Ditch cable for YouTube/Hulu/Netflix?

[Dioz]

Do you watch much TV anymore?

Or do you just use streaming services like Hulu, or if outside of the US, Netflix?

Personally, I'm paying €56 per month for Sky+HD (It's like TiVo / Foxtel) and I barely watch anything on it aside from Discovery HD and Comedy Central.

I wouldnt think this affects the majority of people here, mostly those who pay for their TV services themselves. At least my contract with Sky will be up in July.

[Freakyfreakchick]

We just got rid of the DVD portion of Netflix. I have all the bells and whistles on my cable box. HD, DVR, HBO. It's fucking expensive though. Thankfully we only pay like 5 dollars for HBO (When subscribing to it, the guy helping us couldn't put in the 14 dollars, so he gave us a 5 dollar one.)

[Stay-Gold]

I have basic cable atm, but only because the previous house owners are still paying for it.
They must have had like a house and cottage package from the provider and they just haven't switched now that we've bought the house.

I really don't watch it other than "Til debt do us part", but I can just stream that.
I ue the interwebz for 99% of my video/tv watching needs.

[Schadenfreude-]

There's a lot that I can watch without 'cable' but I do like Sky and the choice it gives me, especially with films and Skygo.

[rednaxula]

I watch a lot of Films and TV online or on my laptop now, plus I can just use my HDMI cable to plug it into the TV anyway. But at the same time I watch a fair bit on sky, it's my default because where I live hasn't got the best broadband speed.
Besides, Film 4 have good Films on quite regularly, The Godfather was on the other week.

[Dioz]

I wouldn't mind having Sky if it wasn't for the fact Anytime+ is only in the UK right now, pisses me off. That and the fact they charge for HD. I think I made a bad choice with streaming services, friends of mine have Netflix and told me there's absolutely nothing good on it.

Film 4 is good, but I cant stand adverts when I'm watching a movie.

Ever notice recently there's no good premieres on sky movies anymore? Only one or two a week.

[Ollie_94]

I wouldn't mind having Sky if it wasn't for the fact Anytime+ is only in the UK right now, pisses me off. .

Your not missing out, as its misleading. £60 for the box, and there is a fair amount of content, but you can't watch it immediately or stream it. You have to download it which is shit e.g. HD films are many GBs so it takes hours to download on a decent connection. And while it's doing so it drains the wifi so other devices are extremely slow. Also the menu bar is badly laid out and it takes a while to skip through pages as it has to download the list first. They should just expand regular anytime.

edit: I think the box is free now.

[Dioz]

Your not missing out, as its misleading. £60 for the box, and there is a fair amount of content, but you can't watch it immediately or stream it. You have to download it which is shit e.g. HD films are many GBs so it takes hours to download on a decent connection. And while it's doing so it drains the wifi so other devices are extremely slow. Also the menu bar is badly laid out and it takes a while to skip through pages as it has to download the list first. They should just expand regular anytime.

edit: I think the box is free now.

Oh, that sounds like it would be rubbish without the 1TB box. I can download 1GB in about 5 minutes so I dont mind the download time. I already have the right box for Anytime+.

I'd just like to have all my favourite movies in one spot, plus it's legal too.

[Schadenfreude-]

Your not missing out, as its misleading. £60 for the box, and there is a fair amount of content, but you can't watch it immediately or stream it. You have to download it which is shit e.g. HD films are many GBs so it takes hours to download on a decent connection. And while it's doing so it drains the wifi so other devices are extremely slow. Also the menu bar is badly laid out and it takes a while to skip through pages as it has to download the list first. They should just expand regular anytime.

edit: I think the box is free now.

I've never experienced this. Downloading is annoying but I can usually start watching the film or show within 30 seconds of starting the download. Plus there isn't that much room on the box for sky to put everything on the box so it makes sense to pick and choose. Also it's free so not much to complain about

[Ollie_94]

I've never experienced this. Downloading is annoying but I can usually start watching the film or show within 30 seconds of starting the download. Plus there isn't that much room on the box for sky to put everything on the box so it makes sense to pick and choose. Also it's free so not much to complain about

Does it allow streaming then ?
We must have a shit connection becuase it takes about an hour for a single hd film. Ya its alright if its free, but they charged when it first came out and we have only used it a handful of times

[Schadenfreude-]

Does it allow streaming then ?
We must have a shit connection becuase it takes about an hour for a single hd film. Ya its alright if its free, but they charged when it first came out and we have only used it a handful of times

I'm not sure. I don't think so.

You're not paying for it now are you?

I guess our connection is pretty okay then. That being said I've never sat and waited for anything to fully download, I start it as soon as I can because if I'm choosing it I'm going to watch it there and then. If I watch tv in the living room, anytime is pretty much all I'll use unless I have recorded something on planner. I like that it can store a large portion of episodes of a series. It makes catching up sooo much easier.

Anyway sky can be pretty pricey but their service is top notch if I'm going to be honest. Perhaps I'll look into Netflix when I move out.

[hovla]

i havnt watched TV for like 3 years. Nearly everything is bloody dumb and retarded on our programs, and i dont feel like paying extra for satellite programs/cable etc.

[Headcase-]

I don't watch much cable TV, mostly because I have no patience for commercials. When I do watch it, it's briefly in the morning -- Maury, Steve Wilkos, Court TV, etc.

I don't use much online shit, though, either, I buy a lot of TV-on-DVD

[resident_evil_fan]

My family has digital cable when i get out i'll more than likely just watch show on my xbox.

Can you pay extra in England to take off commercials? Like do they have a special program? I heard about it once and really wish it was available in the states.

[Dioz]

Yeah, it's called fast forwarding if you recorded the programme or are viewing through the Anytime service, which lets you see any show at any time.. sounds about right. Basically it's Netflix.

Great now the thread is pointless.

The only channels here with no adverts are Sky Movies. It's not just England btw. The UK and Ireland get the same TV service.

[whichdoctor]

the UK version of netflix is pretty awful though. have a go with the free trial, you'll be unimpressed.

[SaberOne]

Depending on what internet service provider you have, there can be a data bandwidth cap implemented. For example I have a 250gb bandwidth limit for comcast (and i know at&t has a 150gb cap). In normal circumstance, it's plenty, but if all you do is stream tv shows and movies then you can reach that cap quickly. If you go beyond that cap, you can be terminated or pay some sort of fee. That's why its a good idea to get at least basic cable to watch some shows on the tv and stream shows you can't find on tv through the internet.

[Dioz]

And then there's internet service providers like my one that give me unlimited download limits.

[mmmpizza]

Ah, what is cable?

I've been streaming for years. Since Hulu first came out before they had Hulu+ and shit. I had Netflix on a free trial that somehow remained free for a few months. I caught up on shows, and discovered Human Centipede thanks to Netflix. Now Hulu you are required to pay for almost everything fuck that. I use it to watch Pretty Little Liars, beyond that I wouldn't waste money on them these days. I can't be fucked with Netflix either.

We had cable, with all the extras then got rid of it.I stream everything. And a simple HDMI cord turns my laptop screen into my 50 inch tv screen. Dafuq do I need cable for? My $30 internet is all I need. The only thing I hate is not having the History Channel though, sometimes those shows are hard to find on the webz.

[SaberOne]

And then there's internet service providers like my one that give me unlimited download limits.

Hence the reason I said "there can be a data bandwidth cap". The two most popular internet service providers (at&t and comcast) have data caps. I'm just pointing that out to people. If you have unlimited data limits then it would probably be a good idea do what what you suggested, especially if you want to save some money.