Installation and Setup
The Cable has been cut! Setup wasn't too bad. I connected everything, updated firmware on the TV with a USB drive and on the home theater via wireless connection. Connecting to the network took a few hours, but mostly to work through all the security on my network. The TV and Blu-ray are only connected by a bi-directional HDMI cord (version 1.4 or greater), so there's minimal spaghetti in back. Right now, I can't get TV sound to come through the home theater. Not sure if it's the cable or a setting somewhere.
The antenna works OK, but it needs to be up high to get some channels. Broadcast HD stations are much better quality than SD cable. The broadcast SD stations are just as good as SD cable and have some interesting content. Many broadcast channel channels have several subchannels. For example, CBS 3 Hartford has four subchannels: 3.1 is HD, 3.2 and 3.4 are standard def, and 3.3 is news and weather for CT. CBS 3 Springfield is channels 3.5 HD, and 3.6 SD local news and weather. There are four PBS stations including the main station in HD and Create in SD. ABC, NBC, FOX, and PBS really strong, but CBS is a little touchy and we like some CBS shows. I hid the Spanish language channels and a few random channels that were too fuzzy to bother with. I'm thinking about using a longer cable to put the antenna in a window or even in the attic for better reception and more channels.
Home theater has great sound after I let it run through its auto-calibration cycle. CDs, radio, and streaming content sound fantastic. DVDs look great and are upconverted to fill the screen- can't wait to get some Blu-rays. Streaming movies vary in quality, but most are no worse than standard definition TV and some are 720 or 1080i. The wireless connection has been dropped a couple of times, but I've made it through whole streaming shows and movies with no problem, so we'll have to see if the issue persists.
The Sony home theater has some free (and pay) streaming content services built in. The music and concerts are good. Movies are about as good as what you get on cable on demand if you don't have movie channels.
There are some old TV shows like Bewitched
I had to put a code into my Netflix account to link the device to it, and it looks like it works that way with other online services like Hulu Plus. You can only view your Netflix Instant Queue, you can't search, so we've had to spend some time loading up the queue with content. Other sites, like Youtube, are searchable so I assume capabilities will improve as more people adopt this technology. Between the antenna, Netflix, and free content, we're not sure if we even need Hulu Plus. It would give us lots more shows and allow us to time-shift and catch up on any episodes we missed, but we don't follow too many shows that closely and so far there's plenty to keep us entertained. There are lots and lots of old shows available on Netflix as whole seasons if you don't mind watching stuff from last season and earlier. For others, it depends on how much you follow specific shows and talk to people about them the next day versus just watch whatever's on at the time or older shows.
There are currently four tech problems I need to work out:
You should probably NOT get rid of cable if:
The antenna works OK, but it needs to be up high to get some channels. Broadcast HD stations are much better quality than SD cable. The broadcast SD stations are just as good as SD cable and have some interesting content. Many broadcast channel channels have several subchannels. For example, CBS 3 Hartford has four subchannels: 3.1 is HD, 3.2 and 3.4 are standard def, and 3.3 is news and weather for CT. CBS 3 Springfield is channels 3.5 HD, and 3.6 SD local news and weather. There are four PBS stations including the main station in HD and Create in SD. ABC, NBC, FOX, and PBS really strong, but CBS is a little touchy and we like some CBS shows. I hid the Spanish language channels and a few random channels that were too fuzzy to bother with. I'm thinking about using a longer cable to put the antenna in a window or even in the attic for better reception and more channels.
Home theater has great sound after I let it run through its auto-calibration cycle. CDs, radio, and streaming content sound fantastic. DVDs look great and are upconverted to fill the screen- can't wait to get some Blu-rays. Streaming movies vary in quality, but most are no worse than standard definition TV and some are 720 or 1080i. The wireless connection has been dropped a couple of times, but I've made it through whole streaming shows and movies with no problem, so we'll have to see if the issue persists.
The Sony home theater has some free (and pay) streaming content services built in. The music and concerts are good. Movies are about as good as what you get on cable on demand if you don't have movie channels.
There are some old TV shows like Bewitched
I had to put a code into my Netflix account to link the device to it, and it looks like it works that way with other online services like Hulu Plus. You can only view your Netflix Instant Queue, you can't search, so we've had to spend some time loading up the queue with content. Other sites, like Youtube, are searchable so I assume capabilities will improve as more people adopt this technology. Between the antenna, Netflix, and free content, we're not sure if we even need Hulu Plus. It would give us lots more shows and allow us to time-shift and catch up on any episodes we missed, but we don't follow too many shows that closely and so far there's plenty to keep us entertained. There are lots and lots of old shows available on Netflix as whole seasons if you don't mind watching stuff from last season and earlier. For others, it depends on how much you follow specific shows and talk to people about them the next day versus just watch whatever's on at the time or older shows.
There are currently four tech problems I need to work out:
- TV sound won't play through home theater speakers.
- Wireless connection gets dropped occasionally.
- Haven't figured out how to stream local media from my computer (haven't really tried though).
- Antenna reception is marginal for some channels in current location.
Suggestions
You should probably NOT get rid of cable if:
- You get poor broadcast TV reception. This is the main source of news, network TV shows, and special events like the Super Bowl. Hulu Plus can fill in the shows, but not local news or special events.
- You follow shows on pay channels like HBO and Showtime, or cable channels like BRAVO and USA. Can't get 'em without cable/satellite unless you're willing to wait until after the season is over.
- You frequently time-shift CBS shows or watch them on-demand. CBS is not on Hulu Plus, so you have to watch it live or on something with a full web browser on CBS.com.
- You like sports. There aren't many sports options available as streaming content.
- You like to channel surf. Streaming content requires you to decide what you want to watch. It's not as easy to jump around and stumble upon things.
- You can barely make your TV work now. The network connection and variety of inputs make this system more complicated than a cable box.
- You make lots of money and don't care how much it costs.
You should Cut the Cable if:
- You have good broadcast reception. In fact, you should get an antenna even if you have an SD cable box because it's better than basic cable and it's free.
- You hate it when you have free time to watch TV (like during a school vacation or snow day) but nothing's on. Streaming content is always ready to go when you are.
- You're willing to watch stuff that's different from what other people watch. There's a lot of free and cheap content out there, but you it's different from the standard cable shows that other people are watching so you won't be able to keep up on all of their shows. This applies to web-enabled devices. Almost all shows except HBO and Showtime are available online if you have a computer with a browser.
- You prefer to wait until a show is over for the season and then watch the whole season on disc or on demand in a shorter amount of time.
- You watch more movies than television. Netflix streaming, and Amazon/Blockbuster pay per view have more and better content and are a much better value than movie channels and cable pay per view.
- You're frugal and would prefer to spend your money on other things.
No comments:
Post a Comment