to stream low quality videos. Mine as well but a standard TV.
Netflix works greatly for me. I watch it off my PS3. And then I use the internet browser on their to watch Live Streams of Rockets/WWE.
