playboy Posted January 5, 2013 Share #1 Posted January 5, 2013 Anybody here watch tv over the internet. My nephew received some type of device that allows them to watch TV can't remember the name of it. I know you can somehow do it with a X-Box or Playstation but were not interested in that. This magic gizmo allows you to watch on your television and not the computer. We have a DSL connection not sure of speed or how to check it but it is a reliable connection. Any help would be appreciated I'm just tired of paying for a bunch of stuff I don't watch (dish network ) and looking for alternatives. thanks Vincent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinb321 Posted January 5, 2013 Share #2 Posted January 5, 2013 (edited) I have a device called a ROKU box. It connects to my wireless network and allows me to watch a multitude of internet TV. I mainly watch Netflix with a subscription price of $7.99 per month. I disconnected my satellite TV and purchased an antenna to receive my local channels in HD. I am now saving approximately $75 per month. The only thing I miss once in a while are the games on ESPN. But hey, I would rather do something than watch someone do something, so it's all good... I might add that the draw back with ROKU is they don't play well with YouTube. Therefore if you would like to watch YouTube on your TV you might want to shop around. I am thinking about getting a new Blueray player which will do Internet TV. I have a 7Mbs DSL connection and have never had a problem streaming video. Edited January 5, 2013 by martinb321 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playboy Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share #3 Posted January 5, 2013 That is the one my nephew got ! Thanks I don't watch sports anyway so that's not a problem. How do you find out what connection speed you have ? Does the Roko have different models ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinb321 Posted January 5, 2013 Share #4 Posted January 5, 2013 (edited) You would probably need at least 3Mbs download speeds. You can do a search on Google (Download Speed test) to determine your speed. I just tried www.speedtest.net and it indicated a download speed of 3.5Mbs. Hmm, I am paying for 7Mbs. There are many variables involved and I am in a fairly remote area so I am not going to complain. When comparing DSL and cable keep in mind that with DSL you have a fixed bandwith and with cable you are sharing bandiwidth. Therefore if you live in a neighborhood where many people are on cable, you may see variations in your download speeds versus DSL would remain constant. Yes, ROKU has different models. I'm not savvy on all the variations, however I do know they have a wireless unit and one that can also be attached to a wired ethernet network as well. I chose the less expensive models and they have worked flawlessly on my wireless network. I have two of them, one for the living room and one for the bedroom. I think they were around $60 each. Shop around. This is the wave of the future. TV's, Blueray players, gameboxes, etc are pretty much all internet TV ready. Edited January 5, 2013 by martinb321 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bongobobny Posted January 5, 2013 Share #5 Posted January 5, 2013 I use a Sony Blu Ray player myself... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiCarl Posted January 5, 2013 Share #6 Posted January 5, 2013 There are a number of devices that allow this: Add on boxes like the Roku, Some Gaming systems, Some Blue Ray players and some TVs have it built in. The internet connection can be wired or wi-fi. In my case it's wi-fi and built in to our 55" TV. I watch a lot of Netflix and occasionally something on YouTube. Our internet connection is 1.5mb DSL and is perfectly adequate. Supposedly Netflix adapts to the internet speed and we would get better picture quality with a faster connection. The only time it hasn't been DVD quality to my eyes was with one scene in Hunt for Red October where the hues in the sky showed some minor pixelation. Of course if you watch old TV shows the quality wasn't there in the original recording. I do have some beefs with Netflix. Their streaming movie selection is thin and their selection of TV shows isn't what I'd like. That should improve a lot in 2016 because they've locked up the Disney library starting then. There are many other services available that might have better content selection, or a better match for individual tastes. I know Amazon offers pay per view streaming movies which is a much more complete library. There is nothing to prevent you using multiple services. Personally I think this is the wave of the future. The only thing holding it back is the content providers are comfortable with the cable TV model and are reluctant to undermine it with new technology. Eventually they'll sort out the revenue model just like they had to when DVD technology came along. One thing about this technology is it's done in software, so as new services or technologies come along your device should update itself so it's not obsolete. So here's my summary of the advantages/disadvantages: + Way less $$ than cable. + Watch whenever you want, not at a preset time slot. - The content is thin compared to cable, especially sports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankd Posted January 5, 2013 Share #7 Posted January 5, 2013 I'd imagine that another benefit to using an internet based service would be that you could also watch on your computer. That means that when you're spending the night in some other place and as long as you have a reasonably good internet connection you could watch TV on your laptop. Is this correct? Frank D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fgrimes636 Posted January 5, 2013 Share #8 Posted January 5, 2013 We have not had cable or the dish for many years now. There are various websites that stream every sporting event possible, I never miss a Steeler game living in Denver. There are also websites that stream regular tv. And a lot of network websites stream episodes of their shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dacheedah Posted January 5, 2013 Share #9 Posted January 5, 2013 I know my son stopped buying TV, he does it all on internet with no subscription. Only downside is we watched the Blackhawks and it was in a foreign language, then streamed the audio from a radio station. It was a little out of sync with the radio coming before the video but we got used to it. He really doesn't occupy much of his time with tv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trader Posted January 5, 2013 Share #10 Posted January 5, 2013 We have not had cable or the dish for many years now. There are various websites that stream every sporting event possible, I never miss a Steeler game living in Denver. There are also websites that stream regular tv. And a lot of network websites stream episodes of their shows. About the only thing I would miss is the news and Nascar. I know I can get news online.....where can I stream Nascar races, pre race shows etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiCarl Posted January 5, 2013 Share #11 Posted January 5, 2013 I'd imagine that another benefit to using an internet based service would be that you could also watch on your computer. That means that when you're spending the night in some other place and as long as you have a reasonably good internet connection you could watch TV on your laptop. Is this correct? Frank D. Computer, Cell Phone, Tablets etc. should all work. Since it's on demand there is no urgency about watching it while away, you can also just watch it when you get home. One deficiency of the devices is you can only watch stuff there is an app for. There is lots of free stuff on the internet I can watch from my computer that are inaccessible to the TV because it does not have a web browser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leo3wheel Posted January 5, 2013 Share #12 Posted January 5, 2013 Ordered a ROKU box because I'm tired of hooking my laptop to our TV for Netflix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainJoe Posted January 5, 2013 Share #13 Posted January 5, 2013 (edited) http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/01/technology/roku-anthony-wood.fortune/index.html so...does anyone here have these streaming sticks? would be aeasier to haul along on a bike? Edit... never mind... I see it takes a special port and most TV's dont have them.... Edited January 5, 2013 by CaptainJoe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAWildKat Posted January 5, 2013 Share #14 Posted January 5, 2013 One thing that hasn't been mentioned is data usage. Most internet providers have done what our cellphone companies started doing in the last couple of years and have limited data usage. On my provider (Cox) I have a 250Gig monthly data transfer cap. Once I reach my cap I risk having my service cut off the rest of the month, and after 3 months of violating that Cox will terminate my service perm and blacklist us from getting service from other providers. This is something all major internet providers started doing in response to the RIAA and MPAA threats. If you download more than the allowed usage you must be doing illegal things like torrenting (pirated music, movies, tv shows, and software) Using Netflix and the like constantly several hrs a day especially with HD content can eat up that data usage. With a former roomie Mike and I were having that problem constantly because he would spend hours glued to netflix watching HD content and nothing we suggested would make him change his ways. By now he's likely been blacklisted by Cox. I'd suggest calling your providers and confirming your terms of service and data transfer caps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainJoe Posted January 5, 2013 Share #15 Posted January 5, 2013 One thing that hasn't been mentioned is data usage. Most internet providers have done what our cellphone companies started doing in the last couple of years and have limited data usage. On my provider (Cox) I have a 250Gig monthly data transfer cap. Once I reach my cap I risk having my service cut off the rest of the month, and after 3 months of violating that Cox will terminate my service perm and blacklist us from getting service from other providers. This is something all major internet providers started doing in response to the RIAA and MPAA threats. If you download more than the allowed usage you must be doing illegal things like torrenting (pirated music, movies, tv shows, and software) Using Netflix and the like constantly several hrs a day especially with HD content can eat up that data usage. With a former roomie Mike and I were having that problem constantly because he would spend hours glued to netflix watching HD content and nothing we suggested would make him change his ways. By now he's likely been blacklisted by Cox. I'd suggest calling your providers and confirming your terms of service and data transfer caps. Absolutely correct! If your on Hughes net, don't even think of using this product. Their fair access policy will shut you down in less than 3 hrs.. Found that out when watching a Steelers football game at the lowest quality 280... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chabicheka Posted January 5, 2013 Share #16 Posted January 5, 2013 Very interesting and ueful thread....Thanks guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leo3wheel Posted January 5, 2013 Share #17 Posted January 5, 2013 We have FIOS bundle in our house with three HDTV sets and two laptops. Cannot see how using a ROKU HDTV box for movies will set off any flags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playboy Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share #18 Posted January 5, 2013 One thing that hasn't been mentioned is data usage. Most internet providers have done what our cellphone companies started doing in the last couple of years and have limited data usage. On my provider (Cox) I have a 250Gig monthly data transfer cap. Once I reach my cap I risk having my service cut off the rest of the month, and after 3 months of violating that Cox will terminate my service perm and blacklist us from getting service from other providers. This is something all major internet providers started doing in response to the RIAA and MPAA threats. If you download more than the allowed usage you must be doing illegal things like torrenting (pirated music, movies, tv shows, and software) Using Netflix and the like constantly several hrs a day especially with HD content can eat up that data usage. With a former roomie Mike and I were having that problem constantly because he would spend hours glued to netflix watching HD content and nothing we suggested would make him change his ways. By now he's likely been blacklisted by Cox. I'd suggest calling your providers and confirming your terms of service and data transfer caps. Thanks Patricia I'll have to check on that. Went to Best Buy Today and talked to one of there Geeks and it looks like a Blue Ray DVD would be the way to go for us one less box to have around the TV plus my Granddaughter lost the remote to my current DVD player. Definitely going wireless. Is it possible to go to your favorite channels on line to see if they have and app. or will places like Netflix , Crackle, and Hula's apps have a list of available channels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanOh Posted January 5, 2013 Share #19 Posted January 5, 2013 FIOS does not have monthly usage cap. We eliminated cable years ago and get all our TV content from online. With 7 of us in the house, we use a heck of a lot of bandwidth per month. In total, we have 18 internet connected devices. Often times there will be several people streaming TV\Movies at the same time. You can stream 2 different shows on different devices from Netflix at the same time. For me, I spend most of my TV time in front of our 60" TV streaming from Netflix on a blue ray player that has WiFi. A lot of Netflix content can be streamed in HD. The kids usually watch stuff on their bedroom computers or tablets streaming Netflix or recent TV shows on sites such as project free TV. Though the kids spend more time playing online Xbox, Wii or computer games or Facebook chatting with their friends than watching traditional shows. Cheers, Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanOh Posted January 5, 2013 Share #20 Posted January 5, 2013 Is it possible to go to your favorite channels on line to see if they have and app. or will places like Netflix , Crackle, and Hula's apps have a list of available channels. With online TV, it isn't about the channels you watch. It is more about what shows you want to watch. You don't watch whatever happens to be on at that time like traditional channels. Instead you choose the show you want to watch, when you want to watch. Online services like Netflix don't have commercials, others like Hulu has few shorter commercials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playboy Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share #21 Posted January 5, 2013 With online TV, it isn't about the channels you watch. It is more about what shows you want to watch. You don't watch whatever happens to be on at that time like traditional channels. Instead you choose the show you want to watch, when you want to watch. Online services like Netflix don't have commercials, others like Hulu has few shorter commercials. I don't know if I could handle that much freedom I've become so dependent On someone else telling me what I'm allowed to watch. Wait Think about it. Don't go there:no-no-no: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiCarl Posted January 5, 2013 Share #22 Posted January 5, 2013 With online TV, it isn't about the channels you watch. It is more about what shows you want to watch. You don't watch whatever happens to be on at that time like traditional channels. Instead you choose the show you want to watch, when you want to watch. Online services like Netflix don't have commercials, others like Hulu has few shorter commercials. I do think if you go to the various sites you can see what content they have available. I also think most of them offer a free trial period. Using a Blu-Ray player has its merits. That way the Blu-Ray runs everything and you don't need to switch the TV between the various inputs. Plus you get a new remote. Speaking of remotes, my TV did not come with a remote (display model). I use a Logitech internet programmable remote to run everything. It's pretty slick - hook it to your computer, input the models of your devices and it downloads the programming off the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAWildKat Posted January 5, 2013 Share #23 Posted January 5, 2013 I have a computer hooked up to my tv in the bedroom, I can watch shows online or "record" online broadcasts and save them for later viewing. Yes, I have special software that makes that happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom Posted January 5, 2013 Share #24 Posted January 5, 2013 I have a computer hooked up to my tv in the bedroom, I can watch shows online or "record" online broadcasts and save them for later viewing. Yes, I have special software that makes that happen. OK give it up , you got my interest , what the name of the software ? Thom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAWildKat Posted January 5, 2013 Share #25 Posted January 5, 2013 (edited) http://all-streaming-media.com/faq/recording-media-stream/faq-capture-non-recordable-and-DRM-protected-media-streams.htm I don't recommend using it with netflix. I should amend that to say I also use linux, I can't recommend anything for windows. Microsoft sided with the RIAA and MPAA to make products for windows harder to utilize. It's why you can't use netflix on linux/mac systems. Netflix uses silverlight to authorize pc connections. Edited January 5, 2013 by GAWildKat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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