Cable Tries To Stuff The Internet Video Genie Back In The Bottle > why watch tv online if I already have cable?

reply to Mark F

Re: why watch tv online if I already have cable?

reply to me1212
We once had Comcast, AT&T internet, and Verizon (formerly GTE) phone. Now, all are Verizon FIOS for a lot less money. And, FIOS high-speed internet is great for watching TV and movies on the PC. Now, if we could only watch such content on our big TV.

There are boxes and gadgets to do that, but one I saw online once had these drawbacks.
1. The box was unweildy and took up space in the living room TV cabinet.
2. It connected to the PC in another room via a long cable that must run through the house.
3. You couldn't wach streaming content (on the fly), as they only offered downloaded content, which takes drive space and wastes time.
4. You got to choose from a rather small selection of movies (no TV shows) to download.
5. The price was $400 plus a monthly fee.

We need a way to watch TV and movies from any internet source we choose (ABC, CBS, HULU, AOL, etc), on our big screen TVs in another room, easily and for a reasonable fee.
Mark F

What would be an ok price to u for a set top box, or a pc? I know how to get rid of the running cables, and I know the sell boxes that have a one time fee and the let you "surf" to a few IPTV sites. and what kind of tvs do you have?

EDIT: what kind a pc user are you? If you have an HD set, it may be smater to just get a new PC, but it depends on what you do on the com, ie just huluing or just web surfing, or go you game too and if so how much?

I only watch TV and movies on the internet occasionally.

I also use the PC for surfing, managing music and family photos, burning music to CD and photos to DVD, printing labels and greeting cards, etc. And, I play a PC game once in a while. I have no problems playing music or watching any internet content on the PC.

I know there are other gadgets out there- Roku, Vudu, Slingcatcher, Vunow pod, Amazon Unbox, etc, but they offer limited streaming content from a limited number of websites. I just wish that Verizon would finally enable internet-to-TV streaming, via their software and DVR, from any site that allows it.

A bigger monitor might be nice, but I'd still be watching on the computer instead of a big screen TV in the comfy living room.
Mark F.

Is it an HD tv? If so how much would you be willing to spend on a desktop pc, or a laptop?

EDIT: and what would you want the computer to be able to do?

With finances and the economy, a new PC isn't something we can afford right now. Even some of those boxes, like Vudu, are expensive. So, what ever I do, it must not be to costly.

I saw the Slingcatcher at Best Buy, it allows streaming from the most popular sites, but I fear that as soon as I shell out the money, Verizon will start offering the same streaming ability for free, or a small monthly fee.

So, I'm just looking for the most cost-effective solution. But, I may have to wait and see what Verizon does, as I've read that it might offer this later this year. Maybe.
Mark F.

You may be able to hook up the pc you have now to your tv, if it has the right jack. and some boxes are as low as $99.

Verizon just did an upgrade of their Media Manager software. The help menu has a number of pages mentioning video but the software itself doesn't allow it, so no Hulu on the big TV, yet. But, that's a likely sign that it's coming. Maybe in the first half of 2009, or thereabouts.
Mark F

If its an HD it you can just hook your tv up to it, and even if its not you may still be able to do so.