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My Journey to Cut the Cable Cord
Now that I have Netflix and Hulu Plus, I'm closer to cutting the cable cord, but there are still some content gaps and a problem with live news and sports.
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November 01, 2010 | by Julie Jacobson

I’m sick of cable, sick of CableCard, sick of cable bills, sick of “60 Minutes” not recording because a football game ran too long.

So I’m on a journey to cut the cable cord, once and for all. Hopefully you can help me do it.

I’m not concerned about movies right now. I get what I need through Netflix.

So it’s my TV needs that must be addressed. I wish I didn’t enjoy mindless TV as much as I do, and I sure hope my mother doesn’t read this, but there you have it.

Here are some things you should know about me (and in some cases my husband).

Entertainment Content - Video

  • We must have “House,” “Modern Family,” “Big Bang Theory,” “The Good Wife.”
  • We enjoy the legal/crime/mystery shows but could possibly live without them: “The Mentalist,” “Law & Order,” “CSI,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “Terrier.”
  • We can really get into some of the good series such as “Damages,” “Flash Forward,” “Breaking Bad” (never got into “Lost”).
  • I don’t cook or even shop for food, but I do enjoy the cooking contests including “Top Chef,” “Hell’s Kitchen,” “Next Food Network Star.” (My husband does the cooking and grocery shopping and wouldn’t be caught dead watching these shows.)
  • I also enjoy the reality design shows such as “Project Runway” and “Next Design Star.”
  • Showtime is our only premium channel and all we watch is “Weeds” and “The Big C.”
  • We record “CBS Sunday Morning” and “60 Minutes” but don’t need to watch them immediately.
  • I schedule my stationary bike rides around “People’s Court” or “Judge Judy.” I’m not proud of this.
  • I work out of the home and have no water cooler, so I don’t need to watch any of these shows right away for social purposes.

Live Content - Video

  • We need live news from the major news channels.
  • We’re not sports fans but would like the opportunity to stream important games such as the Super Bowl and World Series, as well as events that feature my teams, including University of Michigan, University of Texas, state of Texas, state of Minnesota.

Audio Content

  • Decent CD library, courtesy of my husband (I brought 3 CDs to the marriage)
  • I like Pandora and have a killer Neil Diamond station.

Preferences

  • Audio and video quality are secondary to content availability.

Devices

  • 60-inch Mitsubishi DLP with no Internet connectivity
  • iPad
  • iPod Touch
  • S1Digital Media Center PC
  • Roku box coming
  • Apple TV (currently disconnected)
  • Vudu box (currently disconnected)
  • Windows Media Server
  • Gyration mouse/remote (love it)
  • Wireless keyboard

Subscriptions/software

  • Hulu Plus
  • Netflix
  • Hulu
  • Boxee (on Media Center)
  • Pandora

Now What?

So where do I go from here?

I only just subscribed to Hulu Plus yesterday, primarily so I could watch TV content through my iPad while riding my stationary bike or lounging on the couch.

I use Hulu a fair amount but I’m not sure yet if Hulu Plus fills the content gaps for me.

Netflix is nice for catching up on series and I’m currently watching Season 1 of “Damages.”

Can you help me cut the cable cord? What are some content tips? Where are the gaps? What products would you recommend? How about content navigation and universal search a la Google TV?

Please share your experiences in the comments section below and also let us know how you’re advising your clients on streaming content.

Meanwhile, I’ll keep you posted from my end.



Julie Jacobson - Editor-at-large, CE Pro
Julie Jacobson is co-founder of EH Publishing and currently spends most of her time writing for CE Pro, mostly in the areas of home automation, networked A/V and the business of home systems integration. She majored in Economics at the University of Michigan, earned an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin, and has never taken a journalism class in her life. Julie is a washed-up Ultimate Frisbee player with the scars to prove it. Follow her on Twitter @juliejacobson.



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Comments (8) Most recent displayed first.
Posted by Mark  on  12/07/10  at  04:51 PM

Hi Stefani

I have an HDMI connection from the PC (Mac Mini running windows) to the TV.

I have an Digital antenna and a SiliconDust HomeRunHD tuner. This has two tuners that you connect your antenna (use a splitter to split the coax into two) and to the network.. This essentially behaves as a pool of tuners. When a Windows medai cneter “tunes” to a channel to watch or record a program, it grabs one of the tuners.

You can add additional HomeRunHD’s if you need more than two tuners.

I get all major networks. Anything I want to watch on Bravo or TNT (one or two shows), I rent or buy on AppleTv ($99c to rent, $2.99 to buy, if not available for rent).

Regards

Mark

Posted by Bug Killer  on  11/02/10  at  10:17 PM

If you have cable, you are an idiot.  Most channels are unwatchable because they put their logos on the screen all the time, AND they show TONS of commercials which they’re being paid to show and you’re paying to watch!  I don’t watch broadcast TV either, but at least you don’t have to pay for that (it isn’t worth the cost of electricity to run the TV though.)

Posted by mark  on  11/02/10  at  02:43 PM

I cut the cord when I moved a few months ago

Have windows media center running on Mac Mini (bootcamp) with a silicon dust HoneRunHD (adding a second one some). This allows two shows to be watched/recorded (on any WMC PC in house) via HomeRun tuners and one by each TV’s built in tuner. So if two us are watching different TV’s (living room and bedroom) we can watch 2 shows and record two.

For TNT, Brave, etc. shows I rent or buy with AppleTV (99c or $2.99) - only buy the ones I can’t rent. This is all in HD - can’t stand watching SD. You can also get a bunch of the shows for free on iPad/Computer (which I use when travelling).

There’s a bit of upfront investment, but my WMC does so much more than TV (and was original reason to buy: ripped all my DVD’s and blu-rays and stream to WMC)

Not a sports fan at all. That said surprised you can get HD NFL for free OTA


So I pay about $5 to $30 a month for content depending on time of year.

Posted by acolnahuacatl  on  11/02/10  at  02:09 PM

I recently started using Miro; downloaded the application which saves programs to my computer. Later, I can watch any of the programs from my local computer. So far I am really happy with Miro. I also have the Netflix subscription which provides my movies. I haven’t used Hulu Plus.
Advantages of Miro:
Programs are saved in my computer rather than being streamed; this provides better video quality.
Miro allowed me to select the content I want and then looks for updated content. For news, I included them in my list to download, I watch them when I get home or early in the morning.
Disadvantages of Miro:
Some of the network channel series are not included and must be streamed; Miro provides a bridge to Hulu and uses Hulu to stream.
Computer must be on to downloaded video.
It doesn’t separate channels between what members of the family wants/likes. It would be nice if Miro would provide a setting that allows separate viewing for my wife and me.

Posted by clancyHOME  on  11/02/10  at  02:09 PM

i’m going to follow intently as I would like to do the same thing…


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