Cutting the Cable Cord

chip · « **Reply #240 on:** 13 Jan 2015, 05:06 pm »

Here is some more info on how to watch sports as well -
http://www.totalhtpc.com/cordcutting-sports/

Mike Nomad · « **Reply #241 on:** 13 Jan 2015, 10:00 pm »

lokie · « **Reply #242 on:** 21 Jan 2015, 05:07 pm »

Anybody have an opinion on Now TV?

bixby · « **Reply #243 on:** 22 Jan 2015, 11:23 pm »

I had a bit of a install problem, but now using Plex on Roku to good effect ($5.00). Some Comedy Central shows and food stuff are free as well as some network shows that I tend to miss when broadcast OTA live. Also enables me to stream movies and other owned and ripped content to my Roku from my computer in the other room.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #244 on:** 23 Jan 2015, 12:37 am »

Ooma sucks goat balls.

There are days when this internet based machine makes phone calls so unbearably painful due to unintelligible dialog, that I'm about to throw it in the driveway, run over it with my truck, set it on fire and piss on the ashes. The last straw was when I was on the phone (with tech support for a different brand new BROKEN piece of electronics), that I couldn't have a conversation. Ooma is being returned.
I'm officially crawling back to Charter with my tail between my legs and having them provide me with phone service. Once again.
Of course they can't simply turn it back on. Oh no. I have to pay an installation fee for them to come out and install new equipment, as the equipment of theirs that's still attached to the wall and was fully operational two months ago is "too old and outdated" to merely "flip a switch" and have it work again.

I have no doubt they're punishing me for leaving them.

TomS · « **Reply #245 on:** 23 Jan 2015, 01:45 am »

Quote from: Bob in St. Louis on 23 Jan 2015, 12:37 am

Ooma sucks goat balls.

There are days when this internet based machine makes phone calls so unbearably painful due to unintelligible dialog, that I'm about to throw it in the driveway, run over it with my truck, set it on fire and piss on the ashes. The last straw was when I was on the phone (with tech support for a different brand new BROKEN piece of electronics), that I couldn't have a conversation. Ooma is being returned.
I'm officially crawling back to Charter with my tail between my legs and having them provide me with phone service. Once again.
Of course they can't simply turn it back on. Oh no. I have to pay an installation fee for them to come out and install new equipment, as the equipment of theirs that's still attached to the wall and was fully operational two months ago is "too old and outdated" to merely "flip a switch" and have it work again.

I have no doubt they're punishing me for leaving them.

Sorry to hear that. You can still try the Obihai box fairly cheap. No monthly fees at all.

Doublej · « **Reply #246 on:** 23 Jan 2015, 02:12 am »

Quote from: Bob in St. Louis on 23 Jan 2015, 12:37 am

Ooma sucks goat balls.

There are days when this internet based machine makes phone calls so unbearably painful due to unintelligible dialog, that I'm about to throw it in the driveway, run over it with my truck, set it on fire and piss on the ashes. The last straw was when I was on the phone (with tech support for a different brand new BROKEN piece of electronics), that I couldn't have a conversation. Ooma is being returned.
I'm officially crawling back to Charter with my tail between my legs and having them provide me with phone service. Once again.
Of course they can't simply turn it back on. Oh no. I have to pay an installation fee for them to come out and install new equipment, as the equipment of theirs that's still attached to the wall and was fully operational two months ago is "too old and outdated" to merely "flip a switch" and have it work again.

I have no doubt they're punishing me for leaving them.

How does one determine that it's Ooma and not one's internet connection? Or perhaps the Ooma unit you have is defective? VOIP is pretty basic stuff.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #247 on:** 23 Jan 2015, 02:35 am »

Thanks fellas.

Tom - I'm going back to a "relatively" traditional landline. I need some reliability, as I live out in the sticks, and our cel phones don't get a signal. Too much at stake to mess around.

DoubleJ - I called Ooma and they performed "a test" and said that the jitter on my line is excessive. My 70-80 Meg connection is fine, the ping is fine, but the jitter is way too high and that I needed to contact my internet provider. There was nobody at Charter with enough intelligence or initiative to diagnose or have the desire to find somebody smart enough to even begin thinking about a customer complaining about excessive jitter. None even knew what jitter was. The most common solution and suggestion I received was that I should "up" my service to the ultra platinum intergalactic bundled package. That should do it.

honestly, it didn't take me long to simply give up and let them provide me with phone. My monthly bill is now $70 for "100Meg" (75Meg in reality) and phone.
I can accept that. Still much better than $222 a month.

Bob

Phil A · « **Reply #248 on:** 23 Jan 2015, 03:47 am »

Quote from: Doublej on 23 Jan 2015, 02:12 am

How does one determine that it's Ooma and not one's internet connection?

Ooma will test it live while you are on chat. I helped someone about 2 months back (they were not computer literate). Jitter was acceptable but the speed was not great (the internet came free with his townhouse HOA - sometimes it would pick up the call and sometimes you picked it up and got a dial tone). They were able to adjust the software in the unit for the speed and there have been no problems to date.

asliarun · « **Reply #249 on:** 25 Jan 2015, 03:30 pm »

Sad to hear about your experience, Bob. My Ooma has been holding up good.

On a different note, I finally canceled Comcast. I was dreading the cancellation process as there are horror stories about being made to wait on the phone for hours.

I just disconnected everything, and took it to the Comcast service center. It was a breeze. Waited in line for about 15 mins and then, was done in less than 5. The customer service rep was really good. When I told him that I have heard bad stuff about their phone support, he said he doesn't like them either.

They have also offered internet only for $77 for 50 Mbps.. A good option to have if my new internet provider - HiPoint doesn't hold up. I have had a few connection drops here and there (only last a few seconds) but they fix the problems soon enough and their customer service is really good.

A lot of the connectivity issues I was facing earlier was actually being caused by my router. Even my Roku was getting affected although it is wired up to the router.

I replaced Belkin with Asus RT-N66U and performance and stability and WiFi coverage has significantly improved.

lokie · « **Reply #250 on:** 5 Feb 2015, 03:55 pm »

Interesting article about streaming TV and the new Shout!Factory:
Vox on Streaming

lokie · « **Reply #251 on:** 5 Feb 2015, 08:56 pm »

Wrong link to Shout Factory:

Go here: http://www.shoutfactorytv.com

Not a ton of selections but it is their first day- so who knows what will show up here.

More free stuff none-the-less.

shadowlight · « **Reply #252 on:** 12 Dec 2015, 11:45 pm »

Starting to explore option for replacing the cable box with cable card / ota solution. Is HD HomeRun Prime the best option available for cable card solution? Will it allow me to record encrypted / copy protected channels? Assuming I would need Windows 7 with Media Center or Win 7 Ultimate.

The other option is forget ota/cable card and just stream everything with Hulu, Netflix, Amazon etc.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #253 on:** 12 Dec 2015, 11:48 pm »

I do OTA with a MOHU60 and TiVo box (for DVR use), plus Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Not sure about the Windows options.

shadowlight · « **Reply #254 on:** 13 Dec 2015, 12:05 am »

Thx Bob. Which TiVo did are you running?

srb · « **Reply #255 on:** 13 Dec 2015, 12:19 am »

I've been using Ceton InfiniTV4 PCIe cableCARD tuner and Windows 7 Media Center for the last five years. At that time only the PCIe version was available, but since then USB and Ethernet network versions became available.

The SiliconDust HD HomeRun Prime is a 3-tuner Ethernet network device, the Ceton InfiniTV4 USB is a 4-tuner USB device and the Ceton InfiniTV6 ETH is a 6-tuner Ethernet network device.

If you need more than 3 simultaneous streams (watching or recording), the Ceton tuners would be the way to go.

Most cable companies are using SDV (Switched Digital Video) multiplexing, and because most of the cableCARDs are not bi-directional devices, a USB-connected Tuning Adapter will also be necessary (generally provided for free with cableCARD rental).

Microsoft Windows PlayReady decryption only allows the computer that made the recording (or Media Center extenders connected to it) to playback encrypted recordings. Other non-encrypted recordings may be copied to and played back by other computers.

Also, because the cableCARD is not bi-directional, the cable provider's Channel Guide, On Demand and Pay-Per-View services are not available.

If J River Media Center's proposed cableCARD plug in is released (and works well) before the Windows 10 free upgrade expires, then I may upgrade to Windows 10 and the J River plug-in.

Steve

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #256 on:** 13 Dec 2015, 03:25 am »

Quote from: shadowlight on 13 Dec 2015, 12:05 am

Thx Bob. Which TiVo did are you running?

You're welcome.
We're using the TiVo Roamio. I think there's a unit with more capabilities out there. Something about skipping blocks of commercials, if memory serves. This unit works great for our needs though.

Bob

Nalor · « **Reply #257 on:** 13 Dec 2015, 03:32 am »

I have a TiVo Premier that I've been using for OTA. It works great as a DVR for OTA. If you go TiVo, make sure its one with OTA ability.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #258 on:** 13 Dec 2015, 03:34 am »

Quote from: Nalor on 13 Dec 2015, 03:32 am

If you go TiVo, make sure its one with OTA ability.

That is a good point.

ctviggen · « **Reply #259 on:** 13 Dec 2015, 11:40 am »

Quote from: srb on 13 Dec 2015, 12:19 am

If J River Media Center's proposed cableCARD plug in is released (and works well) before the Windows 10 free upgrade expires, then I may upgrade to Windows 10 and the J River plug-in.

Steve

The people from HD Homerun are also doing things and providing a plug in for Kodi (formerly XBMC). I haven't tested it, though, although I too would like to move from Windows 7 to 10 if possible. My WMC keeps crashing for some reason, and I don't have the time right now to debug it. I may look into it this holiday break.

I think HD homerun also makes a 6 tuner version. I use a 3 tuner version. I've been using HD homerun for many years, and have the OTA module too (which no longer works on my cable system, since everything is encrypted).

I've installed a commercial skipping tool, which works both real-time and recorded. I don't have the real-time version enabled, though, as I don't watch enough real-time TV to merit installation.