Getting rid of cable...

Nothing's stopping you from starting a new thread on the topic, as I pointed out before. The discussion has simply strayed too far from the OP of this thread.

Whoa, guys, I have been enjoying the discussion, the thread can and has evolved beyond Roku vs Apple.

herp derp

You haven't offended me, its just that there was nothing being added to the conversation other than the same comments (on both our parts), and they seemed to be a bit far afield of the OP. 'flow didn't say anything, and even if you and I walked away from the topic, it didn't mean that somebody else wouldn't start rambling about back end internet issues or something else not directly related to an individual "cutting the cord." It seems to me that this thread is most useful to folks if they can find out what gear that they need to ditch cable and what obstacles they might face in the process. (And we do, after all have a thread dedicated to net neutrality.)

But since 'flow started the thread, and he says that he doesn't care, then folks can ignore my previous comments about warnings being handed out. My bad for mishandling things.

You know what the funny thing is? It takes two people to have a conversation. If you would have just let it drop, it would have dropped. But you just had to have the last word. And then you turn around and threaten to warn anyone who disagrees with you.

herp derp

Generally we aren't, but I do think that's more of a Redroom thing. I try to give a lot of leeway outside of the Redroom, but I have to admit, after a while reading through the Netflix/Comcast/Net Neutrality discussion, my eyes got kind of blurry after a while.

The getting rid of cable stuff was pretty useful. I don't want it to get lost in the spin-off discussion. @Tuckerfan: maybe when you have a chance, you could split the thread so that we have one on net neutrality with the Netflix discussion as an example of how that might play when the shakeout occurs, leaving this thread specifically for things like roku and digital antennas. I think we could get some vibrant discussions on both topics.

You're the mod here, so it's up to you, but that might help folks keep the two issues straight.

I concur with gul. I'm happy the thread has become our go to for streaming tech discussions, so divide as you see fit.

I'll think about it. I quit smoking cold turkey 2.5 months ago, but for some reason am just now getting the irritability caused by nicotine withdrawals and hadn't realized until today just how irritable I am. I seriously had to stop myself from flipping my PC desk over because a page took a little longer to load than I thought it should.

So, I'll plead guilty to not handling the situation properly and will happily let the thread go where it will. In the meantime, I'm going to try gnawing on some nicotine gum to see if that does anything to take the edge off. Otherwise, I'm probably going to have to start smoking again, since I can't exactly afford to replace a PC, monitor, and printer, ATM.

Roku introduces a $50 streaming stick and Gizmodo does a comparison between all internet TV devices. Right now, it does look like a Roku is the best bang for your buck.

I have been a happy Roku user for a few years now. They make rock solid equipment in my opinion. And the channel selection and user interface are far better than anything else I've tried.

Amazon enters the set top box market.

Its $99, for $40 more, you can get a game controller for it. If you're someone who's got a Kindle Fire HDX, then it'd probably be a good investment. If you don't have one, then it looks to be about equal with a Roku or an Apple TV.

I've got a Kindle Fire HD, dont know how well that will integrate. On the surface it looks interesting, but I'm a pretty big fan of Rokus simple functionality. According to Slate it won't have HBO GO, but that's not a big deal to me. I may try one out after wheat harvest, but I'm content to watch it unfold for now.

Thanks for the update Tucker!

I'm sure it'll get HBOGO at some point. The execs at HBO know that the days of traditional cable are numbered, and they're planning on adopting the Netflix model as soon as it makes economic sense for them to do so.

I'm go with the Flow -- the roku interface is just so good. We have another TV that streams through our Wii, which is just a pain in the ass. I'd be interested in this Amazon device if I didn't already have a cheaper and satisfying option already in place.

I've been saving up to buy a new Roku box, as my N1000 is getting long in the tooth, and Roku stopped officially updating it about a year ago, so I don't get any of the spiffy new features the other Roku boxes get. I don't really care so much for extra features, but I do want to use the best CDNs that Netflix has, and I've found that Netflix shunts all of its requests from older Roku boxes through older CDNs, so even with a nice, fast connection on a light day, I might not get better than 2 or 3 quality dots. It's Netflix's not so subtle way of telling me I need to update my hardware for their newer streaming technologies.

Aereo comes to Chromecast.

If you're on the fence about getting Netflix, do it now, as they're about to raise their prices for new customers.

More at the link.

Even at $10 a month, it's still a deal. I budget for it like it's $10 a month anyway, so this still works out fine for me.

See, HBO wants to charge me $17 a month for half of what Netflix offers me. The same for every other movie package, and I have to have the $60+ a month cable or satellite service to even use it. So, definitely a deal any way you slice it.

Aereo went in front of SCOTUS today.

IIRC, the trend for this court has been that if they appeared skeptical about something, this has been a bluff, and they've ruled in favor of the idea they were thought to be skeptical of, and hopefully that will continue as this is certainly the future of TV. Its just a question of when we adopt the model.

I want Aereo to win, because I'm tired of paying high prices for shit TV. I use Netflix, and I'm happy with it. We have satellite, but I watch maybe 2 or 3 shows that way. Everything else is through Netflix, Hulu, and the rare Redbox rental. I, personally, spend about $14 a month on entertainment, and I'm quite satisfied with that. Yet if I want to watch something on History Channel (lulz), I would have to pay at least $60+ a month just to get access to it. Absurd.

The YouTube app has finally come to all Roku devices made after 2011.

My initial impression of the app is that its clunky, confusing, and can't be navigated using the standard Roku app on my phone, but must use the YouTube app on my phone. Frankly, I find it easier to switch inputs and use the PC I've got connected to the TV than use the YouTube app. (This is Google's fault, not Roku's, BTW, and it apparently works the same way as the YouTube app on Google TV and Chromecasts work. If that's true, then I absolutely don't want to own one of those devices. )

I use Plex, which has a Youtube App. It's much faster, and I can actually use it, since my Roku is from 2008/2009.

HBO just inked a deal with Amazon to stream TV shows.

Dish appears to be getting into the internet TV business.

As does AT&T.

Time Warner Cable seems to be fumbling in that direction as well.

AOL (We're not dead yet!) to stream select Miramax movies.

Well, Netflix has officially raised their pricing plans for streaming to $8.99 a month. For those of us who are already subscribers, we get the $7.99 a month plan for two more years, guaranteed. I just got the email, and here's a link to the official news: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/netflix-raises-prices-subscribers-23653097

I'm okay with this.

Yep, I got the same thing today.

I couldn't get into Netflix because the selection is so limited and completely random. I signed up because of the new season of Arrested Development, but after that? Meh. I'll take Hulu and Amazon Prime.

You might like "House of Cards." Kevin Spacey is forever awesome.

The problem with all the streaming services is that none of them really have a good mechanism for discovering what they have available. canistream.it is a website that's pretty good at telling you where things are, but even it doesn't get it right all the time. (BTW, Anna, since you've spent time in Japan, if you haven't seen "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" [which is on Netflix], stop whatever you're doing and watch it now. Its amazing.) The "exclusives" deals that all the services work out really suck. Pretty soon, the only streaming service with Pixar movies will be Netflix. Its better if all the services have fewer exclusives.