No mo' free TV?

[sjonathan02]

No mo' free TV


The gist: Cable and satellite TV rates could go up due to Hulu and our poor revenue.


It's a long article but the first few paragraphs should get you through.

[Gibby]

hmmm...it's hard to get regular TV now without either getting cable or buying one of those special antennas.

[nessalynn77]

Oh my goodness!  
























That's a long article!

[B3Wannabe]

I think Internet TV is the way to go anyway. Everything will start to transition to the Internet, once IPv6 and 4G comes.

4G will most likely be the end of satellite internet, since it will be a flat-rate and touch rural areas. Everyone will have 4G or fiber optic.

MagicJack, Dialpad, Skype, Yahoo, MSN, AOL are precursors to traditional phones ending, once everyone has mobile internet, there will not be a need for "phones". The only thing missing is emergency calling on messengers.

Hulu, surfthechannel, bittorrent are all fighting to end TV and movie.

I think that smartphones will eventually all be converted to small computers--which they are already. They're just locked so you can't do more than what the manufacturer wants you to do.

Personally, I'm embracing the change.

[funkStrat_97]

Beat me to it....

It's the end of the world as we know it....and I don't feel fine.

[sjonathan02]

Oh my goodness!  
























That's a long article!

 
Tried to warn ya.
 

[sjonathan02]

I think Internet TV is the way to go anyway. Everything will start to transition to the Internet, once IPv6 and 4G comes.

So, you're saying people should start buying 42" monitors?

[under13]

Hulu, surfthechannel, bittorrent are all fighting to end TV and movie.

I'm fine with regular cable TV.

[Skizo Frene]

I think Internet TV is the way to go anyway. Everything will start to transition to the Internet, once IPv6 and 4G comes.

4G will most likely be the end of satellite internet, since it will be a flat-rate and touch rural areas. Everyone will have 4G or fiber optic.

MagicJack, Dialpad, Skype, Yahoo, MSN, AOL are precursors to traditional phones ending, once everyone has mobile internet, there will not be a need for "phones". The only thing missing is emergency calling on messengers.

Hulu, surfthechannel, bittorrent are all fighting to end TV and movie.

I think that smartphones will eventually all be converted to small computers--which they are already. They're just locked so you can't do more than what the manufacturer wants you to do.

Personally, I'm embracing the change.

Wut?  Nothing about Skynet?

[B3Wannabe]

So, you're saying people should start buying 42" monitors?

Any new LCD/Plasma will already have PC inputs built-in. Many new laptops also have HDMI ports.

Didn't you say you bought a new TV earlier this year? If so, you should be able to connect your computer to it. Sheesh! If you bought a TV in the last 5 years, you should be able to connect your computer directly to it.

I'm fine with regular cable TV.

You'd most likely get a better movie selection using Netflix's (8.99) plan. You can even watch them live from the net--provided you have a good Internet connection. You'd only miss the specialty channels on cable (Sports, Education, etc.) However, some of those even have online streams for free/pay. You could possibly get the Internet equivalent of the stations you view for less than you pay for cable.

[sjonathan02]

Any new LCD/Plasma will already have PC inputs built-in. Many new laptops also have HDMI ports.

Didn't you say you bought a new TV earlier this year? If so, you should be able to connect your computer to it. Sheesh! If you bought a TV in the last 5 years, you should be able to connect your computer directly to it.

You'd most likely get a better movie selection using Netflix's (8.99) plan. You can even watch them live from the net--provided you have a good Internet connection. You'd only miss the specialty channels on cable (Sports, Education, etc.) However, some of those even have online streams for free/pay. You could possibly get the Internet equivalent of the stations you view for less than you pay for cable.

Nope. I want to purchase a new TV (tryna convince the missus). 


And now, you're telling me I need another 50' cable (since my Internet is nowhere near my television and I don't own a laptop). 

[under13]

And now, you're telling me I need another 50' cable (since my Internet is nowhere near my television and I don't own a laptop). 

Thats why I dont think Internet will be replacing TV anytime soon; its just a little too complicated for most people. A simple cablebox is much easier and they now have the ability to have movies and tv shows on demand with DVR recording etc.

[Fenix]

Interesting, so MagicJack isn't some hoax after all...

[sjonathan02]

Thats why I dont think Internet will be replacing TV anytime soon; its just a little too complicated for most people. A simple cablebox is much easier and they now have the ability to have movies and tv shows on demand with DVR recording etc.

Anytime soon, probably not. But, one would have to define 'soon'. 

And, more than likely, they'd find a way to make it easier for the regular Joe.

[B3Wannabe]

Nope. I want to purchase a new TV (tryna convince the missus). 

And now, you're telling me I need another 50' cable (since my Internet is nowhere near my television and I don't own a laptop). 

You can try connecting what you have. It shouldn't be too hard unless your TV is 20 years old. It should at least have an S-Video port, and many computer video cards have an S-Video out. If it doesn't, you can just get a new nVidia card for about $20 dollars--which is around the price of an adapter. If you don't do major computer gaming, a cheap graphics card will work fine.

With S-Video, you'll just need something similar to this.


Here's a Youtube search for connecting your TV to your computer.

I usually buy our gadgets with my "allowance", but my wife is a budding gadget freak too so.....

Anytime soon, probably not. But, one would have to define 'soon'. 

And, more than likely, they'd find a way to make it easier for the regular Joe.

It's really not hard at all. It's no more complicated (less even) than putting together a computer.

Interesting, so MagicJack isn't some hoax after all...

Nope. Dude. You haven't seen the devices in stores? They're everywhere! You can't beat a $20/year telephone bill! The only downside is you need at least a cheap broadband connection plan. I could use my Vonage on my Verizon wireless 3G connection. I even had a bluetooth headset to talk, so I didn't have to use the speakers/microphone in my computer.

I've heard of people taking the insides out of their MagicJack device and hard wiring it into their computer. I don't know if MagicJack supports bluetooth devices.

[Skizo Frene]

You can just get a new nVidia card for about $20 dollars--which is around the price of an adapter.
 
If you don't do major computer gaming, a cheap graphics card will work fine.

Ok.  When I saw the first comment I was like: "NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Then I saw the second comment and I was like: "Oh....oh, ok."

[B3Wannabe]

Thats why I dont think Internet will be replacing TV anytime soon; its just a little too complicated for most people. A simple cablebox is much easier and they now have the ability to have movies and tv shows on demand with DVR recording etc.

Computers have been able to do that for years. I've had my computer setup to record TV since 1999! Any TV card, which is less than the price of a PVR will do it. The problem, now, is that some cable companies use HDMI, while many TV cards only supported Antenna/S-Video input.

A new HD TV card will cost between $60-300, depending on the features. A dual-tuner card is about $70-100. They come with remotes and TV guides with recording.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=ati+hd+tv&x=0&y=0

Add to that, that there are free Media Center applications (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_theater_PC) available, which allows you to use your computer as an HTPC. I have Boxee installed on my handheld. It has Social Networking built into it, and has a really neat smartphone-iphone-ish-type interface.

Boxee Remote iPhone

[sjonathan02]

You can try connecting what you have. It shouldn't be too hard unless your TV is 20 years old. It should at least have an S-Video port, and many computer video cards have an S-Video out. If it doesn't, you can just get a new nVidia card for about $20 dollars--which is around the price of an adapter. If you don't do major computer gaming, a cheap graphics card will work fine.

With S-Video, you'll just need something similar to this.


Here's a Youtube search for connecting your TV to your computer.

I usually buy our gadgets with my "allowance", but my wife is a budding gadget freak too so.....


It's really not hard at all. It's no more complicated (less even) than putting together a computer.

Nope. Dude. You haven't seen the devices in stores? They're everywhere! You can't beat a $20/year telephone bill! The only downside is you need at least a cheap broadband connection plan. I could use my Vonage on my Verizon wireless 3G connection. I even had a bluetooth headset to talk, so I didn't have to use the speakers/microphone in my computer.

I've heard of people taking the insides out of their MagicJack device and hard wiring it into their computer. I don't know if MagicJack supports bluetooth devices.

See alla dat? Way too much. Srsly. Most people just wanna plug and play, man. All that is just way. too. much. What average Joe puts a computer together?

For you techie, geek types? Cool.

For the rest of us? Way. too. much. 

[B3Wannabe]

See alla dat? Way too much. Srsly. Most people just wanna plug and play, man. All that is just way. too. much. What average Joe puts a computer together?

For you techie, geek types? Cool.

For the rest of us? Way. too. much. 

LOL

Actually, I should've said it's more like connecting a VCR/DVD recorder. Most people will only need one or two cables. It's. really. not. complicated. at all. Really.

All that other stuff comes into play when you want extra features (recording mostly).

You should only need two cables: one for video, and one for audio. It just sounds like a lot, coming from me. Probably my inability to break it down. The Youtube clips should make it pretty plain, though.





In my case, I only needed one. I just connected the video, since my computer has 5.1 sound.

[under13]

LOL

Actually, I should've said it's more like connecting a VCR/DVD recorder. Most people will only need one or two cables. It's. really. not. complicated. at all. Really.

All that other stuff comes into play when you want extra features (recording mostly).

You should only need two cables: one for video, and one for audio. It just sounds like a lot, coming from me. Probably my inability to break it down. The Youtube clips should make it pretty plain, though.





In my case, I only needed one. I just connected the video, since my computer has 5.1 sound.

don't HDMI cables carry both audio and video?