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.
Showing posts with label Home Media Player. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home Media Player. Show all posts
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Monday, October 10, 2011
Are Home Theater PCs Still Relevant?
I have a Media PC running Windows 7 Professional Edition with 2x1TB Hard Drives, 8GB RAM, and an Athlon X3 processor. It sits in an Antec Home Theater case with a remote control. I have placed about 125 movies of my library on my home theater PC. The question has been brought up to me by friends, colleagues, and even some of my family - Is the Media PC still relevant? Why not get a home media player?
Even just three years ago I would have said yes. Today, however, I have to go with no, the home theater PC is no longer relevant. There are several reasons why. One is that computers and laptops are so much more affordable and powerful than they were three years ago. Home media players are also more affordable, have more features, and play a better range of formats than they did three years ago.
Most people bought or built home theater PCs, because you could find an application to run on the computer that could play the media content you wanted, surf the Internet in your living room, and even do some home accounting right from the comfort of your favorite recliner using a wireless mouse and keyboard. Laptops are starting around $300 to $400 and can easily surf the Internet and perform the same basic home accounting stuff. You can still watch movies on it, and best of all, take it with you on the road. Why bother with a clunky home theater PC that costs time and money to maintain.
Today's Media PCs can be built for much less than what they could 5 years ago. I can build a decent one for about $600 including the OS. I spend about an hour or two month cleaning up old content and keeping the bunnies out. I can buy a home media player that is capable of streaming content from the Internet, the home network, and even digital copies of DVD movies for a little less $300. Some of the Home media players still require external storage, while others have built-in storage of 2TB.
My personal thought on using your own storage or purchasing a device with storage has to do with your ability to fill it up quickly. 2TB can realistically hold up to about 200 DVD movies or about 50 Blu-Rays. If you are going to fill it up quickly, then splurge on a larger drive and use the USB or wired network connection on the home media player. That way you don't have to spend the money on a drive included with the device, and a drive that is aftermarket. Just spend it once on external storage and upgrade from there.
A home media player that is always getting good reviews amongst home theater enthusiasts is the Pop Corn Hour A-210. Coming this month to stores and selling for less than $200, it looks frugal in its appearance, but features are anything but. This device requires separate storage either through USB, network, or the internal SATA interface. This device supports just about everything you could require access to, including DVD and Blu-Ray ISO formats, popular video formats, including VOB, MPG, and MOV. You can also store and play your CDs through this device.
Another device from PCH is the C-200 with a bit more pizazz. It has the ability to use an internal BD-ROM, more USB ports, and a front LCD information panel. Not to mention this device can download apps from the Pop Corn Hour market. It's a bit bigger, but the style fits right in with most home theater components. This device runs at about $300, based on those who have owned and used Pop Corn Hour devices they are one of the best on the market in terms of reliability, features, and quality. Read the reviews for yourself.
I don't own one these yet, but when it is time to replace my home theater PC or perform an upgrade, my next upgrade will most likely be to a Pop Corn Hour home media player. If you are in the market for providing a device that can stream content to your TV from your home network or a storage device, then consider getting a home media player. It is much smaller and uses less power than a home theater PC.
Even just three years ago I would have said yes. Today, however, I have to go with no, the home theater PC is no longer relevant. There are several reasons why. One is that computers and laptops are so much more affordable and powerful than they were three years ago. Home media players are also more affordable, have more features, and play a better range of formats than they did three years ago.
Most people bought or built home theater PCs, because you could find an application to run on the computer that could play the media content you wanted, surf the Internet in your living room, and even do some home accounting right from the comfort of your favorite recliner using a wireless mouse and keyboard. Laptops are starting around $300 to $400 and can easily surf the Internet and perform the same basic home accounting stuff. You can still watch movies on it, and best of all, take it with you on the road. Why bother with a clunky home theater PC that costs time and money to maintain.
Today's Media PCs can be built for much less than what they could 5 years ago. I can build a decent one for about $600 including the OS. I spend about an hour or two month cleaning up old content and keeping the bunnies out. I can buy a home media player that is capable of streaming content from the Internet, the home network, and even digital copies of DVD movies for a little less $300. Some of the Home media players still require external storage, while others have built-in storage of 2TB.
My personal thought on using your own storage or purchasing a device with storage has to do with your ability to fill it up quickly. 2TB can realistically hold up to about 200 DVD movies or about 50 Blu-Rays. If you are going to fill it up quickly, then splurge on a larger drive and use the USB or wired network connection on the home media player. That way you don't have to spend the money on a drive included with the device, and a drive that is aftermarket. Just spend it once on external storage and upgrade from there.
A home media player that is always getting good reviews amongst home theater enthusiasts is the Pop Corn Hour A-210. Coming this month to stores and selling for less than $200, it looks frugal in its appearance, but features are anything but. This device requires separate storage either through USB, network, or the internal SATA interface. This device supports just about everything you could require access to, including DVD and Blu-Ray ISO formats, popular video formats, including VOB, MPG, and MOV. You can also store and play your CDs through this device.
Another device from PCH is the C-200 with a bit more pizazz. It has the ability to use an internal BD-ROM, more USB ports, and a front LCD information panel. Not to mention this device can download apps from the Pop Corn Hour market. It's a bit bigger, but the style fits right in with most home theater components. This device runs at about $300, based on those who have owned and used Pop Corn Hour devices they are one of the best on the market in terms of reliability, features, and quality. Read the reviews for yourself.
I don't own one these yet, but when it is time to replace my home theater PC or perform an upgrade, my next upgrade will most likely be to a Pop Corn Hour home media player. If you are in the market for providing a device that can stream content to your TV from your home network or a storage device, then consider getting a home media player. It is much smaller and uses less power than a home theater PC.
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