Tag: Netflix | Page 2 | Gadget Wisdom

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We like to continue the thread of losing cable or satellite in favor of alternate options. In the current times, it seems worth keeping alive. In a post last month on Engadget HD, there were lots of comments that brought up some important issues.

With Hulu, Netflix, and other services, we now can get a variety of older movies and some recent TV shows that should satisfy most demands.
WAF – Also known as the Wife Acceptance Factor(Applies to other relationships as well). How well does your solution work for your less tech-inclined housemates?
Antennas – If you drop in favor of broadcast, do you really want to put a large antenna mounted outside to get the most stations, or can you get most of what you want with a simple small one.
“I mean I’d rather wait 6 months to watch Entourage on Blu-ray then to pay $70/mo or watch it in crappy quality.” – You can use the money you saved, if you are willing to wait, to buy box sets of the series you like the most. You’ll get better quality, no station logos, and extras.
Homebrew DVR solutions like Windows Media Center or MythTV(which we use) work seamlessly with over-the-air broadcasts and provide full DVR services for the cost of a computer to run it.
The worry is that bandwidth caps which many internet providers are imposing will interfere with low-cost online streaming , as internet access will now be metered and thus up the monthly entertainment cost you pay.

The New York Times looked at Netflix’s Watch Instantly service, and they seem to like it. Even though there are a lot of movies not exactly top of the line, it includes the Starz Play catalog. And you still can get things by mail.

For those of you who want to start working on integration, PlayOn media server(Windows Only) is out of beta. capable of streaming Internet video from YouTube, Hulu, CBS, Netflix, CNN, ESPN and others to your PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 or other DLNA compliant hardware via a PC. The reviews are good, although you need an always-on computer to stream content to your set-top box. There is a lot of DLNA compliant hardware out there. As of now, it isn’t linux-compatible, so we’ll hold off.