Opinions wanted - Smart TV/Hulu/Netflix/Cable Questions

[Kies99]

Alright DISdads, I need your opinions/thoughts on this. I just picked up an LG 47LW5600 3D Smart TV yesterday afternoon.

I can stream via WiFi both Netflix and Hulu Plus (as well as many other services). I currently have Netflix (watch through Wii) and have Comcast Basic (local channels only; $11 a month;No DVR or HD box).

Your opinion please: Should I just dump the Comcast and pick up Hulu Plus?

A little about our viewing habits here:

Family of 4 (Me, Wife, 8yo DD and 10yo DD).
36" Tube TV (up until yesterday)
Non-HD Cable box (Comcast)
VCR/DVD Combo (no DVR)
Wii for Netflix

Only 2 shows were consistently watched: The Biggest Loser and General Hospital (by my wife). General Hospital would be taped each day by the VCR so my wife could watch that night.

DVD Player used periodically to watch movie(s)

After hooking up last night, due to the way I have it set up the picture is worse than what it was before with regular tv (partially due to how I set it up and partially due to the Non-HD box I believe). I'd probably need a new box or DVR to go with the tv (added cost). Streaming Netflix through the TV looks good. I'd probably hook up an antenna to it to catch my local channels as well.

 

[AJRitz]

If you're not watching the cable package, beyond a couple of network shows, by all means dump the cable company (and the monthly box rental fee).

With a decent antenna, you should be able to get all of the major networks free over the air. And their HD signals will look much better than the re-processed and re-transmitted SD signal you're getting from the cable company through the SD cable box.

Between Netflix and Hulu Plus you'll have access to tons of good kids' content - and my favorite part is that it's all commercial-free.

Comcast will try to talk you into keeping at least basic cable, with cheap pricing if combined with cable high-speed Internet service. When they make that pitch, remember to factor in the cost of the monthly rental -- some cable providers actually charge seperate monthly rental fees for both the box and the remote. The "value" disappears pretty quickly when you add in those recurring charges.

 

[Cinderella's Fella]

Kies99 welcome back to the DISDads. I can't help with your question, Aaron is more the expert in this area. I just wanted to say hi. My name is Randall DISDad #215. Your member number is 6. Would you share your name with us?

 

[soxfan11901]

I'm no expert, but here are my opinions:

If all you're watching is local stations I would get rid of the cable. You can get those over the air for free. (my tv's internal antenna will pick them up by itself)

I have looked at the programming choices for hulu plus and really it doesn't look that great to me. I also have netflix and it doesn't look like a substantial difference between the two, but maybe I'm missing something.

For any current tv episodes I want to see I can stream most of them from the respective network website.

Both Biggest Loser and General Hospital are available for viewing from NBC and ABC websites. If your computer is recent then it should have an HDMI output.
Connect to your new tv and you can watch from the computer on the tv. That will give you your video, then you also need an audio cable from the headphone jack of your computer connected to your tv so that you can get the sound (or turn up the sound on you computer and listen through that).

May not be as convenient as just doing everything with the tv, but it's free

 

[Kies99]

Kies99 welcome back to the DISDads. I can't help with your question, Aaron is more the expert in this area. I just wanted to say hi. My name is Randall DISDad #215. Your member number is 6. Would you share your name with us?

Bond...James Bond.

Kiesling...Matt Kiesling.


Thanks for the responses!

 

[AirGoofy]

It depends on where you live as well. In the huge metropolis where I live (50,000) we are in a valley and only have 1 local affiliate. The others come out of Evansville about 50 miles away. So, with a store bought box, I can get 3 local channels and 3 public education channels. If I bought one of the outdoor 20' tall antennas, I may have better luck. For us, we have the cheapest of cable packages and use the box for the affiliate here who won't pay time warner fees to join the cable package. We also combine this with home internet service. Our movie provider is the red box.

 

[Kies99]

Thanks everyone for the responses.

Some of the comments sparked my memory. The only reason we kept the cable box was due to the whole switch over to digital. This way we didn't need an antenna or convertor box.

I unhooked the box and plugged the cable into the TV and...BAM! It all looks good! I get all the channels and they come in nice and clear! Even get some additional channels over the air that I didn't get via the cable box!

Also, since it's a Smart TV I can access the web and get the show my wife usually would record.

All is copacetic!

Now off to Best Buy to pick up a new 3D Blu-Ray player!

 

[BigTex71]

General Hospital would be taped each day by the VCR so my wife could watch that night.

Now THAT is old school.

Do they even sell blank VHS tapes anymore? Or do you reuse old ones?

 

[Kies99]

Now THAT is old school.

Do they even sell blank VHS tapes anymore? Or do you reuse old ones?

Ain't that the truth! I could never get her to just watch it on computer.

And I don't know if they still make VHS tapes, but she bought a bunch a few years ago that she keeps using.

 

[ChrisBrad79]

The biggest gripes I have against Hulu+ (as a year-long subscriber) is that virtually no current CBS shows are offered and some shows are only available through a computer (ie, not available to be streamed through your PS3/Wii/Roku/xbox/etc). Example: I love Happy Endings, but I have to get on a computer to watch it instead of being able to see it on my big TV... Thank goodness they are slowly adding more shows, like Community, to the streaming via TV option.

Now, if only Amazon would make an app for PS3/Wii/xbox to let me view Prime media through, then I would cut all ties to my local cable company (no satellite as there is no dish location that will work on my property ).

 

[Massillon Dad]

and a massage recliner

 

[thheaton]

when I decided to go back to school we cut off our cable, and cut back on several other things. to ensure we could go on vacations and live like we had before on my new income, or lack of income. We bought a cool antenna from radioshack for about $80 dollars. it looks really similar to a directv dish and picks up channels for us that are 60 miles away. we also use our tivo to watch netflix and hulu. The best product I ran into is the Roku box we bought. You can pick one up for around 50 dollars and it gets a lot of content from the web to your tv. We also recently dropped netflix in favor of Amazon's VOD service. I get a discounted rate as a student. $39 for a whole year. It doesn't have the same content as netflix but they are adding new stuff daily and recently signed a deal with nick and disney. if you have any questions feel free to ask we have been doing this for over a year and are really enjoying it.