Streaming TV?

[zoe08]

Our dish contract is up this month I believe, and I am trying to look into options for cheaper TV.

I know a lot of people use only Netflix and Hulu...so for those of you who do that...I have some questions...

What do you use to stream to your TV? We don't have a Wii or PS3 or anything...I am looking into the possibility of a Roku box...anyone have experience with one of those?

Questions about hulu/hulu plus? Are you able to watch current shows that you want? It seems like they don't keep episodes on there for very long, which sometimes I don't get around to watching my shows on the DVR within the week they are recorded.

Does hulu have commercials during the shows?

 

[CaliTerp07]

You should be able to get S-video cables to display the laptop on the tv. If you find 'em online they're really cheap.

 

[Lizmo]

Yes, like Cali said you can purchase a cable that hooks from your laptop to the TV and allows you to watch things on your TV.

Hulu (non-plus version) does have commercials. Usually about 5 for a 45 minute show. Each lasting about 20-60 seconds. I believe, though, that Huluplus allows you to watch shows from past seasons. So I assume they'd be on there a while.

We have Netflix Watch It Now and 2 DVDs at a time. Though, Netflix did a big no-no and now you have to pay for BOTH Watch it Now and DVDs, it's not a package deal anymore. For existing customers (like myself) this takes effect in September/October. But I have nothing but positive things to say about Netflix. I love Watch it Now. It's so easy.

 

[MisssAshby]

We have Apple TV and so far it's been great. I don't know if you can stream from other sources with it as we run everything through our media center. But, I'd strongly recommend it if it can do what you are after.

 

[blue]

You can use an HDMI cable to get A/V from a PC to your TV. More and more TVs are coming networked enabled, not sure how it works but its there.

If you are talking about streaming over the internet I would check with your ISP (Internet Service Provider) on your speed, available speeds, and if you have a Usage/transfer limit. My ISP has speeds that would make streaming video a horrible waste of time, to speeds that would make a DTV connection jealous, and speeds in the middle that are comparable to HD DTV. There is not a ISP in my area that has unlimited transfers any more and Netflix and Hulu can eat a lot of bandwidth and overage fees can get really expensive.

I dont use Hulu or Netflix but I do get all my entertainment online so a high bandwidth connection and unlimited usage are important.

 

[RedHotDobe]

^That really isn't a problem, well, anywhere that I've ever been. We have a Slingbox and Netflix and can stream most of the day, every day of the month and not have issues.

 

[Samantha's pet]

Our TV has built in wireless so we don't use anything external to watch our netflix. We use to use our Xbox.

We refuse to pay for Hulu so we just use the free features which means we can't stream it to our iPad, tv, or any other device. Only the computer and we don't have access to ALL shows (but enough) and we have to watch the short commercials. If you do pay for Hulu plus you can stream to any device, no commercials, and you have access to a LOT more shows and the episodes remain available a lot longer. Free Hulu is getting worse. My shows all now only have one episode up at a time. When a new one comes out the old one is gone.

 

[Samantha's pet]

Wow I cannot imagine having a bandwith limit! I just have At&t DSL, the second to lowest speed and have never had an issue.

 

[MafiaPrincess]

I torrent my TV. I DL only what I feel like watching, and during the summer DL entire seasons of stuff to watch i order including stuff from years ago I never managed to catch all of.

Dekka torrents her TV too, but so her entire family can watch it. She has a WDTV box so that the movie and tv files on her computer can be played on the family TV.

 

[LostAndConfused]

We have:
Netflix
HuluPlus
Amazon Instant Watch
and
A Roku

I love Netflix. That's really all I've got to say about that. I am annoyed that they split the Instant Watch & DVD, but in all honesty, we hardly ever watched the DVDs

HuluPlus is nice. I don't watch it as often as Netflix, but my husband watches The Daily Show & Cobert & sometimes Tosh.O on it. It does have short commercials like regular Hulu

Amazon Instant we have just because we're Amazon Prime members. It's silly and I really wouldn't recommend it.

As for the Roku, we really like it. We had one of the laptops sitting next to the TV and we were watching Hulu that way and using the Wii for Netflix. We ended up getting the Roku so Ben could have his computer back. Plus I thinking using the Roku remote is easier than using the wireless mouse. Also we can stream Pandora.com on the Roku, which is nice when I'm cleaning and stuff.

 

[blue]

Wow I cannot imagine having a bandwith limit! I just have At&t DSL, the second to lowest speed and have never had an issue.

I was on 768kbs until late last year because it was the only unlimited package offered by my ISP, actually it was no longer offered I was grandfathered in for 2 or 3 years. Im now on a 10MBS unlimited package that is only offered to businesses and its cheaper then the 768 connection. The downside of the 10MPS connection, its a 5 year contract.

My ISP offers speeds as low as 256kbs to 10MPS for copper connections and up to 22MBS for the few areas on fiber.