Help me kick cable

[ducatiz]

We have Verizon FIOS for internet and TV

I could care less about them, especially after I figured out they don't work in a power outage (but Cox cable does...)

We watch TV for:

CNN/FOX/CNBC/BBC news
Real Housewives of BH (Mrs Ducatiz)
Disney XD, Disney (kids)

How do I dump the TV sub and set this up?

Assume I don't have a PC in every room.  I have one in the basement which gets turned on about once a week and one in my office, 2 hours away.

[duccarlos]

Chromecast?

[Slide Panda]

Assume I don't have a PC in every room.  I have one in the basement which gets turned on about once a week and one in my office, 2 hours away.

There's various boxes that allow you to access Hulu, netflix etc so you don't need a PC for it. Looking for devices like that 'tiz?
Are we assuming you're keeping a data connection?

[cokey]

one, don't watch mass media lol..  2, get a digital antenna and let the kids watch 13 kids, i like it better then any of then any of the other kids stuff out there.. tres, get twc so i can pay more bills  >:}

[ducatiz]

There's various boxes that allow you to access Hulu, netflix etc so you don't need a PC for it. Looking for devices like that 'tiz?
Are we assuming you're keeping a data connection?

That sounds like it might be an option.  A dedicated box with a remote?  got a link?

yes, I am keeping a data connection but not with FIOS.  I am sick of them.  We have backup power, but apparently when the power is out, Verizon fibre optic loses power within an hour.

During the 6 day outage after the "Derecho" storm, my office internet was working (no power, using batteries for PCs) but the Verizon Fios was out at home, despite that we have a backup generator.  My internet at the office is Cox cable.  Cable=copper.  They keep it juiced.

one, don't watch mass media lol..  2, get a digital antenna and let the kids watch 13 kids, i like it better then any of then any of the other kids stuff out there.. tres, get twc so i can pay more bills  >:}

not helpful.  but thanks for piping in...

[Triple J]

Digital antenna + Roku box

I'm doing it as soon as WSBK announces their subscription package.

[1.21GW]

That sounds like it might be an option.  A dedicated box with a remote?  got a link?

I agree with Triple J that an "app" box and an antenna is probably your best bet.  I don't have a link for you but I just picked up a Sony blu-ray player at Best Buy for ~$70 that has 100 apps pre-installed, including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant Video, Youtube, even NBA League pass, and tons of other video apps that I will never ever use.  Can even control it from my phone, which is good since I lose my remote all the time.

Digital antenna provides access to local channels, which include live sports (NFL, MLB, etc.), if you like that stuff.  I think I spent $39 for mine and it was good (Phillips, not sure model number but can look it up if you want.)

I have chromecast and see its potential, but am not convinced yet.  They need to improve their offerings/functionality as current usage is limited.  For now, it gathers dust while connected to my TV.

Also, FTR: your list of required shows is darn short, so maybe you can just go cold turkey and cut it all off.  I surprised myself how quickly i didn't miss shows i thought i'd miss when i gave up TV in the past.

[zooom]

how to kick cable....

take cable box and put on floor standing longest ways in the highest profile

put on steel toed work boot

channel your inner Mark Mosley or David Beckham and take and few staps back for measurement guage, pause and then launch forward in a thrusting motion and boot that mother to the moon

editors note...make sure whatever is on the opposing side of the cable box from you is not damagable, needed, or otherwise unreplaceable.

[Skybarney]

Let me help.  Cable TV costs about 100.00 a month.  That is a new set of crazy cool turn signals and some CF bling every month.  Where are your priorities? 

[Slide Panda]

The Roku was what I was alluding to, though there are similar stand-alone products. Basically it's a a box that you feed internets and it poops out media.

The newest generation isn't much bigger than a pack of cigs.
http://www.roku.com/meet-roku

Also, there's a lot of other devices that can access internet media like netflix, hulu etc also. Some TVs can do without the need for an extra device like a Roku. Many disc players can as well. At our house we've an LG Blu-ray player taht has netflix, pandora, amazon and a few other things we dont care about. So that's how we feed streaming media to the TV.

[ute]

Just google XBMC ...works on Pc, Mac, Android, RaspPi, ATV

Here are a couple of links

xbmchub.com

xunitytalk.com

mashupxbmc.com

[the_Journeyman]

That Roku setup looks pretty nice!  I could kick cable (well Satellite for me) with that alone!

JM

[hbliam]

That Roku setup looks pretty nice!  I could kick cable (well Satellite for me) with that alone!

JM

As he said, many "smart" tv's handle the same function. As well as Xbox and Playstation. I went to a tivo with cable card and got the Roku to watch UFC. Works great and you get extra content besides the fight for $10 less. HD or course.

[ducatiz]

What about stuff like cnn or cnbc or bbcnews?

Do any of these services provide these?

[Triple J]

The only potential problem I see to this is since everything comes through your cable connection, will the cable company (i.e., Comcast) throttle the service? They're already doing it with Netflix. This used to be illegal, but the law was repealed a few months ago, so...

There's a built-in conflict of interest. Comcast provides both cable service and the internet connection. If the internet connection starts replacing cable (via Roku type boxes, Netflix, etc), then Comcast (or any big cable/internet company) could begin throttling the speed so it doesn't work as well.  That's the benefit of DirecTV...totally separate system.