best option for internet based (real time) TV ??

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: alarmguy
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
alarmguy, what is Roku Plus? I can't find any information on it on Roku's website. Google returns only normal Roku boxes. Thanks.


I'm sorry, my mistake. When you buy a Ruku player, right away you have a TON of Free movies and content, but for us through the Ruku player, we subscribe to Hulu Plus for $8.00 a month, we also through the Ruku player subscribe to Netflex for another $8.00.
Google Hulu ...




Oh, Hulu. Okay...yes, we subscribe to Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon. We find a lot of content on all of them.

 

[Digital2k2]

Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: wsar10
the Over The Air stuff just does not work in our area, Regardless of what any site says.


What antenna/setup are you using?

People here are equally pessimistic about OTA reception...until you show them what can be done.


I'm curious what he's tried too. I thought it was a lost cause until I tried mounting a large antenna in my attic with a preamp.

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd

Oh, Hulu. Okay...yes, we subscribe to Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon. We find a lot of content on all of them.


I wonder if shows from AMC like the walking dead, better call saul, etc are available though Hulu?

 

[wsar10]

the other tech at work just did ROKU, it seems pointless after he discontinued his DirectTV. You have to be a subscriber to a TV service to use the actual channles, History ch as an example. It asks you for a password or authentication code every few weeks to verify that you are paying for service somewhere.

Other then that, my Smart TV already offers all of the other stuff that ROKU does. HULU is a standard app on my TV along with tons of others. that said most of the others are pointless, I can get 300 channels through my TV with using all of its apps but only 3 channels are worth watching. However we use NETFLIX constantly (standard app on the TV) used to use Amazon (ridiculous cost structure and horrible video quality, VUDU seems to work well, The last time I tried HULU they hardly had any current selection.

 

[punisher]

Originally Posted By: BigD1
Sling TV

Make sure to use the trial, and watch it during heavy traffic hours before you spend any money. When I trialed it back in September of last year, it was not ready for prime time. I would drop Netflix right now, and buy Sling, and add on the Hollywood extra package for $5 more, but not until they get it right.


I have been a supporter of "Sling" almost since it launched. Finally dropped last month due to technical problems that just never seem to get fixed. It has continually frozen, skipped, and sound synch has never worked right for more than 10 minutes at a time. Just washed my hands of it. I pretty much know the "other" places on the internet to watch my TV now. The most delay I have from first air to viewing is 24 hours, and usually it takes less than an hour for a program to go from broadcast/cable to internet. If Sling worked as advertised without glitches it would be great.

Netflix, Amazon and a good antenna for broadcast stations (about 18 here) keep me vegetating when I desire.

 

[alarmguy]

Originally Posted By: wsar10
the other tech at work just did ROKU, it seems pointless after he discontinued his DirectTV. You have to be a subscriber to a TV service to use the actual channles, History ch as an example. It asks you for a password or authentication code every few weeks to verify that you are paying for service somewhere.

Other then that, my Smart TV already offers all of the other stuff that ROKU does. HULU is a standard app on my TV along with tons of others. that said most of the others are pointless, I can get 300 channels through my TV with using all of its apps but only 3 channels are worth watching. However we use NETFLIX constantly (standard app on the TV) used to use Amazon (ridiculous cost structure and horrible video quality, VUDU seems to work well, The last time I tried HULU they hardly had any current selection.


Your statement is completely wrong, Im posting this for the benefit of others in case the others take your remarks seriously as you do not own, nor ever used a Ruku player.
First the ORIGINAL post askes "best option for internet based real time TV"

1. Well best option is an antenna or RUKU. Period. Antenna is not an option for him.

2. Anyone who thinks if they cancel their pay TV cable or sat service that they are going to get the same programs for free on ANY player or smart TV is missing a screw. I do not believe your friend thought he was going to get the History channel for free. If so, then he should have done what I suggest below. ... and your friend no longer pays for TV, you call that pointless?

3. Ruku player offers FAR more content then your smart TV could ever dream of. You are not limited to what the TV maker decides to give you. Your smart TV does not come close to offering ANYTHING NEAR what Ruku does. Its so bad, I just noticed, well my wife did, in Best Buy some new TVs are offering built in Ruku players.

4. Its really simple people, there will ALWAYS be people who pay a premium for services that are marketed to them so corporations can make billions of dollars for their shareholders on Wall Street. Someone is always available to sell you something and take your money. In this case $50 to $150 a month to watch TV! My god. I see so many struggling families complain how unfair the world is, yet they pay to watch TV and it cost them $900 t0 $2,300 a year in actual AFTER tax income. Are you kidding me!?!?
So lets not nikpic about paying for one channel you may like in the future.

5. Here is the deal for people interested. The reason there is pay TV is most people are unwilling to learn, pay upfront for equipment and do without some channels they got used to, awe, I feel so bad for them.

Bottom line, the latest RUKU 2 player costs a WHOLE $69.00 or so. If thinking about cutting the cord and stop turning over part of your weekly paycheck to pay TV then go out and buy one.
I have FOUR players and had some of them for years and years.

This is what I do, my total pay TV bill is less then $20 a month. $8.00 a month for Hulu plus through the RUKU player and $8 a month for Netflex. Plus I have an antenna for all the major TV stations in much better then pay TV hd quality. CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC, etc.
However if your not in a great location for an antenna, then Hulu plus will fill most if not ALL your needs with major programming, plays just like a DVR.

So, if any doubts, go spend a whole $70 and experiment, see if it is right for you and save $900 to 2,300 a year of your after tax income PER YEAR.

Last, the amount of money people waste is amazing, I see it everyday. Another gross example is cell phones, even worse! People sign 2 year contracts so they can have a phone they do not deserve and can not afford! My god, they will pay $70 to $80 a month for the latest phone on a cell plan. REAL COST is over $1,200 a year in after tax income.

They can have the same service with a phone they can afford at ONE HALF the price or less using the ATT network but they still sign contracts.

cricketwireless.com IS OWNED by ATT, you can have up to FIVE lines unlimited, text, talk, data, including all taxes, fees, surcharges for a whole $100 a month actual payment. One line actual payment of $35, as you add lines, the cost goes down.
So why do struggling families pay more and sign contracts? Because they want the latest iphone or samsung, instead of paying for an older or lessor model upfront.

... go figure ...
Bottom line, anyone can save money they dont have if they want to, or anyone can save money by not giving their paychecks to the big greedy corporations they complain about. All they have to do is stop complaining and make it work.

 

[alarmguy]

Originally Posted By: Digital2k2
Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: wsar10
the Over The Air stuff just does not work in our area, Regardless of what any site says.


What antenna/setup are you using?

People here are equally pessimistic about OTA reception...until you show them what can be done.


I'm curious what he's tried too. I thought it was a lost cause until I tried mounting a large antenna in my attic with a preamp.

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd

Oh, Hulu. Okay...yes, we subscribe to Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon. We find a lot of content on all of them.


I wonder if shows from AMC like the walking dead, better call saul, etc are available though Hulu?


Here you go, Hulu Click

Click Ruku player

 

[Vikas]

why not compromise and purchase ROKU TV ? Yes, they make them now!

By the way, when you cut the cord, how much your internet service went up by? For most people, the price drop from triple play down to single (or double) service is not as much as one would expect.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
why not compromise and purchase ROKU TV ? Yes, they make them now!

Does he need a new TV? If not, why spend hundreds of dollars on a new ROKU TV if he can buy a standalone Roku player for about $50?

 

[dishdude]

Those Roku TVs are the worst! Everyone I have seen has a very low end panel - buy a decent TV and a Roku if that's what you want.

 

[wsar10]

First off, I am not looking for a "no cost" TV solution (although that would be great), I am just looking to make the overall bill the same price or close including internet.

To claim your answer is the end all be all when there are hundreds of options seem rather counterproductive, the post is to gain insight on options. You obviously love your ROKU ! GREAT I am glad it works for ya, maybe it would work for me. based on the guy sitting directly behind me showing me his account with the channel options, it seems to offer only a few ch, that my smart TV does not, every other ch requires you to also pay a normal cable or dish bill ! and I quote him "If I had a smart TV I would not have bough the ROKU3"! Im fairly sure your not in touch with every smart TV out there to make such a blanket statement.... I do not see what I am missing here ?? Everything from Crakle to vudu to netflix to amazon, to fox news ch, to ebay and many others are all standard in my TV, as they are in ROKU.

I do really not need a speech about fiscal conservatism we are simply looking at how we can restructure all of our bills as we are considering the purchase of 2 investment properties and frankly we have been sick of the cost of DISH and their [censored] equipment. nor am I looking for rant when I may not agree with or question an option you suggested, I am simply looking for options and a discussion about those options as I have researched the most common and obvious ones as much as I can, most websites for this stuff give you ZERO, REAL, info...

 

[wsar10]

We have 2 providers.

We use DISH for TV and Verizon for DSL.

Our DISH bill is roughly $90 and the DSL $45 (which is ridiculous)

At this point we have to increase our internet speed to do more online (work and entertainment).

The current solution seems to be go to a cable provider (COMCAST). With their basic plan the internet speed is upto 30mbps (we currently have 7mbps) and basic local HD channels for $85 a month after promo ($45 or so during the promo). And fill in the premium channels with an internet solution.

But we are still looking, using the above option we will pay in the end the same amount for both internet and TV as we currently do for JUST DISH !!!! We also currently (and will continue to) have NETFLIX, beyond that we just pay "per movie or episode" from another app on our smart TV if we want something else. So if we add another $10-$20 a mo service or app we will still be far ahead of what we are now.

 

[alarmguy]

Originally Posted By: wsar10
First off, I am not looking for a "no cost" TV solution (although that would be great), I am just looking to make the overall bill the same price or close including internet.

To claim your answer is the end all be all when there are hundreds of options seem rather counterproductive, the post is to gain insight on options. You obviously love your ROKU ! GREAT I am glad it works for ya, maybe it would work for me. based on the guy sitting directly behind me showing me his account with the channel options, it seems to offer only a few ch, that my smart TV does not, every other ch requires you to also pay a normal cable or dish bill ! and I quote him "If I had a smart TV I would not have bough the ROKU3"! Im fairly sure your not in touch with every smart TV out there to make such a blanket statement.... I do not see what I am missing here ?? Everything from Crakle to vudu to netflix to amazon, to fox news ch, to ebay and many others are all standard in my TV, as they are in ROKU.

I do really not need a speech about fiscal conservatism we are simply looking at how we can restructure all of our bills as we are considering the purchase of 2 investment properties and frankly we have been sick of the cost of DISH and their [censored] equipment. nor am I looking for rant when I may not agree with or question an option you suggested, I am simply looking for options and a discussion about those options as I have researched the most common and obvious ones as much as I can, most websites for this stuff give you ZERO, REAL, info...


Hey just trying to help out. No big deal, there is no one solution for everyone as you said. While answering your OP I was also correcting some mis statements you made about the Ruku player for the benefit of others. Like you say, I cant possibly know what every smart TV has to offer, with a $60 Ruku player you know you are getting everything and not dependent on a static fixture like a TV and what the manufacturer of the TV offers, vs a company that only product is content.

 

[alarmguy]

Make sure to read the fine print of what happens after the promotion period. Its normally a half page long and why I go right to the small print instead of the price they are showing upfront.
Comcast was bought out but all areas of the country are different, their basic service of 10 MBPS is showing as $49 a month after the first year and lets make sure of any additional charges...

Xfinity Internet

 

[alarmguy]

I had ATT 6.0 DSL and it served me well, all my devices worked just fine. A few months ago I switched to 6.0 MBPS TWC service ( actually get 7 MBPS)

One internet possibility for anyone to look into TWC owned Earthlink

These are prices in my area

Connection Type Speed Price *
Cable Internet – Lite Up to 1.0Mbps $29.95/mo.


Cable Internet – Standard Up to 15Mbps $29.95/mo.
(First 6 Months*; $41.95/mo. thereafter)


Cable Internet - Max Up to 20Mbps $39.95/mo.
(First 6 Months*; $51.95/mo. thereafter)


Satellite Up to 5.0Mbps As low as $49.99/mo.
(depending on service plan selected)

 

[wsar10]

Originally Posted By: alarmguy
Make sure to read the fine print of what happens after the promotion period. Its normally a half page long and why I go right to the small print instead of the price they are showing upfront.
Comcast was bought out but all areas of the country are different, their basic service of 10 MBPS is showing as $49 a month after the first year and lets make sure of any additional charges...

Xfinity Internet


I apologize for seeming short earlier...

Here are the specific offers to my local area,

http://www.xfinity.com/locations/pennsylvania/lewistown.html

I'm thinking option 1, and make up the other channels like History, Discovery etc. through another source. Now that being said, ROKU may be a good solution because I would be able to view those 2 channels since I have a COMCAST subscription... Right ??

 

[alarmguy]

Hey, no problem, it's easy to read words the wrong way vs talking with someone. I do it too.
I'm unsure how all the stuff for contact will work when you already have an account with a cable provider, something tells me that in one way or another they will try to sap you for whatever money they can get from you. People like us are at the cusp of a major shift on the way people watch TV, you know sooner or later they will ,are sure their prints don't go down because of this shift. I just don't know.

I can see certain channels are important to you, it was easier for my wife and I. We don't get a chance for much TV, watch sitcoms and them movies on weekends. So we cut the cord because we were paying so much for stuff we never had time to watch.

And watch the fine print. Lol...I do see the Performance only Internet package starts at 34.95 then a year later 49.95,, then after 2 two year contract up to 66.95, if I read the small print right, at work right now and rushing.

 

[dishdude]

Check out other packages with Dish, they have the Welcome Pack and Smart Pack that they don't advertise and are a lot less than $90 a month.

 

[alarmguy]

Originally Posted By: wsar10
We have 2 providers.

We use DISH for TV and Verizon for DSL.

Our DISH bill is roughly $90 and the DSL $45 (which is ridiculous)

At this point we have to increase our internet speed to do more online (work and entertainment).

The current solution seems to be go to a cable provider (COMCAST). With their basic plan the internet speed is upto 30mbps (we currently have 7mbps) and basic local HD channels for $85 a month after promo ($45 or so during the promo). And fill in the premium channels with an internet solution.

But we are still looking, using the above option we will pay in the end the same amount for both internet and TV as we currently do for JUST DISH !!!! We also currently (and will continue to) have NETFLIX, beyond that we just pay "per movie or episode" from another app on our smart TV if we want something else. So if we add another $10-$20 a mo service or app we will still be far ahead of what we are now.


Not sure if this matters to you, since you know my set up already Ill keep it short (ha ha)
Anyway, Ironically just this weekend our Channel Master + OTA DVR just updated itself and now offers Sling TV. I remember reading in the past posts you are interested in History Channel ESPN etc. Sling offers that for $20.00 a month, which you may know but wanted to let you know that Sling is now available on the Channel Master DVR. The best invention since TV for anyone who gets OTA channels, it programs just like a cable or sat box and full TV schedule for the OTA channels.. (google Channel Master DVR)

PS if anyone wants to see if any better home data deals available check out EARTHLINK PRICING

 

[wsar10]

Originally Posted By: alarmguy
Originally Posted By: wsar10
We have 2 providers.

We use DISH for TV and Verizon for DSL.

Our DISH bill is roughly $90 and the DSL $45 (which is ridiculous)

At this point we have to increase our internet speed to do more online (work and entertainment).

The current solution seems to be go to a cable provider (COMCAST). With their basic plan the internet speed is upto 30mbps (we currently have 7mbps) and basic local HD channels for $85 a month after promo ($45 or so during the promo). And fill in the premium channels with an internet solution.

But we are still looking, using the above option we will pay in the end the same amount for both internet and TV as we currently do for JUST DISH !!!! We also currently (and will continue to) have NETFLIX, beyond that we just pay "per movie or episode" from another app on our smart TV if we want something else. So if we add another $10-$20 a mo service or app we will still be far ahead of what we are now.


Not sure if this matters to you, since you know my set up already Ill keep it short (ha ha)
Anyway, Ironically just this weekend our Channel Master + OTA DVR just updated itself and now offers Sling TV. I remember reading in the past posts you are interested in History Channel ESPN etc. Sling offers that for $20.00 a month, which you may know but wanted to let you know that Sling is now available on the Channel Master DVR. The best invention since TV for anyone who gets OTA channels, it programs just like a cable or sat box and full TV schedule for the OTA channels.. (google Channel Master DVR)

PS if anyone wants to see if any better home data deals available check out EARTHLINK PRICING


I also got "Sling TV" on my last smart TV update. A guy at work is also trying it out. I wish they offered discovery, he is saying that he is having a few problems with Sling. I cant regurgitate how an engineer explains it but it sounds like its interface does NOT meet Microsoft app requirements and its causing him playback issues. He has a PC designated for "entertainment" that is hooked up to his TV. HE is considering ROKU or something like this to see if it fixes the problem since they handle apps differently.

That said... I did get a chance to sit down and sign up for HULU plus yesterday, it is a lot different then what it was before and so far seems like it may be a decent solution for some of our needs. Still investigating though.....

I looked into EARTHLINK, they only offer dial up here and satellite. They did not offer a price for satellite...

 

[wsar10]

Update on my post....

My buddy from work got a ROKU this weekend and loves it, the "Sling TV" app works great through it.

FWIW:
"Sling TV" is doing a promo, if you sign up and pay for 3mo of service they send you a free ROKU2.