I'm cutting my satellite TV and relying on the internet for Television now

[Ichingcarpenter]

It was part of my budget cutting necessity in December.
I will save enough to pay other bills and haven't really missed
it that much since I can stream to my TV.






More trouble for Hollywood? Kevin Rose ditches cable, TiVo for Internet, Netflix



Kevin Rose is an influential guy in Silicon Valley, the kind other young gearheads follow. And that includes on micro-blogging service Twitter, which is where Rose announced to the world that he had canceled his Comcast cable and TiVo subscriptions.

"From this point forward I'm going all internet / netflix," he wrote. A few dozen FriendFeed users posted comments about his decision, with many saying that they had done the same or were thinking about it.

Rose, the 31-year-old who helped start such sites as Digg, Revision3 and Pownce, says he realized he was only watching a handful of shows and about 10 to 12 hours of programming a week. And although he still dug loading up Blu-ray movies on his 110-inch high-definition projector TV, he was just as happy to tune into "Lost" at ABC.com and "Heroes" on Hulu.com on the small screen. A fan of the Green Bay Packers (his grandfather played center for the football team), he could kick back and watch games streamed live on NFL.com.

He can also get streaming video through a Netflix set-top box manufactured by Roku and, soon, on his Xbox 360 console. BitTorrent fills most other gaps. Or Rose hits house parties or local bars to pick up entertainment he misses elsewhere.

It's a big improvement from the days when he had to wait six to eight hours to download pirated versions of his favorite shows, Rose says. Today even pirated shows are a snap. "Now most of the stuff is Flash encoded. It's a single click," he said.

Rose should be in the cable industry's sweet spot. He takes his entertainment seriously. But he said he decided to dump Comcast after ...

... reading a slew of stories on Digg about how to conserve cash during the recession.


http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2008/10/more-trouble-fo.html

He invented this site:

[tabatha]

1. I have been without TV since about 2003/2004.

I am so glad I did not waste the $50 a month on that crap.

[Ichingcarpenter]

5. I'm gonna use the dish and cables to pick up

free city internet by changing the transducers on the dish and redirecting the thing.

I'm buying an iTouch so I can also get almost free voip service and saving
the $25 a month for that too. I only use VOIP anyway for my phone.

The TV thing takes a little withdrawal, like a drug, but I think I can still do it cause I'm
not having withdrawal.

I'm terribly selective on my TV viewing anyway and can still get 3 locals if I want it
with the antenna I have on my set anyway.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

9. Will you still get them

after that date - I can't remember it, having heard that commercial several thousand times?

I'm lately enjoying the sites I've found with new, full-length movies on them FOR FREE!

[marybourg]

6. I've saved $35, 500 (with interest)

by rejecting cable in '75, when first offered it, and never having it since. Between that and always doing my own income taxes (since '62- saved another $35,500) we bought a second home condo in a resort area. Now *that's* saving. Paying $85 for sneakers when they "regularly" sell for $110, popularly called "saving", ain't. Boy, I've wanted to tell this to somebody for the longest time; couldn't tell it to anyone else. Of course you have to get very old for all of this to add up sufficiently to matter.

[Poll_Blind]

10. That's great! Doing yourself or doing without DOES add up!

:toast:

PB

[hlthe2b]

2. I'm two years ahead of him in terms of online only...

and no cable since '04 ;)

[Ichingcarpenter]

7. The internet and wi-fi are the only thing that makes this happen

I talked to my kids in Denmark in video for free which is very cool
during the holidays. I cut my land line 4 years ago and went to voip
and my cell service a year before that. I couldn't survive though
without the internet which has grown in its capability.



My lifestyle, necessitated budgetary constraints and age allowed me do to move in this direction,
but have the existing technologies, devices and knowledge to make this happen
I know everyone can't do that, but that's not the point of the thread.

The curve now, on the road ahead, is that their are other alternatives to the paradigms we have been living with to get our fix of the medium that we grew up with, movies, TV and live video.
I'm not giving them up either.

Nothing, thank goodness, will ever replace a Live Play, be it at work, at home
or at Shakespeare festival.

[hlthe2b]

8. What type of internet service provider are you using?

Since I have no cable and no land phone line, I'm using unlimited wireless from a cell phone provider... Not the fastest, mind you, but it is not dramatically different from what I had with Qwest DSL some time ago.... :shrug:

[Ichingcarpenter]

12. A TV cable company where I only used their internet.

Still too expensive and I share it and the cost with the neighbors.

I just found out about sharing movies and music on iTunes,
I have about 38 movies/ videos that they can view but couldn't copy.
We tried the connection and no other portion of my server or hard drives
were viewed, even being attempted by a visiting network administrator at a college in Tennessee.

He only works with Microsoft and is not familiar, but antagonistic, with Unix, Apple or Linux.
Anyway, I've convinced them to get a separate, bigger hard drive.

Setting up a small community server is the next progression to instigate needed change
in the battle over information and the media.

Nevermind, the real reason! I'm trying to save money! LOL!

[Sultana]

3. How else are you going to watch MTV?

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[know_your_enemy]

4. Welcome Aboard!

TV Free since '06. Not only that, I pay my neighbor 10 dollars a month to use his WI FI connection. It's high times in digital land here.

We are living the depression era over again by using our electronics in a community. For instance I have a Nintendo Wii, and I allow all of the children over to play it and sometimes the parents will even come over for beer and bowling. It brings us together and I actually know my neighbors now!

In return, they let me watch the Titans on Sundays, though most men don't mind anyway.

[Mind_your_head]

11. Stop braggin.....you think this will stay free forever?

And, remember, NOTHING IS EVER FREE, they've got your information, your messages, your viewing habits, SOMETHING of yours, was captured and 'valuable' (sellable) information to 'them'.

[Greyhound]

14. Not free but much cheaper.

A well secured connection (no Windoze) and cookie mods maintain anonymity and sites like Hulu only show one 15 or 30 second spot in the breaks.

A possibly unintended benefit is also that viewing time is also decreased. When you have to seek out the programming you wish to see, you find how very little there is that you are willing to view.

This magic box will become the sole media in another generation. That's one big reason it is so important to keep it open.

[Joe Fields]

13. There's almost nothing on worth watching, anyway.

I have taken to buying dvd's of shows from the '60's.

[Sherman A1]

15. Right You Are....

I am just about ready to dump the U-Verse thing and haven't made the final decision. I might upgrade the Internet speed and do the viewing over the net and get a roof antenna. I as so sick & tired of paying for a bunch of home shopping/bible thumping/sports stations that I never, ever watch nor care to ever see.

It's a complete waste of my time & money.

[RebelOne]

16. You can get rid of Netflix and save money. This site has any movie you want.

Check it out.

www.surfthechannel.com/cat/61397.html

[know_your_enemy]

17. Nice

Wow this is great!