TV with just internet??

[mdwyer]

How much do any of you use the internet for TV?

I got one of those Roku Netflix boxes, and I think it is the best $100 I've spent in a LONG time.

One question, though: How do you get your internet? Here in Comcast country, if you use a cable modem but DON'T subscribe to TV, they charge you an extra $12 a month or some BS like that... Their most basic cable package is only $15, so it almost makes sense to do it that way.

On the other hand, the slowest DSL is just a little bit too slow to use with the Roku box. It works, but you get their most-compressed video, which is nearly unwatchable.

[Leah]

Has anyone heard of Hulu.com? The aliens have arranged for hundreds of TV programs to be streamed online for free so that we can turn our brains into slimy goo that they can then suck out and consume. Don't believe me? Ask Alec Baldwin. He's an alien.

Harharhar

[CrnCnn]

We are using cable for internet. It will cut our bill in half basically to go to just internet. It's not a huge savings but anything will help right now. My parents have DSL and it SUCKS.

[johnnyapollo]

I had only internet and then the cable company came back with a deal that was basic cable plus internet and it came out $4 cheaper per month. I pay $2/month for the cable modem and have lost 4 in during the 6 years I've owned this house (lightening and other mishaps) - every time they replace it I get the latest technology.

I use a Series 3 HD Tivo to record programs and it's integrated with Netflix (about 40k titles availble for streaming). The realitiy is that most programming is available somewhere online. I have several friends that run Windows Media Center and forgo all TV except what they get via high speed access.

-- John

[JAFO]

I got one of those Roku Netflix boxes, and I think it is the best $100 I've spent in a LONG time.

One question, though: How do you get your internet? Here in Comcast country, if you use a cable modem but DON'T subscribe to TV, they charge you an extra $12 a month or some BS like that... Their most basic cable package is only $15, so it almost makes sense to do it that way.

On the other hand, the slowest DSL is just a little bit too slow to use with the Roku box. It works, but you get their most-compressed video, which is nearly unwatchable.

I've been without cable TV since 2000 (nine years) and have been fine with analog broadcast TV. However the digital broadcast antennas are in a different location and my rabbit ears are not good enough any more. I would put up an external antenna but I rent and don't want to hassle with it.

I do have a quite the movie and TV DVD collection though. The way I figure it, I spend the money that I would have spent for cable on DVDs and at the end of the month I have something to show for my money.

Cable and satellite both encrypt DVRs and prevent off loading content to other formats. Also DVRs have expiration dates that will erase your content at the content provider's choice.

Also for those of you, like me, that use your DVD-R as a VCR to record shows while you are away from home. My friend informed me last week that Comcast is now using security settings available with the digital signal to prevent you from recording your favorite shows.

So if they are going to make it expensive for me to watch TV, bombard me with adverting while watching TV, and not let me watch my TV shows when I want to watch them, why would I pay for cable/satellite?

Buy it on DVD, watch it when and where you want to watch it, commercial free. And you own it!

[kodiak]

You are a slave, Clint. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, born inside a prison that you cannot smell, taste, or touch. A prison for your mind......................Unfortunately, no one can be told what usenet is. You have to see it for yourself. This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back.

You take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.

P.S. Remember -- all I am offering is the truth, nothing more.

[Riff Raff]

Well, I'm focusing now on completing my Home Theater. Today, the UPS guy just brought me my new state-of-the-art AVR, the renowned Pioneer Elite #SC-09TX (which costs more than some used VX's). I'm dedicating an entire walled-in garage bay in my backyard detached shop/garage for my Home Theater which has the dimensions of 35' deep x 18' wide x 12' high and will have the cabability of a 250" diagonal projection screen. When completed, video source will be primarily Blu-Ray rentals via NetFlix. Currently, I do not have cable TV. At the moment; for free video entertainment on my computer, I visit: www.IMDB.com