Cutting Cable TV

For a few months now, my wife and I have eliminated cable TV from our home.  In fact, “cutting the cable” has been easier that I’d expected.  We’ve found several solutions, some of which are free, and some quite inexpensive.  We’ve gone from over $100 per month, to about $18 per month.

OTA (Over the Air)

Many folks just don’t realize that if you live near a city of any significant size, you can receive television for free.  At least after the purchase of a $8 pair of “rabbit ears“.  In my experience, the $50 amplified antennas are a complete waste of money, and do not perform as well as this old fashioned antenna.  Unlike TV before the digital revolution, if the TV station tower is close enough to receive at all, the picture is crystal clear.   A dirty little secret the videophiles might find interesting is that A HDTV with an antenna will deliver better (often far better) video quality that with cable or satelite TV.  Why you may ask?  It’s due to the fact that the boxes used with these services compress the video signal, therefore some quality loss is unavoidable.

A DVR

This would be hard to do without, after owning two TiVos, and several cable company DVRs.   Fortunately, I have a notebook PC running Windows 7.  The addition of a Hauupage HDTV adapter turned it into a DVR.  In fact, Windows Media Center (WMC) offers an interface much better than most any cable company DVR.  Yes, it records TV shows right off those cheap rabbit ears I just mentioned.  It also offers lots of other online content, and can play almost any video file format supported by Windows right on your TV.

ROKU

We added a Roku 2 box to the setup.  It’s a dedicated box, not unlike the Apple TV and the Google TV boxes out there.  Roku offers a wide selection of streaming media.  Unfortunately, much of the content is duplicated, and some comes at a premium cost.  A good deal of content is targeted at tech and gamer youth.  We mainly looked to use this device for Netflix Streaming, and Hulu Plus.  Netflix works great on the Roku.  Far better than it did on our Samsung DVD/BD player.  You can actually add and browse content right on the Roku device.  Yes, a very similar feature is available on WMC, but if the DVR is recording, it’s best not to push it, as it uses quite a bit of processing power.

Hulu and Hulu Plus

Hulu is free online, and offers some of the best TV content on the web.  The Roku only supports the premium “plus” service.  At only $8 a month, it seemed hard to beat.  One huge problem.  On the Roku (and most any other dedicated device) only about 1/2 the content is view-able, and may only be viewed on a PC or Mac.  This is neither the fault of Roku, nor is it that of Hulu.  It has more to due with the (ignorance and/or greed?) of content providers.  There is however a Hulu plugin for WMC that overcomes this problem.

The Results

In actual use, it’s all worked out pretty well these past six months.  The WMC DVR records shows from the major broadcast channels from the local broadcasts.  Netflix streaming, initially off to a weak start when it first appeared, now offers quite a selection of movies and TV content.  Sure, there are some rough spots.  The Roku tends to “hang”, and requires a power cycle almost every time.  The PC occasionally hits a bump due to a Windows update issue, or some other windows issue.  Overall, including all the rough spots, we do not intend to go back.

There has been promise of a major deal Netflix has in the works, to expand online content dramatically.  Even a promise of getting movies delivered about the same time they’re made available on premium TV channels.  Well, not if HBO is going to get its way!  HBO has control of a major chunk of film rights, spanning a number of major studios.  Instead, they want to restrict delivery to their own portal.  Oh great!   Another online portal!  Don’t we all want our content spread across 40 different web portals?

It’s not that I’m not willing to pay for it either.  I believe most out there would gladly pay an additional fee for the added content.  But we want it in one convenient place, and to not be required to have half a dozen boxes, and a computer piled around the living room TV.  Well guess what HBO, I was a subscriber to your cable service.  I just canceled my HBO  cable package, and I have no intention of renewing it.

More on the HBO vs. Netflix battle.

Hulu Plus

Hulu recently announced their upcomming “Hulu Plus” subscription service. Hulu is an online video portal, with a well designed interface. They also offer a stand alone application that give a somewhat “Tivo like” interface suitable for a media center. While the free portal will still carry on, subscribers can now watch entire seasons of current series, as well as more movies, and many vintage TV programs. For ten bucks a month, this beats the heck out of $1 or more per episode.

Is this the perfect transition from conventional television, to online video delivery? Well, in a word, no. There are a couple of problems. The first isn’t Hulu’s fault really. So far, CBS has refused to play, leaving three of the big four networks. Comedy central once supplied content to Hulu, but they childishly took their toys and stormed home months ago. Content from other cable networks is also conspicuously missing.

I think this is a pretty good step forward for what will inevitably be the way of the future. Unfortunately, Hulu Plus, and every other effort to deliver television programming online so far has fallen short. Seems content providers are obsessed with either driving you to their own website, or having you subscribe to an overpriced cable TV package. This is really a shame, as it drives viewers to uses dubious sources like Bittorrent to find the programs they seek. And this is exactly the same problem that drove illegal music sources like Napster, until legal music sources like iTunes offered easily available music downloads. Sure, illegal music downloads weren’t eliminated, but they dropped dramatically once legal alternatives were available.

Quite simply, what people want is a way to view content in one portal. I believe Hulu’s new service will show that people will pay for this. Many already pay for individual shows and series from sources like iTunes. Hopefully, the TV entertainment industry will get a clue. Time will tell.

Step aside Boxee, move over Apple TV, and you too Media Center, here comes Google TV!  It’ll be very interesting to see if they can pull it off well.  No other set top solution has managed to sucessfully integrate all online content, much less tie it in with cable content.  At least not without a clunky solution that requires multiple boxes.  We shall see!

The DTV transition is now complete.  Seems quite a few folks still missed the message, and the FCC received quite a few calls.  The real story is many people did just as they were instructed, but still have no picture.

A significant number of people don’t quite have their antenna situation in order.  First of all, avoid these tiny “HD or DTV” amplified antenna toys.  They’re overpriced and barely work.  An amplifier is not the solution.  Ironically, the best antennas for DTV are designs that are many years old.  In fact, an old fashioned UHF antenna will work great.  Rooftop antennas are the best.  Radioshack still sells some that look like a series of “v” shaped elements, one after the other.  These are the very same antenna designs that adorned rooptops of the 1960′s and 1970′s.  If you can’t use an outdoor antenna, look for one of the designs that resembles an oven grill with one or more bow tie shaped metal elements.  These are available from companies such as Winegard.

Before you purchase, you should consult Antennaweb.org.  This useful website can tell you if the antenna you’re considering is correct for your area, and even more importantly, which way it should be pointed.  You see, unlike old analog television that shows a fuzzy image when the signal is weak, DTV will likely show nothing!  I believe this is something that many are unaware of.  If your equipment manuals are well written, (good luck there) they will make mention of this fact.  Those who live in homes or buildings with metal in the structure, or are not in the visual siteline of the transmitter tower will likely have problems.  Other than breaking down and getting cable or satelite service, you will likely need to install an external antenna.

If you were receiving a nice clear picture from your analog tuner, you’ll probably be just fine with DTV reception.

The official government DTV website

Antenna Web