# Going away from cable, options?



## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

So I'm seriously thinking of getting rid of cable tv and getting something like this android TV media server box:
http://www.amazon.ca/Susay-Android-...451766588&sr=1-14&keywords=mx2+android+tv+box
Has anybody tried something like this or have better options? 
I still want to be able to record shows or at least watch shows on line when I want.

Should I just go with a Roku?


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## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

I have been a ROKU user since the original Netflix/ROKU became available and I am very satisfied with it.
The programming gets better and better too.
We are currently using ROKU 3.
For me it is not a replacement for the cable and DVR though when it comes to first run programs and sports.
The way the providers package phone, TV, and internet together makes having internet services alone very expensive.
When I have looked into OTA DVR alternatives TIVO looks like the best option by a wide margin.
By the time I factor in the purchase price and TIVO guide subscription on top of standalone internet I don't get much savings.

The ROKU 3 does not play my music as good as I would like it to.
There is no gapless playback support and accessing a large library is very slow to load each time I navigate to the the computer.
I have given up on using it for this purpose.


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## rrseth (Dec 26, 2015)

My 2 cents, get a tablo, HD antenna, external HDD and a roku. 



Tablo/HD antenna/external hdd will keep you up to date on all your network shows. Get a cousin or friend to give you their cable id, and you will have espn via watchespn app on roku. Also get netflix and you're mostly set. This is all legal. Not sure about the legality of XBMC set up you posted, GL! I'm cable free and love it, haha Comcast...~!


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

We pulled our cable, and went OTA about 2 years ago, and have never looked back. We have i3NUCs, and CubeTV boxes running Kodi for all of our tv/music/hd movies. We were recording all our TV shows with Windows Media Center, but now we are using Kodi with the HDHomerun app/driver in Kodi. What we can't get with OTA we get streaming from the networks or Amazon.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Will Roku act like a PVR if hooked up to a hard drive? Does it have some sort of guide that you can select what shows you want recorded?


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## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

ROKU is only a streaming media device. It has no other functionality.

The various apps have search, and categories that group shows together.


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## Talley (Dec 8, 2010)

125mbps up / 10mpbs down internet = $75
Netflix for streaming 4 devices at once = $13
Satellite TV for 200 channels = $~100

I've always factored in 200/mo for these items. Sure... I can bundle all three together and save a few but in the end... I want what I want. I want comcast internet because it's the fastest. I have 4 kids so they each of a Sony blueray player that does netflix so they all stream off that at night which is why I pay for the 4 TV plan and 13/mo for that is much cheaper than them having boxes in all the rooms. Then I have 4 boxes for my satellite service (my room, theater, living, den) which I'll be moving my room to the outside because I can share the living/myroom since I ran a HDMI cable between these two areas and we rarely watch TV in both... meaning never.

I'm kinda eh about alot of the streaming services and I don't really watch a whole lot of TV anyway but I do watch a few shows but it's nice to DVR them to watch later.

I'd be curious to see your question answered though just to see what my savings would be.... not much since my internet cost 75 but I won't give that up.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Talley said:


> 125mbps up / 10mpbs down internet = $75


I think you switched your up and downs around, as usually your download speed is much faster than your upload speed. Comcast is nowhere near that fast for us... Our fastest Internet is Wave...I think it is around $70 by the time all the taxes, fees, etc. are done though.


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## Talley (Dec 8, 2010)

ellisr63 said:


> I think you switched your up and downs around, as usually your download speed is much faster than your upload speed. Comcast is nowhere near that fast for us... Our fastest Internet is Wave...I think it is around $70 by the time all the taxes, fees, etc. are done though.


Ya your right... was cooking got hurried. 125down / 10up

I much preferred my previous setup of 35down/30up but they switched their plans around. I never knew how I got the 30 up because the plan was 35/10 but for 3 years it worked like that... now my uploads feel slow 

Needless to say I hardwire as much devices as I can for the streaming. I see no direct hit on my internet even with 4-5 streams going.


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

We just got new fiber optic service. 50/50 up down. (They offer up to 1gb!). Although performance of streaming services has kept me from signing up, I'm really having fun with my free Netflix subscription, and am considering a prime account.(+ 2 day free shipping!!!) The real rub is I just switched to directv from dish. That means 2 years of satellite. That's probably fine since we follow current network shows anyway. I'm afraid streaming is the future though. 


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Ya, we will have fiber later this month here with the carrier Im currently using (Telus) so I may stick around if they offer some good rates.


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

I wish I could offer more advice, as you may have other options that could be as solid, but at my location it's the best I've had. It's pretty insane actually. New router will be here this week. I've never used dsl or cable that's been as good. 


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