How do you get tv?

Roberto99

I noticed on another thread some BOTL's cancelling their Directv and watching programs on Hulu etc. How do you get your TV? I'm looking to dump my $90 Directv bill also but still want to get live tv for local news, sports and my wife is hooked on a couple of reality shows like american idol.

kaspera79

Roberto99:

I noticed on another thread some BOTL's cancelling their Directv and watching programs on Hulu etc. How do you get your TV? I'm looking to dump my $90 Directv bill also but still want to get live tv for local news, sports and my wife is hooked on a couple of reality shows like american idol.

Cable provider Comcast Don't look to save money with them.. But service is good and you can bundle services for a better deal.

jgibv

Roberto99:

live tv for local news

This one's the "easiest" IMO - get yourself an antenna

Roberto99:

sports

Here's a good place to start.
Also, if your ISP has an agreement with ESPN3 you can get lots of sports/streams for free with them, but you need to login with your ISP account info -- so if your provider doesn't have an agreement with them you're SOL on that one.

Roberto99:

and my wife is hooked on a couple of reality shows like american idol.

You may be able to find these shows through the network's (Fox/CBS/NBC) websites, maybe?

If not, there's a ton of other streaming sites, not all are mentioned here and other, "alternative", ways to get shows.
But regardless, if you plan on streaming most of your TV from here on out - I'd highly recommend checking with your ISP and make sure you can upgrade your internet connection to a speed that will handle all that data.

Clear as mud?
LOL I hope not. Hoping this helps and gives you a few things to look at.



EDIT: And FWIW - we are switching to AT&T Uverse tomorrow (hopefully)
Had service with a local company - they raised our rates & wouldn't negotiate so we dropped them. We're getting better service/more channels/options with AT&T for a lower price.

jthanatos

jgibv:

Roberto99:

live tv for local news

This one's the "easiest" IMO - get yourself an antenna

Roberto99:

sports

Here's a good place to start.
Also, if your ISP has an agreement with ESPN3 you can get lots of sports/streams for free with them, but you need to login with your ISP account info -- so if your provider doesn't have an agreement with them you're SOL on that one.

Roberto99:

and my wife is hooked on a couple of reality shows like american idol.

You may be able to find these shows through the network's (Fox/CBS/NBC) websites, maybe?

If not, there's a ton of other streaming sites, not all are mentioned here and other, "alternative", ways to get shows.
But regardless, if you plan on streaming most of your TV from here on out - I'd highly recommend checking with your ISP and make sure you can upgrade your internet connection to a speed that will handle all that data.

Clear as mud?
I do hope this helps though.

A lot of this. I am a complete cable cutter except for one month every other year for the Olympics. Another thing my wife and I have found, if you have a couple shows you guys watch every week and either an Xbox or a Media Center PC for streaming, check out Zune. You can buy complete seasons of shows as they are airing for ~$25 a show. The new shows get added one or two days after air date and can be either streamed or downloaded to local devices. If you only have 4 or 5 shows you watch regularly, this ends up only costing $20 a month or less.

For sports, especially football and basketball, do some googling of radio stations in the area that broadcast the games. Many have online streams, and the radio commentators are head and shoulders above what most of what the TV passes off as 'experts' these days.

phobicsquirrel

I can watch pretty much any show on tv the same evening or next day and in HD online. I just save the file and stream it to my tv via server. I do get local hd though which is okay I suppose.

jthanatos

phobicsquirrel:

I can watch pretty much any show on tv the same evening or next day and in HD online. I just save the file and stream it to my tv via server. I do get local hd though which is okay I suppose.

Torrents or legit sources? I usually can't find legit stuff until at least 24 hours.

Luko

Had Comcast and hated it. Switched to fios, save money, and get more channels. And I get to watch live!

phobicsquirrel

jthanatos:

phobicsquirrel:

I can watch pretty much any show on tv the same evening or next day and in HD online. I just save the file and stream it to my tv via server. I do get local hd though which is okay I suppose.

Torrents or legit sources? I usually can't find legit stuff until at least 24 hours.

I don't torrent much anymore (thanks to the govt and their love affair with studios). There's several sites that you can locate via the google machine that you can download stuff. Sometimes stream but usually it's download. and legit, well I guess it is how you define legit. I mean when a cable company charges you a hundred dollars for service when you can go to other countries and get it for half or so legit is really a word isn't it?

jthanatos

phobicsquirrel:

jthanatos:

phobicsquirrel:

I can watch pretty much any show on tv the same evening or next day and in HD online. I just save the file and stream it to my tv via server. I do get local hd though which is okay I suppose.

Torrents or legit sources? I usually can't find legit stuff until at least 24 hours.

I don't torrent much anymore (thanks to the govt and their love affair with studios). There's several sites that you can locate via the google machine that you can download stuff. Sometimes stream but usually it's download. and legit, well I guess it is how you define legit. I mean when a cable company charges you a hundred dollars for service when you can go to other countries and get it for half or so legit is really a word isn't it?

I very much understand. By legit, I mean, are the guys making the shows I like and want to see more of actually getting any money by me watching it? If I like a show enough to watch it, I want to do my best to encourage more shows like it to be made.

phobicsquirrel

yeah. well I buy a lot of blu rays and even shows. But there are times when a current season is on that I want to see it and don't want to wait for it to land on disc. Then again there are shows that I like but don't think I'll re watch and those are what I use the interwebs for.

Realistically I don't see a difference between someone recording from tv or dvds to someone watching that recording online. As long as no money is being used for it, it should be fine.
I do hear that using amazon along with a revo or reiko or what have you works well. My best friend uses it along with torrents for seasons and what not. Streaming is where it is at.

Unthought_Known

I cut cable a little over a year ago. For the basic networks, I use an antenna. I get Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, WB, etc, but that's mainly just for background tv. I rarely watch tv shows live, it's more of just to watch the news while eating dinner or going to bed.

I also have a Roku where I stream netflix/hulu. If I want to watch a show the night it airs instead of waiting for hulu, then there are sites that upload files in HD quality (and no, they're not any more legit than a torrent site). I download them in about 10-15 minutes, convert them to mp4 (for roku) in another 20 minutes, and it's ready to air. They're usually uploaded shortly after they air on the east coast, which means I can watch them before they even air in California.

phobicsquirrel

Unthought_Known:

I cut cable a little over a year ago. For the basic networks, I use an antenna. I get Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, WB, etc, but that's mainly just for background tv. I rarely watch tv shows live, it's more of just to watch the news while eating dinner or going to bed.

I also have a Roku where I stream netflix/hulu. If I want to watch a show the night it airs instead of waiting for hulu, then there are sites that upload files in HD quality (and no, they're not any more legit than a torrent site). I download them in about 10-15 minutes, convert them to mp4 (for roku) in another 20 minutes, and it's ready to air. They're usually uploaded shortly after they air on the east coast, which means I can watch them before they even air in California.

yeah roku, that's it.

jadelt

Rural living up in the mountains so I use Dish. Basic simple service.... 45 a month which I think is crazy but its just what I do. For internet, luckily I have a direct line of sight to the microwave tower about 30 miles away and I have a microwave connection to an antenna that points directly to the tower. Costs me $26 a month for pretty good service (way better than satellite via Hughes or Wildblue that some folks here use because they cant see the tower.

jsnake

I have had Dish and Directv. Just got tired of the wind blowing and the tv going out. Ok, it wasn't that bad but a little bad weather and it went out along with crappy customer service. Switched to AT&T Uverse and we couldn't be happier. I have 4 boxes, Xbox 360 hook up, and 1 of the boxes is wireless. Wish we switched a long time ago. I seriously love it and so does my wife. I highly recommend them. Have internet too and it is pretty good with all the devices we have going.

Roberto99

I'm in a rural area also and definitely need to look into streaming and other options. I don't really understand how it would all work for us but I need to learn soon. TV is getting way too expensive for what we use it for. Thanks for the suggestions. I've already started looking into them.