Cutting the Cord (cable TV)

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chansen

chansen

Had a point all along
Pronouns
He/Him/His
As promised, I'm looking into options. And there are lots. This is insane. There is going to be a lot of bankruptcies, consolidations, etc. in the OTA (Over The Air) box and Internet streaming box industries. All these options are not sustainable.

This is what my goal is: Get an antenna in my attic space (so I don't need to punch a hole in the roof), with the cable coming down to a box in my basement (the conduit is there and waiting). That box will feed the TVs with local content over the network and function as a PVR (personal video recorder - it will have a hard drive attached to it). This box will probably be either a Tablo or Channel Master. The Tablo is nicer, but there is a subscription fee for their directory service. I think. You can pay for a lifetime of updates as well, which may not work out for you if Tablo is one of the companies that doesn't survive. Then there is always using www.MythTV.org, which is open source PVR software, but I'd need a computer to run it, so probably one of the ready-made solutions in

To see if you can get OTA signals, plug your location into www.TVFool.com

A good antenna isn't cheap ($100 to $200), though if you're in a major centre like Toronto you don't need a good antenna, and a coat hanger could literally work. Beware the common Digiwave brand antennas widelay available - they are cheap, scaled-down clones of better antennas that sell for twice the price, for a reason.

A Tablo or similar device can run north of $300. Yikes.

Then it's incorporating the stream created by the Tablo or similar into a box like the Roku, so you don't have to keep switching TV inputs when switching between streaming services and local TV (plus PVR'ed content from local TV). Obviously, there is no need to PVR streamed content - it's always available on demand.

Then there's Plex, which I still have to look into.

I'm so confused.

That's where I've gotten so far. If any deals on equipment come up, I'll post them here, and others do the same. I'd love to stop paying Rogers so much, and if there is an up-front cost to that, so be it.

What I have learned, is don't buy a MyGica or similar Android box. They are not ready for prime time.

If you want the best, simple streaming box, it's hard to beat the Roku 3. That's on sale at shop.ca right now:
http://www.shop.ca/c/roku-3-4200ca-media-player-24467222

Resources I'm using:
www.digitalhome.ca
www.avsforum.com
www.redflagdeals.com
 
My wife's cousin in Richmond Hill pretty much has the setup you describe. Not sure what he is using for recording, but he has an antenna and can pull in the major Canadian and US network affiliates plus some smaller local stations. Then he has a Sony Android box for online (it works but is hard to control unless you're slaving it to a tablet, which is mostly how they do it). I haven't been up to see him in a while but it all seems to work pretty well.

I've thought about the antenna route but need to confirm exactly what we can get here. The only thing I'd miss if we cut the cord is PBS and maybe we can get either Detroit or Cleveland over the air here.
 
Oh, also there is the HD Homerun Plus, which is a tuner for connecting to your antenna, then running over your network.

Ugh.
 
Wow - that sounds like a lot of fiddling about so you can watch tv! I didn't understand any of it beyond gathering that you REALLY want to watch LOTS of tv (or have lots of choices of what to watch). You must be on the far end of the spectrum from me - I haven't voluntarily watch tv for many years (though sometimes when I go to someone else's home the tv blares away while we try to visit.

Good luck with your set-up though - I hope it is affordable and works well.
 
I'm just trying to make sense of it all.

The quick solution is buy a Roku if all you want is a streaming box from the Internet. Done. No antenna (no local channels) and no PVR required. That's the best standalone box available right now, by consensus.

If you want to get local channels, you need an antenna. Then you need to decode that antenna stream to put them on your network. That's where the HD Homerun Plus or Tablo come in.

I make things more complicated than they need be, but I like to understand it all before I jump in.

I'm not the sort to take people's word for stuff and just buy into what they suggest ;)
 
I've sort of cut the cord, but then that stupid Rogers has made it unnecessary for me to go further.

Cancelled my cable two years ago. They have yet to cut it off. I don't watch it anyway, which is why I cancelled it. However, it meant that I didn't have to give up my minor Jeopardy addiction, which I like to watch the very odd night I'm home.

Have Netflix. Have a new laptop with an HTMI cable, which my older one didn't have. Now if only I had a real TV (I have an enormous old fashioned clunker), I could hook Netflix up to my TV. However, in my den there is a large old iMac with a very nice screen. Does the trick. I'm absolutely inclined to be a Luddite unless forced.
 
I'm listening with interest. My brother in law has an antenna at the cottage. It has Uhf? VHF? Does an antenna need that? Also his runs beside the cottage about 18 ft. Can it be inside?

He gets about 24 channels I think. Mainly from Cleveland and Buffalo....cottage is near Port Dover. But the clarity is good.
 
Just to be clear, if all you want to do is watch TV on one set, get a Roku 3 for streaming, an antenna for local channels (assuming your TV has a tuner - most do), and you're golden. You might need a pre-amp on the antenna. There are stores that specialize in this stuff, and can steer you better than I can.

I want to split that antenna signal to multiple TVs. I want a central PVR I can access from anywhere in the house. If you want to do that, things get messier.
 
chansen said:
Just to be clear, if all you want to do is watch TV on one set, get a Roku 3 for streaming, an antenna for local channels (assuming your TV has a tuner - most do), and you're golden. You might need a pre-amp on the antenna. There are stores that specialize in this stuff, and can steer you better than I can.

I want to split that antenna signal to multiple TVs. I want a central PVR I can access from anywhere in the house. If you want to do that, things get messier.
Click to expand...
I've considered the antennae thing, I was hoping our bonus room would be high enough without going up into the attic. I was thinking though, most of the time we watch the news it's on a different tv. Too much of a hassle, at least while I'm on my current rate.

What about things like roku, is it easy to get those to work for multiple tvs?
 
and if you're gonna get messier, you can do no better than the crab nebula

Crab_Nebula.jpg

Messier object 1: the Crab Nebula
[image source: google image search]

returning you to your regularly-scheduled chansen hacking
 
Inannawhimsey[FONT=Open Sans said:
]
and if you're gonna get messier, you can do no better than the crab nebula
Click to expand...

I don't know about that. I have a daughter who keeps her room in a state of messiness.

You will understand if I forego posting pictures of it to the internet.

That would probably bring me more grief than I have the energy to deal with at present.[/FONT]
 
I've thought that, too. And, really, I only watch while exercising these days and that's mostly Netflix (though I also record and watch Nova on my PVR).
 
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