Cutting the Cable's Cable but keep the 'Net

[mrbones]

As my Verizon Fios cable bill with internet, phone and TV is now at $160/month, I'm looking at getting rid of it and keeping just the Internet access. $22 of that bill is taxes and surcharges for phone and TV. Another $28 is just cable boxes and DVR rentals. By itself, 15/5 FIOS internet is 54.99/month. I currently have 10/2.

I already have a PC hooked up to my big screen in my living room and with rabbit ears, I can get HD network stations over the digital air waves on the TV for the big football game every Sunday. That PC and HDTV combo can go to any website, such as FOX or ABC and watch TV shows on demand over the 'net. Even Nickalodeon has cartoons on demand. I also have an Xbox 360 that can stream movies right to the TV from Netflix. Hulu.com has a lot of current shows now, too.

I use my cell phone for business and might as well take all calls with it. I only get a few phone calls a week anyway. Almost everything I do involves the Internet. What do I need cable for? Estimate cost savings would be about $100/month.

Has anybody done this or thought of doing it?

[bagobones]

This post is ironic, because I was going to ask you how your rabbit ears are working.

I too am paying about $100 for directtv satellite. I have been thinking of getting one of those buleray players that can access netflix. That $100 bill HAS TO GO.

How do you have the PC hooked up to your HDTV?

[bagobones]

http://lifehacker.com/5138746/build-your-own-dtv-antenna

[dt]

Okay, I need to spend some time looking at this, but our Fios is $221 a month. I couldn't find a statement for the detail, but I'll dig one up and report back. I suspect that it's higher because we have six tvs hooked up. We don't have any of the HBOs, Showtimes, etc. and stuff like that.

[mrbones]

6 cables boxes? Wow. I thought I was bad with 3, lol.

I did some checking around at the network sites to try and see which ones have HD content for download. Fox has a pretty good list, but you have to wait 8 days after a show airs for it to show up. I watched a House episode that my DVR missed and the quality was very good. I could hardly notice it wasn't coming from an HD cable box and this was on a pretty big HDTV. This is with a internet connection with the max of 4000/bps (of which is supposed to be a 10,000/bps). There's an occasional 15 second commercial here and there. Nothing annoying like on regular cable.

Here's the list.

http://www.fox.com/fod/index.htm?src=menu_item_full_episodes

ABC has a good list, too. I can remember watching Lost last year without any problems.

http://abc.go.com/watch

NBC also has a comprehensive list. Along with new shows, notice all the A-Team episodes are on there. There's also Buck Rogers, Battlestar Galactica, Knight Rider and Miami Vice.

http://www.nbc.com/video/library/full-episodes/

Now CBS seems to have the worst list. It's hard to find full episodes on that site because they are buried within smaller video clips. But, there are in there somewhere.

http://www.cbs.com/hd/

Now, I have 2 young kids (ages 3 & 7) and they need their cartoons and so do I. The site, www.kidswb.com, had a whole bunch of stuff that plays full screen. They feature the Flintsones, Jetsons, Space Ghost, Scooby Doo, Tom and Jerry, and a bunch more. They tend to interject a few commercials in the intros. They have other sites, too full of shows.

http://www.kidswb.com/video

Of course, Hulu.com can be used to find all kinds of shows. If they don't host it, they provide a link to the site that does. You can think of it as a search engine of sorts. I read in the wikipedia that they might start charging for the site in 2010.

I found my favorite Star Trek episode that way via CBS. It's called The Way to Eden. Watch it now and don't be a Herbert!

http://www.cbs.com/classics/star_trek/video/video.php?cid=649548575&pid=2jCniOZXunxcTGZPMvdyoDLhjStZ5TZB&play=true&cc=

Also found on Hulu, was a 3 Stooges collection. There's 43 shorts. I know they made over 150, but it's a good start. They are the clearest, nicest looking copies I've ever seen.

http://www.hulu.com/three-stooges-collection

CNN
http://www.cnn.com/video/

It loops stories but keeps jumping out of full screen mode.

ESPN
http://espn.go.com/video/

It has stories and video, but look poor in full screen mode.



I'll be testing out my rabbit ears on my HD TV today to see what's out there. I'll report back later.

[mrbones]

How do you have the PC hooked up to your HDTV?

My PC has an HDMI output that hooks right up to the TV. The TV itself also has a VGA hookup but it puts a slight black border around the image. In the past, I've also used component hookup that works but you must get the resolution right. The HDMI was the easiest way to hook it up. Most video cards these days have HD compatible output that includes component, HDMI, DVI, and VGA (15 pin) outputs through a couple of adapters.

[mrbones]

This is some interesting software. It streams Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, etc. from a PC to your Xbox 360, PS3 or Wii.

http://www.playon.tv/index.php

[mrbones]

More video on demand over the web.

WEDU
http://www.wedu.org/Content/Programming/vod.aspx

[mrbones]

I tired an amplified DTV antenna on my HDTV. I can get ABC, FOX, NBC, WUSF, and WEDU. CBS is a no show. No matter how much I mess with it, it's just not there. Most stations are in 480i, most HD are in 720p with a few in 1080i.

Now, I found a HDTV tuner for your PC that can record these shows like a DVR. You just have to setup your PC to be on all the time. With the money you save on dumping your cable bill, the added power cost is no big deal. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116015

I might try and build a DTV antenna like Bag posted. Maybe I could build a massive one in my attic to get that CBS channel 10!

[mrbones]

If your cel phone isn't cutting it in your house, check out MagicJack. $20/year gets you phone service with the internet.

http://www.magicjack.com/

[mrbones]

I'm within 30 miles from the big black dot in the center of this coverage chart for channel 10. WTF?

[mrbones]

I just canceled my cable and phone service. FU CABLE!

[flapug]

If your cel phone isn't cutting it in your house, check out MagicJack. $20/year gets you phone service with the internet.

http://www.magicjack.com/

 I have had a magic jack for almost a year now and am happy with it. Can't beat the price. And long distance is free with it.

[mrbones]

Is it just $40/yr? Are there any other fees?

[flapug]

After I had mine for a while I got an offer from them for $49.99 to extend my magic jack another 5 years. That is for the phone service. Local and Long Distance. Once you buy the Jack you just renew your account. 

[mrbones]

I made my coat hanger antenna today. I made to the plan Bag posted. I spent aout $8 on it. It works great! I put it up in the attic. It's very sensitive to it's position so I had to experiment a bit to get it right.

[mrbones]

Here it is testing in the house. ABC HD comes in great.

[mrbones]

This is how I mounted it in the attic. Still no CBS. It's like it doesn't exist.

[dt]

I tired an amplified DTV antenna on my HDTV. I can get ABC, FOX, NBC, WUSF, and WEDU. CBS is a no show. No matter how much I mess with it, it's just not there. Most stations are in 480i, most HD are in 720p with a few in 1080i.

I made my coat hanger antenna today. I made to the plan Bag posted. I spent aout $8 on it. It works great! I put it up in the attic. It's very sensitive to it's position so I had to experiment a bit to get it right.

Couple questions:

Notwithstanding the CBS problem, did you do the coat hanger thingy to get more channels than the amplified antenna you already had? Are you running them parallel? I’m wondering why you did both.

Is there something between the coat hanger thingy and tv like a “box” or do the internal workings of an HDTV have all that? So did you build it and plug it right in?

That CBS deal is weird, but I’m thinking back when I had a basic rabbit ear set up in my garage there was one primary network channel (don’t remember if it was CBS) that would never come in no matter what did. I’m not sure why that was. It’s just weird.

Oh yeah, do the different color coat hangers on your antenna have any significance? Just curious. 

I have had a magic jack for almost a year now and am happy with it. Can't beat the price. And long distance is free with it.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the magic jack plugs directly in the computer which has to be on “and dedicated” for the device to work. If I understand it, an incoming call interrupts PC use. Asking?

Alternatively, there’s another product I’m looking at called TK6000 which plugs into the router and does not interfere with the computer … and you can turn the computer off without phone interruption. It’s like $99.99 ($79.99 for a second number), which is more than magic jack, but that’s a onetime payment. It seems to be a more versatile solution for business use, and that’s what I’m looking at it for. So did you guys look at this product?

https://www.tk6000.com/

______________

[dt]

I found my favorite Star Trek episode that way via CBS. It's called The Way to Eden. Watch it now and don't be a Herbert!

[bagobones]

Holy crap! where did you find the inspirational 'Herbert' poster? Bones and I have been calling each other 'Herbert' for something like 20 years! Maintain....

[dt]

 

http://echosphere.net/star_trek_insp/star_trek_insp.html

[mrbones]

Awesome. Yeeeaaaaah bruthaaaaa!

[mrbones]

Couple questions:

Notwithstanding the CBS problem, did you do the coat hanger thingy to get more channels than the amplified antenna you already had? Are you running them parallel? I’m wondering why you did both.

Is there something between the coat hanger thingy and tv like a “box” or do the internal workings of an HDTV have all that? So did you build it and plug it right in?

That CBS deal is weird, but I’m thinking back when I had a basic rabbit ear set up in my garage there was one primary network channel (don’t remember if it was CBS) that would never come in no matter what did. I’m not sure why that was. It’s just weird.

Oh yeah, do the different color coat hangers on your antenna have any significance? Just curious.  

The amplified antenna is about a year old and looks like a standard TV antenna. I remember it being labeled for DTV use, but it just doesn't work very well. I am not using it at all right now. I built the coat hanger antenna to replace it. I checked out antennas at Wal-mart and the designs are different now. Some just look like a little box or circle. If the coat hanger device didn't work, I was going to buy one.

Yes, I just built the coat hanger antenna and plugged it right in. If you have an HD TV that's within a few years old, it has the necessary tuner to accept the signal straight from the antenna. To receive a digital broadcast on an older analog TV, you need a converter box that the antenna plugs into, then the box plugs into the analog TV.

The different colors on the antenna are because I bought a pack of new coat hangers that were all black, but then found out they were too short. So I raided my closet for longer ones and that's all I could find. The measurement of the wire appears to be critical for the best reception.

I had to change the direction of the coat hanger antenna in the attic. It's now vertical facing south. WUSF was cutting out and with the new direction, all the stations come in great. Tomorrow I'm going to hook up my other two TVs to the same antenna with a splitter. All the cabling is already in the house.

I also found something interesting regarding sound. My HD TV has an audio optical output for the broadcasts for digital sound. I plugged that into my audio receiver and discovered 5.1 surround sound coming over the HD boradcasts, too! I watched Sunday Night Football last night in 1080i HD with 5.1 sound, all with a coat hanger antenna!

[mrbones]

The TK6000 looks interesting. No PC needed. I haven't used either one (magic jack). Maybe someone can chime in?