Author Topic: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...  (Read 7606 times)

ivyhedge

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Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« on: July 24, 2012, 11:09:03 AM »
My spouse and I wondered how folks who are fitness oriented and who love competitive sports (read: us - eagerly anticipating the Olympics) deal with watching special events like the Games? We could just delay the unsubscription by two weeks.

Given our work schedules, we'd generally either watch live or DVR what we like. With OTA, we cannot do the latter (which, given the time shift, we'd likely need)...We have a BoxeeBox attached to our main display with AmazonPrime, but is there an NBC interface for the otherwise pan-web free HD broadcasts of the games that we could use on it?

Thanks in advance for any recommendations you proffer...

igthebold

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Re: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« Reply #1 on: July 24, 2012, 11:27:21 AM »
We could just delay the unsubscription by two weeks.

This is probably just fine. The big problem with expenses like cable is that they're recurring. They continue to push your date of financial freedom back every single month.

One-time expenses (like leaving the cable on for another two weeks) have less impact, although our lives are full of one-time expenses, so you still have to watch them.

Enjoy the olympics! I forgot they even existed. :P

grantmeaname

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Re: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« Reply #2 on: July 24, 2012, 11:32:56 AM »
In the US, NBC has exclusive distribution rights to the Olympics. You have to have a cable account that gets NBC to stream anything online (if you have an account number, they seem to have some very nice apps for it). I was planning to borrow a friend's account number if there's anything I decide I want to see.

Jamesqf

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Re: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« Reply #3 on: July 24, 2012, 12:18:57 PM »
My spouse and I wondered how folks who are fitness oriented and who love competitive sports (read: us - eagerly anticipating the Olympics) deal with watching special events like the Games?

Can't help but wonder: if you're fitness oriented, why would you want to spend large amounts of time sitting on your couch watching other people exercise?

dahlink

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Re: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« Reply #4 on: July 24, 2012, 12:24:58 PM »
There is an option for DVR-ing OTA TV.  The most common one I have heard of from cord cutting websites is the Channel Master...but they are expensive.  But eventually it would pay for itself by cutting cable tv.

here is a review of one of the models on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whlDRB1yflg

I think they have a couple of models..at first glance they looks like they can run from 300-400.  Its an option but its not cheap.

grantmeaname

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Re: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« Reply #5 on: July 24, 2012, 12:32:15 PM »
Unfortunately, OTA NBC affiliates have godawful olympics coverage. Last time this conversation topic went around, I was chagrined to learn that my affiliate has 10 events all summer. If you still want to give it a try and you don't mind the total lack of selection, the linked post has a link to NBC's tool to find event times.

ivyhedge

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Re: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« Reply #6 on: July 24, 2012, 12:58:04 PM »
My spouse and I wondered how folks who are fitness oriented and who love competitive sports (read: us - eagerly anticipating the Olympics) deal with watching special events like the Games?

Can't help but wonder: if you're fitness oriented, why would you want to spend large amounts of time sitting on your couch watching other people exercise?

Fair question. And the answer to it is easy: we don't spend "large amounts of time" watching anything (and we don't have a couch!). We run 15-25 miles/week and cover much more distance if you include hiking and biking. There are myriad sports in which we don't participate, but that we enjoy watching. And we root for two countries - only some of whose events overlap.

Thanks much to the others who have posted.

jrhampt

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Re: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« Reply #7 on: July 24, 2012, 01:00:07 PM »
We got rid of cable about a year ago, and I was concerned that my spouse would miss it since he loves watching sports.  Thought for sure he'd cave and want it back in the spring during the NCAA tournament.  Instead, he played more volleyball and did more mountain biking himself.  We went hiking and biking and tubing together and got more stuff done around the house.  If there was a game he really wanted to watch, we'd go to a bar or watch it over at a friend's house (one of our friends recently had a kid and are more housebound anyway these days).  Even going out to a bar occasionally to watch is cheaper than having a $100+ recurring cost every month.  Anyway, I guess if you really HAVE to watch all of the Olympics, you could delay, but there's always something sports-related going on, so there's always the danger that you put it off indefinitely.  We were watching some of the pre-Olympic qualifying events OTA a couple of weeks ago, so there is some available for free at least.

Daley

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Re: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« Reply #8 on: July 24, 2012, 01:34:05 PM »
There is an option for DVR-ing OTA TV.  The most common one I have heard of from cord cutting websites is the Channel Master...but they are expensive.  But eventually it would pay for itself by cutting cable tv.

here is a review of one of the models on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whlDRB1yflg

I think they have a couple of models..at first glance they looks like they can run from 300-400.  Its an option but its not cheap.

OTA DVR's aren't difficult to build out of a stock desktop or laptop computer with appropriate video out, and you'd get far more versatility out of the thing with added streaming video, DVD player and console emulation capability all in one. Any beater with a USB remote and a Linux friendly ATSC/QAM tuner with XBMCbuntu installed will work just fine, and you get the added benefit of free channel guide updates via Zap2It. Total cost building off of a $100 desktop refurb from Newegg with an added tuner and remote would be well under $200.

That said, nothing OTA is really worth recording that isn't already available online via the usual suspects right now.
« Last Edit: July 24, 2012, 01:36:48 PM by I.P. Daley »

strider3700

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Re: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« Reply #9 on: July 24, 2012, 02:27:26 PM »
That said, nothing OTA is really worth recording that isn't already available online via the usual suspects right now.

I record kids shows since they tend not to be overly available.  Beyond that I fully agree.

5oclockshadow

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Re: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« Reply #10 on: July 24, 2012, 07:58:57 PM »
On NBC's Olympics website, it says you need to provide evidence of a paid account that gets MSNBC and CNBC.  It also clearly says you need to register a computer only once for the duration of the games, and that it's been open for registration since June.  So, you could enter your information on the website today, cancel cable tomorrow, and, I suspect, watch the entirety of the Olympics online.

MrSaturday

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Re: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« Reply #11 on: July 25, 2012, 08:07:52 AM »
I bought a few used USB tuners and use Windows Media Center to DVR OTA content.  It doesn't take much time or effort to set it up and it's got a very slick interface.

MrD

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Re: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« Reply #12 on: July 25, 2012, 08:36:03 AM »
Not to hijack this thread but is there anyway to watch NFL games as well as NBA games using OTA etc? I am very computer savvy and have an extra HTPC I could use. I just don't Sundays to roll around and me having to find streams for the NFL. I would love to cut cable, but giving up the NBA/NFL is not worth it to me.

Daley

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Re: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« Reply #13 on: July 25, 2012, 08:54:25 AM »
Not to hijack this thread but is there anyway to watch NFL games as well as NBA games using OTA etc? I am very computer savvy and have an extra HTPC I could use. I just don't Sundays to roll around and me having to find streams for the NFL. I would love to cut cable, but giving up the NBA/NFL is not worth it to me.

Topic's already been covered in another thread quite well, actually. You'll likely never get the NFL, though. Learn to live without 'em.

MrD

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Re: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« Reply #14 on: July 25, 2012, 08:55:58 AM »
Not to hijack this thread but is there anyway to watch NFL games as well as NBA games using OTA etc? I am very computer savvy and have an extra HTPC I could use. I just don't Sundays to roll around and me having to find streams for the NFL. I would love to cut cable, but giving up the NBA/NFL is not worth it to me.

Topic's already been covered in another thread quite well, actually. You'll likely never get the NFL, though. Learn to live without 'em.

Thanks for the link but I must have NFL sadly.

deciduous

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Re: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« Reply #15 on: July 25, 2012, 09:52:14 AM »
This is absolutely not the solution for everyone, but I'm a huge sports fan who has come to love the radio, primarily because of the way I can do other stuff concurrently.  This way, I don't need to set aside many (many) hours each week to follow my teams. It's free to try, if you're game.

MrD

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Re: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« Reply #16 on: July 25, 2012, 10:48:17 AM »
This is absolutely not the solution for everyone, but I'm a huge sports fan who has come to love the radio, primarily because of the way I can do other stuff concurrently.  This way, I don't need to set aside many (many) hours each week to follow my teams. It's free to try, if you're game.

I am way too much of a fantasy football nut for that, I would have to change stations all the time and it would be a huge bother. Plus I doubt I could get my g/f to lose the DVR/Bravo/VH1/etc

arebelspy

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Re: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« Reply #17 on: July 25, 2012, 05:37:00 PM »
How about a friend or family member with something like a Slingbox and an NFL subscription and a willingness to share?
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deciduous

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Re: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« Reply #18 on: July 26, 2012, 07:01:27 AM »
ah, yeah. radio would be abysmal for fantasy. good luck!

arebelspy

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Re: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« Reply #19 on: July 31, 2012, 10:05:15 AM »
Lifehacker had a post today on using proxies to get around country restrictions so you can watch the BBC coverage of the Olympics, which is supposedly better than the NBC coverage.

If that's your thing, here you go: http://lifehacker.com/5930437/how-an-american-can-stream-the-bbcs-official-olympics-coverage-and-overcome-nbcfail
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joerocklin

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Re: Was nearly ready to cut cable ...
« Reply #20 on: September 03, 2012, 10:21:18 AM »
I'm a little late to the party, but I thought I would share my experience with the Olympics as a cord-cutter. We used a combination of a VPN/Proxy (from hideipvpn.com - with an olympic special: ~$5) plus a program (airparrot ~$10) to stream the content from the computer to the Apple TV. This let us watch the BBC coverage, which was absolutely incredible! The only 'downside' to the setup is that we had to tell them that we paid our BBC licence fee to get the live coverage.  While getting things 'for free' is great - being free and being legal about it is better*. So our cost to watch the Olympics was ~$15, plus we still have the airparrot software that we can use for other things that don't natively stream to the AppleTV.

*My wife and I would love to pay the BBC for the content they produce, but they simply do not provide a means for non UK citizens to do so!