What channels/shows are NOT available without cable/sat?

[btrcp2000]

My annual deal with TWC has just expired, so im going through my annual ritual of flipping back to my dish r5000s (way to much sunk into this hobby, but i may as well use what i have)

Kids don't really watch sage at all anymore, so we're just down to the the two of us. Wife has a few shows on USA/TNT/etc., but those all seem to require a cable/sat logon. I know local mlb is a no-go without some creativity.

Has anyne ever seen any research on exactly what you CANNOT do without cable/sat ?

[wayner]

The biggest things would be sports and new channels. Sports are increasingly moving to pay only channels. And you would lose all-News channels like CNN, etc. But some people don't care about news since you can get that over the internet if you want for free. Sports aren't quite the same.

[KryptoNyte]

I don't know if you're even interested in going back with Time Warner, but my annual ritual is to call the cable company and get the bill back down.

This year I changed it up a bit. I told the retentions agent that this phone call is where I would normally do the gasping about how some joe off the street can start service and get a better price that a long time customer and "I'm going to quit" song and dance, so maybe we could just spare that. They did, and in less than 10 minutes my bill was back down to where it was, until next year about this time I suppose.

When they fail to provide a monthly fee that is competitive with switching to some other service, I'll need to do a little decision making.

[phelme]

Originally Posted by btrcp2000

Kids don't really watch sage at all anymore, so we're just down to the the two of us. Wife has a few shows on USA/TNT/etc., but those all seem to require a cable/sat logon. I know local mlb is a no-go without some creativity.

Has anyne ever seen any research on exactly what you CANNOT do without cable/sat ?

Just curious about the stuff your kids watch, is it free or if not, about how much per month is the outlay? Or are they on YouTube and Twitch.tv all the time.

I ask because I have friends who "cut the cord" and I swear they spend almost as much on one-off streaming fees as a I do for satellite, but of course they're all, "it's more convenient!" Most movies show up on premium cable services 2-3 months after theatrical release, I just record them for later. Works for me.

Forbes had a small article where they mentioned Dish's Sling (ESPN etc.) - $20/month, HBO GO - ~$15, CBS - $6 and if you add Hulu Plus, that's $8 more. I think one problem I have with this is having to switch to a different interface or "app" for everything. Not sure how that is improving upon the viewing experience.

I've always had a philosophical bent against 1:1 streaming services that clog the internet, as opposed to broadcast. Some, like Vudu tried to push P2P alternatives, but it seems with faster connections available to many, it's not a top priority for most. Rumor has it that Netflix hasn't giving up on researching it so maybe there is still hope.

Oh BTW, somewhat related, NBC is purportedly streaming the "Big Game" today for free.

[KryptoNyte]

I kind of figured that some savvy business would eventually write an app to defragment what phelme speaks of, like a Tunein Radio, but Tunein Television of course.

About a decade after this business figures out how to do it, the cable companies will catch on and try to crush that ingenuity with monopolistic muscle.

[Fuzzy]

www.canistream.it

[wayner]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

www.canistream.it

That's more for movies and TV shows. It won't help you find out about other content like news, sports, etc.

[pjpjpjpj]

Find some friend with cable that isn't using the online aspect at all (think "older relative"!) willing to let you set up and use their password. That will not only get you everything you mentioned your wife enjoys, plus lots of other stuff (everything on every ESPN network, etc.). Then wait for a deal on PlayOn + PlayLater (they recently had a full lifetime subscription for $29.99) and invest in that. That allows you to get everything on your TV via all the various STB devices as well as through Sage if you desire (and you can save it via either PlayLater or the Sage podcast recorder plugin).

[SWKerr]

Just about everything but sports is available online. (Except sports)
The problem is really it is all fragmented. You have to have several services and then even then you have to know where to find the show. Plus you will then have to use a special app for each source and it is a pain. Playlater makes it better but the quality is not typically as good.

But...with OTA and Netflix, Amazon and Hulu you will not miss very much and can save a few bucks. There will be shows you will not see until the next season but does that really matter.

Of course if you want live sports you are SOL but even with ESPN you also have to have extra sports packages now in order to get everything. I can tell you I am not adding a special package just to get NBC sports for NASCAR next year. There are even special networks for some teams now so Sports has just out of control.

[pjpjpjpj]

Originally Posted by SWKerr

... but even with ESPN you also have to have extra sports packages now in order to get everything.

If you have a password for TWC (from a friend or whatever), the WatchESPN app gets you everything - ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, as well as the multitude on streaming-only ESPN3. My alma mater is in a conference with an ESPN contract that all games (football and basketball) are on "one of the ESPN channels". Most are just ESPN3, but some have been scattered across those other mentioned channels, and often just regional on the actual TV, but they have all been available on the WatchESPN app... which means they are all available in Sage via PlayOn (or any other STB that has the app, but you can't record/timeshift those like you can in Sage). I have been very pleased at how I've been able to watch every game on my TV and pause/timeshift it just as if I was watching it "live with DVR". Often a game will start just before my kids bedtime, so I will get the stream started and pause it, put them to bed, and then I can zip through it, FF'ing through commercials.