Zero TV

[Grieve]

Comcast was for internet, not TV. We originally had a combined "triple" package with TV from directv and Internet and phone from Verizon. But the Internet speed was feeble (especially since I work from home), so we changed to Comcast Internet about a year ago.

[Snowreap]

I doubt Comcast was actually tracking downloads -- more likely the copyright owner was tracking it, and asking Comcast to terminate your service and/or hand over your identity. it sounds like a good compromise that allows Comcast to preserve a lot of your privacy without becoming liable themselves as an enabler of copyright infringement.

-ken

[Raize]

Local sports and the NFL channel are the only things I feel as though I miss out on from living in an internet only household. I enjoy watching games with friends or at a bar better than at home anyway.

[OrsunVZ]

Well, I am now at a cross-roads. Laying the floors in the new home, and once finished, will be moving in. Definitely considering my TV/Internet options. My wife is deferring to me on this one, but I am really at a loss as to which way to jump. I'd love to not be paying the ridiculous cable bills I was paying before, but I am not only unsure of what I might be missing, I am also unsure of how to integrate the various PC's, TV's, and tablet's, in order to make the most of the experience.

One of my biggest concerns in Zero TV, regards my love for all things Hi Def. How much fidelity is lost through streaming media? Are there ways around it? etc. Not sure what my next step should be at this point, and truthfully I have my hands full with new roofing, floors, paint everywhere, new AC, new water heater, bathroom renovations etc... BUT I'd like to have an idea of what I should be thinking about.

[Grieve]

Depends on your source. Through my AppleTV, all HD content looks beautiful - better than DirecTV. That includes anything I buy through Apple, my own movies I've ripped and shared over the network, and everything Hulu and Netflix have in HD. I'd say most of their stuff is HD, but some of their older stuff is SD (I got on a retro rush at the weekend watching some old Bill Bixby Incredible Hulk and A-Team episodes...). I suspect the same is true of Roku and Amazon and so on.

Did you check if you can get over-the-air HD channels at your new place?

I'm getting my Game of Thrones via usenet now. I'd prefer to pay HBO money for it, but since they are being silly buggers... Once the blu-rays come out, I'll buy those, so they still get my cash.

[Zirak]

The main issue I have with HD over the internet is bandwidth. It is annoying when I am watching something HD from Netflix or Amazon and it suddenly rebuffers at a lower quality.

[Jakensama]

Move to Austin and get google fiber, problem solved

[Grieve]

AppleTV doesn't lower the quality, but when I had much slower Internet (DSL) it would take a long time to buffer sometimes.

I just bumped up to 50Mbps, and I never have quality or buffering issues. Didn't with my 20Mbps service either.

[Diggles]

AppleTV doesn't lower the quality, but when I had much slower Internet (DSL) it would take a long time to buffer sometimes.

I just bumped up to 50Mbps, and I never have quality or buffering issues. Didn't with my 20Mbps service either.

1080p is about 10 Mbps to be on the safeside. I've seen people with 7.5 that do ok with it as well though.

[Vanraw]

I just watched the latest Game of Thrones and am glad I pay an extra $90 a month just for HBO........

Dam you HBO!!!

[strife]

I just watched the latest Game of Thrones and am glad I pay an extra $90 a month just for HBO........

Dam you HBO!!!

90$? How? I'm cheap... I don't like most of what is on HBO so I don't subscribe except for 1 month a year yo watch the entire season of game of thrones

[Jakensama]

Yeah either he meant $90 a year or he is the worst negotiator of all time..

HBO has about the best library of tv shows ever on demand so I happily pay for it. I'd pay more if I could block Girls so I never had to watch it again.

[Slamz]

Well, if all you watch is HBO, then you probably have the entire $90 "cable + extended channels" package just for that one channel.

[OrsunVZ]

And this is really my problem - HBO has some of my favorite shows, and it kills me to walk away from it.

That said, I think I am going to go with a 50mbs connection, Hulu, netflix, and see if I can live without cable altogether. The loss of HBO is going to hurt, but at least I'll finish this season of Game of Thrones!

So the next thing is setting up one of my old PCs to stream through. I need to replace the video card, but I have no clue what would be good enough just for HD programming and movies etc. Any suggestions?

Also with regard to networking, anything not totally obvious I should be planning for?

[strife]

Supposedly HBO go is in the works to be a stand alone and not require a cable subscription. It would definitely be a step in the right direction, although I'm sure the cable companies are going to fight it .

And O, have you thought about getting Roku or Google tv or <shudders> apple TV?? it will do all of the Hulu/netflix shit and you won't need to have a pc running to do it. It just connects wirelessly(or wired if you can swing that). If you're going Zero TV, I would definitely recommend doing that over having a dedicated PC for it. Unless you're building a media box that's going to do more than just stream, I don't see much reason in having a dedicated PC.

[Jakensama]

Back in Germanistan I just used my PS3 as the media box, it already did everything and streamed all my pirated shit fine from a non dedicated PC. How much does a video card matter for streaming, it won't actually be playing the file, right? Just sending the data to the PC? Or does it work differently?

If you don't have a console then yeah, easiest to get a Roku or something to do your streaming.

[strife]

I've used my PS3 for some streaming as well(mainly Amazon Prime) and it's worked out pretty well.

As for the video card, it depends on how old the video card is... if it has a low resolution or only has a VGA out(no HDMI or DVI),then I would definitely upgrade it.

If you can avoid wireless, do it! If I were doing a ton of work on my house right now, I would make it a priority to get internet cabling run throughout my house. Wireless should only be used for tablets and cell phones!

[OrsunVZ]

I plan to use my xbox on the primary TV, but I need something to run the Bedroom TVs as well.

[strife]

I plan to use my xbox on the primary TV, but I need something to run the Bedroom TVs as well.

Roku is probably your cheapest option and it works really well. The most expensive one is only $100 and it has like motion control and shit on it. If I could get my wife to get off the Cable tit, I'd be using Roku for whatever that is worth.

[OrsunVZ]

I'm thinking of the Vizeo, since Roku can't get youtube. extra $50.00, but over the lifespan of the unit, probably worth it.

[OrsunVZ]

rethinking this as the reviews on the vizeo aren't great. Maybe roku still the way to go.

[strife]

I didn't realize Youtube wouldn't work on Roku.

I did find this though as a work around.

http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-5757...s-on-roku/

[OrsunVZ]

Nice find. Fiber being installed Tuesday, so we'll see how it all comes together.

[Vanraw]

Well, if all you watch is HBO, then you probably have the entire $90 "cable + extended channels" package just for that one channel.

Yes this. I would gladly pay hbo twice the $16 and dump all the other crap. But that is not an option.

[Vanraw]

Does anyone know if a xbox gold subscription can be used on 2 boxes in the same house at the same Time?