On 2/27/2018 12:05 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 2/27/2018 12:36 PM, amdx wrote:
On 2/26/2018 10:42 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 2/26/2018 11:28 AM, amdx wrote:
On 2/25/2018 9:33 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.


Â*Â*The Firestick has a great interface, very easy to use.

Â*Â*I have added Terrarium TV on my Firestick.
This has all the TV shows you would want.

https://troypoint.com/install-terrar...fire-tv-stick/


Â*Â*I have also added Mobdro
Mobdro has many, many networks and TV stations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWip-rgCjmc

Kodi can also be installed on your Firestick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQogjnEqLhs

I have not put Kodi on mine but I have a buddy that uses it.
I did use Kodi when I used a Raspberry pi for streaming.

I have not used any of the Prime videos, as there is so much
available on the apps I posted.

Also, a program called Real Debrid,
https://real-debrid.com/
Â*Â*It's not needed and has a small cost but it picks the sources that
will
give you the best sources to stream from automatically, without you
picking from a list. Also picks the 1040p and 4k streams.

Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â* Â*Â* Mikek





"Cutting the cord"Â* (meaning cable/internet service) and going to
streaming still requires a relatively fast internet service, does it
not?Â* What service would you use?

Â*Â*I have 30Mbps and I don't have any problems, but I also don't have any
other demands on the service, while I'm streaming.
Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â* Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â* Mikek



30 Mbps is fine for streaming HD video, even with other devices
connected.Â* What service do you have for Internet?


I have Wow, but Comcast is available, they both have excellent cable
service, work consistently. But, I suspect like all cable companies, if
you need personal care, good luck.
Mikek

On 2/27/2018 12:17 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 27 Feb 2018 11:36:00 -0600, amdx wrote:

I have 30Mbps

I often wonder how that translates to the real world. I had a lot of
conversations with various tech support groups leading up to switching
my web host and the problems that prompted that.
The consensus was running a speed test to your ISPs test site was
meaningless other than what the max is you can get. When you go to 3d
party sites, that is a test of your servers and their servers but the
real issue is what you can actually get when talking to a web site or
other service. I know my news server is not even close to being able
to keep my 10mb pipe full. I have also had times when Amazon was not
able to keep a stream going without buffering, even tho I still had
plenty of capacity on my end. (I could start a Netflix). It was just a
new show on Prime and I am guessing they were slammed.
That huge capacity may be good for multiple users hitting multiple
byte hungry sites but I am not sure it is of a lot of value for 1 or 2
users. My wife's place was running the whole club on one Comcast line
and they finally had to buy another one, not because of throughput but
simply because one IP address could not support the number of unique
sub net IPs they had on the LAN. Granted all of them were not
streaming cat videos on Facebook but it was more than a few.

I don't know, I just know, I'm not limited by my internet speed, unless
my kids are home and my son is game playing and my daughter is streaming
something.
When I'm at the marina on their wifi, for 10 years I survived on just
under 1Mbps! In the recent past, I hit over 3 Mbps on a speedtest,
Blazing speed :-) I just did a speed test I got 1.91Mbps, I fired up the
Foxnews Youtube live stream and then did a speedtest, it dropped to
1.45Mbps.
Mikek

On Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:55:41 -0600, amdx wrote:

On 2/26/2018 12:55 PM, John H. wrote:
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'.

Have you ever told her she is awesome?
Mikek

I don't have one. Tell me what happens. I know you can ask Suri to flip a coin. I thought that was
cool. I told my daughter, and she thinks it's the most valuable thing in the world. Stops a lot of
arguments with the kids.

I wonder if Suri would 'pick a number between one and ten'. Would be interesting to do it a hundred
times just to see the distribution of the answers.

On 2/27/2018 1:12 PM, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:55:41 -0600, amdx wrote:

On 2/26/2018 12:55 PM, John H. wrote:
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'.

Have you ever told her she is awesome?
Mikek

I don't have one. Tell me what happens. I know you can ask Suri to flip a coin. I thought that was
cool. I told my daughter, and she thinks it's the most valuable thing in the world. Stops a lot of
arguments with the kids.

I wonder if Suri would 'pick a number between one and ten'. Would be interesting to do it a hundred
times just to see the distribution of the answers.

I recall it's a little different each time, but she's very polite and
accepting.
Mikek

On Tuesday, February 27, 2018 at 2:20:28 PM UTC-5, amdx wrote:
On 2/27/2018 1:12 PM, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:55:41 -0600, amdx wrote:

On 2/26/2018 12:55 PM, John H. wrote:
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'.

Have you ever told her she is awesome?
Mikek

I don't have one. Tell me what happens. I know you can ask Suri to flip a coin. I thought that was
cool. I told my daughter, and she thinks it's the most valuable thing in the world. Stops a lot of
arguments with the kids.

I wonder if Suri would 'pick a number between one and ten'. Would be interesting to do it a hundred
times just to see the distribution of the answers.

I recall it's a little different each time, but she's very polite and
accepting.
Mikek

Ask her "Who let the dogs out?"

Siri has retired that one.

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 2/27/2018 12:57 PM, amdx wrote:
On 2/26/2018 11:48 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 2/26/2018 12:38 PM, John H. wrote:
On Mon, 26 Feb 2018 12:35:02 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 2/26/2018 12:26 PM, John H. wrote:
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.Â* My large
HD TV is not "smart" (connected to the Internet) so I use
the Sony PS4
to stream stuff from Amazon.Â* 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
Â*Â*Â*Â*Â* plasma tv at good old Walmart. A side benefit is that I
can heat
Â*Â*Â*Â*Â* the house with it.



Mine can become "smart" if I buy a Roku wireless streaming
stick that
plugs into the TV's USB port.Â* It's a 65" and I bought it
before having
Internet connectivity became built-in on most TVs.Â* Accessing
the 'net
via the PS4 is just as effective and it works fine.Â* I just
don't watch
TV enough to warrant buying another TV just for built-in Internet
connectivity.Â* 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.Â* When they crap out or become so
obsolete they can't run current apps efficiently I buy a new
one.Â* 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.Â* Somewhere I
have an
old XP laptop as well but it is painfully slow compared to Win 7
and Win
10.Â* 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.Â* The AT&T
test (I did several for each)Â* 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.Â* 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.



For me, cutting the cord would be cutting the TV and telephone
cords. The internet cord would stay
whole. The TV cord is over $100/month, and that's without a bunch
of movie channels. The telephone
cord is another $40/month.


How much is your Internet service?

I don't have that problem.Â* I have just have what's called "expanded
basic TV".Â* I can always order something "On Demand" but I can't
remember the last time I did.Â*Â* Forget what it costs but it's cheap
compared to the Internet service.Â* I don't have phone service via
cable.
Â* Just use my cell phone. It's a second account on her cell phone
service and compared to her cell phone bill, mine contribution to it is
peanuts.

I pay $55 for internet.


Ok.Â* I pay a little less ... $49/month.Â* The AT&T WiFi in the truck is
$20/mo. for unlimited service but it's not anywhere near as fast.Â* I
may cancel it.Â* Don't really know why I even got it.

Â* I have buddy the recently switched from Comcast to WOW, because
Comcast wouldn't negotiate their price. Wow gave him internet for
$39.99.Â* He recommended Wow to a friend and the friend got the same
100Mbps service for $29.99. My buddy was a bit perplexed!
Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â* Mikek



The problem is that WOW isn't available in many places. In many areas
Comcast is the only game in town.




I had DSL before Comcast. Problem I had was urban area and in the evening
might as well have no internet. Too many people, and he Mbps went to near
zero.

amdx wrote:
On 2/26/2018 2:06 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
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.Â* 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
Â*Â*Â* plasma tv at good old Walmart. A side benefit is that I can heat
Â*Â*Â* the house with it.



Mine can become "smart" if I buy a Roku wireless streaming stick that
plugs into the TV's USB port.Â* It's a 65" and I bought it before
having
Internet connectivity became built-in on most TVs.Â* Accessing the
'net
via the PS4 is just as effective and it works fine.Â* I just don't
watch
TV enough to warrant buying another TV just for built-in Internet
connectivity.Â* 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.Â* When they crap out or become so
obsolete they can't run current apps efficiently I buy a new one.Â* 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.Â* Somewhere I
have an
old XP laptop as well but it is painfully slow compared to Win 7 and
Win
10.Â* 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.Â* I took care of that issue on the first night.



Me too.Â* Used to drive me nuts. Seems like they set them up in "Vivid"
or store display mode.

Now a days, you need to carry a pair of channel locks and your
favorite shower head. Just don't forget it when you leave.
Mikek


You notice that in countries like Costa Rica. No low flow shower heads.

On Tue, 27 Feb 2018 13:49:43 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 2/27/2018 1:17 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 27 Feb 2018 11:36:00 -0600, amdx wrote:

I have 30Mbps

I often wonder how that translates to the real world. I had a lot of
conversations with various tech support groups leading up to switching
my web host and the problems that prompted that.
The consensus was running a speed test to your ISPs test site was
meaningless other than what the max is you can get. When you go to 3d
party sites, that is a test of your servers and their servers but the
real issue is what you can actually get when talking to a web site or
other service. I know my news server is not even close to being able
to keep my 10mb pipe full. I have also had times when Amazon was not
able to keep a stream going without buffering, even tho I still had
plenty of capacity on my end. (I could start a Netflix). It was just a
new show on Prime and I am guessing they were slammed.
That huge capacity may be good for multiple users hitting multiple
byte hungry sites but I am not sure it is of a lot of value for 1 or 2
users. My wife's place was running the whole club on one Comcast line
and they finally had to buy another one, not because of throughput but
simply because one IP address could not support the number of unique
sub net IPs they had on the LAN. Granted all of them were not
streaming cat videos on Facebook but it was more than a few.



Years ago when we wintered in Florida we had DSL because cable was not
available. It worked ok but videos and HD media was not as
popular and as heavily downloaded back then. When I opened the guitar
shop in 2009 the building was not wired for cable so I had to get DSL
again. That's when I really starting to notice the difference between
the shop's DSL Internet speed and the speed of Comcast cable we had at
the house.

I used to update the shop's website daily and the program I used
reloaded all of the website's content which would take forever on DSL.
I ended up doing it at home after the shop closed. On cable the
complete site would upload in less than 30 seconds. At the shop it
sometimes took 5-10 minutes and often it would hang up and I'd have to
start all over again.

There is a difference, especially when more and more devices are added.
Now with two or cell phones constantly connected, multiple computers,
tablets, Smart TVs, etc., I can't see how DSL can be quick enough, but I
don't have it anymore so I don't know.



===

DSL was always much slower on upload compared to download if I recall
correctly. It was a feature. :-)

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On 2/27/2018 2:59 PM, Bill wrote:
amdx wrote:
On 2/26/2018 2:06 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
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.Â* 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
Â*Â*Â* plasma tv at good old Walmart. A side benefit is that I can heat
Â*Â*Â* the house with it.



Mine can become "smart" if I buy a Roku wireless streaming stick that
plugs into the TV's USB port.Â* It's a 65" and I bought it before
having
Internet connectivity became built-in on most TVs.Â* Accessing the
'net
via the PS4 is just as effective and it works fine.Â* I just don't
watch
TV enough to warrant buying another TV just for built-in Internet
connectivity.Â* 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.Â* When they crap out or become so
obsolete they can't run current apps efficiently I buy a new one.Â* 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.Â* Somewhere I
have an
old XP laptop as well but it is painfully slow compared to Win 7 and
Win
10.Â* 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.Â* I took care of that issue on the first night.



Me too.Â* Used to drive me nuts. Seems like they set them up in "Vivid"
or store display mode.

Now a days, you need to carry a pair of channel locks and your
favorite shower head. Just don't forget it when you leave.
Mikek


You notice that in countries like Costa Rica. No low flow shower heads.



First thing I do when I replace a shower head is remove the flow
restrictor. Helps a little. Restrictors are fine for the sinks but not
for the shower, IMO.

My current house has a separate shower and tub. I wish the shower had
the water supply the tub has. It must be fed with 3/4 inch pipe. When
I need to refill the humidifier I can fill a gallon jug of water from
the tub faucet in 10 seconds flat using cold water only. It's even
faster if I use both hot and cold. Takes 60 seconds or more from the
kitchen sink faucet.

On 2/27/2018 3:34 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 27 Feb 2018 13:49:43 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 2/27/2018 1:17 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 27 Feb 2018 11:36:00 -0600, amdx wrote:

I have 30Mbps

I often wonder how that translates to the real world. I had a lot of
conversations with various tech support groups leading up to switching
my web host and the problems that prompted that.
The consensus was running a speed test to your ISPs test site was
meaningless other than what the max is you can get. When you go to 3d
party sites, that is a test of your servers and their servers but the
real issue is what you can actually get when talking to a web site or
other service. I know my news server is not even close to being able
to keep my 10mb pipe full. I have also had times when Amazon was not
able to keep a stream going without buffering, even tho I still had
plenty of capacity on my end. (I could start a Netflix). It was just a
new show on Prime and I am guessing they were slammed.
That huge capacity may be good for multiple users hitting multiple
byte hungry sites but I am not sure it is of a lot of value for 1 or 2
users. My wife's place was running the whole club on one Comcast line
and they finally had to buy another one, not because of throughput but
simply because one IP address could not support the number of unique
sub net IPs they had on the LAN. Granted all of them were not
streaming cat videos on Facebook but it was more than a few.



Years ago when we wintered in Florida we had DSL because cable was not
available. It worked ok but videos and HD media was not as
popular and as heavily downloaded back then. When I opened the guitar
shop in 2009 the building was not wired for cable so I had to get DSL
again. That's when I really starting to notice the difference between
the shop's DSL Internet speed and the speed of Comcast cable we had at
the house.

I used to update the shop's website daily and the program I used
reloaded all of the website's content which would take forever on DSL.
I ended up doing it at home after the shop closed. On cable the
complete site would upload in less than 30 seconds. At the shop it
sometimes took 5-10 minutes and often it would hang up and I'd have to
start all over again.

There is a difference, especially when more and more devices are added.
Now with two or cell phones constantly connected, multiple computers,
tablets, Smart TVs, etc., I can't see how DSL can be quick enough, but I
don't have it anymore so I don't know.



===

DSL was always much slower on upload compared to download if I recall
correctly. It was a feature. :-)


I think that's true of cable also. But here's something I found
interesting when I did the speed tests to compare the AT&T WiFi in the
truck and Comcast WiFi. AT&T's uploads were always a bit faster than
the downloads. Maybe it's because the download speeds were very slow in
comparison.