Goodbye to Paid TV
January 21st, 2011
For whatever reason, cancelling paid TV became all the rage in 2010. Like others, we’ve been thinking about getting rid of DirecTV for some time now, but there was always something holding us back. Each time we got close to pulling the plug, a last minute protest would derail the plan and return us to status quo.
Well, mother nature finally forced the issue by making the tree in front of our house tall enough to block the satellite signal. After DirecTV tried and failed to reposition the dish, we had no choice but to cancel. Being that any crisis is an opportunity, I decided to find a cost effective alternative. What I needed was good HD content (both movies and TV) that could be easily displayed on our TV.
The content
As it turns out, there are many choices for online video content. When it comes to movies, Netflix is the 800 lb gorilla. These days, it seems like everything from dvd players to toasters has support for Netflix streaming. For TV content, Hulu Plus has a reasonable selection of new (SNL, Family Guy) and old (shows like Sliders and Buffy, both favorites of mine). As an added bonus, both Netflix and Hulu offer iOS apps so that you can watch stuff on every screen you own (TV, iPhone, iPad, and computer).
The hardware
To get online video content to your TV you need an online video player. I looked at two: Roku and Apple TV. Both support content streaming, both output HD content via HDMI, and both are very very tiny (almost comically small). Also, both players are quite affordable: Roku is between $60 and $100 depending on the model, while Apple TV is $100.
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Quick note on Apple TV: although I chose not to get it initially, it does have some unique features that I find very appealing. Specifically, Apple TV lets me stream my entire iTunes library (movies included) and content from iOS devices to the TV. Given that it’s pretty cheap, it’s likely that I’ll get one in the near future.
What’s missing?
The big thing that’s missing is sports, specifically basketball and football. Apparently, I cannot watch the Lakers or the Niners play in real time online. A workaround (albeit a limited one) is to get a HD antenna that picks up local channels and therefore at least some games. Either that or go to a sports bar for the big game.
Bottom Line
We were spending about $120/month or $1,440/year on DirecTV. Netflix and Hulu Plus are each $8/month or $96/year. Roku XD is $80 and Apple TV is $100. So, I can get Netflix, Hulu Plus, Roku XD, and Apple TV for ¼th the cost of annual DirecTV subscription. To put it another way, I will save a thousand bucks this year and twelve hundred each year after that.
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This post got 3 comments so far. Care to add yours?
Awesome, now you can contribute those savings to Emily’s college fund. =)
Why not google TV?I thought about it also, but decided against it for the same reason you. No Laker games
Hi Nick,
Thanks for the comment. I did look at Google TV briefly, but couldn’t justify the high cost ($300) of the appliance. It is too bad about not being able to watch Laker games in real time, but NBA does have a free channel on Roku where you can at least see game highlights. Let’s hope that the NBA (and the NFL) comes to their senses and lets people watch games online.
Thanks