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Galaxy Nexus Watering Hole

Morning all.. Yeah its definitely early here... Had one of those nights again... Did so much yard work yesterday, got sore, fell asleep on the couch.. Ouch.
Oh well up now.. Need coffee.

Quick question for those that have gone "cable-less"... Do you use a pc for a media center or just built in apps on another device? We have been thinking about it for a while, but there are still a couple of channels that we have not found online (Hist, A&E, HGTV etc). We thought the cable would be less expensive here... Guess not. So starting up the research process again...
We have a new Samsung UN46EH6030 TV, a samsung blue ray, a WHS 2011 server with plenty of "DVR ish storage", 2 Win8 and 2 Win7 systems already, and planning to buy a new Onkyo network receiver next week
We are currently spending $119/mo on basic, digital cable. And $21/mo on a medium speed cable Internet (not sure of the speed off the top of my head) and at any given time we usually only have streaming anything on only 2 of the devices in the house...
I would like to build a decent win8 system with media Center, plug it to the home audio receiver, wireless keyboard etc. And disconnect the cable.. Thoughts?
Thanks!
 
Just sent off the lady. Found out her grandma (last remaining grandparent between us) got into some accident and is in a coma. She's flying down to Florida to be with her and her family. Extremely sad time for both of us. She's the only grandparent to make it to our wedding and a lovely soul. :(
 
Prayers and all the best to Grandma, Dread :o

Ryan: $119 for basic cable??? I have 200 channels of Dish for $90/mo! And that's with the VIP-922 sling-loaded DVR receiver (which I guess has been replaced by their new Hopper receiver) and we can watch live TV or DVR content from our phones anywhere. Maybe you should PM me for some more info :D

But I'd LOVE to get rid of it all and install a media center PC as the heart: I rarely watch the thing anyway. It's the Darling Bride's pride & joy. So when you get your rig up and running, do tell us step by step how you did it. That would make for a great online tutorial!
 
Sorry to hear that dread. :(. I hope everything goes alright with her traveling.

120 for cable is pretty expensive. I know a couple people who have ditched cable and gone with a Google TV box or Roku box. The combination of Netflix and Hulu + make it bearable, but not perfect. Cbs still is resistant to allow other people stream their content. It's not ideal for sports unless you're willing to buy season passes. I still don't know why Hulu won't give goggle TV an app, but will for tabs and phones :confused:
 
If you guys are looking for a Samsung Smart TV, DON'T buy a 2011 model!

Too late for the Chief to find this out, but 2009, 2010, and 2012 models can stream Amazon Prime Instant Video. Guess what the STUPID 2011 model can't do? :mad:

Of course, it's about the ONE thing our TV can't do, but that's a pretty big one for me.
 
Keep in mind if you only roll with internet (drop cable) these companies will kill you!
We're paying $80/month just for internet. Granted, it's pretty fast on Comcast, but still ridiculous in price. If I could switch to FiOS, I would, but it's not available where we are.
 
Same, Time Warner is the only game in town here. They're most expensive plan is $75 for 50 down and 5 up. I have the $45 dollar 15 down, 1 up
 
Time Warner here too... Will have to test and figure out what's best... Still researching. Going to move my Win8 gaming system down to the TV and see how media center does. Will report back tomorrow...
Now off to wine taste and antique shopping.. Need a new carpentry project. Buffet/display cabinet for the living room.
Hope everyone has a great day!
 
I'm glad we're discussing this right now - the lady and I are actually trying to make the decision about whether to ditch cable. We're moving at the end of the month and are trying to figure out whether we should cancel our cable or not.

We definitely want to get away from Comcast, so if we did get cable, we'd go through a local provider called RCN. They're offering a bundle that sounds pretty good (link here) - 222 channels (64 in HD), and 50 Mbps internet speed for $80/month. We paid about $120 for a similar package from Comcast.

We're interested in getting a Roku, although my Xbox 360 can already play Netflix, so I don't know what else we would get by having a Roku. Maybe I just don't know enough about it. All in all, we'd miss our channels - A&E, USA, Animal Planet, etc. I just don't see any other way to get them besides keeping cable.
 
Razor, we ditched cable with Comcast a couple years ago. Never looked back. Like I said, after that two year (sometimes one, depending on the service) they jack up your rate considerably.
We have a Roku, YouTube enabled Blu-tooth, and an antenna. Meets all our needs. :)
 
dreadnatty08 said:
Razor, we ditched cable with Comcast a couple years ago. Never looked back. Like I said, after that two year (sometimes one, depending on the service) they jack up your rate considerably.
We have a Roku, YouTube enabled Blu-tooth, and an antenna. Meets all our needs. :)
Click to expand...
Yeah, I know, the rates are murderous.

So how exactly does it work when you want to watch a cable show?
 
RazorSharp said:
We're interested in getting a Roku, although my Xbox 360 can already play Netflix, so I don't know what else we would get by having a Roku. Maybe I just don't know enough about it. All in all, we'd miss our channels - A&E, USA, Animal Planet, etc. I just don't see any other way to get them besides keeping cable.
Click to expand...

This...
GTV, Roku etc... If I can build an HTPC for $300, then what's the benefit for me? I would not use an Xbox enough, although it would save me the cost of building a new pc to run the internet for the online tv...
Anyways back from the wine tasting... Had too much wine, and not enough stores with furniture open... Oh well, another time. Lol
Off to snuggle on the couch and watch some cable...
 
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