switching from dish / directv to internet tv such as netflix?

*Jeff* · 03-24-2012, 09:11 PM

Has anyone here switched from dish or directv (or cable tv for that matter) to Internet TV such as netflix tv?

After having switched for a while, do you miss anything about "broadcast" satellite/cable tv?

And are there any recommendations other than netflix for internet tv?

**Bob** · 03-24-2012, 10:13 PM

I have to say that not having a Cable (in whatever format) bill would be wonderful...

However every time I think about it I realize I would be giving up Racing, Football, Baseball, Tour De France, America's Cup... if you get the point

The Olympics are excluded as they plan to show just about everything online from now on as I understand it... BUT that just ain't enough

-Bob

*Jeff* · 03-24-2012, 10:21 PM

Thanks Bob. Initially there was the technical issue (picture quality, can the infrastructure support that much bandwidth for on-demand tv, etc.)

Then there's the question of just how much content is available compared to what is taken for granted surfing around with the clicker now while relaxing. I've quickly browsed the netflix 'browse selection' and was wondering if there were similar internet tv services that offer even more selection and current shows. For some things, like viewing episodes of older sci-fi series in sequence, on-demand would be great. But yea, is the selection of internet tv comprehensive enough yet to keep the family happy in place of current broadcast tv over satellite/cable.

**Kevin** · 03-25-2012, 01:28 AM

Unlike Bob I have no interest at all in sports.

I gave up my cable TV in 2006. At the time I was concerned about local news and educational channels like Discovery and History.

I replaced my local news with RSS feeds to the local news stations. On the rare occasion that I need more up to date local news I can plug in my antenna (I leave it unplugged so I don't have to worry about lightning).

When it comes to Discovery and The History Channel I consider myself to be lucky. I stopped watching them while they still had a small percentage of science and history. From what I have downloaded from their web sites in the last few years they have become far worse than day time soap TV. Good riddance. There are far more interesting documentaries available on Youtube for free.

**Kevin** · 03-25-2012, 01:32 AM

I actually do have a Netflix account. It is DVDs only. I have been a customer for years but I have never even tried to use their streaming service.

*skolnick* · 03-25-2012, 12:53 PM

I live on my boat. My marina is in a low spot and I get one over-the-air public TV station. I've got pretty good wireless Internet on the boat (Ubiquiti Bullet's rock!) and use Netflix streaming and (free) Hulu for most entertainment TV. I use radio and podcasts for news and information. The only thing I struggle with is that I have to visit friends or a bar to watch The Big Bang Theory. *grin*

I have a Tivo I'm not using that I may hook up at my girl friend's house if I can figure out how to get stuff off it onto something portable to take back to the boat. I looked at Slingbox in the past but I'm out of date on it.

**Kevin** · 03-26-2012, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skolnick

I live on my boat. My marina is in a low spot and I get one over-the-air public TV station. I've got pretty good wireless Internet on the boat (Ubiquiti Bullet's rock!) and use Netflix streaming and (free) Hulu for most entertainment TV. I use radio and podcasts for news and information. The only thing I struggle with is that I have to visit friends or a bar to watch The Big Bang Theory. *grin*

The Big Bang Theory appears to be available on Hulu. It isn't in the Hulu Desktop app though for some reason.

*Jeff* · 03-26-2012, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin

When it comes to Discovery and The History Channel I consider myself to be lucky. I stopped watching them while they still had a small percentage of science and history.

The Science Channel has Firefly marathons now

*johnfl68* · 03-26-2012, 06:31 PM

I find that there is very little to watch on cable these days (I have a small number of local and premium channels included free where I currently live).

I ditched Netflix when the whole double price fiasco happened, and use Redbox for current run DVD's and Blu-Rays, and have Amazon Prime for streaming older movies and TV shows.

Amazon Prime is a great deal, with Free 2-Day shipping on most purchased items, and a good portion of the video library available to view for free (all for $79 a year, or about $6.59 a month). No, not everything is free to stream, but plenty of things to watch, and they are always adding more.

I have a Roku box for streaming content, and that offers some additional free and paid viewing choices as well, depending on your interests.

John

**Kevin** · 03-26-2012, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnfl68

I find that there is very little to watch on cable these days (I have a small number of local and premium channels included free where I currently live).

There are a few things on cable channels that I like. For instance I have the new episode of MythBusters waiting to be watched tonight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnfl68

I ditched Netflix when the whole double price fiasco happened, and use Redbox for current run DVD's and Blu-Rays, and have Amazon Prime for streaming older movies and TV shows.

I love NetFlix's new pricing. If you only use DVDs or streaming you can stop paying for the other. I reduced my bill by $5/month. I was originally unaffected by the pricing change but I am glad that I jumped on the only pay for one discount before they returned to the previous pricing model. Now I am grandfathered in at the lower price.

I tried RedBox twice. The first time was fine. The second time I discovered that they have a tendency to stock the 4x3 version of a movie instead of the widescreen version. Even when the cover photo clearly says "WIDESCREEN" on it. I rented Terminator 4 from a RedBox, watched 2 minutes of it, and other than returning the DVD I haven't touched a RedBox since then.

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnfl68

Amazon Prime is a great deal, with Free 2-Day shipping on most purchased items, and a good portion of the video library available to view for free (all for $79 a year, or about $6.59 a month). No, not everything is free to stream, but plenty of things to watch, and they are always adding more.

I haven't looked at Amazon's streaming but this sounds expensive to me. Especially if anything special is needed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnfl68

I have a Roku box for streaming content, and that offers some additional free and paid viewing choices as well, depending on your interests.

I have looked at the Roku. If I ever buy an appliance that will probably be the one. But for now I am happy with my Linux box connected to my TV. Note that this is why I don't care about Netflix's streaming.