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Thinking about dropping cable for Hulu or similar...any experiences?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by Richard Cranium, May 10, 2012.

  1. May 10, 2012 at 11:18 AM
    #1
    Richard Cranium

    Richard Cranium [OP] The lice...they hate the sugar

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    My Cox bill is $157/mo for cable and internet...I find myself watching less and less live TV because of the DVR. Thinking about dropping my cable and dvr for something like Hulu and just streaming thru my Xbox and Apple TV.

    Anybody else made the switch to something similar?
     
  2. May 10, 2012 at 11:20 AM
    #2
    gsxrdoug

    gsxrdoug 2009 X-Runner

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    I use Hulu and Netflix only. 15 bucks a month instead of 75.00. I really don't miss the local bull anyway. Plus one or the other has what I want. And there is also You Tube.
     
  3. May 10, 2012 at 11:21 AM
    #3
    Twistedfreedom

    Twistedfreedom welcome to the incredibuild

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    modded the F*ck out
  4. May 10, 2012 at 11:22 AM
    #4
    xJuice

    xJuice My spoon is too Big!

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    Quoted for ease
     
  5. May 10, 2012 at 11:24 AM
    #5
    resq330

    resq330 El' Capi-Tan

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    I have really been considering this too. I wanted to try out Roku. My daughter could only watch DVD's in her room, so I decided to by the low end Roku for her room. She loves it. Her mom (ex-wife) has a Netflix account so she logged into that and my wife has Amazon Prime, so she can watch Amazon on Demand as well. Haven't tried out Hulu Plus yet.
     
  6. May 10, 2012 at 11:24 AM
    #6
    AWorthyOpponent

    AWorthyOpponent Member Caught Off Road

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    I have lived with Hulu and Netflix for the last 3 years. Even though I can afford the bill, I don't think it's worth it. More choices for me and I can play them on all of my mobile devices.

    $99 Apple TV lets me play on my televisions...
     
  7. May 10, 2012 at 11:24 AM
    #7
    chadderkdawg

    chadderkdawg Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to..

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    I pretty much only watch espn and TBS, espn3 and hulu plus would take care of me pretty well...
     
  8. May 10, 2012 at 11:25 AM
    #8
    NoSoup4You

    NoSoup4You Well-Known Member

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    do it!

    I dropped Cox-suckers for hulu/netflix a year ago and never looked back (and the occasional download when they don't suffice)

    lots of cable providers are coming out with iOS/Android apps as well .. showtime/HBO already do this, just borrow a friends account :D

    Google and Apple should be coming out with their own TV services as well, GoogleTV still needs some work but lots of rumors coming from the Apple camp should see fruition soon.

    Blockbuster has a pretty nice streaming service as well. They used to do DVD through mail like Netflix and you could exchange them in-store, but they just sold all this business to RedBox

    Streaming services and offerings are just going to get better and more competitive. Netflix had a leg-up on the competition because they started licensing when streaming wasn't even a blip on the radar as a possible replacement for cable. As their agreements expire and new contracts are negotiated there will be much more room for other providers. It's about to become a competitive market that delivers a service again, much like cable used to.
     
  9. May 10, 2012 at 11:35 AM
    #9
    Richard Cranium

    Richard Cranium [OP] The lice...they hate the sugar

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    Just looked through all the networks that are available on Hulu...between what's available there and via Xbox for ESPN3, I think I've made up my mind. I'll probably end up upgrading the top tier internet speed and dropping all cable TV. I'll still get all of my shows and be able to catch sports I want for 1/2 the $$$.

    Thanks TW!
     
  10. May 10, 2012 at 11:48 AM
    #10
    Evil Monkey

    Evil Monkey There's an evil monkey in my truck

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    I just did it myself as of Tuesday. I have an XBox360 and it streams Hulu Plus and Netflix plus another I forget the name of.

    I was looking at the various methods for it (Roku, Boxee and Xbox). The Boxee one looks interesting but I already have an xBox so I'll try that out for a while first.The Boxee has the advantage of playing any content on the internet. You may have to maximize the video window on some sites (e.g. watching a video on comedy central). Plus you can hook a digital antenna to the Boxee for local channels. You could do that without it but it integrates it into their menu system. I also wanted something that worked with Amazon Prime. Roku does it. The xbox can do it but it's a little kludgy. Not sure about the Boxee.

    I don't do Apple so I won't even bother with Apple TV.
     
  11. May 10, 2012 at 11:54 AM
    #11
    xJuice

    xJuice My spoon is too Big!

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    Which one are you saying integrates the antenna channels?
     
  12. May 10, 2012 at 11:54 AM
    #12
    Evil Monkey

    Evil Monkey There's an evil monkey in my truck

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    I'd try it at your current internet speed first (unless you just want it). Ours is 12mbps and it works flawlessly.
     
  13. May 10, 2012 at 11:56 AM
    #13
    Evil Monkey

    Evil Monkey There's an evil monkey in my truck

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    The Boxee.
    http://www.boxee.tv/live

    I edited the original post to clarify it.
     
  14. May 10, 2012 at 11:58 AM
    #14
    xJuice

    xJuice My spoon is too Big!

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    Ouch, I can change an input on the TV if it saves me $50 on top of a boxee lol.

    Good to know though.
     
  15. May 10, 2012 at 12:02 PM
    #15
    Evil Monkey

    Evil Monkey There's an evil monkey in my truck

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    It is a bit more pricey than the others (even the box itself). But it's nice to look at what's on in menu form rather than channel surf.
     
  16. May 10, 2012 at 12:03 PM
    #16
    xJuice

    xJuice My spoon is too Big!

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    True, True
     
  17. May 12, 2012 at 8:10 AM
    #17
    Evil Monkey

    Evil Monkey There's an evil monkey in my truck

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    Anyone who's interested, Woot.com has the Roku XD (refurbished) on sale for $49.99 plus $5 shipping.

    http://www.woot.com/
     
  18. May 12, 2012 at 3:27 PM
    #18
    dommo

    dommo Well-Known Member

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    Yup...hulu+netflix=better than cable. We didnt watch much tv anyways, so it was a win-win for us. Saved a bunch of money every month, and still get to watch most of the movies/shows we want.
     
  19. May 12, 2012 at 5:41 PM
    #19
    elmo7

    elmo7 Easily Replaceable Member

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    We cut the cord about 2 yrs ago now. Don't really miss it either. Our bill was only about $75/mth. We put up a decent antenna for the locals. Which looks better vs cable because it's uncompressed. The subchannels that come with OTA are a small bonus. I do have a DVR though. It's a bit of a complex setup but it works great. It's a small form factor PC running Windows Media Center (called an HTPC, for Home Theater PC) connected to a pair of dual tuner HD Homeruns. Got all the movies and such in there as well. Did have Netflix for a while but dropped it. We have Amazon Prime so we pick up some content with it now. Never popped for Hulu+ though. We do have a Roku - it's pretty cool. A different experience, but it's great for the price. And that's the cool thing. Once you dump the expensive monthly cost of cable, it's easy to spend once for stuff like a Roku, HTPC, etc, because you pay off the investment in no time with the savings.

    What I hated about cable/dish, is all the crap channels they force on me just because of the packages. I would only want about 10 channels max. But no - I have to get 100 of em just to get the ones I want. It's like paying a tax to prop up the lame channels. On top of that, they are all full of damn commercials. Double tax. I had to ask myself why I was paying for commercial TV. Now I don't pay. And with a few clicks of the remote, now the commercials go away.

    Funny thing is that I've found myself DVRing a bunch of PBS stuff, especially all the war history stuff, Nova, etc. We really never watched it much other than for kids programming.

    Drop whatever you have - it certainly won't kill you. And they'll beg you to come back. Multiple times. And you can if you want to. But you may find you just don't need it either.
     
  20. May 12, 2012 at 5:49 PM
    #20
    pudge151

    pudge151 Well-Known Member

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    i tried Roku and using an antenna, i just got lazy and tired of switching inputs, browing menus and went back to cable, then i switch from ATT Uverse to cable every other year and get their "bundles" for a year at a huge discount, usually $99 a month for phone, cable w HBO, and internet, after the year it jumps to like $130, so i switch services. went from cable, uverse, cable, ROKU, uverse, next year probably cable
     

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