Amazon Prime / Apple TV / hulu Plus - school me!

[Flyoverland Captive]

I'm finally able to get unlimited internet, so it's time to ditch the Dish Network. So, for TV, what is best?

I'm thinking Netflix and Hulu Plus would give me the most variety for the lowest cost. What say you experts? Advantages of various services? Am I missing something better?

[Flyoverland Captive]

Roku? Anybody use it?

[char]

I have the original Roku, still works fine. If you are going this route it makes things pretty simple and it's like watching TV in the sense that you don't have to deal with hooking a laptop up. Mine streams better when it is connected via a wire instead of a wireless connection. I only use it for Netflix. My father-in-law uses some sort of Western Digital device that hooks up to a hard drive full of torrented movies.

I use Hulu to watch some shows that are aired weekly, but usually you can't get access to entire seasons of shows. I can't bring myself to pay Hulu to watch shows with commercials.

Netflix can be really hit or miss, but it's great for watching entire seasons of shows if you can wait a year for them to come out. There is an entire running thread in the Music, Books etc subforum with things to watch.

When HBO moves to streaming that is going to be a game changer.

Edit- I think my entire internet/netflix bill comes out to $38 a month.

[nobueno]

We have Netflix and hulu on roku. I'd do it again. You can share passwords friends too.

[4matic]

What kind of bandwidth do you get for that money? Is it enough to support 1080 video? I like picture quality and convenience of direct connect so I pay up.

[Tye 1on]

i have the apple tv. Like it, but there may well be better options. It works great w/netflix, hulu, and i hit the NHL network for free recaps the next day, and PBS for an occasional Austin City Limits episode. Being an apple household [and/or idiot] it also syncs to the music library and has other apple functionality, which i really don't use that often.

[jma233]

I mainly regret shelling out for Amazon Prime. Got it for the HBO content but wish I waited for HBO's own streaming service due out in a couple months. After watching The Wire and Eastbound and Down I'm already struggling to find new shows. Thought Id be able to watch Boardwalk Empire and Extras but it only includes the first season.

[char]

What kind of bandwidth do you get for that money? Is it enough to support 1080 video? I like picture quality and convenience of direct connect so I pay up.

Speedtest says 29 mb/s down, 6 up, 10ms ping. Comcast.

I stream to a 28 inch 720p TV so it looks fine to me. The original Roku isn't killing it in the HD department generally, but it looks good enough to me.

[Deebased]

popcorntime.

Skip everything else

[muted]

I have Netflix and HuluPlus through Chromecast. And very basic cable since it's bundled with the internet. Good thing about Chromecast is it is simple to stream a ton of online videos, not vimeo videos though, and also any website page through Chrome browser with a video as a work-around if they don't support chromecasting. /runonsentence. No iTunes casting which sucks, so I have to hook the computer up to the TV for that. Chromecaster will be $10 off at Constco btw for Black Friday.

HuluPlus is bashed for having commercials, but it's much less ads than have than normal TV so it doesn't bother me. Not a lot of options on it that I like but if you like prime time TV shows it's worth it. I'm dropping it to get HBO as soon as HBO is available. Netflix is awesome, but the selection is nowhere near as good as the DVD selection.

I feel like I'm missing out on some other streaming content I don't know about and too lazy to figure out. Hopefully some true streamnerds will step up in this thread.

[Flexon Phil]

AppleTV here but we are apple users. We like the screen sharing from the laptops which is useful. We use Netflix, Hulu HBOgo and ESPN, We cut the cord about 3 years ago and don't miss it. I'd love to see REDBOX app where we could download the movies now for the 1.20 verses the 5.99 that iTunes demand..or see iTunes get more competitive.

[mcski]

I run Roku w Netflix, YouTube and Amazon prime. Will prob drop one or more when HBO goes subscription although I'm ashamed i think I'm the only person in the us that hasn't bummed a HBOgo password off someone yet.

My fam is apple only other than the roku and regardless are still able to ef up at least one of our computers each week. Other wise Id probably add one of the players that can access bootlegs that roku blocks.

[systemoverblow'd]

Now that Fios is dropping Fox, I'm in the same boat. Fuck these cunts, I'm going full stream for my content.

[guroo270]

I have Roku and dig it's functionality (I have the newest, best one which is much faster than the original), but since I have an iphone and macbook, I sure do wish I had gone with Apple TV.

[El Chupacabra]

We have an outdoor HD antenna, plus streaming subscriptions to Netflix and Hulu Plus. We have Amazon prime currently, but the TV offerings overlap a lot with Netflix (except for some HBO shows) and Amazon interface sucks compared to Netflix. Usually watch this through a "smart" TV, but also have a second TV with a Blu-ray player that handles streaming too.

Only thing I miss from satellite or cable is NBA games during the regular season, but I'm not willing to pay for sat or cable just for that.

[splat]

AppleTV here but we are apple users. We like the screen sharing from the laptops which is useful. We use Netflix, Hulu HBOgo and ESPN, We cut the cord about 3 years ago and don't miss it. I'd love to see REDBOX app where we could download the movies now for the 1.20 verses the 5.99 that iTunes demand..or see iTunes get more competitive.

How do you get HBOgo if you don't have a cable account to tie it to?

I like Roku for netflix, the free channels, music, youtube and news. But you can also get more series by the season or episode that are current and can buy shitloads of movies. But I haven't figured out how to get HBOgo without a cable account to tie it to.

[El Chupacabra]

How do you get HBOgo if you don't have a cable account to tie it to?

I like Roku for netflix, the free channels, music, youtube and news. But you can also get more series by the season or episode that are current and can buy shitloads of movies. But I haven't figured out how to get HBOgo without a cable account to tie it to.

If you know someone with HBO, and they're willing to share their account with you, it's easily doable.

[Flexon Phil]

If you know someone with HBO, and they're willing to share their account with you, it's easily doable.

Yup. HBO cannot track it.

[Cruiser]

We're running a large OTA tv antenna in the attic and then a mix of smart tvs, rokus, and wifi bluray players to stream netflix and amazon. Seems to be working just fine. The only trick is finding a decent stream for monday night football. Other than that though, it's smooth sailing without cable.

[riser4]

SO how do I find someone who can do a really damn good job of putting up a monster sized roof mount antenna in my area? The yellow pages are little help for that these days. I don't want to fuck up my roof doing it myself and I want the biggest, baddest, tallest antenna I can find. I would go with an attic mount but I need even that extra little bit. I want Montreal channels so I can watch Hockey Night in Canada in HD. I am at the extreme range for that. Comcast has the Canadian channels in only SD in my line-up and that sucks.

[MontuckyFried]

Amazon Prime is worth is if you ship a bunch of stuff anyway. The video streaming and other perks are just icing on the cake. If you don't buy a lot from Amazon, then it's value is definitely not as good. It is my least used streaming service, although sometimes they get shows sooner than the alternatives.

Hulu+ has been great for current shows. It's how I get my SNL, Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park fix. They also have a pretty great selection of older shows and movies.

Netflix is an obvious must for streaming. They've been on a roll with some fantastic original series and other programming.

HBO Go is going to be available to the masses come spring, sans cable subscription! Woohoo! Will likely subscribe then.

In the meanwhile, I subscribe to Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix. Still way cheaper than cable, and more crap than you could ever watch in a lifetime. So nice not wasting 30% of the show's run time on commercials or messing around with DVR. For sports, ESPN's streaming service has come a long way. Might be worth it if you follow sports.

[jma233]

ESPN's streaming service has come a long way. Might be worth it if you follow sports.

ESPN streaming is just for cable subscribers, right? Except I think they give away ESPN3 to everyone.

[Hugh Conway]

Is it enough to support 1080 video?

What time of day do you want to watch content? Check sustained streams in the evening (or whenever you watch content) where you are; late afternoon through to late evening often has enough congestion the stream goes to shit.

[This End Up]

Any feed back on how Roku and Netflix/Hulu/Amazon thing works for kids shows? The only thing that ties us to Direct TV right now is the Disney channel. My 4&6 year olds love it, but I'm ready to cut the greedy bastards off (the cable companies, not the kids).

[mcski]

Any feed back on how Roku and Netflix/Hulu/Amazon thing works for kids shows? The only thing that ties us to Direct TV right now is the Disney channel. My 4&6 year olds love it, but I'm ready to cut the greedy bastards off (the cable companies, not the kids).

You can get some Disney shows on Netflix and / or subscribe to the Disney channel on your roku. You can now set up menus for each user in your house on Netflix which makes it easier to curtail the 6yr from bingeing on the walking dead.