Cable and Satellite TV are dying technologies. With the advent of TV shows being distributed through the ‘net, it’s becoming more and more possible to drop your TV provider and rely only on your internet connection for entertainment. And it’s only going to get better as more and more companies follow this trend. Here are a couple ways to cut your cable or satellite service and just use the internet.
- Hulu.com – Hulu is a video website which legitimately distributes full length episodes of TV shows, movies, or clips. It was started by NBC and News Corp. (parent of Fox) in early 2007, and has really taken off. There are a variety of shows available for streamed viewing, and best of all, it’s free. Some of the drawbacks to Hulu are that the video can be choppy(especially if you have a slow connection, since the cache is very small), and the quality is not the greatest. I will say that I have been using this for several months and have been very satisfied with the quality and the content available. Other drawbacks are advertisements(although they are only 5-30 seconds long, averaging between 10 and 15 seconds, and there are only a few per episode) and that you have to wait for the video to be posted. I have found that the show is usually posted the day after it initially airs. I’ve also found that there seems to be a time limit on some shows so you have to watch them before they are removed. Another major advantage to Hulu is that you can watch these videos at any time, removing the limitation of having to watch the show when it airs. I always found it to be difficult and sometimes impossible to free up specific time slots due to work or school, so having the ability to watch a show whenever I want is awesome.
- Netflix - If you pay for HBO, Cinemax, or any other movie channel, Netflix is a great alternative. Let’s be honest; when was the last time you turned on HBO or any of these channels and found something playing you actually wanted to watch? I know when I had these channels it was about 1/4 of the time, and most times I had to settle on a movie I was not really interested in watching. With Netflix you can line up several movies which are mailed to you, and you can watch them at any time. When you’re done you just send them back and they send you the next one on the list. Really, any kind of movie rental subscription is a very viable alternative to HBO, but Netflix does it automatically and you don’t have to go to the store; they are brought to you. You do have to pay for Netflix, but I’m sure a Netflix subscription is cheaper than HBO. I know it is here in Madison, at least. Plus, you get to watch what you want to watch, not whatever HBO decides to play.
- Apple TV/ iTunes Apple has made significant strides in making it possible to download movies, tv shows, or whole series’ right to your computer. This is a pay service but if you need something immediately, or don’t feel like / aren’t able to run to a store to purchase it, the iTunes store makes for a great alternative. Not to mention the fact that these videos are in higher quality (sometimes HD) than what you can get on Hulu. So if you’re a diehard fan of some show, you can get it in higher quality. Plus, the shows are fairly cheap and the library is large.
Okay, so these are three options for watching TV through the internet. Most people don’t really want to watch TV on their computer. The best way to take advantage of these technologies is to do two things. First, buy a TV that supports PC inputs of some kind, preferably HDMI, DVI, or VGA(Sometimes called D-SUB, or HD-15). Most HDTVs support PC-inputs, check your manual if you’re not sure. HDMI and DVI use the same kind of video signal, so if your TV has HDMI and you get a computer with DVI all you need is a simple adapter to change the connection style. Second, buy a dirt cheap computer. For example, the University I go to sells their old computers for under $100. So I bought one of these little machines, tossed in a new graphics card(which was actually an old card i had laying around), and had it up and running with my HDTV in no time. I now can use this computer to watch TV through hulu, the DVD player for Netflix or other DVDs if I wanted to, or download shows through iTunes. I no longer pay for Cable TV and really enjoy being able to access all the shows I liked to watch for free whenever I wanted. This really is an excellent alternative if your shows are available on Hulu or another internet-broadcasting service. I do recommend checking out these services before cancelling your TV connection though, so make sure you’re comfortable with how they work and the quality they provide. If you go through with it, you should be able to save yourself the $70+ most cable or satellite providers charge for TV service. And if you buy a cheaper machine like I did, even if you purchase a graphics card you’ll still come in at around $150, so in just over two months you’ll have your investment paid for.
Some disadvantages to this process are that
- Shows that are specific to premium channels(such as Dexter for showtime) are not available in this way. So if you really love these shows and can’t wait for them to come out on disc, this probably isn’t the option for you.
- If Hulu were to get shut down or go offline, you no longer have access to TV. I have not experienced this as of yet, but it could happen.
- If you don’t have a fast connection, it really doesn’t work. Having a high transfer rate is very important when attempting to watch video from Hulu. I’ve seen it attempted on slower connections and the results are not pretty.
I’m sure there are other problems with doing things this way, but these are the three that come to mind right now. Let me know what you think or if there are any other services out there that could be added to this list!