Help me to understand AppleTV and if I should dump DISH network..

[RoadCyclistID]

OK so I have Dish network and HD content as well as a HD DVR from dish. Are you saying that with Apple TV and my over the air local HD's that most of you are dumping Dish and DTV? Where do you all watch your favorite TV shows from? How do you get content from Discovery, History etc? Sorry about all the ?? but if I can save $105.00 a month I would love to!!!

 

[Unspeaked]

I think if you're committed to Discovery, History and other basic cable channels, you need to keep Dish...

 

[f(A)t'kId]

OK so I have Dish network and HD content as well as a HD DVR from dish. Are you saying that with Apple TV and my over the air local HD's that most of you are dumping Dish and DTV? Where do you all watch your favorite TV shows from? How do you get content from Discovery, History etc? Sorry about all the ?? but if I can save $105.00 a month I would love to!!!

Wouldn't dump the dish. I only use my ATV to watch movies, home movies and tv shows that have been ripped. Except season 3 of Prison Break . It certainly doesn't replace satellite. My 2 cents

 

[FreeState]

I have Direct TV and its not replaceable with iTunes (for me). I watch several shows that you can not purchase on iTunes. Also CNN etc are not available via iTunes - i.e. any live events or shows.

Make a list of the shows you watch/might watch and make sure you can buy them via iTunes before you get rid of Dish.

 

[MikieMikie]

I, too, have watched with amazement as others have dumped their dishes/cable feeds. I watch too much History, Discovery, HGTV, etc. to give up basic cable. I also get HD cable feeds, with a DVR, which enables me to time-shift HD, etc. Nothing like a good episode of Monk in HD. While it's available in ITMS as a purchase, why would I? It's low res, and costs me more money.

TV is a good replacement for some people, but not for me. I look at it as a huge addition -- an abundance of choices. I stream (ripped & encoded) DVDs from my collection, music (which I sync) from my ripped CDs, and pictures/art from my iPhoto collection.

I now have most of my old Warner Bros. cartoons DVDs ripped and encoded, tagged and synced. Nothing like 8 minutes of pure pleasure. How else could I accomplish that without getting the DVD, waiting for the menu, finding the cartoon. etc.

As it is now, version 1.1, it does EVERYTHING I wanted it to do. Some things could be improved, but then again, just ask my wife -- she'll tell you the same about me.

 

[rocketboy]

OK so I have Dish network and HD content as well as a HD DVR from dish. Are you saying that with Apple TV and my over the air local HD's that most of you are dumping Dish and DTV? Where do you all watch your favorite TV shows from? How do you get content from Discovery, History etc? Sorry about all the ?? but if I can save $105.00 a month I would love to!!!

We faced the same question that you did and here is what we found worked best for us.

First we got rid of the overly expensive monthly cable tv bill but we kept the cable modem.

We bought an Apple TV and HD Homerun (which is an HD Tuner that hooks to your network. HD Homerun also comes bundled with EyeTV.

With the $100 a month that we saved, we buy whatever shows that we like best through iTunes. We get all the basic channels for free in HD and can pull them up on any of our 7 Macs anywhere in the house. We also export to the Apple TV as needed.

We love it and we still have our favorite History Channel, Discovery, National Geographic and you name it shows from itunes. We spend less money and we spend less time watching junk that we didn't really need or want.

Eventually, i think that all tv will go over to a pick what you want mode like the Apple TV. Just look at music. A long time ago, it was just radio and then buy a whole album but today it is pick just the song that you want and you get to keep a copy. Apple TV does the same for TV shows and the HD Homerun still gets you the news and weather etc.

The whole family loves the set up and is looking forward to having movie rentals bundled as well

 

[maokh]

I did last June and still don't regret it. Content viewing has been transformed in the household.

You get new content, watch it, finish it, and move on with life. This sometimes involves going outside, family time, or reading.

The hours on end of zoning out infront a tv is gone.

Yeah, iTunes doesn't have everything, but there is a lot of content available. There are a lot of good podcasts out there, both HD and SD. OnNetworks has some good stuff.

Is this for you? I don't know. I ditched ATSC (over the air) during this time and it was absolutely great.

My suggestion? Unplug the sat for a week and see how it goes.

This choice will save me $1000 by this next June. I can't believe people pay for and enjoy soo much garbage they "just have to watch"

 

[rocketboy]

OK so I have Dish network and HD content as well as a HD DVR from dish. Are you saying that with Apple TV and my over the air local HD's that most of you are dumping Dish and DTV? Where do you all watch your favorite TV shows from? How do you get content from Discovery, History etc? Sorry about all the ?? but if I can save $105.00 a month I would love to!!!

Also one great way to get a feel for what you have available is just to get on itunes and look over all the TV shows. The only real thing missing is NBC and its subsidiaries like the SciFi channel. NBC and Apple got in a fight last December but have now resolved the issues and this content should be back on itunes.

Apple TV (and other similar products) are transformational. You go from a watch what is on or (time shift) and paying significant amounts of money for all sorts of junk that you really dont want to buying what you want and owning it and playing it whenever you want. With unlimited choices in our household of 3 kids (13, 11, and 9) and two very different parents, we have spent considerably less than our previous cable tv bill and feel that we have more options and more control.

We also love you tube as a family and the podcasts.

The old "radio" style tv model is out dated and ready to be replaced. The main thing to focus on in the new model is getting the best (and fastest) internet connection and good software to block the junk, spam and spyware stuff.

Enjoy