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    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    The Television Thread: The Best New Ways to Watch

    Does anyone have Amazon Fire TV? I'm thinking about it. Here's a summary of all the major options for such devices and services:

    http://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-tv...oom-1446080460
    Last edited by LA Ute; 10-29-2015 at 04:36 PM.

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  2. #2
    Five-O Diehard Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    Does anyone have Amazon Fire TV? I'm thinking about it. Here's a summary of all the major optiobs for such devices and services:

    http://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-tv...oom-1446080460
    We have a Firestick and Apple TV (the older version)

    They're both fine. It all depends on what you're wanting it for. (In my media room I literally have 6 ways I can stream Netflix. It's sort of ridiculous)


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  3. #3
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Diehard Ute View Post
    We have a Firestick and Apple TV (the older version)

    They're both fine. It all depends on what you're wanting it for. (In my media room I literally have 6 ways I can stream Netflix. It's sort of ridiculous)

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Yeah, there are so many ways now. We're at one of those transition points again. Cable and satellite TV as we've known them are dying.

    Quote Originally Posted by chrisrenrut View Post
    If you are already an Amazon Prime member, it's good to have. Lots of older tv series you can stream for free, including a good portion of HBO series. Their free movie selection is hit and miss.

    If you are not an Amazon Prime member, it's probably similar to any other streaming device (Roku, AppleTV). I will say it streams content better than streaming sraight through our Samsung SmartTV.

    The Fire Stick works great on tv's if you have wifi. We use ours on our tv in our workout room since we don't have a cable box in there.
    We do have Amazon Prime, and that's how I first became interested in the Fire. Our Sony box (their version of Roku) works great but suddenly stopped working with Amazon Prime, which ticked me off. I just want to be able to access the main services -- Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc. We originally got the Sony box because our "smart" Samsung TV wasn't very smart and couldn't access Amazon Prime. Now our newer smart TV requires us to use three (count 'em) remotes if all we want to use is our Dish account.

    Quote Originally Posted by concerned View Post
    What about Chromecast? A guy in my office says I have to get it.
    My son uses it and loves it. I'm intrigued by it but I don't want to have six different ways to watch TV....
    Last edited by LA Ute; 10-29-2015 at 05:19 AM.

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  4. #4
    Five-O Diehard Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    Yeah, there are so many ways now. We're at one of those transition points again. Cable and satellite TV as we've known them are dying.



    We do have Amazon Prime, and that's how I first became interested in the Fire. Our Sony box (their version of Roku) works great but suddenly stopped working with Amazon Prime, which ticked me off. I just want to be able to access the main services -- Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc. We originally got the Sony box because our "smart" Samsung TV wasn't very smart and couldn't access Amazon Prime. Now our newer smart TV requires us to use three (count 'em) remotes if all we want to use is our Dish account.



    My son uses it and loves it. I'm intrigued by it but I don't want to have six different ways to watch TV....
    The fire stick is like any other.

    My wife actually prefers our Apple TV for ease of use. And of course with iPhones I can stream from my phone to it which can be handy.

    I hardly use either though as my Xbox One does it all and has voice control.



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  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    Does anyone have Amazon Fire TV? I'm thinking about it. Here's a summary of all the major optiobs for such devices and services:

    http://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-tv...oom-1446080460
    If you are already an Amazon Prime member, it's good to have. Lots of older tv series you can stream for free, including a good portion of HBO series. Their free movie selection is hit and miss.

    If you are not an Amazon Prime member, it's probably similar to any other streaming device (Roku, AppleTV). I will say it streams content better than streaming sraight through our Samsung SmartTV.

    The Fire Stick works great on tv's if you have wifi. We use ours on our tv in our workout room since we don't have a cable box in there.
    “To me there is no dishonor in being wrong and learning. There is dishonor in willful ignorance and there is dishonor in disrespect.” James Hatch, former Navy Seal and current Yale student.

  6. #6
    What about Chromecast? A guy in my office says I have to get it.

  7. #7
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Relevant to our discussion:

    ESPN Tightens Its Belt as Pressure on It Mounts

    http://www.wsj.com/articles/espn-tig...1=196184&alg=y

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  8. #8
    It seems like many people have done what we do.... Pay for nothing and use a friend's login

    For us, we have a tuner in the computer that is hooked to the projector. We use Windows Media Center (which they sadly don't make anymore) as a DVR for shows we can get on the antenna. There are plenty of options for live sports (mostly using someone elses login), but we've also found that using the money we would have put toward cable to go eat and watch at a restaurant works nicely. The best part about this is that we don't waste a lot of time mindlessly watching shows. All the shows we care about we get off the antenna (nova, modern family), or buy the dvds (arrested development, parks and recreation, planet earth).

  9. #9
    Administrator U-Ute's Avatar
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    Sony’s PlayStation Vue picks up ESPN, Disney, and ABC in huge content deal


    Sony's PlayStation Vue internet TV service just got way more compelling. Vue already offers more channels than Sling TV — and you'd hope it would considering it's far more expensive. But today, that content selection is getting a big boost; ESPN has announced that it's reached a deal with Sony that'll bring ESPN, the Disney Channel, ABC, and ABC Family to the service. Suddenly, Vue is looking like a real cable replacement.
    All Disney owned channels, including local channels.

  10. #10
    As diehard said the new AppleTV allows for outside app development. My guess is Amazon will play hardball and then relent. Same with slingtv. When that happens AppleTV is the clear winner (in my mind) so if you are going to invest in anything now that is the safest bet.

    For the record I cut the cord a couple of years ago now, more of just a way of sticking it to Comcast and with no real plan to do it for an extended time. I haven't looked back at all.


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  11. #11
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rocker Ute View Post
    As diehard said the new AppleTV allows for outside app development. My guess is Amazon will play hardball and then relent. Same with slingtv. When that happens AppleTV is the clear winner (in my mind) so if you are going to invest in anything now that is the safest bet.

    For the record I cut the cord a couple of years ago now, more of just a way of sticking it to Comcast and with no real plan to do it for an extended time. I haven't looked back at all.


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    How do you get the PAC 12 network?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    How do you get the PAC 12 network?


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    When I did it I just used my parents log in from comcast in Utah. Then I hooked up my computer to the big screen. It worked fine. I just like having DVR.
    "Be a philosopher. A man can compromise to gain a point. It has become apparent that a man can, within limits, follow his inclinations within the arms of the Church if he does so discreetly." - The Walking Drum

    "And here’s what life comes down to—not how many years you live, but how many of those years are filled with bullshit that doesn’t amount to anything to satisfy the requirements of some dickhead you’ll never get the pleasure of punching in the face." – Adam Carolla

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    How do you get the PAC 12 network?


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    This is the grey area... I have a family member's login and the PAC12 network app. I stream games to my phone and broadcast it to my tv through AppleTV.

    On a side note, the need for networks is diminishing, kind of like major music labels. I can see a future where you don't buy access to a channel but pay for content directly. At least hand it to tv networks, they haven't been quite as arrogant or stupid as the newspaper and music industries despite still being obstructionists.

    I also can't believe the tech for contextual ads for tv hasn't been developed yet (think Google ads). Then when you watch TV ads relevant to you get a GIGANTIC market of businesses who previously couldn't afford to advertise on TV and people don't mind ads so much. This has to be coming down the pipeline.


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  14. #14
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rocker Ute View Post
    This is the grey area... I have a family member's login and the PAC12 network app. I stream games to my phone and broadcast it to my tv through AppleTV.

    On a side note, the need for networks is diminishing, kind of like major music labels. I can see a future where you don't buy access to a channel but pay for content directly. At least hand it to tv networks, they haven't been quite as arrogant or stupid as the newspaper and music industries despite still being obstructionists.

    I also can't believe the tech for contextual ads for tv hasn't been developed yet (think Google ads). Then when you watch TV ads relevant to you get a GIGANTIC market of businesses who previously couldn't afford to advertise on TV and people don't mind ads so much. This has to be coming down the pipeline.


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    What about ESPN, Fox Sports, etc.? As you can see, I am seriously considering cutting the cable cord (even though I have Dish)!

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  15. #15

    The Television Thread: The Best New Ways to Watch

    I'm in a crappy TV situation at the moment. We're currently building a home and had a buyer fall into our la early in the process for our old house. That left us having to find a place to rent for six months. The guy that we're renting from is a real piece of work and is adamant that the Direct dish does not need a companion Dish dish. We've been "off the grid" since April. The only issue I have has been live sports. Every channel has it's own app with varying function and reliability. ESPN is the clear winner. Seems that any game on ESPN can be streamed on demand whenever. Fox is the most annoying. Not only does the app seem to freeze up regularly when I send the stream from my phone to my Apple TV, but there doesn't seem to be any kind of archive to watch a game later. The PAC-12 Network app is lacking on archived games as well, but there's enough replay across the various regional channels that I haven't had a problem finding a replay, although not always at what's most convenient to my schedule. Which with a three and one year old, can be tough to predict.


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    Last edited by Dwight Schr-Ute; 10-30-2015 at 09:29 AM.

  16. #16

  17. #17
    As a cord cutter I noted that there is a NCAA March Madness app which appears to have the games on it and doesn't require a carrier login... Is that correct? If so that basically fixes my annual problem.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Rocker Ute View Post
    As a cord cutter I noted that there is a NCAA March Madness app which appears to have the games on it and doesn't require a carrier login... Is that correct? If so that basically fixes my annual problem.
    I added that to my FireTV but it required activation online. When I tried to activate it, I had to pick a provider.

    Every single provider I can imagine was listed (probably over 100), EXCEPT FREAKING COMCAST.

    I am planning to dump Comcast soon, but I guess I need to wait until after March Madness is over.


  19. #19
    Five-O Diehard Ute's Avatar
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    The Television Thread: The Best New Ways to Watch

    Quote Originally Posted by NorthwestUteFan View Post
    I added that to my FireTV but it required activation online. When I tried to activate it, I had to pick a provider.

    Every single provider I can imagine was listed (probably over 100), EXCEPT FREAKING COMCAST.

    I am planning to dump Comcast soon, but I guess I need to wait until after March Madness is over.

    Did you look under Xfinity?

    Cause that's what it's listed as on that app


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  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Diehard Ute View Post
    Did you look under Xfinity?

    Cause that's what it's listed as on that app


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    I couldn't find Xfinity. I will try again.

  21. #21
    How much is Vue? Slingtv plus the Sports Pack is around $30 iirc. Bundled TV packages that include everything aren't much more than that. The nice thing about Sling and Vue and XBMC is the savings on equipment rental. I pay $25+ per month for the cable modem plus two Xfinity X1 HD receivers. :banghead:

  22. #22
    Five-O Diehard Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by NorthwestUteFan View Post
    How much is Vue? Slingtv plus the Sports Pack is around $30 iirc. Bundled TV packages that include everything aren't much more than that. The nice thing about Sling and Vue and XBMC is the savings on equipment rental. I pay $25+ per month for the cable modem plus two Xfinity X1 HD receivers. :banghead:
    If you don't use Xfinity Voice buy your own modem


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  23. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by Diehard Ute View Post
    If you don't use Xfinity Voice buy your own modem


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    Yup.
    “To me there is no dishonor in being wrong and learning. There is dishonor in willful ignorance and there is dishonor in disrespect.” James Hatch, former Navy Seal and current Yale student.

  24. #24
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    I bought Amazon Fire and will connect it this weekend. After a trial with that I might get Apple TV for our other smart TV. Sounds crazy but maybe I'll let them compete right inside my house and eventually choose one as my only gateway.


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    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  25. #25
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    The FCC took action this week to allow us to use Apple TV, Amazon Fire, etc., to access cable. So soon I guess we won't have to rent those stupid boxes (assuming we even stay with cable).

    http://nerdist.com/fcc-ruling-cable-...google-amazon/


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  26. #26
    I picked up a FireTV a few weeks ago. It is great. It is even better if you sideload Kodi (xbmc) and Firestarter to dual boot Amazon Prime of Kodi.

    With Kodi I worry that I should run a VPN because the streams available are certainly illegal.
    If the FCC will allow people to stream cable programming to their streaming boxes without a cable box, will that effect internet rates? This new development has to be the reason Comcast et al were/are fighting tooth and nail against Net Neutrality.

  27. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by NorthwestUteFan View Post
    I picked up a FireTV a few weeks ago. It is great. It is even better if you sideload Kodi (xbmc) and Firestarter to dual boot Amazon Prime of Kodi.

    With Kodi I worry that I should run a VPN because the streams available are certainly illegal.
    If the FCC will allow people to stream cable programming to their streaming boxes without a cable box, will that effect internet rates? This new development has to be the reason Comcast et al were/are fighting tooth and nail against Net Neutrality.
    So what does kodi or plex do? Why would you want that?

    Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
    "Be a philosopher. A man can compromise to gain a point. It has become apparent that a man can, within limits, follow his inclinations within the arms of the Church if he does so discreetly." - The Walking Drum

    "And here’s what life comes down to—not how many years you live, but how many of those years are filled with bullshit that doesn’t amount to anything to satisfy the requirements of some dickhead you’ll never get the pleasure of punching in the face." – Adam Carolla

  28. #28
    Kodi/xbmc is a self-contained streaming environment that makes it very easy to access streaming content. For instance I streamed The Revenant in perfect BluRay quality to test it. Very easy, very free, and certainly very illegal.

  29. #29
    Quote Originally Posted by NorthwestUteFan View Post
    Kodi/xbmc is a self-contained streaming environment that makes it very easy to access streaming content. For instance I streamed The Revenant in perfect BluRay quality to test it. Very easy, very free, and certainly very illegal.
    Can I stream the pac12 network, fs1, ESPN channels? If someone offered that I would buy.

    Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
    "Be a philosopher. A man can compromise to gain a point. It has become apparent that a man can, within limits, follow his inclinations within the arms of the Church if he does so discreetly." - The Walking Drum

    "And here’s what life comes down to—not how many years you live, but how many of those years are filled with bullshit that doesn’t amount to anything to satisfy the requirements of some dickhead you’ll never get the pleasure of punching in the face." – Adam Carolla

  30. #30
    Quote Originally Posted by Mormon Red Death View Post
    Can I stream the pac12 network, fs1, ESPN channels? If someone offered that I would buy.

    Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
    Kodi is a free download.

    I will neither confirm nor deny that those channels are available.

    (the available streams at any time number well into the thousands worldwide, and some site scrapers will inevitably pop up with anything you want).

    It isn't particularly user friendly, but it isn't really hard if you know how to load programs on a computer. I am not a programmer but I will try to explain it anyhow. (note there are automatic programs that will load anything you will need).

    Kodi has a simple user environment, with sections for Pictures (from your local network), Videos (stream from local network or from internet), Music (has apps for Slacker, Pandora, etc, plus countless others), Programs (apps), and Settings.

    Basically you preload a few collection programs into Kodi for Video. Then you scroll to Video, select the program, choose the type of file you want (movie or tv replay, live TV, etc). Choose what you want to watch, click on it, and either play it or download it for later, or even stream it to another device (i don't know how well this works). My FireTV has about 4gb of storage iirc plus I could plug in a usb thumb drive or hdd to store as much as I want. If I plug if into the network then I can save to or stream from the 6TB cloud drive or to/from any other computer in the house.

    It isn't as easy or as stable as Netflix, but with a bit of work it gives access to essentially all of the interwebz. Every movie or tv show that has ever been digitized is available from somewhere, and the programs make it very easy to search. I can typically find 10-50+ servers for ant title I look for. Quality ranges from 480p to 4k. Obviously a metric shit-ton of bandwidth is required.

    Frankly I am a bit concerned about security, and that is the reason I want to investigate using a VPN. FireTV is an Android device and Kodi is a Linux type OS, iirc.

    My FireTV boots to a simple environment where I can choose Fire (Amazon Prime), Netflix, ESPN, Showtime, HBO-go, the file explorer, or Kodi. Scroll to the desired system, select, and go. Hit the Home button to jump back to that starter environment. Easy Peasy.

    Look for YouTube videos on loading/using Kodi. There is a lot of great info out there.

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