| reply to Merovingian
Re: How to use 25/7 to cut cable TV? »www.ubuntuvibes.com/2012/02/rasp···for.html
XBMC should really take off after this announcement - theyve managed to get it to run on a tiny arm based $35 motherboard that can fit in an altoids can |
|
 MerovingianCause and Effect
join:2011-03-31
Toronto, ON
kudos:1
 ·TekSavvy Cable
| then theres RaspberryPi ... see SCALE : »hey-facebook.com/2012/01/scale-b···erry-pi/
and XBMC Live which can run off a dvd OR a Live USB drive (Which is actually smaller than an altoids tin).  |
|
grunze510
join:2009-02-14
Cote Saint-Luc, QC
kudos:1 | discoblues's post WAS about the Raspberry Pi. |
|
| reply to NBomb
I run XBMC ... and it's interface is very sweet... and canada on demand isn't to bad... I just hate not having netflix... but maybe i'm to picky
4 netflix devices hooked to my tv currently, the xbmc is *nix variant so no silverlight... the 360 can't use unblock... the ps3 menu's are horrible... and the wii isn't HD :/ |
|
| reply to Nightfall
said by Nightfall:said by NBomb:Thanks guys... I really need to make this simple for them. Partly because if they have problems, those become my problems. :\
Are there any set-top boxes that'll accomplish this? I dunno that they want a PC sitting near their TV.
My recommendation is that you don't have them drop cable. The key words here are "if they have problems, those become my problems." The simple fact of the matter is that using bittorrent is not as easy as flipping on the TV and tuning to a channel. Sure, appleTV and Boxee and Roku are all good alternatives, but you have to make sure your parents are going to be satisfied with them. Don't just cut the cord without making sure their needs are fulfilled. Otherwise, you are going to be fielding calls and complaints. +1. Most of the solutions posted here aren't going to work in the real world. Especially if you are talking about using a PC.
Netflix - fine. But what happens when they want to watch the news? If you're talking PC then as soon as they have to touch a keyboard you have failed.
Unfortunately if you really want to take this on - and, depending upon the actual viewing requirements of your parents that may NOT be possible, your best bet is to develop the technology in your own home first.
I've been a PVR hobbyist for years and years and years, and only recently built one for my father. It's a success, but it's not a full cable replacement.
A realistic goal might be to reduce their cable subscription.
But you are going to have to be very very good with your setup to make it completely or nearly hands-off. |
|
swiftex
join:2008-05-10
Toronto, ON
kudos:1 | reply to NBomb
I use a 40"lcd tv as monitor and stream Netflix via hdmi. |
|
 NightfallMy Goal Is To Deny YoursPremium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
 ·Site5.com
·Comcast
 ·Callcentric
| reply to bluenote73
said by bluenote73:said by Nightfall:said by NBomb:Thanks guys... I really need to make this simple for them. Partly because if they have problems, those become my problems. :\
Are there any set-top boxes that'll accomplish this? I dunno that they want a PC sitting near their TV.
My recommendation is that you don't have them drop cable. The key words here are "if they have problems, those become my problems." The simple fact of the matter is that using bittorrent is not as easy as flipping on the TV and tuning to a channel. Sure, appleTV and Boxee and Roku are all good alternatives, but you have to make sure your parents are going to be satisfied with them. Don't just cut the cord without making sure their needs are fulfilled. Otherwise, you are going to be fielding calls and complaints. +1. Most of the solutions posted here aren't going to work in the real world. Especially if you are talking about using a PC. Netflix - fine. But what happens when they want to watch the news? If you're talking PC then as soon as they have to touch a keyboard you have failed. Unfortunately if you really want to take this on - and, depending upon the actual viewing requirements of your parents that may NOT be possible, your best bet is to develop the technology in your own home first. I've been a PVR hobbyist for years and years and years, and only recently built one for my father. It's a success, but it's not a full cable replacement. A realistic goal might be to reduce their cable subscription. But you are going to have to be very very good with your setup to make it completely or nearly hands-off. Case in point....
I have a home theater PC and I have a Ceton card with it. I love my HTPC with the Ceton card, but it doesn't replace cable. It augments it. Now I can record 4 shows at once, have a 2TB hard drive to record things to, run showanalyzer to cut the commercials out, and so on.
There is no way I would recommend this to my parents. They love watching TV, but they need something simple. This is not a simple setup. Its just not to a point where you can install and go like the cable boxes are. Most consumers just look at the cost effective solution, and an HTPC system is only cost effective if you use it for 2-3 years.
My parents do you Netflix through their DVD player and love it. This is where you can have them cut their cable bill a bit. They now no longer subscribe to any of the premium movie channels. They get Netflix and save a ton of money per month just doing that. That is what you should be striving for. Not for cutting the whole bill.
Set your goals realistically when it comes to your parents. Otherwise, you will be on the phone more with them than you are now.
--
My domain - Nightfall.net |
|
|
|
MerovingianCause and Effect
join:2011-03-31
Toronto, ON
kudos:1 | reply to BlackDove
pst... navi-x , sweetness. |
|
NBomb
join:2007-01-23
Etobicoke, ON | reply to NBomb
In terms of cutting the bill but keeping cable - they gave me a list of 'must have' channels:
-HGTV
-DIY
-Spike
-Discovery
-UFC (TSN?)
-Dancing with the Stars (ABC?)
-American Idol (Fox?)
(yes I know those aren't all channels)
From what I've seen of Robbers' super-confusing order page, to keep those, I'd need to have at LEAST the tier down from where they are - that might save $5-10.
Pretty sure Fox and ABC are antenna-ble, HGTV, DIY, and Discovery seem to be online, the others I'm not so sure, unless they're also on something similar to that Canada on Demand thing. |
|
| reply to NBomb
I've gone through most of the options mentioned. The OTA one with netflix.com and/or hulu+ is doable. Quite frankly, it's not worth the hassle at this point. The Boxee Box is neat but it has issues. The ATV2 requires jailbreaking. Most of these types of solutions require XBMC addons or something similar. These are a pain. It quite frankly is not worth the $100 savings. You might want to look into Fibe TV which will give you Internet along with TV. The newer Smart TV's or upgrader boxes will get you Netflix and Hulu. Those pushing the cutting the cable thing are usually very tech savvy, young, don't watch a lot of TV, are into hacking around.
Philip |
|
