Ok, so what is after Netflix?

I'd love to ditch cable but I can't live w/out ESPN during CFB season. I think NetFlix streaming is a great option if you don't absolutely have to see the latest tripe from Hollywood right now.

I was actually thinking about getting Netflix but after reading the negative comments, I re-thinking if I should.

Originally Posted by Llando88

See thread title.

Like many, we punted Netflix due to the poor movie selection, service split, prices, and the ridiculously inept search engine,

So, then what is the alternative for a service that:

- offers reasonable content at a monthly fee similar to Netflix
- doesn't require additional hardware beyond say $100
- provides a decent selection of content

What's with the thread title? We love Netflix. We have never had a request they couldn't fill. One day service each way. Great prices. What's not to like?

Originally Posted by allaboutrims

I was actually thinking about getting Netflix but after reading the negative comments, I re-thinking if I should.

I think you can get a free trial, two weeks free maybe? Definitely check it out.

We used Netflix for streaming and the DVD-by mail and dropped them for the "by mail" due to cost. We replaced them with Blockbuster's program where yuo get 1 movie/game for as long as you want and can trade it for another as many times as you want. Since it's right down the street, we can see anything and everything for one low price.

Originally Posted by allaboutrims

I was actually thinking about getting Netflix but after reading the negative comments, I re-thinking if I should.

So are you the same type that would jump off the cliff because everyone else tell you that you should??

Can't you decide for yourself based on the facts??

I was skeptical and took Netflix on the 30 days free trial. Had a calendar to remind me to cancel on the 29th day. After 10 days trial subscription of Netflix I called DirecTV instead and canceled HBO/Show/Cinemax/Starz.

The $7.99 stream w/ Netflix is more than I need. I can watch it on my smartphone computer or tablet. and of course High Def on my PS3

OTA for shows and kids stuff.
redbox or bittorent for movies (depending on where your moral compass is pointing)

Originally Posted by allaboutrims

I was actually thinking about getting Netflix but after reading the negative comments, I re-thinking if I should.

The only negative is that they raised their prices. Selection is as fantastic (with DVD's + mail) with the exception of TV shows that are under a year old. They're fast, and efficient. It's a great setup.

It's about the best thing going. Blockbuster is right up there too.

Originally Posted by chivas

it's damn near impossible for any successful movie or any movie for that matter to avoid being put on a torrent. RIAA and others are fighting piracy but in the end, they're wasting their money and time. I personally like the whole movie theater experience. Something about having a hole in the bottom of the popcorn bucket sitting next to your date has it's... "thrilling" moments.

Piracy has been a long term problem and is not going anywhere. The biggest scam is DRM, it doesn't make an iota of difference to the pirate community as they crack/hack everything that's thrown at them. DRM simply makes life more difficult for legitimate owners.

I have used Bit torrent loads, usually to catch the odd show I have missed or mistakenly deleted from my DVR. I have also downloaded movies .Most films I have d/loaded I already own in a physical format.

For the record, I go to the cinema as often as possible and regularly buy blurays (after building a huge DVD library).

Originally Posted by London Talking

Piracy has been a long term problem and is not going anywhere. The biggest scam is DRM, it doesn't make an iota of difference to the pirate community as they crack/hack everything that's thrown at them. DRM simply makes life more difficult for legitimate owners.

I have used Bit torrent loads, usually to catch the odd show I have missed or mistakenly deleted from my DVR. I have also downloaded movies .Most films I have d/loaded I already own in a physical format.

For the record, I go to the cinema as often as possible and regularly buy blurays (after building a huge DVD library).

sorry, you were saying something? I've been looking at Jessica Alba... <3 My heart if fluttering

Originally Posted by geebeemer

I've been considering dropping AT&T uVerse TV - while keeping the internet connection. It's becoming increasingly difficult to pay the $85 a month for 500 channels I never watch.

The option of switching to netflix or blockbuster and watching DTV stations for 10% of the cost is one that's hard to ignore.

Done, uVerse TV is cancelled.

Will look into blockbuster or netflix in the morning.

Well, we signed back up, DVD service, Blu Ray, online. Felt like since we had not tried the by-mail version, we would.

Really happy so far. The mail service is almost next day, we've gone through five recent movies in about two weeks.

We just did not find any comparison better out there.

So Amazon Prime has just signed with EPIX...

I'm now thinking what to do as soon as my DISH contract is up. Basic requirements:
- Kids: Disney stuff, and something age-appropriate non-fictional material
- Adults: HGTV and Food Network (mainly wife's selection). CNN and CNBC are nice to have but I only watch it maybe once every month for an hour?
- Movies: The more selection the merrier
- Other cable channels are nice to have but not a must. I would only watch them if they catch my interest while channel-surfing, like Discovery, TBS, Comedy, etc.
- Sports: Not a fan, so I care less about live games on cable channels most of the time
- OTA: I already have a box but it's not hooked to my basement's 60" TV.

Base on all that, what would be the most cost-efficient option for me? Quite possibly I need to to subscribe to at least 2 services.

TIA!

Here is what I am doing:

DirecTV for the sports (unlike you, I am a REAL American and live and die off Football Season) and 205 channels packge. No extras!! No HBO, SHOWTIME or Cinemax etc.

NetFlix: Its a MUST! The Kids and Family programs are unbeatable!! The user interface (tablets, phones computer and Media Player Box) is unparalleled.

Amazon prime: They have "some similarities but they are NOT subsitutes. For another $7 a months I am okay w/ this. You do need to becareful, you could "easily" end-up buying a movie not realizing that its NOT part of the prime program. Keep your kids off from it.

The user interface suck a$$ compare to Netflix, but that is okay because you don't want your kids using this... it could cost you lots of $$ on accidental purchases.

I'd cut the cord, but I have MUST have sports in ESPN channels and all the Fox Regionals.

People who thinks that AMZN Prime and NFLX are subsitutes dunno WTF they are talking about. They are complimentary of each other and together they are a WAY cheaper alternative to HBO/SHOWTIME/CINEMAX.

Originally Posted by Griffoun

So Amazon Prime has just signed with EPIX...

I'm now thinking what to do as soon as my DISH contract is up. Basic requirements:
- Kids: Disney stuff, and something age-appropriate non-fictional material
- Adults: HGTV and Food Network (mainly wife's selection). CNN and CNBC are nice to have but I only watch it maybe once every month for an hour?
- Movies: The more selection the merrier
- Other cable channels are nice to have but not a must. I would only watch them if they catch my interest while channel-surfing, like Discovery, TBS, Comedy, etc.
- Sports: Not a fan, so I care less about live games on cable channels most of the time
- OTA: I already have a box but it's not hooked to my basement's 60" TV.

Base on all that, what would be the most cost-efficient option for me? Quite possibly I need to to subscribe to at least 2 services.

TIA!

Originally Posted by beewang

NetFlix: Its a MUST! The Kids and Family programs are unbeatable!! The user interface (tablets, phones computer and Media Player Box) is unparalleled.

Amazon prime: They have "some similarities but they are NOT subsitutes. For another $7 a months I am okay w/ this. You do need to becareful, you could "easily" end-up buying a movie not realizing that its NOT part of the prime program. Keep your kids off from it.

So if I were to answer my question in the following manner, what would the answers be?

- Kids: Disney stuff, and something age-appropriate non-fictional material
Amazon Prime

- Adults: HGTV and Food Network (mainly wife's selection). CNN and CNBC are nice to have but I only watch it maybe once every month for an hour?
Channels' website

- Movies: The more selection the merrier
Amazon Prime / Netflix

- Other cable channels are nice to have but not a must. I would only watch them if they catch my interest while channel-surfing, like Discovery, TBS, Comedy, etc.
Amazon Prime / Netflix

- OTA: I already have a box but it's not hooked to my basement's 60" TV.
Boxee Live TV Dongle?

I think it's pretty safe to say Hulu Plus is crap? Probably I can get quite

Originally Posted by Griffoun

- Kids: Disney stuff, and something age-appropriate non-fictional material
Amazon Prime

I disagree.. Netflix is the answer here, not Amazon Prime. NTFFLX has the "kids only" selection on its interface. Furthermore, the kids library selection just blows AMZN prime AWAY!!

Originally Posted by Griffoun

- OTA: I already have a box but it's not hooked to my basement's 60" TV.
??

I think it's pretty safe to say Hulu Plus is crap?

1) OTA, My house is net to a small "hump" of hill and my OTA signals are blocked considerably. Of course I realized this AFTER I bought the $150 OTA outdoors antenna

make sure you don't make the same mistake. But I think where you live its pretty flat right??!!

2) I just don't see the point of paying for Hulu Plus.

Originally Posted by beewang

I disagree.. Netflix is the answer here, not Amazon Prime. NTFFLX has the "kids only" selection on its interface. Furthermore, the kids library selection just blows AMZN prime AWAY!!

1) OTA, My house is net to a small "hump" of hill and my OTA signals are blocked considerably. Of course I realized this AFTER I bought the $150 OTA outdoors antenna

make sure you don't make the same mistake. But I think where you live its pretty flat right??!!

I'm already getting OTA for my TV on the first floor, even though it's also connected to DISH to get low-res feed from the receiver... I think I need to look into how I can feed the OTA signal from the OTA antenna on the first floor to the basement.

The problem with Netflix's website is that I can't see the offering without signing up, and I want to see what Disney's channel shows are available on Netflix and AMZN Prime.

Originally Posted by Griffoun

The problem with Netflix's website is that I can't see the offering without signing up, and I want to see what Disney's channel shows are available on Netflix and AMZN Prime.

If I had them, I'd look for you- I bet someone will.

I am under the impression that just about every TV out there has its own ATSC tuner. There should be a coax type of input on the back of your TV. Me, I had to buy a box, because projectors don't come with these tuners like TVs do. But, if you want to record, skip the commercials, I think a lot of provider boxes have them too anyway. Definitely browse and inquire at your provider. Worst case scenario, if you leave Dish to go with cable you can get a TiVo now, or finally with Direct TV as well, as I recently learned here. edit: wait a sec, I'm pretty sure Dish had a box that could do TWO ota tuners. Get two antennae, and record simultaneously different channels; I think there were 4 tuners in all, the other 2 for your sat . . . . this was some years ago . . .

You can get an RG6 cable from many places to run from antenna to tuner, I think I picked mine up from Rat Shack. If I had to order online, Monoprice would be the first place I'd look. RG59 cables work too, but they have less shielding. For that matter, I think some RG6 are more shielded than others, so if it's a longer run or whatever, try to get quad shielding or whatever it maxes out at.

Originally Posted by beewang

Here is what I am doing:

DirecTV for the sports (unlike you, I am a REAL American and live and die off Football Season) and 205 channels packge. No extras!! No HBO, SHOWTIME or Cinemax etc.

NetFlix: Its a MUST! The Kids and Family programs are unbeatable!! The user interface (tablets, phones computer and Media Player Box) is unparalleled.

Amazon prime: They have "some similarities but they are NOT subsitutes. For another $7 a months I am okay w/ this. You do need to becareful, you could "easily" end-up buying a movie not realizing that its NOT part of the prime program. Keep your kids off from it.

The user interface suck a$$ compare to Netflix, but that is okay because you don't want your kids using this... it could cost you lots of $$ on accidental purchases.

I'd cut the cord, but I have MUST have sports in ESPN channels and all the Fox Regionals.

People who thinks that AMZN Prime and NFLX are subsitutes dunno WTF they are talking about. They are complimentary of each other and together they are a WAY cheaper alternative to HBO/SHOWTIME/CINEMAX.

DirecTV with NFL and NHL packages. No movie channels.

Hulu+ for TV shows

Amazon Prime for TV + some movies + free 2 day shipping

Netflix streaming only

Redbox if I really need a disc

Originally Posted by Ilovemycar

I am under the impression that just about every TV out there has its own ATSC tuner. There should be a coax type of input on the back of your TV. Me, I had to buy a box, because projectors don't come with these tuners like TVs do. But, if you want to record, skip the commercials, I think a lot of provider boxes have them too anyway. Definitely browse and inquire at your provider. Worst case scenario, if you leave Dish to go with cable you can get a TiVo now, or finally with Direct TV as well, as I recently learned here. edit: wait a sec, I'm pretty sure Dish had a box that could do TWO ota tuners. Get two antennae, and record simultaneously different channels; I think there were 4 tuners in all, the other 2 for your sat . . . . this was some years ago . . .

Have more info about this? My plasma qualifies as a "monitor" so it doesn't come with a tuner. I gave up on finding an ATSC tuner for it years ago. I'm getting my feed via the internet cable modem (by default) but it's not a full HD like the OTA... What model is it that you have?

I have a direct line of sight with the Empire State Building where a few networks have their antenna. Would be nice and easy to tap into those.

I think Disney's not available on neither HuluPlus, Amazon Prime nor Netflix, so it comes down to if I had to choose one of the three, which one has the best offering?

I probably could get both either AMZN Prime and/or Netflix to begin with, and somehow has to find out how to get OTA signal to basement so I can get TV Tuner card for the HTPC... hmm.

Originally Posted by MatWiz

Have more info about this? My plasma qualifies as a "monitor" so it doesn't come with a tuner. I gave up on finding an ATSC tuner for it years ago. I'm getting my feed via the internet cable modem (by default) but it's not a full HD like the OTA... What model is it that you have?

I have a direct line of sight with the Empire State Building where a few networks have their antenna. Would be nice and easy to tap into those.

Ah right, a pro monitor wouldn't have one. (I'm sure NYC has *everything*, but the only place I remember being able to locate those Pana monitors was at Visual Apex in WA I think it was.)

OK I use the 3rd one down here, right now $139, I think it was a tad less when I got it, I don't think I will recommend it . . . I chose it for its price, and HDMI output.
http://www.epvision.com/

Their dual tuner version has a few reviews at Amazon, lukewarm overall.
http://www.amazon.com/1080p-Digital-...6805666&sr=8-1

A brief searching around shows that these two brands might be pretty popular:
http://www.channelmasterstore.com/Se...Boxes_s/27.htm

And maybe this for the cheaper end?
http://us.kworld-global.com/main/pro...=28&prodid=253

Mine, some cons: 1) does what I need it to, except I haven't been able to pull in (I should say "find", at all, nada) ABC. I contacted the company, they said I should be no problem, my FW was current last couple times I checked, they said I could bring it in, etc. I just haven't cared, don't care about whatever CFB they show, I'm a basketball person so there is very little I miss, and when I do, I'm probably with family on those holiday occasions anyway. I've toggled the 480/720/1080, still no ABC.

But I get everything else it seems, not just from multiple counties away, I'm even pulling stuff in from Arizona too! (But I think those channels are SD.) Of course I don't care for +90% of what I pull in, and neither will you or anyone else.

2) If I did it over again, I'd get a DVR. Self explanatory.

3) The remote absolutely blows chunks. I mean not just its size, design, etc, but it can barely communicate with the system. I've tried programming my URC multiple times, for all necessary buttons, but I don't think I've got all buttons to take, particularly the # buttons. Using other buttons, I can get everywhere I need to, but still . . .

The pros, I like the "look" of the menu layouts, as well as the "power bar" I can pull up to see signal strength (I'm always 6/7 I think), the programming shows through the next hour I think, and I get surround sound encoding if I'm not mistaken, at least I think I was getting it with the London Games (I don't really care with TV sources, and am pretty sure matrixing algorithms are set to default with this source anyway). The box itself is diminutive.

Originally Posted by Griffoun

I probably could get both either AMZN Prime and/or Netflix to begin with, and somehow has to find out how to get OTA signal to basement so I can get TV Tuner card for the HTPC... hmm.

If you're just wondering about how difficult it's going to be to fish wire from up there, and that you don't have any conduit already in the walls, etc, maybe just try an antenna from down there?

My friend got excited when I told him about the prospects of free HD, and he bought antennae from many places, Target, Radio Shack, I think Best Buy and Amazon too. I think he said the best one for him was like $20 from Target. I realize you're in the basement, but maybe if you point it just right, mount it up near the ceiling, you can get a good signal still, at least with the stations that you care about. Worth experimenting with, you can always return, and it might beat the hassle of tearing down walls.

Winegard is a good brand for instance, maybe something like this could work?
http://www.winegard.com/flatwave/index.php

Originally Posted by hockeynut

DirecTV with NFL and NHL packages. No movie channels.

Hulu+ for TV shows

Amazon Prime for TV + some movies + free 2 day shipping

Netflix streaming only

Redbox if I really need a disc

+1

No movie Channels, I killed the movie channels after 1 week of Netflix. Also I signed up netflix w/ the intent of killing it after 29 days. After 2 days I realized that for $7~$8 bucks they charge, its a f****** bargain.

I just started my Amazon Prime subscription, again with the intend to kill is after 29 days.. Its not gonna happen.. I buy way too much stuff on AMZN and the movies collections compliments Netflix very well.

Griffoun, if your emphisis is childrens programming, then you want Netflix (if you must pick one) but seriouly.. for $14~$15 bucks a month, I take them both. Netflix is easy tp watch when I am on the go via tablet, computer or phone.

If there is a movie I really want to watch (only happened 2 times in the last 1.5 years) I'd pick'em up at RedBox.

Originally Posted by Ilovemycar

Ah right, a pro monitor wouldn't have one. (I'm sure NYC has *everything*, but the only place I remember being able to locate those Pana monitors was at Visual Apex in WA I think it was.)

OK I use the 3rd one down here, right now $139, I think it was a tad less when I got it, I don't think I will recommend it . . . I chose it for its price, and HDMI output.
http://www.epvision.com/

Their dual tuner version has a few reviews at Amazon, lukewarm overall.
http://www.amazon.com/1080p-Digital-...6805666&sr=8-1

A brief searching around shows that these two brands might be pretty popular:
http://www.channelmasterstore.com/Se...Boxes_s/27.htm

And maybe this for the cheaper end?
http://us.kworld-global.com/main/pro...=28&prodid=253

Mine, some cons: 1) does what I need it to, except I haven't been able to pull in (I should say "find", at all, nada) ABC. I contacted the company, they said I should be no problem, my FW was current last couple times I checked, they said I could bring it in, etc. I just haven't cared, don't care about whatever CFB they show, I'm a basketball person so there is very little I miss, and when I do, I'm probably with family on those holiday occasions anyway. I've toggled the 480/720/1080, still no ABC.

But I get everything else it seems, not just from multiple counties away, I'm even pulling stuff in from Arizona too! (But I think those channels are SD.) Of course I don't care for +90% of what I pull in, and neither will you or anyone else.

2) If I did it over again, I'd get a DVR. Self explanatory.

3) The remote absolutely blows chunks. I mean not just its size, design, etc, but it can barely communicate with the system. I've tried programming my URC multiple times, for all necessary buttons, but I don't think I've got all buttons to take, particularly the # buttons. Using other buttons, I can get everywhere I need to, but still . . .

The pros, I like the "look" of the menu layouts, as well as the "power bar" I can pull up to see signal strength (I'm always 6/7 I think), the programming shows through the next hour I think, and I get surround sound encoding if I'm not mistaken, at least I think I was getting it with the London Games (I don't really care with TV sources, and am pretty sure matrixing algorithms are set to default with this source anyway). The box itself is diminutive.

Good information here. Thanks. I'll keep it for future use.

Yeah, I got my pro series from Visual Apex. You can't buy these things in a store. Even in NYC. Nah, that "you can find anything in NYC is an urban legend". You can find anything on the Internet is more likely.