Time Warner raising rates again. Get this...

[edro]

*Dish service.

They are just as bad.

 

[sourceninja]

Roku + netflix, hulu, other channels, and put.io is a pretty effective combo.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

For what it's worth, time warner cable was bought out by comcast, with comcast selling parts of it to charter, so time warner cable is not really controlled by time warner cable anymore.

No, none of that has happened yet. The deal has yet to be approved, so Time Warner is still in charge of itself.

 

[Newell Steamer]

I stopped watching cable TV 2 years ago - never looked back since.

I do have a digital antenna. Just to watch the Simpsons/SNL/News from time to time. But, now, it's all internet for me (sites and video services like Prime if I want to binge on a series).

 

[WilliamM2]

What the hell is a digital antenna? It's either UHF or VHF.

 

[NutBucket]

Kids these days....

 

[MaDDinGO]

ROKU has a TWC app - you can essentially eliminate a cable box and replace it with the ROKU.

 

[Jimzz]

Over the air digital channels and roku3 with Netflix and amazon prime. I have WAY more TV than I ever need to watch and for a LOT less than what most smukes pay.

 

[amdhunter]

500 Channels of commercials, all on at the same time so you can't even surf and watch 2 programs at once. Cancelled mine, only internet and rabbit ears for me.

Internet + Aereo for me. That's it.

 

[Jaepheth]

In the information age connectivity isn't really a luxury.

Nationalize the telecoms

 

[ponyo]

I don't understand getting rid of cable to replace it with Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime. Cable TV is expensive and there's nothing worth watch. So let's replace it with another $30/ month services which also has nothing worth watching. :\

 

[destrekor]

no dvr = what's the point

You bring your own (CableCARD in a retail DVR), or you build your own HTPC DVR.

I started with the latter using analog recording (the old Hauppauge PCI tuners, no CableCARD), then moved to the former (Moxi), then settled again on the latter using an HDHR and a dedicated HTPC.

When I get my own place, I'll also buy my own cable modem to a) avoid the shit-tastic modems that have routers built in and constantly crash, and b) avoid the goddamn rental fees that add up to asinine totals over the life of the service.
Add in the damn box fees and whatnot - you save a ton over the life simply by owning your own hardware.

You do lose VOD/PPV content - but technically, you can still do PPV by ordering over the phone. You get the dedicated channels for PPV, you just lose the two-way communication of the cable box, which prevents streamlined ordering. No way around lack of VOD though, as those aren't actually channels on the line.

When I look at the fact that I have my HTPC on one input, and then a Roku 3 on another input (and a "smart" Blu-ray player, oh and also a PS3 as streaming backups) - I have "VOD" and "PPV" galore. The only missing item would be PPV events like UFC or Boxing - which I'll never actually order myself, but I could over the phone. I'll go to bars or to a buddy's place who will order.

 

[squarecut1]

I don't understand getting rid of cable to replace it with Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime. Cable TV is expensive and there's nothing worth watch. So let's replace it with another $30/ month services which also has nothing worth watching. :\

Yes, that has been my experience with these services as well.

 

[squarecut1]

Well I did watch Breaking Bad on Netflix. But other than that, it has been useless. Tried several other TV shows. All of them rubbish

 

[destrekor]

Some of y'all must be absolutely boring people. Tastes vary, quite true, but there is so much content out there that is of good quality I can't fathom being unable to find good entertainment.

 

[MiniDoom]

Some of y'all must be absolutely boring people. Tastes vary, quite true, but there is so much content out there that is of good quality I can't fathom being unable to find good entertainment.

There's this mystical place called "outside". You should try it sometime.

 

[destrekor]

There's this mystical place called "outside". You should try it sometime.

I love the sun

That said - no matter how much fun you can cook up outside, that doesn't change how entertained or bored you are by video-derived means.

If you just struggle to devote time to TV/movies and get bored sitting still because you'd rather be doing something else - that's one thing.

If you feel everything of good production value is dull, boring, etc, even if you can convince yourself to sit for such media... well, I don't trust such people. That's really the same thing as saying you find anything of the "theater" category (including plays, on or off Broadway) to be dull and boring. And I am 100% serious when I say I literally do not trust such people. There's something not right in the head... the human condition tends to encourage creative arts, both the creation and consumption. It appeals to something deep in our our social, civilized self, to our inner being. Such distaste speaks of a disconnect with society, with our inner social instincts, and reveals much about the psychological and/or emotional state of such individuals.

I hope that, for most people with such attitudes about what they can find on TV or streaming media, they just fail to find what actually appeals to them. Perhaps they like the lesser-produced independent dramas as opposed to the mass-produced, massive-budget films and shows.

 

[boomhower]

DirecTV is the same way. $25 for the Genie and another $6 per TV, you even pay $6 for the TV the Genie is on. I want to cancel when the contract is up this fall but having a hard time convincing my wife.

 

[ponyo]

DirecTV is the same way. $25 for the Genie and another $6 per TV, you even pay $6 for the TV the Genie is on. I want to cancel when the contract is up this fall but having a hard time convincing my wife.

Cable TV with the cablecard is much better deal. That's one thing that always sucked about satellite tv.

 

[Newell Steamer]

I got a letter from TWC stating they upgraded the local network,.. and I will get a boost in speed, at no extra charge. But, I need their new modem.

So, I called them up. Explained the letter I received,.. and was promptly offered a faster more expensive internet plan. I re-read the letter to them, and pointed out the no extra charge point (they clearly stated, no extra costs). The rep then referred to the letter as a promotion and how he has a great deal on a faster better plan.

About 15 minutes of me restating the same thing over and over again, he finally said he will mail me the new modem.

I get the modem (which is a modem/router) and try to set it up. Log into the I/P admin mode, etc. etc. And, it then goes through some sort of activation process - where I was prompted to call TWC, since my plan was not "set up" for this modem/router.

20 minutes later, 4 restarts, I am able to get on the internet. But, the wifi is not working. A few more restarts later,.. wifi is up.

I am now the proud customer of a $60 monthly plan, that went from 2mbps to 8mbps.

 

[Uppsala9496]

and now they will hit you with a modem rental fee.

 

[Newell Steamer]

and now they will hit you with a modem rental fee.

The modem fee was already in full force.

If I don't want to pay for it, I can buy my own. But, it's a few that may or may not work properly.

If anything the modem fee will go up.

 

[cronos]

The annoying part is how they are moving most sports events to cable so we can't watch it over the air. Because sports is pretty much all you need to watch live TV for.

The ideal schedule for me is I started subscribing to cable around October and ended it at the end of March. That means I get the most of the football season and some of the basketball season (college and pros). And then I stopped my subscription until it's toward the end of the year again. Seemed to work out the last time so I'm going to do it again this year.

 

[Ns1]

Ok so for you htpc guys with cable or OTA - what software are you actually using to DVR stuff?

 

[Uppsala9496]

I'm using Win7 media center.