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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 21, 2015 12:45:44 GMT -5
We had a similar large antenna growing up. It got one station well and one station with considerable snow. It was my middle brother Bob's job to shinny up the pole and reattach wires that came loose frequently in high winds. By the time I was in Junior High they had a UHF translator on the mountain and we could get four channels fairly well using a small UHF antenna indoors.
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Post by Randle-El on Apr 21, 2015 14:05:36 GMT -5
I think it's kinda funny how people had all these rooftop antennas, and then cable came along and people started to rely on that for TV. Then when cord cutting became popular, people have started to become interested in antennas again. Suddenly all those folks who still have antennas mounted on their roofs don't look so silly anymore.
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Post by DE Sinclair on Apr 21, 2015 15:05:39 GMT -5
I think it's kinda funny how people had all these rooftop antennas, and then cable came along and people started to rely on that for TV. Then when cord cutting became popular, people have started to become interested in antennas again. Suddenly all those folks who still have antennas mounted on their roofs don't look so silly anymore. Except it's all digital now, no analog signals. So those old antennas don't do them any good. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2015 15:41:02 GMT -5
I still want a giant satellite dish that gets every global channel. Like a NASA dish in my yard
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Post by Randle-El on Apr 21, 2015 15:57:54 GMT -5
I think it's kinda funny how people had all these rooftop antennas, and then cable came along and people started to rely on that for TV. Then when cord cutting became popular, people have started to become interested in antennas again. Suddenly all those folks who still have antennas mounted on their roofs don't look so silly anymore. Except it's all digital now, no analog signals. So those old antennas don't do them any good. It doesn't matter, you should still be able to use those old antennas. The digital vs. analog distinction has to do with how the information is encoded, not the medium of transmission. Everything is ultimately transmitted as an analog signal -- "digital" just means the information in the signal is encoded as 1s and 0s. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2015 12:08:08 GMT -5
With Comcast, I can pause all programs as they are aired. If I need to pee on a Monday night right as Better Call Saul is on, I can pause it. I'm assuming that's because you have DVR. I don't think you can ordinarily pause without it, since a DVR acts as a storage buffer to store the content that's continuing to air while you go pee. Either that, or your cable box has a small amount of memory for buffering. It's a moot point with the services you'll be using to stream content on Roku, since the content you're streaming is pre-recorded. I can't say for sure because I haven't used it, but the one exception to this might a streaming service like Sling. As opposed to Hulu or Netflix, which streams pre-recorded content on demand, Sling lets you stream content as its aired in real-time. Because of this model, they might not let you pause or play non-airing content, since it would require you to buffer content locally. As Sling is a web service (and not a hardware provider), that might be too difficult to implement across different hardware platforms that may or may not have the local storage to support buffering. Yes. It's the DVR feature. And I need a DVR to go with Roku before I will commit to it. My AMC and A&E shows overlap each other for a while, and I have to be able to record shows. I can live without a pause feature, but I have to be able to record. But if I could get a DVR to go with it, I could probably pause as well. *sigh* Cable problems. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Apr 22, 2015 12:15:30 GMT -5
I've still never used a DVR... in fact, up until about 18 months ago, I would still occassionally tape things I was going to miss with a VCR.. perhaps I still would if it hadn't died (tapes were increasingly hard to find as well).
I don't find it to be something I need... just about every show is On Demand the day after it airs, and for live stuff, I'm not really going to watch it after I already know what happens anyway.
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Post by Randle-El on Apr 22, 2015 15:01:40 GMT -5
Yes. It's the DVR feature. And I need a DVR to go with Roku before I will commit to it. My AMC and A&E shows overlap each other for a while, and I have to be able to record shows. I can live without a pause feature, but I have to be able to record. But if I could get a DVR to go with it, I could probably pause as well. *sigh* Cable problems. I'm a little confused. There isn't any reason to use a DVR with the Roku itself. Do you mean that you're planning to keep your cable TV service and want to use a Roku for receiving streaming services (I'm assuming your DVR is the DVR that's included with your cable box)? If that's the case, there's no reason why you couldn't use the DVR and Roku on the same TV, so long as you have sufficient inputs. You'd just set up the Roku as a separate input channel and switch to that input when you want to stream, then switch to your cable box when you want to watch DVR/cable content. They'd operate completely separately from one another. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2015 15:16:59 GMT -5
Yes. It's the DVR feature. And I need a DVR to go with Roku before I will commit to it. My AMC and A&E shows overlap each other for a while, and I have to be able to record shows. I can live without a pause feature, but I have to be able to record. But if I could get a DVR to go with it, I could probably pause as well. *sigh* Cable problems. I'm a little confused. There isn't any reason to use a DVR with the Roku itself. Do you mean that you're planning to keep your cable TV service and want to use a Roku for receiving streaming services (I'm assuming your DVR is the DVR that's included with your cable box)? If that's the case, there's no reason why you couldn't use the DVR and Roku on the same TV, so long as you have sufficient inputs. You'd just set up the Roku as a separate input channel and switch to that input when you want to stream, then switch to your cable box when you want to watch DVR/cable content. They'd operate completely separately from one another. We were planning on getting Sling TV (channels like AMC, A&E, etc) through Roku. My current DVR is my Comcast cable box. We don't own the comcast DVR, so we'd have to return it once we cut that service. This would leave us DVR-less. But we're going to get the Roku and get the service through Amazon Prime so we can just buy a package and watch the shows whenever we want.  This was the solution my husband came up with this afternoon. Whatever it is: I just want to watch AMC, A&E, get netflix and various other things, and stop paying almost $100 a month for cable. |
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Post by Randle-El on Apr 22, 2015 15:34:31 GMT -5
I'm a little confused. There isn't any reason to use a DVR with the Roku itself. Do you mean that you're planning to keep your cable TV service and want to use a Roku for receiving streaming services (I'm assuming your DVR is the DVR that's included with your cable box)? If that's the case, there's no reason why you couldn't use the DVR and Roku on the same TV, so long as you have sufficient inputs. You'd just set up the Roku as a separate input channel and switch to that input when you want to stream, then switch to your cable box when you want to watch DVR/cable content. They'd operate completely separately from one another. We were planning on getting Sling TV (channels like AMC, A&E, etc) through Roku. My current DVR is my Comcast cable box. We don't own the comcast DVR, so we'd have to return it once we cut that service. This would leave us DVR-less. But we're going to get the Roku and get the service through Amazon Prime so we can just buy a package and watch the shows whenever we want. This was the solution my husband came up with this afternoon. Whatever it is: I just want to watch AMC, A&E, get netflix and various other things, and stop paying almost $100 a month for cable. Ok, got it, makes sense now.  For what it's worth, it looks like some of the live-streaming channels on Sling let you pause and play older content, though it looks like AMC isn't one of them. From www.cnet.com/news/sling-tv-everything-you-need-to-know/Can I pause live TV or skip commercials?
Not on most channels. The pause, rewind and fast-forward commands don't work at all when watching any of the ESPN channels (including the SEC Network), AMC, TNT, TBS, CNN, Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, any of the Disney channels, ABC Family, Boomerang, HLN, IFC or Sundance TV.
What about the other channels?
On the other channels the pause, rewind and fast-forward buttons work as expected. You can pause a current show and rewind all the way to the beginning. You can also fast-forward, even through commercials, to catch back up to live time.
Most of channels also feature "3 Day Replay," allowing you to watch any show aired within the past three days. You can't easily skip commercials on those past shows, however.
The rest, including the Epix movie channels, Universal Sports, beIN Sports, Bloomberg TV, Baby TV and Duck TV, allow you to watch any show or movie that aired in the past 7 days.
If you're willing to wait, some of the content that airs on those channels may come to Netflix. I watch The Walking Dead on Netflix, though I'm a season behind the current broadcast. I don't think there's any easy way to record the content off of a Sling live-stream DVR style... though I'm sure there are plenty of hacker/DIY types who will cobble together solutions to make it work. Theoretically it should be possible, since there has to be some local buffering when playing streaming content. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2015 16:57:00 GMT -5
We were planning on getting Sling TV (channels like AMC, A&E, etc) through Roku. My current DVR is my Comcast cable box. We don't own the comcast DVR, so we'd have to return it once we cut that service. This would leave us DVR-less. But we're going to get the Roku and get the service through Amazon Prime so we can just buy a package and watch the shows whenever we want. This was the solution my husband came up with this afternoon. Whatever it is: I just want to watch AMC, A&E, get netflix and various other things, and stop paying almost $100 a month for cable. Ok, got it, makes sense now. For what it's worth, it looks like some of the live-streaming channels on Sling let you pause and play older content, though it looks like AMC isn't one of them. From www.cnet.com/news/sling-tv-everything-you-need-to-know/Can I pause live TV or skip commercials?
Not on most channels. The pause, rewind and fast-forward commands don't work at all when watching any of the ESPN channels (including the SEC Network), AMC, TNT, TBS, CNN, Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, any of the Disney channels, ABC Family, Boomerang, HLN, IFC or Sundance TV.
What about the other channels?
On the other channels the pause, rewind and fast-forward buttons work as expected. You can pause a current show and rewind all the way to the beginning. You can also fast-forward, even through commercials, to catch back up to live time.
Most of channels also feature "3 Day Replay," allowing you to watch any show aired within the past three days. You can't easily skip commercials on those past shows, however.
The rest, including the Epix movie channels, Universal Sports, beIN Sports, Bloomberg TV, Baby TV and Duck TV, allow you to watch any show or movie that aired in the past 7 days.
If you're willing to wait, some of the content that airs on those channels may come to Netflix. I watch The Walking Dead on Netflix, though I'm a season behind the current broadcast. I don't think there's any easy way to record the content off of a Sling live-stream DVR style... though I'm sure there are plenty of hacker/DIY types who will cobble together solutions to make it work. Theoretically it should be possible, since there has to be some local buffering when playing streaming content. I believe my husband said (he did the research, not me) that you can buy show packages through Amazon Prime (which will work through the Roku). You can either buy per episode, or pay for the entire season. And then you can watch them whenever you like. And if you have to stop a show, you have, like, 48 hours to watch it. You have something like a week or longer to play the show, period. This eliminates my need for a DVR. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2015 17:09:22 GMT -5
I didn't even know I could watch live TV on my Roku
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2015 17:19:02 GMT -5
I didn't even know I could watch live TV on my Roku Yep! You have to buy a package, but it's not really that expensive. But, it KIND OF is if you consider (to me anyway) that you cannot pause it or record shows that may overlap other shows. THAT was my issue. Better Call Saul and The Returned overlap each other when their seasons are playing at the same time. |
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Post by marvelmaniac on Apr 22, 2015 18:32:45 GMT -5
Just an update...
Purchased my own Modem($69.99,653 reviews and a 5 star rating) and returned the outdated Docsis 2.0 Modem rental back to Comcast so I will save another $10.00 a month.
When I called to have the new Modem activated I had to use my cell(cancelled home phone when I cancelled cable) which was a 7 year old flip phone.
So besides the fact that none of the Comcast reps spoke English without an accent they all sounded mumbled on my cell and I could not understand what they were saying so I felt I had to move into the 21st century and get a Smart Phone.
I am on my Daughters plan so the "upgrade" was free.
I actually like it although all I mainly still do is make and receive calls I can actually store/take pics of my family that I can see which is important to me.
I downloaded the flashlight app which is pretty cool.
I also downloaded a "silent" ringtone for anybody not listed in my contacts or contacts I have not assigned a ringtone to so the phone will not even ring on those calls.
I also downloaded a Call Blocker app so anything "blacklisted" will automatically be sent to voicemail with no ring or notification.
So far no issues just watching "Free" broadcast TV with the Indoor Digital Antenna, comes in clear and in HD.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Nov 16, 2019 13:40:29 GMT -5
It’s been many years since this thread paused, so how are things in the cable-less world nowadays?
Do people use Roku, Apple TV, an intelligent TV, a chromecast key, a game console? Or watch stuff on their computer, phone or tablet?
Do people use a lot of different streaming services?
Is the traditional model of cable TV doomed?
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This was the solution my husband came up with this afternoon.
For what it's worth, it looks like some of the live-streaming channels on Sling let you pause and play older content, though it looks like AMC isn't one of them. 
