Cable TV Alternatives ?
 

Was seeing what other people are doing for Cable TV Alternatives.
- Boxee, Apple TV, WDTV Live

Is it worth the change to move over? Pros/Cons to switch over?

With the NHL lockout don't really see the need to continue paying for cable...

I use an HD antenna to get some basic crappy channels.. but other than that, we just use netflix, youtube, torrents and dramafever :pokerface:

i use google tv for netflix only. was hoping it would be the cable TV alternative but it really wasn't for us. we still watch cable TV but i have to say netflix has slowly been taking up a good chunk of that. dlink's boxee box is too expensive IMO

What do you use to play netflix, youtube, torrents and dramafever?? (Wife watches that alot too..:nyan:

My current setup is to download, convert and play from the PS3 for all torrents.

Mostly Netflix, and some torrents. We use an HTPC, to avoid restrictions and file conversions.

We use a lot netflix because it's easy, has a nice interface, and decent selection (US proxy)

YouTube for certain shows like Running Man and other stuff where i don't want to download and store entire seasons

Torrents for major release movies in 1080p

dramafever for.. well.. korean dramas.

Other than that, my father-in-law torrents alot of TVB shows, so we get those from him on a hard drive periodically.

With this setup, it pretty much meets all our needs, allowing us to drop the monthly expense of cable. We don't religiously follow any tv shows, and we don't watch any sports (which, imo, are two major reasons to have cable).

The only thing that my wife misses is the Food Network... but i convinced her that paying for cable just so we can watch a 1-2 hours of food network a week isn't a great plan.

Love my media player (wdtv) and downloading with newsgroups combo. Torrents are ok but when you want to watch the new episode of something torrents take a bit longer. I like how I can get most tv shows before they air in my time zone. No ads!

Not familiar with how to setup a HTPC as a media center, what type of OS do they run on? Easy to setup?

Is the Apple TV, WDTV and Boxee considered as a form of HPTC but with their own OS?

Do you have problems with Cinavia restrictions?

HTPCs are just a PC that's hooked up to the Home Theatre. Usually, it'll be running Windows, but any OS can be used. Most people will use front-end software, like XBMC, to manage and play their media.

AppleTV, WDTV, Boxee, etc... are considered media streamers, and run their own OS. They're a good, low-cost solution, and most people would be happy with them. I went the HTPC route for versatility. Also, anything that be viewed on a PC, can be viewed on the HTPC. IE: I don't need Hulu Plus to be able to watch it on my big screen, since it considers the HTPC a normal desktop.

No Cinavia issues. In fact, it's the first time I heard of that, and had to Google it.

Basic setup is just like setting up a normal desktop, except you'd connect it to your living room LCD for video, and your receiver for sound.

Thanks for the info!.. Time to go shopping for a HTPC

Cinavia is a pain when playing torrents off of the PS3..