Folks who have cut the cable cord, advice needed

[Dulanic]

I'm actually surprised that Google or Apple hasn't made a play for buying Roku.

What benefit world that provide Google? They have chromecast which does basically the same as a Roku already.

 

[MrSquished]

What benefit world that provide Google? They have chromecast which does basically the same as a Roku already.

from what i've read everywhere, they aren't even close in capability. Roku is at the top of that market segment by quite a bit.

 

[TwiceOver]

What benefit world that provide Google? They have chromecast which does basically the same as a Roku already.

As a chromecast and roku owner, no. The Chromecast is junk, basically worthless.

 

[bearxor]

That's one thing I wish Roku did do is native network streaming of any file type. Sure plex puts a nice front end on it, but if WD can make a network streaming box that plays every media type known to man for $80 why can't Roku use the same chips to do the same thing?

The real bitch there is that Roku plays MKV's fine if attached by a USB drive. Why doesn't it work over a network?!

 

[zerocool84]

As a chromecast and roku owner, no. The Chromecast is junk, basically worthless.

I've owned a Roku and currently own a Chromecast and the Roku was awesome, gave it to my mom. Chromecast is great too, it's $35 and it's the cheapest way to stream Netflix. Also it easily streams YouTube and music from Google Play. It's really awesome for the price.

 

[Dulanic]

I've owned a Roku also but with plex and a chromecast it does all I want. Only wish is a chromecast with wireless N 5ghz or ac.

 

[MrSquished]

with chromecast can you put any video on your nexus 7 tablet and stream it to your tv?

 

[TwiceOver]

The real bitch there is that Roku plays MKV's fine if attached by a USB drive. Why doesn't it work over a network?!

I believe they just fixed that recently... Finally.

 

[TwiceOver]

with chromecast can you put any video on your nexus 7 tablet and stream it to your tv?

Only if the app sending it has been approved by Google.

Maybe my biggest problem with the chromecast is that a phone makes a HORRIBLE remote. Just horrible.

 

[norseamd]

look at the options from amazon netflix and hulu and then decide what fits your needs. make sure to spend some time looking through them and reading up on customer satisfaction first rather than just making a decision on the spot. maybe you will find something in their libraries that you would not have thought you would watch otherwise.

just hope that they start to make tv sized all in one pc. honestly think it could replace a fair amount of the desktop market. would be more powerful than a laptop without any power constraints. would be excellent for moderate gaming and htpc. the high end pc gaming market will probably move over to professional hardware sometime anyways.

 

[Telgin]

I see Comcast just came out with a new box, called the X1. It's an IP based platform. It has anyroom HDDVR fuctionality. Cloud-based storage of recordings, Access to Facebook, Pandora, weather, traffic, etc.
This won't help with the expense, but looks good.

 

[velillen]

I see Comcast just came out with a new box, called the X1. It's an IP based platform. It has anyroom HDDVR fuctionality. Cloud-based storage of recordings, Access to Facebook, Pandora, weather, traffic, etc.
This won't help with the expense, but looks good.

Minus the cloud based storage i get all of that with my HTPC's and media server. Higher initial setup on my end but ive gone well past the breakeven point now.

Im sure i could do cloud based storage but meh i have no use for it.

 

[Ichinisan]

Im sure i could do cloud based storage but meh i have no use for it.

Such a DVR would even record your shows if the power is out at home. This is because the shows are actually recorded in the cable TV operator's head end. Theoretically, the cable TV operator could spend far less money on hardware such as storage. This is because the same recorded program could be flagged for multiple users that wanted to record it.

 

[velillen]

Such a DVR would even record your shows if the power is out at home. This is because the shows are actually recorded in the cable TV operator's head end. Theoretically, the cable TV operator could spend far less money on hardware such as storage. This is because the same recorded program could be flagged for multiple users that wanted to record it.

Which is great sounding. but again just not something i would continue to pay comcast for. I lose power once or twice a year. If the power just happens to go out on one of the days i have a tv show recorded i will just watch it online instead.

Also works well cause even with the power out i have a nice battery backup unit that will last 3-4 hours (power outages are *usually* less than that) so so i still have internet and tv avaliable to watch on my laptop

 

[TwiceOver]

well that and have you ever seen a "good" cable box? I haven't. At least not one provided by a cable company. TiVo is definitely the top of the line in boxes. I don't even know how DirectTV subs live with that pile of shit. Every time I watch football at my buddy's house with Sunday Ticket, we don't even bother to fast forward or rewind for a replay. So jumpy it's pointless.

 

[Oldgamer]

Roku + Netflix + Hulu Plus + TV antenna I think is the best option.

Chromecast is great if you have something like a tablet to drive it. Honestly though Roku has more service options.

This right here is what I am doing, I also have a huge library collection of movies DVDs/Blueray and occassionally rent from Vudu.com

I got rid of my cable TV from Comcast. It simply isn't worth paying so much and I only would watch maybe 3-4 channels max. My cable bill went way down to 70.00 a month from 150.00 So it was a good savings for us.

 

[Thebobo]

i hate fox news. another guy asked about getting fox news without paying for cable. i have no idea how you think i like to hear conservative lies? i'm a progressive. opposite of fox news really.

i was just answering him. in fact i even added to my post that he should forget about watching o'reilly, it would stop killing brain cells. you must have missed that.

ops sorry.

 

[MrSquished]

ops sorry.

all good.

 

[mrkun]

Haven't had cable for 7 years and don't miss it a bit.