Consumers Dropping Pay TV Services

[TheKrell]

Do those people live 60 miles from the TV stations? I have a distribution amplifier on mine already for the 2 TV's.

Yes and even farther. The farther out you are and weaker the signal, the more you will need to amplify it. If you have a distribution amp suitable for 2 outlets, then obviously that won't cut the mustard for 8. But there are distribution amps with 8 outputs such as this thing, or you can go with a more beefy amp with higher gain and continue to use your 8-way passive splitter.

 

[CubsWin]

I am thinking very seriously about dropping Starz though since they don't seem to be able to come up with anything that I think is worth paying for.

I was considering dropping Starz a year ago, but then came shows like Spartacus, Pillars of the Earth, and the upcoming Camelot series. Their movie selection doesn't do a whole lot for me, but the new TV series are enough to keep me on board.

 

[CubsWin]

Thankfully, I only live about 40 miles outside of Chicago and I can pick up all the Cubs and Bears games OTA. That will help me make the break. The only thing I would really miss would be ESPN Sportscenter and Baseball Tonight.

What about Comcast Sports Net? Less than half the Cubs games are on WGN or WCIU.

 

[sbsi]

OTA channels are better in selected areas especially in the big cities.

People with no jobs, debts and tons of bills to pay = no pay tv.

 

[whatchel1]

Camelot maybe

I was considering dropping Starz a year ago, but then came shows like Spartacus, Pillars of the Earth, and the upcoming Camelot series. Their movie selection doesn't do a whole lot for me, but the new TV series are enough to keep me on board.

Man your taste are much different than mine. I couldn't stand either Spartacus or Pillars of Earth. Maybe the Camelot series. As far a what KAB about them going to have the Torchwood series. It doesn't make that much difference since I'm downloading the 720p versions from a Brit that has them recorded from when they were shown over there on the Beeb.

 

[whatchel1]

What

For me, the best piece of home theater equipment I have is my PS3 and PC.
No need for a separate HTPC because the PS3 serves that purpose more than adequate.
I use my PC as both as a decoder and transcoder on the fly. That way I can use media server software like TVersity to stream anything to the TV.
There is also work on a new type of sling technology that will use a form of cloud computing.
In essence, All your media (movies, shows , music etc...) are partially stored in the cloud and the rest on your hard drive. Since the cloud will be tide to hundreds of thousands of other users there is potentially millions of media files at your disposal. Just look for what you want and set it to put it together. It then downloads all the tiny pieces and puts it back together.
Best way to describe it would be as a cloud shaped torrent distributor, big difference being that no one will ever actually have the complete file to copy or transfer for legal reasons.

Right now I just use my 722 to record all my shows , so I can watch them later without the commercials. But very quickly the ease of doing the same thing on one of my media server programs will make my Dish setup completely obsolete.

What do you get from TVersity? I've looked at it but you have to pay for Pro version to get access to much of it. It won't let me get anything from the BBC because I don't live over there. Why bother watching Hulu, or You Tube it they both have their own sites that you can watch that stuff on. So as I asked what do you get from them that you can't get elsewhere?

 

[vaylon]

Whatchel1.
Right now I use the Tversity program mainly as a simple media server but because it does on the fly transcoding I can play every media file type that my computer will.Which is everything. It does a much better job of displaying a quality image than say , media player.
The streaming capabilities are good also but I really don't use them that much. Instead I find the programs I want Like "Defying Gravity" on one of the many sites like HULU or even ABC.com and download it directly to my pc. Then play it back when I want. To get TV shows and many videos from other countries? I just go thru a proxy server.
Since my experience is only with a ps3 all I can say is that Tversity plays everything I throw at it. Whereas the PS3 itself only plays certain types of media files. To use tversity correctly you really do have to learn its ins and outs. But once you get it going, nothing else comes close.it's very customizable.
The best place to find out how to do any media streaming or just to get started on how to get your PS3 going full tilt, is to check out afterdawn dot com, or doom9 dot com. Both places have very knowledgeable people in the forums and its as easy as doing a search.

As for Dish or Direct going obsolete.
I doubt it will go completely obsolete because there is a very large percentage of the population that just prefers the ease of it and the fact that to truly get everything for free requires a little bit of technical skills. Something most of the population lacks. But as the kids of today grow up these things will be second nature to them and they will be able to do everything I mentioned and more without any real effort.

But for me, it is very quickly becoming obsolete and I just have a 3mb dsl connection.
As an example. This past week we have had tons of storms that knocked my signal out for all the shows I record like "warehouse13 and "eureka" .(yes I am a scifi geek) so I just did a search and found the HD version of the shows streaming from syfy's websites. I download the shows to my PC and bam! I have the full HD shows that just aired to watch at my convenience with out commercials.
It takes a bit more than just pushing the record button but it works.
I do have to point out one thing. Most of what you get streaming on the net is 720 Hd not the 1080. And the picture quality is about 80% of the 1080 that comes of the satellite.

I do think that both Dish and Direct do see the trouble on the horizon and they will implement new technologies to enhance their offerings. Like having the ability to record a program you want from their servers (or someone else"s like with sling )instead of from the satellite signal. Your dish player may one day become not just a satellite receiver but an entire media server in itself.

 

[kstuart]

Man your taste are much different than mine. I couldn't stand either Spartacus or Pillars of Earth. Maybe the Camelot series. As far a what KAB about them going to have the Torchwood series. It doesn't make that much difference since I'm downloading the 720p versions from a Brit that has them recorded from when they were shown over there on the Beeb.

With regards to Torchwood, he is referring to new episodes that take place in the US, have not yet been filmed, with Starz and the BBC as partners, and will air Summer 2011.

 

[whatchel1]

Sure

He is referring to new episodes that take place in the US, have not yet been filmed, and AFAIK so far Starz is the only outlet.

OK but they will show in England before here. I will then be able to get them from the Brit I referred to earlier.

 

[Holysmoke]

Thankfully, I only live about 40 miles outside of Chicago and I can pick up all the Cubs and Bears games OTA. That will help me make the break. The only thing I would really miss would be ESPN Sportscenter and Baseball Tonight.

is Comcast sportsnet chicago OTA?

even though I have pay tv, I often don't watch it, but d/l my fav shows to avoid commercials

 

[kstuart]

OK but they will show in England before here. I will then be able to get them from the Brit I referred to earlier.

No no, they are being filmed in the US with American actors (other than "Gwen" from the previous series). It is a Starz Original Series, the BBC seem to just be providing the rights to concept, title, etc.

PS I'm curious as to what you disliked about Spartacus and Pillars of Earth. (Outside of being historical, they have very little in common.)

 

[TalonDancer]

The recent press release for the public beta of DISHOnline.com begs the question(s)...

a - Will DISHOnline.com add more Dish subs, cause existing Dish subs to upgrade their Dish packages, reduce churn, etc.?
or
b - Will DISHOnline.com cause current and potential Dish Subs to recognize the content that is available via the internet without any Dish subscription?

IOW "How you gonna keep them down on the farm, after they've seen Paris?"

Talon Dancer

p.s. IMO the demographics are against Dish, DirecTV etc. -- older, less tech savvy, folks are exiting stage left and younger, more tech savvy, folks are entering the marketplace. IMO Dish, DirecTV, etc. have only one remaining hope -- laziness

 

[Holysmoke]

two way communication ala internet reduces piracy

 

[kstuart]

p.s. IMO the demographics are against Dish, DirecTV etc. -- older, less tech savvy, folks are exiting stage left and younger, more tech savvy, folks are entering the marketplace. IMO Dish, DirecTV, etc. have only one remaining hope -- laziness

Yes there is that trend, but the laziness trend is also huge.

For example, my brother has the same analog cable lineup he had in the 1980s and uses the same VCR to time shift shows. Being my brother, I offered him a TiVo with lifetime subscription that I was not using once I changed to Dish DVRs, but he refused to accept it, because it would have required changing what he normally does. He is above average intelligence...

 

[empiretc]

My point was that dropping satellite is not an option for me BASED ON MY "NEEDS".

+1. Simple translation, wife and kids....

If you are single, then yes- the internet, PS3, and OTA will provide everything you need and then some.

 

[KAB]

+1. Simple translation, wife and kids....

If you are single, then yes- the internet, PS3, and OTA will provide everything you need and then some.

+2...and no kids. The alternatives are full of compromises I'm not willing to make.

 

[goaliebob99]

Do those people live 60 miles from the TV stations? I have a distribution amplifier on mine already for the 2 TV's.

No where did I say OTA requires a high speed connection. I was saying that "need" satellite because of two reasons:

1) I cannot get a OTA signal to all 8 of my TV's and the signal would be degraded if I did - I have tried it on more TV's - the signal weakens as I split it more times. I just split it to a third today and the signal strength is borderline on a couple of the channels. (I have COAX running to EVERY TV.)
2) I cannot get Internet to all 8 of my TV's and I don't have the bandwidth to do it right now.

My point was that dropping satellite is not an option for me BASED ON MY "NEEDS". And I put needs in quotes on my original post because I don't need satellite. No one does. It is a personal preference, but I am willing to pay for it because it gain more satisfaction from having it than it costs me.

If your running a preamp from the antenna, down to the distribution amp, you wont have any issues splitting your signal. It's only when you split without a preamp that it makes a differnence. At that far out you should be using a preamp anyhow and a very deep fring antenna outside on a tower. (having an antenna in your attic cuts your signal by 50 percent.

So yes its very possible to have your channels split 8 different way's at 60 miles out. I'm 55 and running about 11 splits between AM/FM/TV devices im running

2 for tv
one for D*
one for pansat
2 for HD radio
1 for HD homerun
3 for other HDTV's
1 for SDTV in garage

= 11 splits I dont have an issue not picking up any stations because im running a deep fringe w/ pre amp. Pre amp is at the antenna, and the pre amp is powered at the distribution amp (looks like a splitter, but isnt. From the preamps power source the rg6 goes into the distribution amp and is distributed through out the home.

is Comcast sportsnet chicago OTA?

even though I have pay tv, I often don't watch it, but d/l my fav shows to avoid commercials

Nope! Neither is CLTV.

 

[empiretc]

+2...and no kids. The alternatives are full of compromises I'm not willing to make.

at the end of the day, the last thing you want to worry about is if the family is going to be able to watch tv.

when it comes to streaming, codec and connectivity errors---> who are they going to blame?

 

[KAB]

No no, they are being filmed in the US with American actors (other than "Gwen" from the previous series).

That is incorrect. John Barrowman is still the star actor.

 

[Scherrman]

I could never got to just OTA and internet. It would be too frusterating screwing around with the internet and OTA just doesn't offer enough programming. I do love having OTA but I need my satellite too.