POWERBOMB

So here is where I stand: I called Directv but was turned off by their DVR capacity to only be able to record two shows at the same time. It doesn't matter if they are two HD shows, two SD shows or a mix, two was the most that can be recorded at the same time. This was a huge no-no as I have the capabilities to record 4 shows with my U-verse dvr at the same time (and that happens three times every week).
I was looking into Dish which has a DVR that can "record" up to six shows at one time plus their DVR has a 2tb hard drive so plenty of room for recordings. The hangup here is they just dropped AMC which has my favorite show "The Walking Dead" and it doesn't appear they will bring that back. I might change to Dish but it's 50-50 right now.
I'm going to stream some shows in the next few days to get a feel for it. It will be a hassle because my main TV doesn't have wifi capabilities so i'll have to look at something that can easily plug in and play.
Plus I can't "listen" to a game on the radio. It isn't the same. I would rather watch a game without sound than hear a game without visuals.

TheBigDave

I agree. I've got the lifetime Playon too. But I don't use it much. Video quality isn't that good. The buffering can be annoying. And if you're watching anything with ads, it can be really glitchy. I like the service. Just wish the quality was better.

TheBigDave

There's a great article in the San Jose Mercury News about dropping cable TV for streaming services.

How my family cut cable TV service and lived to tell the tale

And there's a follow-up article with tips sent in by readers:

Cutting the cord: Readers bring flood of tips, questions and high-fives

POWERBOMB

Wow, that was a lot of good info. I'm interested in finding out more about TIVO. I thought that TIVO had to be connected to a satellite or cable provider and "acted" as a supercharged DVR. Play on TV sound intresting also. Thanks for the links.

POWERBOMB

So I've spent some time with various streaming sites and well, it's really disappointing. First, most sites do not transmit in HD. Second, the quality from sites like PlayOn was terrible. Netflix was interesting but lack of parental controls made it a no-go in my household. I never quite grasped any sense of the difference between Amazon Prime and Amazon Instant. I mean, if I pay $80 for an annual membership, shouldn't I have access to everything on Instant and not have to pay for certain tv episodes?

This is really disappointing because my cable bill just increased by $11 in one month but streaming seems light years away from being competitive to cable. I had high hopes but all in all this venture stunk.

DJariya

RE: Amazon Prime

Your paying $79 per year to have free 2-day shipping or $3.99 overnight. The programming is just a bonus and it's pretty much older catalogue stuff.

You still have to pay for Amazon Instant programming that covers currently airing network and cable programming. So say you watch 10 shows on TNT and 10 on USA, that will run you $3 per episode in HD or $30-35 per season if they offer a discount.

TheBigDave

Netflix has parental controls. But there's only one profile for streaming accounts. I've heard a couple people say they have two accounts, one for parents and one for the kids. Apparently, they're working on adding individual profiles for streaming. But I haven't heard anything in the past couple months.

Amazon Instant Video offers new release movies and current TV shows. How can they give that away for $80 a year? Like DJariya said, Amazon Prime is about free shipping. The Prime Streaming is just a bonus. It's a loss-leader to get customers to rent new release videos and buy a Kindle Fire to watch them on.

orangecrush

We haven't had cable for nearly 9 years now. Until Hulu came along, we mostly just torrented the shows we wanted to watch. Now, we just watch hulu, Netflix and will buy seasons of shows that we have to watch right away or aren’t on those services (Doctor Who and Justified mainly) on Itunes. I would just test out how well you can get along with hulu and netflix. If you are going to stay completely legal, and are currently spending $50/mo for cable, you can get hulu + neflix and still have ~$34/mo to buy any other shows that aren't on those two that you want to watch. If you are a big sports fan, you are going to have a harder time. I think that the NFL and MLB both charge hundreds of dollars for their online season passes.

kefrank

The cost aside, these services are useless for many people as an alternative to the broadcasts for local sports teams due to the absurd blackout restrictions.

orangecrush

They have blackout rules for their own paid services? You have got to be kidding. How many regular season MLB games that aren't NY or Boston normally sellout?

DJariya

If the game is already broadcasted locally (OTA or cable) it's blacked out on MLB, NBA or NHL subscription service.

The whole point of the subscription service is to be able to watch out of market games.