Cutting the Cable/Satellite Cord

[docellis]

roku has something called myplex. you can just add any video you want (while on your computer) to your queue, you tube, anything and it shows up on your tv.

[ghostrunner]

Gotta admit, between my Apple TV and the Xbox, the Xbox has been doing the better job providing substitutes for TV programming I'd otherwise miss. ESPN3 has been on the Xbox the whole time, they had Hulu long before AppleTV, and the Netflix interface is better than any I've seen either on the AppleTV or anything else.

The election has been well covered, outside of having live news ( I don't miss it). I've been able to see all 3 debates and it looks like election night will be covered too:

7:00 P.M. ET: Election Returns with NBC News
Watch the returns come in live and interact with Xbox LIVE polling.

For the first time, fans will be able to view the LIVE Election Night episodes through a multi-platform streaming experience on comedycentral.com, iOS and Android enabled devices and through The Daily Show Headlines App. The LIVE Election Night programs, along with several clips from "The Daily Show," "The Colbert Report," "Key & Peele," "30 Seconds Over Washington" and more, will also stream on Xbox consoles as a part of Xbox Live's Election Coverage.

[pioneer98]

Cool. Any advise on how to get ESPN3? We have an antenna, Wii, and a Blue Ray player. Recently, a software upgrade came through on the Blue Ray, and now we have way more options than just Hulu and Netflix. But I still miss the occasional sports on ESPN3. Is Playon.tv any good?

[Gashouse]

If your internet provider is part of the list on ESPN3, then I assume you shouldn't have a problem. Unfortunately, my ISP is not on their list, so I've also been left w/o ESPN3.

[Fat Strat]

BUMP! I've finally sucked it up and dumped DirecTV. I hooked up a computer to my TV, bought a wireless remote and mouse, and we're set to stream Netflix and anything else that will let us stream it.

I guess all of our discounts with DirecTV finally ran out. We were spending $93 per month on TV. Now we're spending $8. The way I see it, I now have $85 a month to spend on movies, downloads, Amazon, etc.

Someone tell me about MLB.tv. We're definitely going to go without satellite until April, but then I have a tough decision to make. I'm willing to give MLB.tv a try, but I've heard a lot of people complaining about the blackout rules. What am I looking at during the regular season? What about the playoffs? Those who have it, what has your experience been like with quality, etc?


Edit: OK, so I did a search on MLB.tv blackout rules, and I guess all the Cards and Royals games are blacked out here. Is that true? If so, this is likely a short-term situation.

[robbotis]

BUMP! I've finally sucked it up and dumped DirecTV. I hooked up a computer to my TV, bought a wireless remote and mouse, and we're set to stream Netflix and anything else that will let us stream it.

I guess all of our discounts with DirecTV finally ran out. We were spending $93 per month on TV. Now we're spending $8. The way I see it, I now have $85 a month to spend on movies, downloads, Amazon, etc.

Someone tell me about MLB.tv. We're definitely going to go without satellite until April, but then I have a tough decision to make. I'm willing to give MLB.tv a try, but I've heard a lot of people complaining about the blackout rules. What am I looking at during the regular season? What about the playoffs? Those who have it, what has your experience been like with quality, etc?


Edit: OK, so I did a search on MLB.tv blackout rules, and I guess all the Cards and Royals games are blacked out here. Is that true? If so, this is likely a short-term situation.

If you're in the STL Metro, yup, the Cards would be blacked out MLB.tv (pending the Supreme Court? or whoever, is looking into MLB's blackout laws).

Sports are the biggest thing you'll miss w/ cord cutting. That and HBO shows...
Why can't we have Ala carte cable/satellite/internet TV?
Congress should be looking into that.

[Fat Strat]

We're outside of StL, but not far. Initially it said that only the Royals games were blacked out because it thinks my IP is from Omaha, NE. A friend suggested a proxy, but it seems like there would be issues with that.

I guess I might just go without satellite until April and then sign up for the most basic DishNetwork package I can find.

[lukethedrifter]

I really wanted to cut the cord but my wife was not happy about the idea. She's not happy about the bill each month either though.


A la carte would be fantastic.

[Jocephus]

Someone tell me about MLB.tv. We're definitely going to go without satellite until April, but then I have a tough decision to make. I'm willing to give MLB.tv a try, but I've heard a lot of people complaining about the blackout rules. What am I looking at during the regular season? What about the playoffs? Those who have it, what has your experience been like with quality, etc?


Edit: OK, so I did a search on MLB.tv blackout rules, and I guess all the Cards and Royals games are blacked out here. Is that true? If so, this is likely a short-term situation.

yeah if your zip code shows up for any regional team you want to watch then you'll be blacked out (you can watch the archived game about an hour later though!). i don't get KC games but luckily i can get the cards. IIRC playoffs is a separate package and its not a national broadcast and it has weird camera angles (i've never bought).

as far as quality i do think its pretty good (assuming you have a fast connection and a computer than can "handle" it). i've had mlb.tv for about 5 or 6 years now and it seems like its always the worst at the beginning of the year (as far as lag issues or random screwups) but it always seems to straighten itself out after the first week or 2. it's probably not the "best" option as far as value (compared to other tv packages or satellite) but if you don't want all that comes with a big tv package its pretty good.

[docellis]

We're outside of StL, but not far. Initially it said that only the Royals games were blacked out because it thinks my IP is from Omaha, NE. A friend suggested a proxy, but it seems like there would be issues with that.

I guess I might just go without satellite until April and then sign up for the most basic DishNetwork package I can find.

I had success with proxies, but it is a huge pain in the ass because you have to find a new one each game. Rarely does the same one work twice.

I have generally subscribed to cable from game one of 162 until the Cards were eliminated. It sucks, because literally every single thing I want to watch I can get without cable.

But, this is part of the reason there are these GIANT television deals (aka, angels tv deal, dodgers tv deal). It is a rare commodity. People will pay to watch live, and here are hundreds of games to watch. Not many other tv programs like it.

If it is offered a la carte or thru smart tv's or apple tv, roku etc...those humongous deals change.