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#22
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On Mon, 26 Feb 2018 11:42:18 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote: "Cutting the cord" (meaning cable/internet service) and going to streaming still requires a relatively fast internet service, does it not? What service would you use? I have 10mb DSL and that will support 2 streams and regular browsing. |
#23
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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. |
#24
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posted to rec.boats
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On Mon, 26 Feb 2018 13:46:05 -0500, wrote:
On Mon, 26 Feb 2018 11:34:48 -0500, 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. What could be easier than a mouse and a real keyboard for entering things you want to search for? I hate trying to poke out text on a TV remote. With the Amazon thingy, you just talk to it. Haven't you been watching the Olympics at all? The cute little thing's name is 'Alexa'. |
#25
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posted to rec.boats
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On Monday, February 26, 2018 at 1:32:32 PM UTC-5, 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. Those are plenty fast enough to stream TV and if you reloaded it back to what it was when you bought it, it would be as fast as it was then. Most "old and slow" PCs are just slow because they are loaded up with useless software, spyware and other barnacles you collect over the years. PCs make TVs smart and I have been doing it for close to 20 years. At first you needed a TV-out card but these days TVs have VGA ports and newer PCs have HDMI ports. They are naturals for each other. I would suggest your travel lap top for the TV. Then once you have that all set up, when you travel, you can hijack the TV wherever you go. The only time it is a problem is in a "Lodge Net TV" hotel. They have special TVs that I have not been able to hack into. You also find out the free WiFi is not fast enough to stream. When we rent houses, that is never a problem. Back in the days when I traveled and did system installs, I was staying in hotels and always had my traveling toolkit with me. Typically, the hotel TV's picture looked like crap and the adjustments were behind a screwed-down door to prevent the average joe from messing with them. I took care of that issue on the first night. |
#26
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posted to rec.boats
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On 2/26/2018 1:32 PM, 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. Those are plenty fast enough to stream TV and if you reloaded it back to what it was when you bought it, it would be as fast as it was then. Most "old and slow" PCs are just slow because they are loaded up with useless software, spyware and other barnacles you collect over the years. PCs make TVs smart and I have been doing it for close to 20 years. At first you needed a TV-out card but these days TVs have VGA ports and newer PCs have HDMI ports. They are naturals for each other. I would suggest your travel lap top for the TV. Then once you have that all set up, when you travel, you can hijack the TV wherever you go. The only time it is a problem is in a "Lodge Net TV" hotel. They have special TVs that I have not been able to hack into. You also find out the free WiFi is not fast enough to stream. When we rent houses, that is never a problem. Thanks but no interest. Plug and play is just fine for me. :-) |
#27
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posted to rec.boats
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On 2/26/2018 2:01 PM, Its Me wrote:
On Monday, February 26, 2018 at 1:32:32 PM UTC-5, 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. Those are plenty fast enough to stream TV and if you reloaded it back to what it was when you bought it, it would be as fast as it was then. Most "old and slow" PCs are just slow because they are loaded up with useless software, spyware and other barnacles you collect over the years. PCs make TVs smart and I have been doing it for close to 20 years. At first you needed a TV-out card but these days TVs have VGA ports and newer PCs have HDMI ports. They are naturals for each other. I would suggest your travel lap top for the TV. Then once you have that all set up, when you travel, you can hijack the TV wherever you go. The only time it is a problem is in a "Lodge Net TV" hotel. They have special TVs that I have not been able to hack into. You also find out the free WiFi is not fast enough to stream. When we rent houses, that is never a problem. Back in the days when I traveled and did system installs, I was staying in hotels and always had my traveling toolkit with me. Typically, the hotel TV's picture looked like crap and the adjustments were behind a screwed-down door to prevent the average joe from messing with them. I took care of that issue on the first night. Me too. Used to drive me nuts. Seems like they set them up in "Vivid" or store display mode. |
#28
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posted to rec.boats
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On Mon, 26 Feb 2018 13:55:36 -0500, John H.
wrote: On Mon, 26 Feb 2018 13:46:05 -0500, wrote: .. What could be easier than a mouse and a real keyboard for entering things you want to search for? I hate trying to poke out text on a TV remote. With the Amazon thingy, you just talk to it. Haven't you been watching the Olympics at all? The cute little thing's name is 'Alexa'. We have one, I won't have it on in the house. I don't need a spy listening to everything I say and broadcasting it on the internet. |
#29
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posted to rec.boats
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On 2/26/18 4:55 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 26 Feb 2018 13:55:36 -0500, John H. wrote: On Mon, 26 Feb 2018 13:46:05 -0500, wrote: . What could be easier than a mouse and a real keyboard for entering things you want to search for? I hate trying to poke out text on a TV remote. With the Amazon thingy, you just talk to it. Haven't you been watching the Olympics at all? The cute little thing's name is 'Alexa'. We have one, I won't have it on in the house. I don't need a spy listening to everything I say and broadcasting it on the internet. Hell, we can hear and see everything you do through your microwave. ) |
#30
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posted to rec.boats
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On Mon, 26 Feb 2018 11:01:27 -0800 (PST), Its Me
wrote: On Monday, February 26, 2018 at 1:32:32 PM UTC-5, 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. Those are plenty fast enough to stream TV and if you reloaded it back to what it was when you bought it, it would be as fast as it was then. Most "old and slow" PCs are just slow because they are loaded up with useless software, spyware and other barnacles you collect over the years. PCs make TVs smart and I have been doing it for close to 20 years. At first you needed a TV-out card but these days TVs have VGA ports and newer PCs have HDMI ports. They are naturals for each other. I would suggest your travel lap top for the TV. Then once you have that all set up, when you travel, you can hijack the TV wherever you go. The only time it is a problem is in a "Lodge Net TV" hotel. They have special TVs that I have not been able to hack into. You also find out the free WiFi is not fast enough to stream. When we rent houses, that is never a problem. Back in the days when I traveled and did system installs, I was staying in hotels and always had my traveling toolkit with me. Typically, the hotel TV's picture looked like crap and the adjustments were behind a screwed-down door to prevent the average joe from messing with them. I took care of that issue on the first night. There is nothing to adjust on a Lodgenet TV. They are burned in to only talk to the lodgenet box. There is a rumor that someone had hacked a universal remote to go in and change the setup but I never had much luck finding out how. It has been a while since we stayed at one of those places so I am fuzzy on all of the details. I think if you had a "agile" RF modulator and a composite video card in your PC it might work for you but all of the other inputs were blocked. The tuner was also locked on one channel and I don't think it is 3 or 4. |
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