I turned in my cable box for pod-candy!

[chatin]

Apple TV was working so well for me that I returned my Motorolla HD converter box today.

I never had a problem with Cable TV until I used Apple TV. I have about 10 podcasts including Wallstrip and Geek Break that take up my TV time. (Lindsay and Callie are pod-candy!)

That is, when I'm not watching movies I've converted or downloaded.

 

[netdog]

I turned off my Sky+ sattelite service for the same reason. When I need to see a TV show or series, I buy it from iTMS and am very happy with how it has all worked out...not to mention quite a bit richer.

 

[i.Feature]

Haven't paid for tv in years. I'll buy box sets. Download. Or watch over the air. But i refuse to get sucked into a monthly subscription.

 

[zim]

I am also thinking of going in this direction as I am getting tired of paying Comcast 100+ dollars a month.

 

[mkrishnan]

Interesting. I wonder how fast this kind of market shift is happening. Certainly, if you pay as much as Zim does, you can get a large number of monthly television shows, hopefully as many or more than you are watching, for less money.

Does the fact that iTunes television shows are not in high definition bother any of you?

 

[zim]

Interesting. I wonder how fast this kind of market shift is happening. Certainly, if you pay as much as Zim does, you can get a large number of monthly television shows, hopefully as many or more than you are watching, for less money.

Does the fact that iTunes television shows are not in high definition bother any of you?

I should add that I have the Basic digital cable service + internet, nothing fancy. I honestly don't feel that Comcast is worth the value.. their price keeps going up every year and their service doesn't seem to improve (still no HD in my area). My wife and I have been going back and forth on canceling Comcast but are not really happy with the alternatives.. tv is the first option that really gives us the flexibility that we want. The only reason that I have not made the jump is that nothing beats being able to flick on the tv and just watch mindlessly. I sure hope that FiOS gives Comcast a good kick in the pants (rumor is that we will have FiOS before Comcast gives us HD or improves their service).

 

[TuckBodi]

The only reason that I have not made the jump is that nothing beats being able to flick on the tv and just watch mindlessly.

I'm betting on (hoping on?) Joost with SlingCatcher.

My ball & chain with Dish comes off at the end of the month.

 

[netdog]

Does the fact that iTunes television shows are not in high definition bother any of you?

Not one bit. It would be nice if Lost were in 16x9 format.

I'm betting on (hoping on?) Joost

I am curious what you like about Joost. I found the content worse than mediocre and the interface leaving a lot to be desired, but I do wonder what I am missing there.

I also bought a Slingbox, and then returned it. Not spending a lot of time on the road, and not really wanting to watch TV when I am, I didn't see the point for me, though I can see that for some the TV-anywhere concept would be brilliant. As for me, I only really want to watch TV when I am home, and iTMS, the DVD store, MLBTV.com and AppleTV (the TED podcasts have been a brilliant watch) have been perfect for me.

 

[blackbones]

i would love to cancel cable but comcast is the only provider that offers good high speed internet in my area and if i cancel their cable TV they will charge me $60 a month for internet. Doesnt make sense.

I've been looking into ClearWire but have mixed reviews

 

[i.Feature]

nothing beats being able to flick on the tv and just watch mindlessly.

You can do this with over the air. You usually get all the networks and locals (enough to pass time and flick).

Then you download all the "good" stuff.

 

[netdog]

You can do this with over the air. You usually get all the networks and locals (enough to pass time and flick).

Then you download all the "good" stuff.

Agreed. I have been timeshifting as well for 8 years now, having signed on with DirecTV immediately upon their offering their first PVR (Micrsoft powered) so watching regular TV (and ads) is something I gave up a long time ago beyond the occasional ballgame or F1 race. I guess that prepped me well to cut the cord (or sattelite beam as it were).

 

[cazlar]

I've just moved from Australia (where it is still relatively rare to have cable TV) to the US (where it seems most do). I'm amazed how many people here don't know that you don't have to pay for cable to watch TV (at least if you are in a city somewhat close to a transmitter). If your TV has an ATSC tuner, for the cost of an antenna, you get perfect HD for free. And there's heaps of channels here in LA (most crap, but at least 6-7 good ones - more than in Oz!)

So it seems crazy to me to pay $100 a month for a few extra channels. And as mentioned above, you could always get those shows you can't get OTA from iTMS etc.

The only problem with US OTA that I've found is that all the DVRs here seem to be cable-specific (barring Tivo S3 - but that involves a monthly fee again!). I had a Topfield box in Australia, if only I could find something similar, preferably that could handle HD too.

 

[TuckBodi]

Joost is just a baby where I see a lot of potential. Maybe all the content isn't there yet, and flipping through its channels can be slow, but the thing isn't even released yet. Give it time and we'll see if people get hooked on its content. SlingCatcher (SlingBox in reverse) will simply allow you to redirect this content to the living room TV. I use my SlingBox to sling TV into my office where I don't have a hook-up or TV available. Works great.

 

[/dev/toaster]

I guess I shouldn't admit that I pay $180+ a month for Comcast, and still buy stuff from iTunes. Sad how much I pay for crap.

Then again, working for a media company is probably not a good idea to get caught downloading illegal content.

Comcast does charge way too damn much, but I guess once you get sucked in to Discovery HD ... you can't watch SD again

 

[uNext]

Dev i agree

Love me some discovery hd

I dont see myself switching to apple tv with no hd support
that means my 1080p set will be underpowered no way.

 

[apfhex]

I guess once you get sucked in to Discovery HD ... you can't watch SD again

I mean, I don't like Comcast's cable monopoly either, but how else am I going to get my favorite shows in HD with DD5.1? Consider that (sans renting the HD box) Comcast pretty much gives you Basic Cable for free if you have their internet service.

I'm amazed how many people here don't know that you don't have to pay for cable to watch TV (at least if you are in a city somewhat close to a transmitter). If your TV has an ATSC tuner, for the cost of an antenna, you get perfect HD for free.

1. I'm guessing (I could be wrong) a lot of people with HDTV's (early adopters) don't have an ATSC tuner because, at least when I was shopping for one, the models with the digital tuners were a lot more expensive.

2. Personally I don't know where I would have to move to get reception, but it's nowhere near here. Again I'm making assumptions, but, I think many people would find themselves in the same situation.

 

[zap2]

I'd love to do it, but alas to man people in my family watch sports games, so its a no go.

One day!

 

[mark-itguy]

Does the fact that iTunes television shows are not in high definition bother any of you?

I have a 20" Sony Wega 16:9 CRT type of TV. While HD from cable does look good, as do DVD rips I've done at high bitrates, I have to say that TV Shows downloaded from iTunes, which are at lower bitrates to maintain iPod compatibility, also look fine. Sure, not as good as like watching a show about sharks on Discovery HD, but still plenty good. I mean, my TV is usually half covered by my 2 year olds hand prints anyway. Now if I had a 50"+ LCD TV, perhaps I'd find the TV Shows downloaded from iTunes to seem a lot lower quality.

I'll say this; TV Shows downloaded from iTunes look no worse than DVR playback, when recorded in non-HD.

Just my .02 cents worth!

 

[Mac-Addict]

I turned off my Sky+ sattelite service for the same reason. When I need to see a TV show or series, I buy it from iTMS and am very happy with how it has all worked out...not to mention quite a bit richer.

If you had Sky+ that means you must be in the UK but there is no TV Show downloads for the UK......

 

[mkrishnan]

I'll say this; TV Shows downloaded from iTunes look no worse than DVR playback, when recorded in non-HD.

No, that makes a lot of sense, thank you. The majority of watching I do is non-HD DVR content on my 720p LCD. It's certainly bearable. (I do not pay for HD cable right now... I have the cheapest cable possible, but my total cable internet + basic, basic cable bill is $55!).

Is iTunes pretty good now about providing shows in 16:9 if a 16:9 version is available? It seems like my limited experience is that it's a crapshoot what you get, from show to show, both in terms of quality (several that I watched were at around 480 vertical lines but nowhere near DVD quality, with which I'd be very satisfied) and in terms of aspect ratio. But then the broadcasters are also inconsistent - for instance, some versions of Law & Order are broadcast in SD 16:9 with letterboxing, whereas others are broadcast 4:3 (I'm presuming the high-def versions are all 16:9, but I guess I'm not certain of that, or if they're all even available yet in high-def).

For that matter, I don't think I ever caught... does the Apple TV deal with 16:9 vs. 4:3 on the fly in a sensible fashion?

 

[Scarpad]

Apple TV was working so well for me that I returned my Motorolla HD converter box today.

I never had a problem with Cable TV until I used Apple TV. I have about 10 podcasts including Wallstrip and Geek Break that take up my TV time. (Lindsay and Callie are pod-candy!)

That is, when I'm not watching movies I've converted or downloaded.

I did the same thing Last week, turned in my HD DVR to Comcast and got rid of my Cable, of course I could'nt go to crazy cause the wife has to have HGTV and the History channel. So I webnt with verizon's direct TV offer, took their lowest package costing me about $20 a month, I can live with that. I'm mostly watching tv shows I've ripped and Movies and quite a few Podcasts, do you thnk we're starting a trend

 

[Scarpad]

Interesting. I wonder how fast this kind of market shift is happening. Certainly, if you pay as much as Zim does, you can get a large number of monthly television shows, hopefully as many or more than you are watching, for less money.

Does the fact that iTunes television shows are not in high definition bother any of you?

Does'nt really bother me I bought Hill Street Blues 3rd Season last week because Fox does'nt want to seem to continue the DVD's, they look fantastic upconverted to 720p , as good as the DVD sets I bought and guess what, on DVD they were lousy DVD 18 Flippers, I can't tell you how much of a problem I had with those.

 

[hvfsl]

Not one bit. It would be nice if Lost were in 16x9 format.

Lost started using 16x9 a few episodes ago.

If you had Sky+ that means you must be in the UK but there is no TV Show downloads for the UK......

But who said he was using the UK store.

Ever since SkyONE stopped broadcasting on cable in the UK, I have just been downloading the shows off iTunes.

Although I doubt I would ever cancel cable because their video on demand service is very good.

 

[Mac-Addict]

Lost started using 16x9 a few episodes ago.


But who said he was using the UK store.

Ever since SkyONE stopped broadcasting on cable in the UK, I have just been downloading the shows off iTunes.

Although I doubt I would ever cancel cable because their video on demand service is very good.

Yeah but how to you get an account on the US store? It wont let me use my bank card nor my paypal... Gift cards?

 

[hegor]

I'm envious that you guys are able to get enough out of an ATV to give the finger to cable and sat. But, sadly, I am addicted to NFL and require cable still.

Hopefully, IPTV isn't far behind.