Posted on 01/26/2013 3:52:18 PM PST by PJ-Comix
Veteran programmer Rob Barnett recently attended a breakfast meeting of television executives where the talk turned, as it almost always does these days, to “disruption,” the industry buzzword for the way new technology is upsetting the TV applecart. From somewhere down the table, he heard a question: “Has anybody here cut the cord?” — that is, dropped cable service in favor of just watching TV through the Internet? Barnett shrugged and raised his hand. “Mine was the only one,” he recalls. “But when it went up, I saw beads of sweat break out on the foreheads of some of the guys across the table.”
When Barnett and 5,000 or so others gather Monday for the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) convention at the Fontainebleau Hotel on Miami Beach, there will be plenty of sweaty foreheads, some acquisitive smiles and — perhaps most numerous — blank looks of confusion. Not since cable turned the old three-channel TV universe on its head in the late 1970s has the industry been in such a state of disoriented befuddlement.
New technologies that give viewers more say in what they watch, where they watch and how much they pay for it are great for consumers. But they’re inducing a collective nervous breakdown among industry executives, who have to figure out new ways to make money in a business facing serious threats to its traditional sources of revenue — advertising and cable-TV subscriptions.
(Excerpt) Read more at miamiherald.com ...
WOO! HOO! I just got off the phone with Comcast. They knocked my cable bill back about $60 per month when I acted like I was terminating service. What they did is give me a Basic cable package BUT they threw in FREE HBO and Showtime which I have now so my cable services really won’t change for 6 months. Of course in 6 months, I will do the same thing again. So just making a simple phone call will save me about $700 per year.
Congrats. I felt a little like a dumass for not doing it sooner but still, cutting my bill in half is great.
Yeah, basically they said they were “downgrading” my Cable TV to “Basic” BUT they were throwing in HBO and Showtime for Free for 6 months which means my Cable TV programming is EXACTLY the same as before but for a lot less. Oh, and my Internet speed will be slower but supposedly not noticeable since I don’t do streaming video. If I notice a change, I’ll ask to change back (hopefully keeping my low price via more negotiation).
Comcast owns NBC and MSNBC. Comcast is a bonefide American Enemy,a card carrying member of the Democrat Party criminal enterprise.
Does the WD TV live hub require a hard wired connection between a dedicated computer and the TV?
I ran an old dedicated computer with a 1 TB WD hard drive receiving a wireless internet connection. The computer died and I am now studying the problem. I bought an old ROKU said to be capable of streaming off a local wireless computer but I can’t make it work yet.
That ain’t all they own. And look at how many companies ABC owns.
No, it’s optional. The device itself does the playback. You can play back media from its own internal 1TB HD, or from a computer. Your choice.
But it’s not one of those annoying devices that uses your computer to process the video first, no.
I'll still mess with it some more.
I did find Broadcast..........
My Tucan and Angel Fish are now out there, twirling above my head, for all the world to see. The concept is interesting. Free Republic can be inundated with Freeper live videos. There can be no end to it.
Of interest. I’m intrigued by the Magic Jack idea for cutting phone, we are currently spending $40/month for our landline.
You are misinformed. Do you think you are going to recieve decent internet TV over an ATT dsl line? Do you have u-verse where you are? Only Comcast gives 24mbps speeds at least where I am...these speeds more than enough for internet TV. But Comcast will get 50$/month for internet only.
Currently I am getting TV and internet from Comcast on a “deal”. The best time to get a deal from them is summer for obvious reasons. But I will prolly be going to DSL soon on a deal I got in the mail and cut out the cable TV
So are you saying that the internet speeds available from Uverse aren’t high enough for using ROKU? This is too bad because I found a way to get FREE Netflix and HULU plus. Even Amazon. Coupons but indirectly.
My top uverse speed is 3mbps...I was asking today. But I will switch over to it anyway and cut out cable TV for a while. I don’t think 3mbps is fast enough for what you want. They are giving me a $100 visa gift card for leaving Comcast and for 3mpbs it is $15/month with one year commitment. Maybe I go back to Comcast when that rate ends
Call up ATT or find out over internet what your uverse internet speed will be. If 6mbps then I think you can get TV over internet with that.
sent you freepmail
According to what I read online today, you can get 6 mbps or even higher with Uverse. You just pay more but it still comes out to a lot LESS than Comcast. Keep in mind that my monthly bill for HULU Plus and Netflix will be NOTHING due to my incredible couponing skills. Also Amazon Plus for the year. I think the latter is $79 but you can watch all episodes of Downtown Abby on it.
stop guessing your speed. Go to the uverse site and input yr address and see what speed you can expect. I know what I can expect
I expect higher speeds for higher price. That is what I saw but will call them up. They did verify online that my area was covered.
covered for what speed? you can find out online http://www.att.com/shop/en/availability.html?product_suite=uverse&success_token=HR_Internet&saveme=True
I have a feeling you can get 6.0mbps or better ...I can only get 3mbps. With Comcast I get 24 mbps and same speed on library computers where I am
One other question, if I drop Comcast, can I still use Xfinity email with my comcast.net address?
If you tell them you are taking a six month vacation...say to Colombia or Venezuela.... they might let you keep it because they want you to have an incentive to re-up and start giving them money again.
But this why I never use xfinity mail or ATT mail. I use gmail so I don't feel locked in. I play the field. Gmail is the best because you can do a great search in your mailbox. At least once per day I have to search it for an email with important information
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+E-300+APU
E-300 benchmark is ultra pathetic. I am amazed you can do this but I guess the (your) video card conquers all
I just checked and 18 mbps is available in my area. $44 per month but that is still LESS than Comcast Internet PLUS I can connect to via ROKU to FREE Hulu Plus and Netflix via creative couponing so my total cost per month would be under $50.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.