Cable Television Companies should be very worried (Netflix, streaming television)

[RyDogg66]

I dont have cable. I have what I consider to be a "nice" TV, that one that I won off of Swoopo last year (remebmber?), a 37 inch Samsung HDTV. However, I do not have cable, not even basic cable. That means that I get all of TWO over the air channels, NBC and CBS and the rest of the time I use it for movies or television DVDs. This has been the status quo now since about October when I had enough with the cable bills and cancelled. And to be honest, I dont miss it too much at all. Here is what I have and what I am looking forward to that could permanently replace a cable subscription, and VERY soon,

 

First, I got a Netflix subscription. Right now I have thw two-disc-at-a-time subscription for $13.99. But that might change with the announcement that Netflix has signed a deal with Warner Bros. to stream all of their movies on Netflix (granted, they are adding a 28 day waiting period from when new releases are released). I believe this will be the future of Netflix and more studios will follow WB, which means I may be able to lower my subscription to unlimited rentals for 8.99 a month and have just one disc at home at a time and stream more movies.

 

Next, PS3. I dont currently have one, so I dont know about all of its capabilities and/or limitations, but with an internet connection I understand that I could be watching the streaming Netflix movies on my nice fancy television set. Not only that, I am lead to believe by talking to others that I could potentially surf the web and stream other things through the PS3 and onto the television, rather than the computer.

 

Which leads me to my next discovery(ies). First, ESPN360. which allowed me to watch stuff like the Badger Bowl game, Marquette Basketball and a slew of other out of market ESPN games. As I type this I am watching the BSC National Champtionship game on ABC on the internet, live, even though I dont or cant get ABC over the air on my TV. I found a website called www.streamick.com. This is LIVE television channels on this website. Hundreds of channels from ESPN to Discovery to Cartoon Network showing real time content. Not to mention sites like Hulu and the major network stations that put up new shows almost as soon as they've aired.

 

The bottom line is that between Netflix, a PS3 and the internet, there really doesnt seem to be ANYTHING that is getting by me and all I am going to end up paying for is the monthly Netflix subscription. Pretty incredible. Of course the PS3 is going to cost $300 but I was planning on getting that for the video games/Blu Ray technology anyway.

 

Why pay for cable?

[logan82]

Can you watch new episodes of Dexter online?

[RyDogg66]

I dont know, I dont watch that show, but I have been thinking about getting into it since it is availble via streaming on Netlix, season 1 of course, I dont know what season they are currently in, but a quick internet search turned up a bunch of Season 4 episodes 12 and 13 which appeared to air just before the Holidays.

[SenatorShriv]

My roommate used to have a PS3 set up that we were able to watch Youtube videos on, but we weren't able to access other internet sites. I'm not saying that you can't do it, but ours was not set up to do so. My biggest concern with cancelling cable is that I won't be able to watch Brewers games. My other concern is that when I looked into this about 3 years ago most internet providers were only slightly cheaper than the monthly cable bill was.

[RyDogg66]

My internet is through ATT and I pay $39.99 a month but I also have a landline. I could get it for less if I cancelled that. When I cancelled my cable bill it was $49.99 month and that was NOT for digital cable, a DVR or anything like that. It was just expanded basic.

[homer]

My biggest concern with cancelling cable is that I won't be able to watch Brewers games.

You can watch Brewer games on the internet on MLB.com The picture is pretty darn good. I hooked my computer up to my TV and watched it that way.

[TooLiveBrew]

I agree on the MLB.tv picture quality. I've had the Extra Innings package the past two seasons, and will definitely go with MLB.tv this coming season instead.

[homer]

Can you watch NFL games on the internet? I tried watching a couple Packer games on that channelsurfing site but the quality sucked.

[logan82]

I would like to know how well Brewers games stream over the PS3. I have been contemplating having my brother-in-law build a computer for me just to record TV instead of using TiVo. If I can get most TV over the internet with a PS3, I could probably talk my wife into dropping cable. Of course the Netflix streaming was pretty poor quality sometimes.

[nodakfan17]

I'm curious as to how your who situation will play out. I'm planning on moving in May and will have to make some cable and internet decisions. My cable bill went up by $3/month this summer and it almost put me over the edge. I thought about switching to DirectTV, but I live in a first floor corner apartment and feared that some drunk punk would walk right up to my patio and smash the dish. My girlfriend and I have been trying to weigh all of our options before our move. I think that I could get by with internet, Tivo, Nextflix, etc, but there are some days that I come home from work and just want to watch 20 minutes of television without messing around (I just want to press "power"). I almost value that convenience enough to stick with cable.

[Invader3K]

You can stream Netflix via the PS3, though currently you need to have a special Netflix disc loaded in your PS3 to do it. That could change in the future, though. I don't have a Netflix account myself, so I'm going off second hand info here.

 

My whole problem with streaming is that I'm very picky in terms of audio and video. I want HD picture with Dolby Digital sound, etc. Also, while I often complain about Charter and the price we pay, I received every single Brewers game last year, and all the HD ones included (other than maybe five games that weren't broadcast at all the entire season). I guess I place a personal premium on that. But hey, if you can get by without paying for cable/satellite, more power to you.

[Patrick425]

I think at some point the computer and TV will be the same thing. However, right now, it all seems a bit clumsy. I'm not a fan of watching movies or TV on my computer...so unless I can get the picture on my TV, in an easy fashion, then I'll continue to watch and pay for TV the conventional way. I know someone is going to explain how easy it is to hook up the computer to the TV, but what about sound? What about recording shows (DVR, TIVO)? I'm not quite ready to drop cable yet.

 

Also, when I do watch a video on my computer, sometimes I get the "buffering" pause. That would be maddening to watch TV that way.

[RyDogg66]

This is simply the beginning of the abandonment of the Cable. The technology is there, my guess in 2-3 years or less it will be more refined and developed making it simple to get HD quality picture on your television via the internet, with more selection than there is now. This is why Cable companies should be worried. I read multiple articles after the latest Fox/Time Warner dispute about how your (our) cable bill is going up and how it will go up every year. There really was very little explanation as to why it will go up, just that it is a given fact that it will.

 

Right now cable companies can charge $75.00 a month for cable because the public believes that they cannot watch shows that arent in HD. Really? Yeah, it looks good, but it isnt like I sit there in anger while I watch Seinfeld reruns that arent in HD - or even baseball games for that matter.

[endaround]

Hulu for example blocks the PS3. Other streaming video sites have talked about it as well. And given how java intensive the MLB site is you might have problems since Sony doesn't do updates as quickly as PC browsers would. Now you could find an old PS3 and load linux on it if you feel so inclined and that would eliminate all those issues but its still rather clunky.

[JoeH33]

Yeah, it looks good, but it isnt like I sit there in anger while I watch Seinfeld reruns that arent in HD - or even baseball games for that matter.

I guess that's a matter of personal preference. I know that I pretty much won't watch television unless its in HD, it drives me nuts. I can't even remember the last time I scrolled down to the standard definition channels.

[pretendastronaut]

The XBOX 360 also can stream Netflix, without a disc. The PS3 does or did at least require a disc to use Netflix at first. This was going to be fixed in a patch, but I don't know if that patch is out yet. The 360 also has a marketplace where you can rent and/or buy television shows and movies.

 

I agree this is the inevitable future, but I don't think it's rounded out enough yet for me to switch fully. I use the streaming Netflix far more than I do the disc service now, and if my DVR misses a show I've paid a few dollars to get it on the 360 and watch it on my large television versus watching it free on hulu sometimes as well.

 

The problems are two fold as far as I'm concerned. 1 - Bandwidth would become an issue if everyone started getting HD content delivery in these fashions. 2 - The movie and television companies are making several of the same stubborn mistakes the RIAA made over 10 years ago, in clinging to their existing business models and fighting against the future of their industry.

[homer]

I think at some point the computer and TV will be the same thing. However, right now, it all seems a bit clumsy. I'm not a fan of watching movies or TV on my computer...so unless I can get the picture on my TV, in an easy fashion, then I'll continue to watch and pay for TV the conventional way. I know someone is going to explain how easy it is to hook up the computer to the TV, but what about sound? What about recording shows (DVR, TIVO)? I'm not quite ready to drop cable yet.

 

Also, when I do watch a video on my computer, sometimes I get the "buffering" pause. That would be maddening to watch TV that way.

I hooked up speakers to my computer and basically use my TV as a second monitor. So I drag the window with the Brewer game over to my TV and the sound comes from the external speakers on my computer. Works great although I'll be the first to admit I'm not super picky about resolution so what I think is fine might be terrible to someone else.

 

All you need to hook up the TV to the PC is a cable you can pick up at Radio Shack. They also have cables that will move the sound from the PC to the TV but I didn't bother with that since I had the external speakers on my PC.

 

I have a crappy DVD player so sometimes I use the DVD player on the computer and watch the movie on TV. Also watch the streaming movies from Netflix this way.

[Godspeed]

This is simply the beginning of the abandonment of the Cable. The technology is there, my guess in 2-3 years or less it will be more refined and developed making it simple to get HD quality picture on your television via the internet, with more selection than there is now. This is why Cable companies should be worried.

And this is why some cable ISPs been talking about surcharges for higher bandwidth users. They've even piloted it in select markets and naturally, everyone's thrilled about paying more for what was sold to them as an unlimited service. I think it's lose-lose for cable companies here. They'll lose their share of cable viewers to those who turn to the internet, and when they compensate by jacking the rates of internet users, they'll lose those customers too. Since they're already losing customers to satellite, if it's not already it's gotta be becoming a negative-growth industry really soon, right?

 

I've been getting my programming OTA for almost a year now. Thank you to whichever previous owner who installed the roof antenna hooked up in my attic. 100% signal strength, on all channels. Sweet. Cable tv just wasn't worth what I was paying for how little we watched it. (That's right... I pay, we watch!) My blu-ray player streams Netflix and Blockbuster, and also offers YouTube and Pandora service. I think I'm set for the near future.

[MJLiverock]

The real problem cable will be hit with is the launching of 3D channels. It is early in the evolution but some of the upcoming World Cup matches and the 2010 MLB All Star game will be broadcast in 3D. DirecTV is planning on launching 3 3D channels in the next year now that their new satellite is up. The cable companies are currently hard pressed to find capacity for HD channels on their systems and as the 3D trend grows they will really be hard pressed to find capacity for that addition. They have been trying to get rid of all analog channels for at least 7 years (analog signals take up more capacity than HD in the cable world) and still can't get rid of all the analog channels. IIIR, any of the cable channels you watch without a box on the TV are probably in analog which they desperately need to drop if they want increased bandwith.

 

Like any new technology 3D will be expensive at first for anyone wanting to buy the new 3D TV's that are coming out but that will drop if adoption takes off.

 

 

The Netflix streaming would be nice but they need to expand their partnerships, I have a Sony Blu-Ray player and a Panasonic Blu-Ray player, neither of which stream Netflix despite being top of the line players. I have no interest in getting a PS3 or XBOX360 just for the streaming, I already have a Wii that barely gets played. I don't know about the HD streaming of Netflx but I won't bother to watch a movie that isn't in HD anymore.

[GAME05]

Can you watch NFL games on the internet? I tried watching a couple Packer games on that channelsurfing site but the quality sucked.

i'm on that site all the time for Badger and Packer games and PPV boxing. it's really a crapshoot as far as video quality, sometimes good, sometimes bad. i also visit justin.tv.

 

Badger games and PPV stuff is easy enough to find, but I have yet to be able to watch a Packer game in its entirety. Most channels get blocked halfway through. still, my only other option to see a Packer game is drive an hour to sit at a Buffalo Wild Wings.

 

I haven't had cable tv since college. i'll probably never have it until you can pay per channel. $50 a month for Fine Living and Lifetime and other channels I'll never watch seems ridiculous.

[bork]

I've had OTA TV for 9 years now and it works for me. And with the switch to digital, there's something like 30 channels and subchannels, all through a homemade antenna in the garage rafters. If we miss a show, then we watch it online. But I have been hearing how some of the major networks may be dropping OTA in a few years. So OTA TV may be dying soon, except for local channels that hang on with local programming or re-runs. I'm not sure what I'd do then.

[MarquesJohnson2000]

There was just a story in Newsweek (I think.. don't have it on my desk any more) about Comcast's purchase of NBC that basically made this point.. the current group of 15-20 year olds may never sign up for cable TV. They mentioned that there are negotiations underway for a "Hulu"-type site that would include the premium cable channels. [They noted that Comcast could basically destroy Hulu now, either intentionally or through incompetence, but Comcast claims they have no plans to make any changes]

 

Here's the story

[homer]

I have a Sony Blu-Ray player and a Panasonic Blu-Ray player, neither of which stream Netflix despite being top of the line players.

On the Netflix site it has a list of compatible Blu-Ray players. Here's the Sony model:

 

Sony Network Blu-ray Disc player

Model: BDP-N460

Experience Blu-ray Disc™ movies in Full HD 1080p quality with HD sound plus instantly stream entertainment from leading internet providers with the Sony® BDP-N460 Network Blu-ray Disc player.

There's also a Samsung, LG, and Insignia model. Not sure if those are the only ones or not.

They also stream on Internet Connected TVs from LG and Sony in addition to TiVo's HD DVR.

[Bikeage77]

stream2stream.com (i believe) will take care of all your brewer game watching abilities. i am yet to try it out, but my friend watched the Brewers game anytime he wanted to because it picks up stations other people are watching and puts it on your computer. I guess it's technically "stealing" but the technology exists, and if it's live streaming, I don't know if it matters.

 

I haven't had cable in about 3 years and the only thing I miss is watching ESPN or Brewers games (and I can live pretty happily without ESPN). We hook up our laptop to our TV and watch whatever we want. Surfthechannel might not have Dexter immediately, but it will the next day. If you can't be patient enough to wait 16-18 hours to see a TV show, you've got bigger problems than not having cable.

 

With all that said, cable is a waste of money, just have the internet, a 15 dollar chord, and your set.

[RyDogg66]

That is great advice, thanks Bikeage. You can watch ESPN on streamick.com if you want.