[olug] Cutting the cord

Thu Sep 19 13:32:10 UTC 2013

the big room TV: motorola DVR box - gutted, installed 4core 2.8Ghz AM3.
moved HD tray to the side to fit power supply. running Debian (old stable).
see the story and pics here: http://slauce.com/log/html/201205210136.html

bedroom TV: vintage pheonix gold MS250 amplifier. wall mounted. greased the
block up with ceramique, and put motherboard mounts on the cover plate.
identical board as the DVR box (got a deal on two of them), but overclocked
the proc on this one by almost 1GHZ. has several OSs (all GNU) installed to
encrypted partitions on internal flash, so HD is removable storage.
pics: http://dynatron.org/imagearchive/custom/pheGo/

several other TV's in less used rooms of the house have original xboxes
(modified) running XBMC.

for storage, 8TB of samba (old dell P4 server running debian) on the GB
network behind secondary firewall (old dell P4 desktop running SME linux).

for content, the internets! plenty of free content out there with improving
quality as the medium develops. i hear good reviews for hulu, netflicks, or
whoever carries your favorite show and last i heard they are ~10$/month,
which isn't too much to pay if you have affordable internets.

my dad uses a slingbox on dish, which isn't my style, but is probably
easier than dealing with DNS, domain fees, port forwarding, etc.

entertainment is subjective, so most people will use a variety of
approaches to suit their own needs and abilities. a good rule of thumb is
that the more broad your approach is, the more maintenance and setup it
will require, but with the complication also comes capabilities and
flexibility that you may have not considered before.

if you have the time and money, the sky is the limit, but i would suggest
integrating new abilities into the equipment that you already have and
making the end result a productive tool as well as an entertaining
diversion.  it's rare for me to watch a TV show without eclipse or a text
editor on the same screen. you may find that you can get all of your work
done -and- watch an entire season of your favorite show in one day.

best of luck in your quest

On Wed, Sep 18, 2013 at 12:34 PM, Rob Townley <rob.townley at gmail.com> wrote:

> We never had Cable TV.  Nothing special here ... a seven year old
> laptop outputting s-video to an older tv.  Amazon Prime, wimp.com,
> Youtube...
>
> several PBS channels over-the-air from a good antenna.  Plan on a hd
> homerun after putting a single antenna into the attic.
>
> Would like to try Netflix Desktop, but not a priority.
> https://launchpad.net/netflix-desktop
>
> On Tue, Sep 17, 2013 at 10:01 AM, Jon Larsen <jon at jonlarsen.us> wrote:
> > We use a Winegard HD1080 antenna for Over the Air TV broadcasts.  We only
> > have Cox internet at home (no CATV).
> >
> > We are using two Roku 2s and two Chromcasts in addition to our MythTV
> DVR.
> >
> > We primarily use Amazon Prime Instant Video for on demand programming and
> > trying out Netflilx via our free period we got with the Chromecasts.
> >
> > A few years ago, we had Hulu Plus, but the content restrictions really
> made
> > it not worth it - wanted to watch a show on the Roku, but that show was
> > restricted to the web only.  The same show could be watched via Hulu on a
> > computer, so we use the MythTV box for that (which is not that often) and
> > cancelled our subscription.  Hulu Plus only let's you play it on
> > non-computer devices - you still get the ads.  if I'm paying, you can
> drop
> > the ads.
> >
> > The only sports item I gave up when we dropped cable was Formula 1. There
> > hasn't been as much innovation in F1 in recent years which is why I've
> > switched to endurance racing and listening many of the races via
> > Radiolemans.com.  The FIA World Endurance Championship streams their
> races
> > lives on the web, with the Radio Le Mans commentary.  So, if you're
> > interested, the next race is in Austin this weekend and I heard it will
> not
> > be blacked out to the US.  http://fiawec.com
> >
> > Jon L.
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Sep 14, 2013 at 8:50 PM, Joseph Gulizia <
> joseph.gulizia at gmail.com>wrote:
> >
> >> Recently got a Chromecast device ($42 with shipping) plays YouTube and
> >> anything (web pages, facebook,  and gmail using Chrome Browser).
>  Embedded
> >> video works from cbs.com...not from abc.com or nbc.com -- different
> >> players
> >> it appears.  Chromecast tested from 3 linux (Ubuntu) desktops, Windows
> 7,
> >> ubuntu laptop, ubuntu netbook, iPhone 4, android tablet (ICS 4.0)....not
> >> tested on windows vista laptop.  not working from old iMac G4 (doesn't
> >> support chrome) or android 2.1 tablet.  Chromecast needs to be plugged
> in
> >> to outlet or USB for power...easy three or four steps to set up.  Had to
> >> re-boot twice in roughly three weeks.
> >>
> >> Also have Roku 3.0 ($99) with Hulu Plus and Netflix.  $8 each per month
> --
> >> (plus Amazon Prime $79/yearly plus free 2 day shipping on many items).
> >>
> >> NOTE: still have DirecTV but I'm trying to wean family off of
> it....need a
> >> better HD antenna.
> >>
> >> Cox high speed internet roughly $62/month
> >>
> >>
> >> Between Roku and Chromecast I get the TV and internet content I
> >> want..family hasn't come around to TV/Video on demand
> >>
> >> Hope this helps.
> >>
> >>
> >> On Sat, Sep 14, 2013 at 1:58 PM, Shannon <ridgid at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> > we just have roku box. it works ok. wish we could get at  web content
> >> from
> >> > station websites and the like with it.
> >> >
> >> > I have thought about getting an android box. but haven't researched it
> >> >
> >> > netflix just put out viewing *profiles* which looks great but it
> doesnt
> >> > work on roku yet that i know of.
> >> >
> >> > at any rate we haven't had cable or dish now for about 2 years and I
> >> > wouldn't go back. I really should look into a new tv though mines
> about
> >> 20
> >> > years old.
> >> >
> >> > Shannon
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > On Sat, Sep 14, 2013 at 1:37 PM, Matthew Botts <mbotts00 at gmail.com>
> >> wrote:
> >> >
> >> > > I really don't care for sports much. Between myth, plex and a
> lifetime
> >> > > subscription to PlayOn, I'm covered pretty well. With 10+TB of
> storage
> >> at
> >> > > home, we can watch, record anything of interest to watch there, or
> >> > > remotely. At home, we have two Roku boxes, and a Google tv. With
> what
> >> we
> >> > > have, it's been more than enough for the content were interested in.
> >> > > On Sep 14, 2013 1:00 PM, "T. J. Brumfield" <enderandrew at gmail.com>
> >> > wrote:
> >> > >
> >> > > > Have any of you cut the cord to cable/satellite?
> >> > > >
> >> > > > What did you go with? Roku? Apple TV? Custom Myth boxes?
> >> > > >
> >> > > > What are you paying in monthly fees currently?
> >> > > >
> >> > > > -- T. J.
> >> > > > "I'm questioning my education
> >> > > > Rewind and what does it show?
> >> > > > Could be, the truth it becomes you
> >> > > > I'm a seed, wondering why it grows"
> >> > > > -- Pearl Jam, Education
> >> > > > _______________________________________________
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> >> > > >
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