If you're like any typical plugged in family today you probably have at least one home theater receiver, few TVs, a media player or two, A DVD or Blu-Ray player, and probably a couple cable or satellite boxes running around. Trouble is, the remote the cable guys give is never good enough to have all of your devices. So what do you do?
There are some good options available. You can buy a programmable remote control. like a Logitech Harmony, or you can some times, use your smart phone or tablet as a remote. I have tried both to an extent. You can always throw money at any problem and solve it. I don't like just throwing money at a problem to make it go away. I like to see what's out there and run through the options. I have better things to spend my money on than $400 to $500 on controlling my home electronics.
Enter the Logitech Harmony Remote. It comes is several models from the basic model to the advanced model where macros can be programmed and customized. I currently use the Logitech Harmony 650. It controls up to 5 devices, but that's all I need. There about 4 models to choose from, the basic being the 650 for about $80 retail and the high end being the 1100 for about $350 retail. These devices can be programmed to work with practically any device and can learn buttons from the original remote. I would recommend that the programmer and primary user be at least an enthusiast for home electronics as these can be confusing to program if you are not technically inclined. You can find out more at Logitech's web site.
Another option is to use your smart phone or tablet. Your smart phone or tablet does not have an infrared transmitter built in to it, so do not expect this to work on every device. This typically will work on some network connected devices, live TVs, Cable boxes, media players, and possibly your DVD or Blu-Ray player. What I have found is some companies and individual developers have created apps that can control their devices over a wireless network connection. If you use DirecTV you can install an app that will allow you to use your tablet or smart phone just like your regular DirecTV remote. Just search the Google Play store for DirecTV and remote apps will show up. Try searching for WD TV Live and there's a remote app for that. As a bonus there are apps that can play content from your phone or tablet to the WD TV Live.
The major draw back here is your phone becomes the virtual couch cushion where you lose or keep all of your remotes. I have not found good option for multi function remotes as an app. Your best option, in my opinion, is a Logitech Harmony remote for single one stop shop remote that can rule them all.
If you are interested in the Logitech devices, keep an eye out for sales. I was able to pick up my 650 for about half off retail during a weekend sale. The higher end models go on sale occasionally, but not to 50% off. Still money saved is money saved.
What do you use to control your house electronics? I'm sure there are other options out there. Let's hear them.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Netflix a Good Service and Selection: Limited by Archaic Business Model and Technology
<p>I have been off cable for at least 2 months now. It's been a liberating experience. Bouncing between Netflix and Hulu to watch our favorite shows and movies is not difficult. What has been difficult is getting past the bone headed moves by the Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings, first trying to create two companies to stream movies and rent DVDs, doubling prices, and limiting concurrent streaming devices to levels not seen since around 2001. </p>
<p>There are times when Netflix has had technical glitches of accessing shows and what not. I expect that from time to time. It's technology and it's not perfect. I expect some mistakes in growing a business, but not limiting the customer experience, because of outdated technology and business models. </p>
<p>Separating companies to perform different features, limiting customer experience through technology degradation, and requiring independent and separate user accounts to get past the 2 concurrent device streaming limit is just plain old technology and reverse thinking. Why do I have to to create another username(email address) and password just so I can increase my concurrent streaming device count? That's another security combination I need to remember, write down, and manage. The onus should be on Netflix to do that, not me, the customer. </p>
<p>The specific limitation of 2 concurrent streaming devices is a level of access not seen since the early 2000's when there were no such things as an Internet enabled tv, smart phones, and media players. High speed Internet for residential access was in its infancy. Today every person I know has at least 3 personal Internet enabled devices capable of streaming Netflix. Families with kids have at least 10 to 12 devices all capable of streaming Netflix. Unfortunately, as a single account, Netflix is limiting the family to about 20% usage and preventing a family from using Netflix what it was designed for; Watching what you want when you want it. </p>
<p>I don't mind paying a little extra to add more concurrent streaming devices to my account, but I think it's ridiculous to require me to create a whole new account to increase it, and pay double. Pricing it as an additional $3 to $4 to double my access to four devices is an acceptable price increase. Charging double to double my access is not agreeable to me. Discount in quantities is typical. If I pay double, and yes it's more money for Netflix, but it's a pain in my behind to have to manage two separate accounts or be reamed for double prices. </p>
<p>I don't believe Reed Hastings has a handle on what this business has grown into. It spawned as an alternative to the brick and mortar DVD rental stores that were out of our favorite movies and charged late fees if it was returned a day late. In fact I was an early adopter. The company had some things to learn then, too. My first DVDs got lost in their ordering system and I lost the entire free trial period. I asked to extend it and they declined even though it was their fault. I stayed away from Netflix because of that incident for more than 5 years before giving them another try. I always watched from afar, though.</p>
<p>The initial business model created a recurring revenue stream for Netflix from movie buffs paying monthly. It gave them movies in the mail, giving them the time to watch and returning at their convenience with non late fees. Netflix then entered movie streaming giving us the immediate satisfaction we crave of watching a movie right then and there. At first it was all you can eat on as many devices as you want. Since some people took advantage and gave out their credentials to friends and family, and Netflix changed it to all you can eat on one device. People immediately screamed so now it's two devices. Hardly an improvement. And yet, through all of these device limiting modifications Netflix still lacks the ability to increase the device count at the account level, instead requiring the creation of a whole new independent account. </p>
<p>In my opinion, this is either a complete lack of intelligence and vision from Reed Hastings to effectively lead, grow, and develop the business, core infrastructure, and software, or it has something to do with the copyright holders placing unrealistic and innovation stifling monetary values on their content. Either way, it needs to be addressed by Reed Hastings and get the word out to his millions of customers that have been affected by the Archaic Business Model changes and outdated technology components .</p>
<p>There is a consumer demand for being connected and staying entertained with their favorite shows and movies. There is a growing movement to cut back, or even all the way out, the premium tv companies like Time Warner, Directv, Dish, etc and use these streaming services for a La carte and on demand streaming as a replacement or complimentary service. </p>
<p>The sooner these companies realize and accept the consumer cooce and direction the better the consumer experience can become. So long as greed does not get in the way and stifle the innovation that can bring us the services we crave at a price that is affordable and responsible. </p>
Thursday, November 1, 2012
30 Days Post Cutting the Cable
It has been more than 30 days since I cut off my DirecTV and sent back my equipment. We have been happy with our choices on Hulu, Netflix, and watching TV in real time on the HD antenna. It's even been nostalgic in finding some TV shows from my childhood my wife and I are enjoying all over again. Shows like the Cosby Show, and Emergency! have made it into our Hulu lives. My son likes Emergency! because he is all into police and fireman. in fact, he was a policeman for Halloween. Essentially, we have enjoyed our new lifestyle. I will tell you, though it's not all roses, though. There are some drawbacks. I'll get into those shortly.
I received an email shortly after returning my equipment that included a survey link to tell DirecTV why I canceled my service. Essentially, it cam down to three things. Number One - I was locked into a 2-year contract and realized too late that it was a bad deal. Number Two - I was paying twice the rate for new customers and had a lower package than was offered to new customers. Number Three - Customer Service failed to act in a timely manner to make me a happy customer when I complained about the pricing and options available to new customers compared to my current options.
I have since received several emails about new promotions. I have also now started to receive phone calls from DirecTV account managers that sound like they are on a manufacturing line, telling me they can save me up to $360 a year! I don't even pay $360 a year right now for what I have, so does that mean they're going to pay me to watch TV? Unlikely, I'm sure. I told the guy three times I wasn't interested and he kept on keeping on, so stopped keeping on and hung up. I'm sure I'll get a call back in the few days again.
So what do we like about our new lives as cable cutters? The freedom of not having a 2 year commitment to some service I may not like. The freedom of watching a show or movie of my choosing when I want to. The ability for my family to watch something different from me. I also, enjoy the fact I have control over when and where people watch shows. We can easily lock out shows that are too mature for my kids. The limited commercials that appear, although one of those limited commercials is driving my wife nuts. I think she might actually tackle the poor actor in the Wynn Casino commercial if she ran into him in person.
The things I don't like are the limited account access imposed by Netflix. They limit each online account to 2 concurrent uses. I think that's a little short sighted considering the number of devices each person and family now has in their household. We have run into the limitation a few times and have been able to switch over to Hulu as a consolation prize when it happens. If we have to open another Netflix, it's not the end of the world, but that eats into my savings for doing this whole thing anyway.
Hulu has trouble sometimes with delays in getting into and through commercials. Sometimes it locks up and we have to start the show over again, or back out and come back in. That may be just my media player device, as we have not really had the problem on a computer so much. Outside of that we have not had any other problems on Hulu.
My HD antenna works great giving a good, strong signal for many channels I watch and showing the sports that are available in HD and 5.1 digital surround sound. We get occasional blips and pixelation through the HD antenna. I'm not sure how much of that is the network or the antenna. My signal is solid and the weather is clear. I'm thinking it's mostly a network issue because some do it more than others. The big draw back altogether is I don't get to watch many sports. I tried the MLBtv, but quickly canceled. The blackout restrictions are ridiculous. I couldn't watch any Ranger games, even when they were away. The NFL option is way too expensive.
So overall, I am truly satisfied with the decision to cut the cable. My family is also satisfied and able to watch the shows they want. Even the ones they used to watch they haven't even asked about. It's been a pretty good decision. Our Internet is fast enough to handle multiple streams and still allow me to work and download files when needed. Not bad. My total TV bill is less than $20 per month. Including Internet my total right around $50 per month. I don't know many people who are paying for TV and Internet a total of $600 per year.
I received an email shortly after returning my equipment that included a survey link to tell DirecTV why I canceled my service. Essentially, it cam down to three things. Number One - I was locked into a 2-year contract and realized too late that it was a bad deal. Number Two - I was paying twice the rate for new customers and had a lower package than was offered to new customers. Number Three - Customer Service failed to act in a timely manner to make me a happy customer when I complained about the pricing and options available to new customers compared to my current options.
I have since received several emails about new promotions. I have also now started to receive phone calls from DirecTV account managers that sound like they are on a manufacturing line, telling me they can save me up to $360 a year! I don't even pay $360 a year right now for what I have, so does that mean they're going to pay me to watch TV? Unlikely, I'm sure. I told the guy three times I wasn't interested and he kept on keeping on, so stopped keeping on and hung up. I'm sure I'll get a call back in the few days again.
So what do we like about our new lives as cable cutters? The freedom of not having a 2 year commitment to some service I may not like. The freedom of watching a show or movie of my choosing when I want to. The ability for my family to watch something different from me. I also, enjoy the fact I have control over when and where people watch shows. We can easily lock out shows that are too mature for my kids. The limited commercials that appear, although one of those limited commercials is driving my wife nuts. I think she might actually tackle the poor actor in the Wynn Casino commercial if she ran into him in person.
The things I don't like are the limited account access imposed by Netflix. They limit each online account to 2 concurrent uses. I think that's a little short sighted considering the number of devices each person and family now has in their household. We have run into the limitation a few times and have been able to switch over to Hulu as a consolation prize when it happens. If we have to open another Netflix, it's not the end of the world, but that eats into my savings for doing this whole thing anyway.
Hulu has trouble sometimes with delays in getting into and through commercials. Sometimes it locks up and we have to start the show over again, or back out and come back in. That may be just my media player device, as we have not really had the problem on a computer so much. Outside of that we have not had any other problems on Hulu.
My HD antenna works great giving a good, strong signal for many channels I watch and showing the sports that are available in HD and 5.1 digital surround sound. We get occasional blips and pixelation through the HD antenna. I'm not sure how much of that is the network or the antenna. My signal is solid and the weather is clear. I'm thinking it's mostly a network issue because some do it more than others. The big draw back altogether is I don't get to watch many sports. I tried the MLBtv, but quickly canceled. The blackout restrictions are ridiculous. I couldn't watch any Ranger games, even when they were away. The NFL option is way too expensive.
So overall, I am truly satisfied with the decision to cut the cable. My family is also satisfied and able to watch the shows they want. Even the ones they used to watch they haven't even asked about. It's been a pretty good decision. Our Internet is fast enough to handle multiple streams and still allow me to work and download files when needed. Not bad. My total TV bill is less than $20 per month. Including Internet my total right around $50 per month. I don't know many people who are paying for TV and Internet a total of $600 per year.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
My Life as a Cable Cutter
Today is my first day living as a cable cutter. A few weeks ago I wrote a post about taking the cable cutting challenge. The goal is to live off of OTA TV, Netflix, and Hulu for a year. There may be a couple other odd and end services mixed in, but the point is to watch TV for less than $30/mo. So far, I'm at $18/mo with Hulu and Netflix. I plan to probably add MLBtv next year. That will be around $120 for the season, but probably will only add $10 to my average monthly bill. I'm good with that, for now. That's still under the $30 mark.
My kids like some shows we won't be able to access through our TV, like Regular Show and Adventure Time on the Cartoon Network. Most of the episodes are available through the website, though and we can watch those on a computer. I'm not getting a DVR of any kind right now, like Tivo or something similar. I don't have the need.
Sunday is my first football season without Cable or Satellite. The good news is that since they have always been on Fox and CBS, they will still be there. And I can watch some football this Sunday. Last week I was able to pickup the network games, so I have no doubt it will be the same this week.
Good bye, DirecTV. I see you have some awesome packages on your site and are even including NFL Sunday Ticket for free! It's for new customers only, though, because I asked about lowering my bill. I'm as low as I can go at $70+/mo, while new customers get a deal that's almost half that cost and with more channels than I have. Are you offering the super special deals, because people are abandoning ship and realizing they can get along without you? Hmmm.... I know you will never admit it, even if it's true. I wonder what the landscape will look like in 5 years.
An Update: I just got a call from someone high up in Customer Service at DirecTV. They were verifying that I wanted to cancel my service and asked why? I explained it was a cost issue. They were willing to increase my channel package and cut my current payment by at least half! What a deal! I was already at the lowest package and they were going to bump me up and cut my cost by half. That would have put me at about $40/mo. It's a great deal, but still not $20/mo. I declined the offer. I'm sure I would have had to sign another 2 year contract and lose the cost benefits over that time and eventually climb back up to the current payment levels. I'm not playing that game anymore.
Out of all the times I called before to work with DirecTV, why do I have to go through the process to cancel my service to get attention from them? Why do they have to be faced with the prospect of a customer committing to dropping service. When I commit to doing something like that, I've made up my mind and I'm done. It would take a lot to get me to change my mind. Even if I do, I probably wouldn't be going back to that company because they let the relationship sour to the point of termination.
My kids like some shows we won't be able to access through our TV, like Regular Show and Adventure Time on the Cartoon Network. Most of the episodes are available through the website, though and we can watch those on a computer. I'm not getting a DVR of any kind right now, like Tivo or something similar. I don't have the need.
Sunday is my first football season without Cable or Satellite. The good news is that since they have always been on Fox and CBS, they will still be there. And I can watch some football this Sunday. Last week I was able to pickup the network games, so I have no doubt it will be the same this week.
Good bye, DirecTV. I see you have some awesome packages on your site and are even including NFL Sunday Ticket for free! It's for new customers only, though, because I asked about lowering my bill. I'm as low as I can go at $70+/mo, while new customers get a deal that's almost half that cost and with more channels than I have. Are you offering the super special deals, because people are abandoning ship and realizing they can get along without you? Hmmm.... I know you will never admit it, even if it's true. I wonder what the landscape will look like in 5 years.
An Update: I just got a call from someone high up in Customer Service at DirecTV. They were verifying that I wanted to cancel my service and asked why? I explained it was a cost issue. They were willing to increase my channel package and cut my current payment by at least half! What a deal! I was already at the lowest package and they were going to bump me up and cut my cost by half. That would have put me at about $40/mo. It's a great deal, but still not $20/mo. I declined the offer. I'm sure I would have had to sign another 2 year contract and lose the cost benefits over that time and eventually climb back up to the current payment levels. I'm not playing that game anymore.
Out of all the times I called before to work with DirecTV, why do I have to go through the process to cancel my service to get attention from them? Why do they have to be faced with the prospect of a customer committing to dropping service. When I commit to doing something like that, I've made up my mind and I'm done. It would take a lot to get me to change my mind. Even if I do, I probably wouldn't be going back to that company because they let the relationship sour to the point of termination.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
One Week Left to Live with DirecTV
This coming week is my last week on DirecTV. I will be cutting the cord this week. No cable or satellite service for one year is the challenge. In preparation I have purchased a Western Digital Live TV media player and a Mohu Leaf HD Antenna to receive OTA TV channels. I have done testing with each of those with good success. Sunday, I watched some football using my Mohu Leaf and the signal was flawless.
This weekend I will have some work to do. I am cleaning up wires and moving some equipment around the house. Since the DirecTV box will be moved out the Cable modem and wireless router are getting moved to the front of the house and new cable management is being put in.
I am excited about taking on the cable cutter challenge. I'm also somewhat apprehensive as I have not been without cable or satellite TV service since sometime around 1996. I haven't been without a DVR for at least 8 years. It's been a dependent relationship that I choose to longer be a participant. The biggest complaints could potentially come from the kids. They've never known TV without a DVR. They think everyone can pause and rewind live TV. I'm about take my kids to the stone age with a 46-inch HD TV, high speed Internet, laptops in the house with Netflix, a couple hundred DVD movies available on demand from the network movie library, and no ability to pause or rewind live TV. Poor things. They're going to have such a rough time with this.
This weekend I will have some work to do. I am cleaning up wires and moving some equipment around the house. Since the DirecTV box will be moved out the Cable modem and wireless router are getting moved to the front of the house and new cable management is being put in.
I am excited about taking on the cable cutter challenge. I'm also somewhat apprehensive as I have not been without cable or satellite TV service since sometime around 1996. I haven't been without a DVR for at least 8 years. It's been a dependent relationship that I choose to longer be a participant. The biggest complaints could potentially come from the kids. They've never known TV without a DVR. They think everyone can pause and rewind live TV. I'm about take my kids to the stone age with a 46-inch HD TV, high speed Internet, laptops in the house with Netflix, a couple hundred DVD movies available on demand from the network movie library, and no ability to pause or rewind live TV. Poor things. They're going to have such a rough time with this.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Update Outlook Safe Sender List via GPO
I had a client with the need to update the Outlook Safe Sender list in Outlook's Junk Email settings across about 100 end users. The list had only a couple of addresses and we did not want to overwrite whatever list was already in place for each end user. They have an Active Directory environment and have a couple of sites. They also use Outlook 2007 and 2010. So the question became, how can this be done through Group Policy? Do we have to run an MSP package or can we just use Administrative templates to set the information?
I found the Office 2007 and Office 2010 Administrative GPOs on Microsoft's site. I downloaded them and placed them in the correct location. These GPOs are for Windows 2003 or Windows 2008 Active Directory environments. Don't forget to copy the ADML files in, too. You will get errors when attempting to modify a GPO with the Office ADMX Administrative templates.
I made the appropraite changes in the Outlook GPO. The Junk Mail filter is located under User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Microsoft Office Outlook (version here) > Tools | Options > Preferences > Junk E-mail. I enabled the list setting and pointed to the location of the list and allowed the list to be updated, instead of overwritten, among a few other options. I attempted to have the GPO push to my test computers and only a couple of the settings took effect. The list did not take effect. I researched the issue and found this is a common problem.
I found this Technet thread -
I found the Office 2007 and Office 2010 Administrative GPOs on Microsoft's site. I downloaded them and placed them in the correct location. These GPOs are for Windows 2003 or Windows 2008 Active Directory environments. Don't forget to copy the ADML files in, too. You will get errors when attempting to modify a GPO with the Office ADMX Administrative templates.
I made the appropraite changes in the Outlook GPO. The Junk Mail filter is located under User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Microsoft Office Outlook (version here) > Tools | Options > Preferences > Junk E-mail. I enabled the list setting and pointed to the location of the list and allowed the list to be updated, instead of overwritten, among a few other options. I attempted to have the GPO push to my test computers and only a couple of the settings took effect. The list did not take effect. I researched the issue and found this is a common problem.
I found this Technet thread -
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/sr-Latn-CS/outlook/thread/0ddcf321-9158-4078-ac83-45b33ef98266 - and discovered my problem. The registry keys were not getting created through the GPO and therefore, no list was being applied. I created the keys using the Group Policy Preferences for the user and successfully pushed the list to the test computers.
The following registry keys are required for Outlook Safe Sender lists to be populated inside:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\office\14.0\outlook\options\mail
"JunkMailImportAppend" DWORD = 1 NOTE: This is DWORD value. “1” is for Appending. “0” is for Overwrite.
"JunkMailSafeSendersFile" SZ = "C:\SafeSenders.txt" NOTE: String value is set to filepath of txt file
“JunkMailImportLists" DWORD = 1 NOTE: 1 = Enabled 0 = Disabled
"JunkMailImportAppend" DWORD = 1 NOTE: This is DWORD value. “1” is for Appending. “0” is for Overwrite.
"JunkMailSafeSendersFile" SZ = "C:\SafeSenders.txt" NOTE: String value is set to filepath of txt file
“JunkMailImportLists" DWORD = 1 NOTE: 1 = Enabled 0 = Disabled
Upon import of the list the JunkMailImportLists value will automatically change to 0. If this registry entry is set to 1 from Group Policy it will continue to import the list at each logon. Rest assured, it will not create duplicate addresses for each subsequent logon. If you are using Outlook 2007, simply replace the 14.0 with 12.0 in the registry path. The same values work for Office 2007
I used the option to append to the current list so that if anyone has a specific sender in their list, my imports won't affect their individual settings. This is important to note, as some end users can create a rather long list of acceptable safe senders, especially if they subscribe to mailing lists. Many times these can get caught in Outlook's Junk Mail. Overwriting that list may cause more headaches. The best to avoid that pitfall is understanding the needs of the end users affected by the anticipated changes.
The other option available mentioned in the thread is to update the Exchange Server with a few cmdlets. My customer uses a hosted Exchange environment, so this was not an option for us. Implementing the registry settings was simple enough and can be maintained easily.
Credit goes to Jahawk at Microsoft for showing this information in the Technet thread.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
The Mohu Leaf HD Antenna Review
Here I am one week before my anticipated date to cut the cable. I just received my Mohu Leaf HD antenna in the mail today. It came super quick with free shipping from Amazon. This is an antenna that is only available online through Amazon and the Mohu store directly. I could not find it any brick and mortar stores, nor their online stores. I compared it to other antennas on the market and found this one to be the best price for the features and results.
I ordered it over the Labor Day weekend and it arrived at my door step only 3 business days later. Considering I wasn't expecting it until about a week later, it's arrival was a pleasant surprise. I immediately unboxed the antenna. I found the packaging very simple to get through. The quick guide was right there on top. If you've never setup an antenna on a TV is might be worth reviewing. Even if you dealt with rabbit ears, this is a little different. You don't need to have junior stand in the corner holding a piece of foil touching the antenna to get a decent signal.
At first glance I felt like I overpaid for it. The antenna looks like black and white laminated construction paper with a clip holder and a wire. Albeit, the actual antenna was not flimsy. It was pretty rigid with a slight bit a flex. Don't bed it, though. I couldn't believe something so simple looking is one of the highest rated antennas on the market. I pressed forward not letting the looks deceive me.
I hooked up the antenna and just placed on the wall and initiated a channel scan. I have a white brick wall, so I placed the white side out. The instructions say it doesn't matter which side is out. As my channel scan ran I watched how many channels were discovered. I was shocked at the results. According to the FCC HD TV reception map, I should be able to get 18 channels. The Mohu Leaf HD antenna brought in 81 channels! Several of those channels were Spanish and will not be staying in my favorites list. Except for maybe the Spanish soap opera channel. Those shows get pretty hot!
I noticed some of the channels were a better picture than what I get through my DirecTV. I talked about this in my Taking the Cable Cutter Challenge post. I am excited to see that people were right and that I got to experience it, too. I went through all of the channels that were discovered and found that about half of them will be worth keeping. Most of those are in HD. I found some treasures, too. There were a few channels broadcasting older shows I remember from my younger days, like The Ropers. There was another channel showing TV shows from the 50s, too.
Between the channels I get on my Mohu Leaf HD antenna, my Western Digital TV Live box, Hulu, Netflix, and an MLBtv subscription I am set to cut the cable. My monthly bill will go from about $95/mo before discounts, to around $12/mo. I am not including Netflix as I would have Netflix regardless of having a cable or satellite provider. Talk about savings! The only drawback is football. I won't be able to watch Monday Night Football, and I may not always be able to catch the Cowboys play. I won't pay $350 for the season to watch them, either. That's more than I care to pay to watch a few games. I'd rather save up my pennies from my savings and go catch a game live at Jerry Land, aka Cowboys Stadium.
The Mohu Leaf HD antenna brought it in way more channels than I knew were out there. It's very lightweight and easy to install. It came with some hook and loop tape circles to hang the antenna anywhere I want. The cable length is about 6 feet, but is easily extended with a coax extension cable. The video quality is in full HD and the audio was crystal clear through the TV. It brought in a ton more channels than I had anticipated. It has a range of up to about 35 miles. I live within 10 miles of nearly all of our broadcast antennas. For those that live further outside a metropolitan area, there is the Mohu Leaf Plus HD antenna. It has a built in amplifier that can be powered by a USB port on the TV. The Mohu Leaf HD antenna is a very reasonably priced antenna at less than $40. The Mohu Leaf Plus HD antenna is about $75. If you're way out in the suburbs go with the Mohu Leaf Plus.
I ordered it over the Labor Day weekend and it arrived at my door step only 3 business days later. Considering I wasn't expecting it until about a week later, it's arrival was a pleasant surprise. I immediately unboxed the antenna. I found the packaging very simple to get through. The quick guide was right there on top. If you've never setup an antenna on a TV is might be worth reviewing. Even if you dealt with rabbit ears, this is a little different. You don't need to have junior stand in the corner holding a piece of foil touching the antenna to get a decent signal.
At first glance I felt like I overpaid for it. The antenna looks like black and white laminated construction paper with a clip holder and a wire. Albeit, the actual antenna was not flimsy. It was pretty rigid with a slight bit a flex. Don't bed it, though. I couldn't believe something so simple looking is one of the highest rated antennas on the market. I pressed forward not letting the looks deceive me.
I hooked up the antenna and just placed on the wall and initiated a channel scan. I have a white brick wall, so I placed the white side out. The instructions say it doesn't matter which side is out. As my channel scan ran I watched how many channels were discovered. I was shocked at the results. According to the FCC HD TV reception map, I should be able to get 18 channels. The Mohu Leaf HD antenna brought in 81 channels! Several of those channels were Spanish and will not be staying in my favorites list. Except for maybe the Spanish soap opera channel. Those shows get pretty hot!
I noticed some of the channels were a better picture than what I get through my DirecTV. I talked about this in my Taking the Cable Cutter Challenge post. I am excited to see that people were right and that I got to experience it, too. I went through all of the channels that were discovered and found that about half of them will be worth keeping. Most of those are in HD. I found some treasures, too. There were a few channels broadcasting older shows I remember from my younger days, like The Ropers. There was another channel showing TV shows from the 50s, too.
Between the channels I get on my Mohu Leaf HD antenna, my Western Digital TV Live box, Hulu, Netflix, and an MLBtv subscription I am set to cut the cable. My monthly bill will go from about $95/mo before discounts, to around $12/mo. I am not including Netflix as I would have Netflix regardless of having a cable or satellite provider. Talk about savings! The only drawback is football. I won't be able to watch Monday Night Football, and I may not always be able to catch the Cowboys play. I won't pay $350 for the season to watch them, either. That's more than I care to pay to watch a few games. I'd rather save up my pennies from my savings and go catch a game live at Jerry Land, aka Cowboys Stadium.
The Mohu Leaf HD antenna brought it in way more channels than I knew were out there. It's very lightweight and easy to install. It came with some hook and loop tape circles to hang the antenna anywhere I want. The cable length is about 6 feet, but is easily extended with a coax extension cable. The video quality is in full HD and the audio was crystal clear through the TV. It brought in a ton more channels than I had anticipated. It has a range of up to about 35 miles. I live within 10 miles of nearly all of our broadcast antennas. For those that live further outside a metropolitan area, there is the Mohu Leaf Plus HD antenna. It has a built in amplifier that can be powered by a USB port on the TV. The Mohu Leaf HD antenna is a very reasonably priced antenna at less than $40. The Mohu Leaf Plus HD antenna is about $75. If you're way out in the suburbs go with the Mohu Leaf Plus.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Review of the Western Digital TV Live Media Player
As part of my Cable Cutting Challenge I bought a media player to replace my comptuer running Windows Media Center. I looked at quite a few and landed on the Western Digital Live TV. I compared this to several options inluding, Apple TV, the Roku, Popcorn Hour, and a few others. I chose the Western Digital based on a few factors including cost, features, size, and reviews by others.
The media plyer I chose had to have some specific features. It had to be a small foot print. It had to be able to work with my Logitech Harmony remote control. It had to support a USB attached drive, It had to do Netflix and Hulu Plus. It had to be able to play my movie library from the USB drive as extracted from the DVD. And finally, it had to be less than $200. Most of the media players out there meet most of these features. Some do not support locally attached USB drives, others are more than $200, and some didn't support both Netflix and Hulu Plus.
I know everyone raves about the Apple TV media player, but it does not support locally attached media. I could have gone with a Mac Mini, but that was more than $200. The Pop Corn Hour media players are great and have an eco system all their own for apps and configurability, but it was over the $200 mark for hat I wanted. Finally, the Western Digital TV Live fit the bill for all of the features needed. The one downside is it does not know how to play Blu-Ray ISO files properly. The issue is that it cannot deconstruct them properly to play.
Unboxing the Western Digital TV Live was pretty easy. It was neatly packed in its box with some piano black accents on the top and front. The device was about 5 inches squared bu about 1.5 inches tall. It was very compact. The power cord and basic instruction manual were included. The full manual is available online only, but is an easy download. The only reason you need it is to confugre the advanced settings in the device and to answer questions of what certain advanced settings do.
The device has an HDMI, Optical, USB, and power port in the back. The front has a USB port and power indicator light. The light is an LED white light instead of the typical blue I have seen on Western Digital devices of the past. It's not overbearing and is a subtle status indicator for drive scanning activity with a steady blink when reading drive contents.
I had some initial trouble getting my Lacie drive work with the Western Digital TV Live. The status light would blink for several minutes and then it would become nearly unresponsive to remote control commands. After performing some troubleshooting and reading the full manual for connecting drive I determined the USB connector on the Lacie drive holder was bad. I bought a new drive holder, placed the hard drive in it problem solved. The status light blinked for about 1 minute and then my entire movie library was available.
The one thing I have to complain about is the source for dvdid.xml files the Western Digital TV Live uses. The dvdid.xml file displays a picture and synopsis information for movies. It has a GUID in the file that pulls this information from an Internet based database. Unfortunately, barely half of my movies are showing this information, when I had about 98% coverage from Windows Media Center. I can only add new loaclized sources for picutre and synopsis conent. I need to research this more to see what else can be done here.
I have been watching things on Netflix and Hulu. The picture qaulity is actually better than watching it on my DirecTV. I have noticed pixleation coming through DirecTV on HD content, whereas on Netflix and Hulu it's been raw HD content. It's a noticeable difference. We had a DirecTV technician come out for service on our dish on the roof and he saw what we were watching and asked how it was comgin through without the dish in place. We told him about the Western Digital TV Live and even he was impressed with the picture. He said he had never seen a show look that clear before on DirecTV! I'd say that speaks a lot to the picture value.
We have owned the Western Digital TV Live now for about 3 weeks. It's been solid. I've had to change some configuration settings to get the best experience I can get. I use HDMI for video and optical for the audio. I have found this works best for all content. My Logitech Harmony remote can control the device fantastically! The USB attached hard drive has been flawless in playing most of my content. The only content it has not played well are the Blu-Ray ISOs. There is apparently work around for this that involves extracting the ISO and recompiling in a different format that puts all of the playable sections in order. Since the Western Digital TV Live cannot do this on its own, the ISO does not play well. The wireless connectivity has been operating perfectly. It picks up my signal from about 70 linear feet away through several walls. I have not had any Internet based content pause, drop, or buffer on me due to my wireless signal.
The navigation is pretyy simple with arrows on the remote used to mive from selection to selection. An OK button selects the item and takes you there. I needed to program my userid and password for each of the services I access. Don't worry, though, it saves that information for the next time it is accessed, even if I unplug the device. Updating it also pretty simple. I was ntoified of new firmware update after getting connected to the Internet. It was a major update as it completely changed the look and feel of the online services menu options. It also added new services that were not available at the time of initial setup, like MLB TV. I don't subscribe, but it was nice to see this option. Since it's so late in the year, it's not worth the $99 annual fee. I may do it for next season, though.
If you are looking for a media player to fulfill the needs I have outlined above, then give the Western Digital Live TV a try. It's easy to setup, navigate and even update. It automatically checks for new firmware updates. Western Digital also has a user forum that is regularly patrolled by technicians offering assistance and tracking potential bugs to resolve in future releases. It's a good thing when the manufacture regularly tracks input from end users and incorporates suggestions and bug fixes into their future releases. This process is usually not so visible through other manufacturers.
The next update will include how my new HD antenna will pick up channels around here. I'm no more than 12 miles from the farthest broadcasting station so I epxect to get everything in my region. Stay tuned as I continue to edge closer to my deadline for initiating the Cable Cutting Challenge.
The media plyer I chose had to have some specific features. It had to be a small foot print. It had to be able to work with my Logitech Harmony remote control. It had to support a USB attached drive, It had to do Netflix and Hulu Plus. It had to be able to play my movie library from the USB drive as extracted from the DVD. And finally, it had to be less than $200. Most of the media players out there meet most of these features. Some do not support locally attached USB drives, others are more than $200, and some didn't support both Netflix and Hulu Plus.
I know everyone raves about the Apple TV media player, but it does not support locally attached media. I could have gone with a Mac Mini, but that was more than $200. The Pop Corn Hour media players are great and have an eco system all their own for apps and configurability, but it was over the $200 mark for hat I wanted. Finally, the Western Digital TV Live fit the bill for all of the features needed. The one downside is it does not know how to play Blu-Ray ISO files properly. The issue is that it cannot deconstruct them properly to play.
Unboxing the Western Digital TV Live was pretty easy. It was neatly packed in its box with some piano black accents on the top and front. The device was about 5 inches squared bu about 1.5 inches tall. It was very compact. The power cord and basic instruction manual were included. The full manual is available online only, but is an easy download. The only reason you need it is to confugre the advanced settings in the device and to answer questions of what certain advanced settings do.
The device has an HDMI, Optical, USB, and power port in the back. The front has a USB port and power indicator light. The light is an LED white light instead of the typical blue I have seen on Western Digital devices of the past. It's not overbearing and is a subtle status indicator for drive scanning activity with a steady blink when reading drive contents.
I had some initial trouble getting my Lacie drive work with the Western Digital TV Live. The status light would blink for several minutes and then it would become nearly unresponsive to remote control commands. After performing some troubleshooting and reading the full manual for connecting drive I determined the USB connector on the Lacie drive holder was bad. I bought a new drive holder, placed the hard drive in it problem solved. The status light blinked for about 1 minute and then my entire movie library was available.
The one thing I have to complain about is the source for dvdid.xml files the Western Digital TV Live uses. The dvdid.xml file displays a picture and synopsis information for movies. It has a GUID in the file that pulls this information from an Internet based database. Unfortunately, barely half of my movies are showing this information, when I had about 98% coverage from Windows Media Center. I can only add new loaclized sources for picutre and synopsis conent. I need to research this more to see what else can be done here.
I have been watching things on Netflix and Hulu. The picture qaulity is actually better than watching it on my DirecTV. I have noticed pixleation coming through DirecTV on HD content, whereas on Netflix and Hulu it's been raw HD content. It's a noticeable difference. We had a DirecTV technician come out for service on our dish on the roof and he saw what we were watching and asked how it was comgin through without the dish in place. We told him about the Western Digital TV Live and even he was impressed with the picture. He said he had never seen a show look that clear before on DirecTV! I'd say that speaks a lot to the picture value.
We have owned the Western Digital TV Live now for about 3 weeks. It's been solid. I've had to change some configuration settings to get the best experience I can get. I use HDMI for video and optical for the audio. I have found this works best for all content. My Logitech Harmony remote can control the device fantastically! The USB attached hard drive has been flawless in playing most of my content. The only content it has not played well are the Blu-Ray ISOs. There is apparently work around for this that involves extracting the ISO and recompiling in a different format that puts all of the playable sections in order. Since the Western Digital TV Live cannot do this on its own, the ISO does not play well. The wireless connectivity has been operating perfectly. It picks up my signal from about 70 linear feet away through several walls. I have not had any Internet based content pause, drop, or buffer on me due to my wireless signal.
The navigation is pretyy simple with arrows on the remote used to mive from selection to selection. An OK button selects the item and takes you there. I needed to program my userid and password for each of the services I access. Don't worry, though, it saves that information for the next time it is accessed, even if I unplug the device. Updating it also pretty simple. I was ntoified of new firmware update after getting connected to the Internet. It was a major update as it completely changed the look and feel of the online services menu options. It also added new services that were not available at the time of initial setup, like MLB TV. I don't subscribe, but it was nice to see this option. Since it's so late in the year, it's not worth the $99 annual fee. I may do it for next season, though.
If you are looking for a media player to fulfill the needs I have outlined above, then give the Western Digital Live TV a try. It's easy to setup, navigate and even update. It automatically checks for new firmware updates. Western Digital also has a user forum that is regularly patrolled by technicians offering assistance and tracking potential bugs to resolve in future releases. It's a good thing when the manufacture regularly tracks input from end users and incorporates suggestions and bug fixes into their future releases. This process is usually not so visible through other manufacturers.
The next update will include how my new HD antenna will pick up channels around here. I'm no more than 12 miles from the farthest broadcasting station so I epxect to get everything in my region. Stay tuned as I continue to edge closer to my deadline for initiating the Cable Cutting Challenge.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Has it Really Been 20 Years?
Today, my high school, The Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, or LACHSA for short, is having a 20 year reunion for the 1992 graduating class. They are also including other years close by including the 91 graduates and more. It's going to be a great gathering from my point of view. Unfortunately, I was not able to physically make it, but I am hoping to see lots of pictures. There's even the possibility of some Skyping while there. That would be awesome.
I was sitting back and thinking what have I done in 20 years? Did I do anything I had hoped to do when graduating high school? I was certain on becoming a famous Hollywood actor. Well, that did not exactly come into play for me, but the skills I learned from LACHSA have proved helpful in my career. I spent 8 to 12 hours a day at school during play season. I now work an average of 50 to 60 hours a week. I had to be comfortable on stage in front of a couple hundred people. Today, I have to speak with business owners and leaders and be persuasive and confident in my conversations when needed. I also need to be articulate in those conversations to ensure complex points are not missed. Thank you for that skill, Mrs. Gerald!
Am I a famous Hollywood actor today? Am I rich enough to buy my own island? Am I influential in my field and among my peers?
No, no, and mostly. I may not be the rich and famous Hollywood actor I set out to be. But I am successful in my field of work. I am a consultant helping companies to better utilize their IT assets and be more productive, profitable, and edging the competition. I am influential among my peers and clients.
It would have been great to see all of those faces I knew 20 years ago and see where they landed and where they are still heading. I see some of them on Facebook and TV and movies. I see they have all become successful in what they are doing. I have to wonder where we would all be had we not had the opportunity to go to a school we all wanted to attend and bust our butts doing it.
Way to go LACHSA class of 92! Keep up the greatness and show what future classes can look forward to when their 20 year reunion comes around. Gosh I don't even want to think how old I will be at that time.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
The Hidden HD TV Signal
I'm getting ready to cut the cord at home. No more Satellite and Cable TV subscriptions. I'm already taking advantage of my Western Digital Live TV Media Player, and I am cutting out my Satellite subscription in September. That's when the termination fee is less than what I would pay for the months I have remaining on the contract.
I do have Cable Modem at home and get a some pretty good speeds on it. I had heard long ago that people could sometimes get Cable TV channels on a Cable Internet line just by splitting the cable before it connects to the cable modem. So, I gave it a shot this past weekend.
Lo and behold I pulled in about 45 channels. Out of those, I think only about 10 to 15 or so were actually worth watching. But, there were quite a few coming across in HD. Yep, full 1080p video and Dolby Digital sound. Not bad! I don't think I will be utilizing it, because I couldn't get all of the local channels. I had heard some lower channels were reserved for other purposes and that canceled out two of my favorite local channels. I was able to catch 3 different broadcasts of the same network, though. Here they go by WFAA, but there were three different broadcasts of it and two were in full HD. I thought that was somewhat fascinating. I knew networks broadcast different information depending on the market, but since this is a local network, it seemed odd to have 3 different broadcasts.
In a couple more weeks I will be trying an HD antenna and see what I get over the air. I'm excited to try this cable cutting thing. It has real potential to make an impact in how people watch TV, how networks respond to the trend, and what cable and satellite providers are going to do to keep their customers.
I do have Cable Modem at home and get a some pretty good speeds on it. I had heard long ago that people could sometimes get Cable TV channels on a Cable Internet line just by splitting the cable before it connects to the cable modem. So, I gave it a shot this past weekend.
Lo and behold I pulled in about 45 channels. Out of those, I think only about 10 to 15 or so were actually worth watching. But, there were quite a few coming across in HD. Yep, full 1080p video and Dolby Digital sound. Not bad! I don't think I will be utilizing it, because I couldn't get all of the local channels. I had heard some lower channels were reserved for other purposes and that canceled out two of my favorite local channels. I was able to catch 3 different broadcasts of the same network, though. Here they go by WFAA, but there were three different broadcasts of it and two were in full HD. I thought that was somewhat fascinating. I knew networks broadcast different information depending on the market, but since this is a local network, it seemed odd to have 3 different broadcasts.
In a couple more weeks I will be trying an HD antenna and see what I get over the air. I'm excited to try this cable cutting thing. It has real potential to make an impact in how people watch TV, how networks respond to the trend, and what cable and satellite providers are going to do to keep their customers.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Taking the Cable Cutter Challenge
I am taking on the challenge to join the cable cutters that is continually growing. I am not switching to anyone else. I am not renewing my service or keeping it month to month. My family and I have found something strange about our TV shows. We can watch almost any of our shows through other mediums that are either free or require a nominal monthly payment with no commitment. The savings could be up to $900/yr for us.
Stay tuned as the time closes in and I make the call to cut our paid TV service. We will pay for Netflix and Hulu Plus access, have an HDTV antenna for local stations, and use a computer or mobile phone to access web sites of content providers to watch our other favorite shows. We may also pay for individual movie rentals from our local rental store or even watch a show or two on iTunes. I don't think we can stop watching The Walking Dead cold turkey.
Why are we doing this, you might ask? Well, first of all we pay around $80/month for our TV subscription. We can probably go with another provider for less for a year, then switch again. I really don't enjoy switching every year just keep my cost down. I don't like having to find a provider, find a package, wait for installation, take off work for installation, deal with the problems after installation, and deal with customer service during the whole process. It's annoying, inconvenient, and pointless to have to wait at home between the hours of 8 to noon or noon to 4 to get setup and installed. Then, after all that go through the process of learning the new channel line up and finding the shows I like to watch. It's just a complete multi week long beating.
The average person over 15 years old watched 2.8 hours of television per day in 2011 according to a Bureau of Labor and Statistics study ( http://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.nr0.htm/). People pay an average of $73.35/mo of cable or satellite charges according to the Benton Foundation (http://benton.org/node/79458). Include Internet and a phone and the average home entertainment and communications bill is about $200 or higher! That's at least $2400/yr. With prices continuing to rise for each of these services, something is going to have to give between the consumers and the providers.
To prepare ourselves for the transition we have started to write down the shows we must have, shows we like, shows we sort of like, and shows we can live without. We have located these shows on various outlets. Some are free, some not, some can be had OTA, and others on DVD. A new trend the major networks have started is requiring some sort of Cable or Satellite account to watch shows on their sites. Some shows have an 8 day waiting period, while others have even a 30-day waiting period, if you don't have such an account. I think this will ultimately hurt the networks, since they are broadcasting OTA for free, yet making people suffer for trying to watch on their web site. The good news is that Hulu Plus, for example, is allowing the shows to be aired the next day like always. But you must have a paid Hulu Plus account. That's a small price to pay and acceptable.
We would like to create a lifestyle out of doing this. I have been researching and there is a movement, albeit, small at this time, but as the media players start to come of age and become more advanced, I believe there will be a battle between the networks, satellite and cable providers, and online content providers, with the consumer holding the power to force change in any direction. Without our money, they cannot survive. I may be dating myself a little here, but I can remember a time when TV was primarily watched OTA, and cable channels were an after thought. I can remember when my family had dinner in the living room and watched the Cosby Show. No recording, no fast forwarding, no pausing. Just watching it live at Prime Time.
I already have a Western Digital Live TV Media Player that does several streaming sources, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, and MLB TV, among many others. I also have a hard drive attached with all my movies. I will be buying a Mohu HD antenna for my OTA channels. It gets really high reviews and is less than $50. I live within 12 miles of all of the stations in my area. This antenna has a range of 30 miles and has a better Db rating than a lot of others. My next post will be the testing of OTA reception and ease of use. Stay tuned.
Provide your feedback on how you might do this or have done it.
Stay tuned as the time closes in and I make the call to cut our paid TV service. We will pay for Netflix and Hulu Plus access, have an HDTV antenna for local stations, and use a computer or mobile phone to access web sites of content providers to watch our other favorite shows. We may also pay for individual movie rentals from our local rental store or even watch a show or two on iTunes. I don't think we can stop watching The Walking Dead cold turkey.
Why are we doing this, you might ask? Well, first of all we pay around $80/month for our TV subscription. We can probably go with another provider for less for a year, then switch again. I really don't enjoy switching every year just keep my cost down. I don't like having to find a provider, find a package, wait for installation, take off work for installation, deal with the problems after installation, and deal with customer service during the whole process. It's annoying, inconvenient, and pointless to have to wait at home between the hours of 8 to noon or noon to 4 to get setup and installed. Then, after all that go through the process of learning the new channel line up and finding the shows I like to watch. It's just a complete multi week long beating.
The average person over 15 years old watched 2.8 hours of television per day in 2011 according to a Bureau of Labor and Statistics study ( http://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.nr0.htm/). People pay an average of $73.35/mo of cable or satellite charges according to the Benton Foundation (http://benton.org/node/79458). Include Internet and a phone and the average home entertainment and communications bill is about $200 or higher! That's at least $2400/yr. With prices continuing to rise for each of these services, something is going to have to give between the consumers and the providers.
To prepare ourselves for the transition we have started to write down the shows we must have, shows we like, shows we sort of like, and shows we can live without. We have located these shows on various outlets. Some are free, some not, some can be had OTA, and others on DVD. A new trend the major networks have started is requiring some sort of Cable or Satellite account to watch shows on their sites. Some shows have an 8 day waiting period, while others have even a 30-day waiting period, if you don't have such an account. I think this will ultimately hurt the networks, since they are broadcasting OTA for free, yet making people suffer for trying to watch on their web site. The good news is that Hulu Plus, for example, is allowing the shows to be aired the next day like always. But you must have a paid Hulu Plus account. That's a small price to pay and acceptable.
We would like to create a lifestyle out of doing this. I have been researching and there is a movement, albeit, small at this time, but as the media players start to come of age and become more advanced, I believe there will be a battle between the networks, satellite and cable providers, and online content providers, with the consumer holding the power to force change in any direction. Without our money, they cannot survive. I may be dating myself a little here, but I can remember a time when TV was primarily watched OTA, and cable channels were an after thought. I can remember when my family had dinner in the living room and watched the Cosby Show. No recording, no fast forwarding, no pausing. Just watching it live at Prime Time.
I already have a Western Digital Live TV Media Player that does several streaming sources, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, and MLB TV, among many others. I also have a hard drive attached with all my movies. I will be buying a Mohu HD antenna for my OTA channels. It gets really high reviews and is less than $50. I live within 12 miles of all of the stations in my area. This antenna has a range of 30 miles and has a better Db rating than a lot of others. My next post will be the testing of OTA reception and ease of use. Stay tuned.
Provide your feedback on how you might do this or have done it.
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