On Mon, 26 Feb 2018 11:52:26 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 2/26/2018 11:34 AM, John H. wrote:
On Mon, 26 Feb 2018 11:26:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 2/26/2018 11:18 AM, wrote:
On Mon, 26 Feb 2018 08:00:25 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 2/26/2018 7:48 AM, justan wrote:
"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:
On 2/25/2018 10:33 PM, wrote:
I am really serious about cutting the cord. My wife says after the
olympics but that was today.
I am already transitioning to streaming, I am working my way through
the Amazon Prime documentaries They have just about anything that PBS
ever aired. I talked about the American Experience show about the MLK
assassination the other day. Today I am watching Frontline season 27
ep 8. This is contemporary with the 2009 crash and it is pretty
interesting, carving through some of the myths we may have.



I occasionally watch something from Amazon Prime's inventory. My large
HD TV is not "smart" (connected to the Internet) so I use the Sony PS4
to stream stuff from Amazon. Their prime account entitles you to many
movies and archived shows as you mention for free.

I can also access Hulu, Netfix and other sources but I don't watch
enough to bother with them.




Smart tvs are cheap nowadays. I paid 800 for a 60 inch smart
plasma tv at good old Walmart. A side benefit is that I can heat
the house with it.



Mine can become "smart" if I buy a Roku wireless streaming stick that
plugs into the TV's USB port. It's a 65" and I bought it before having
Internet connectivity became built-in on most TVs. Accessing the 'net
via the PS4 is just as effective and it works fine. I just don't watch
TV enough to warrant buying another TV just for built-in Internet
connectivity. Most of the time I just use a little 23" HD TV that sits
on my desk beside my computer monitor.


Just hook an old PC to it. With a 2.4gz wireless mouse you end up with
a TV that is a whole lot smarter than the ones sold as smart. We have
both here. The PC connected wins every time in every category.
The best combo seems to be my "travel" laptop connected to some no
name TV. When the lap top turns off the TV goes to sleep and I have it
set to hibernate when you close the lid. Open the lid, the pc comes to
life and the TV comes on.
You can get to any streaming service that way along with being able to
play music or look at your pictures using whatever PC app you like.



I don't collect or save old PCs. When they crap out or become so
obsolete they can't run current apps efficiently I buy a new one. I
"do" have an older Win 7 laptop that I no longer use regularly but I
keep it as a backup or possible traveling computer. Somewhere I have an
old XP laptop as well but it is painfully slow compared to Win 7 and Win
10. I wouldn't even bother with it.


Besides, the little Roku thingy is much smaller and easier to mess with.



I still don't really understand how people who want to get rid of
services like Comcast cable TV and Internet and go to streaming only are
going to have access to the Internet.

I think I posted the results of the tests I did that compared download
speeds of AT&T's 4G WiFi service that I have in my truck and the
download speeds of the Comcast (cable) WiFi router in my house. Comcast
was consistently 3 to 4 times faster, sometimes even more. The AT&T
test (I did several for each) often reported that although web browsing
would be ok, videos may be slow, especially if more than one device was
connected to the WiFi server. The Comcast speed report consistently
said that it's speed would allow web browsing and HD video downloads to
several devices at the same time.

You don't need to get "the bundle" to get internet from Comcast but
they usually throw in basic cable for free. I would not have Comcast
here. They are too unreliable. Fast internet when is running does not
offset the times when it is totally down.
I use DSL from the Telco and I have Dish that is $170 a month I would
like to lose. I can get HBO, Sho and one other streaming host like
Hulu for around $30. We are already buying Prime and Netflix.
It is actually amazing how much in on You Tube for free. It is not
just cat videos and people taking a baseball to the nuts these days.