A few friends have asked me how to watch TV online, and even I've been pondering it. I did some research, and to me, the solution's not fully baked.
Right now, in the US, I pay about $70 a month for AT&T's U-Verse 300 package. I don't have the exact count, but we watch a fair amount of TV from a variety of stations.
Hardware-wise, I have 2 TVs with a PS3 and xbox 360 connected to them. I also have a NAS box that is doing the media streaming (and can act as an iTunes Server, whatever that's for). The newer TV has a VGA input, the other only has 1 HDMI input. I have 1 spare laptop (no HDMI) that could go on the newer TV's VGA port, and the PS3 could go on the older TV (HDMI).
I checked Hulu/Hulu Plus, but they're show listing doesn't cover everything. Otherwise $10 a month to watch on a PS3 or laptop. In fact, some of their content is restricted from PS3.
Except for CBS, most of the other broadcast networks show their most recent episodes online.
I also find, that I'm backlogged on shows. When my DVR glitches and misses a show (liek Big Bang Theory), I then don't get around to finding out past when the website is still showing it (and since its CBS prolly won't show it).
Being able to get a show WHEN I have time to watch it is valuable.
A legal limitation is in place, that I won't torrent, or recommend torrenting illegal copies. You never know when that's going to bite you, and given how much malware is floating out there, you can't trust the sources (nor who's tracking).
Another complication, which would apply to advice I'd give my friends on this concept, is the assumption of who the user is. I'm a technical god. It's no big deal for me to connect a laptop to my TV, load up a site and watch (or have to get up to pause...). Once you add other users to the mix, who are not as patient for dealing with a cobbled solution, thats a different matter. So the solution to watch TV online, has to be reasonably simple.
Hulu PLUS was looking like a good candidate. the PS3 has a client, which means the remote for it can be used to start and pause episodes. The 360's getting a client, which would have been the same thing for the other TV. However, the lack of current shows that I'm interested in is a deal breaker. If Hulu had EVERY show from Every network, that would have been very valuable.
I've pondered the idea of renting episodes on iTunes, then in theory, watching them on the laptop (which can only go on the TV in the bedroom with a VGA jack). The lack of a TV remote kind of sucks. The iPhone app to remote control iTunes is not great. Its very laggy. And invariably, you're needing to pause quickly because the phone is ringing...
AppleTV might bridge the gap a bit for the main TV, as it can rent iTunes shows. given that I have 2 game systems that are adding more of these features, I'd rather not buy a "somecorp"TV box.
I consider iTunes renting as a last resort for the shows you can't get elsewhere, namely HBO/ShowTime shows like True Blood and Dexter. And I think those have a week lag.
At $2 an episode, that's not bad for 2-3 shows a week for the 12 weeks those 2 shows run, but it would totally suck for ALL shows. $70/4 weeks/$2 an episode is about 8 shows a week. Its possible that we watch more shows than that (hard to say, since we're in a season break, it's hard to tell how many shows are active at a time to be wanting to watch.
Right now, I do NetFlix for $10 a month on my PS3 and 360. Another $10 for Hulu would have been a perfect trade versus $70 a month.
I'm curious what I'm missing from my analysis. Other services? Would a full "shows we watch" list be useful?
Thinga I haven't explored: the iTunes Server functionality in my Dlink DNS 321 box. My iTunes library is on it already. If I buy a show, can it stream it to my 360/ps3? Thereby not needing a laptop to watch iTunes content.
Whats the lag time for release of shows in iTunes? How much stuff is in there? Are there new shows missing (that i might be watching)? Where are the CBS shows (I'd heard they were backers of Hulu, yet Hulu is very lacking in CBS content).
Key requirements are:
legality
ease of operation/minimal hassle
reasonable hardware requirements
Right now, in the US, I pay about $70 a month for AT&T's U-Verse 300 package. I don't have the exact count, but we watch a fair amount of TV from a variety of stations.
Hardware-wise, I have 2 TVs with a PS3 and xbox 360 connected to them. I also have a NAS box that is doing the media streaming (and can act as an iTunes Server, whatever that's for). The newer TV has a VGA input, the other only has 1 HDMI input. I have 1 spare laptop (no HDMI) that could go on the newer TV's VGA port, and the PS3 could go on the older TV (HDMI).
I checked Hulu/Hulu Plus, but they're show listing doesn't cover everything. Otherwise $10 a month to watch on a PS3 or laptop. In fact, some of their content is restricted from PS3.
Except for CBS, most of the other broadcast networks show their most recent episodes online.
I also find, that I'm backlogged on shows. When my DVR glitches and misses a show (liek Big Bang Theory), I then don't get around to finding out past when the website is still showing it (and since its CBS prolly won't show it).
Being able to get a show WHEN I have time to watch it is valuable.
A legal limitation is in place, that I won't torrent, or recommend torrenting illegal copies. You never know when that's going to bite you, and given how much malware is floating out there, you can't trust the sources (nor who's tracking).
Another complication, which would apply to advice I'd give my friends on this concept, is the assumption of who the user is. I'm a technical god. It's no big deal for me to connect a laptop to my TV, load up a site and watch (or have to get up to pause...). Once you add other users to the mix, who are not as patient for dealing with a cobbled solution, thats a different matter. So the solution to watch TV online, has to be reasonably simple.
Hulu PLUS was looking like a good candidate. the PS3 has a client, which means the remote for it can be used to start and pause episodes. The 360's getting a client, which would have been the same thing for the other TV. However, the lack of current shows that I'm interested in is a deal breaker. If Hulu had EVERY show from Every network, that would have been very valuable.
I've pondered the idea of renting episodes on iTunes, then in theory, watching them on the laptop (which can only go on the TV in the bedroom with a VGA jack). The lack of a TV remote kind of sucks. The iPhone app to remote control iTunes is not great. Its very laggy. And invariably, you're needing to pause quickly because the phone is ringing...
AppleTV might bridge the gap a bit for the main TV, as it can rent iTunes shows. given that I have 2 game systems that are adding more of these features, I'd rather not buy a "somecorp"TV box.
I consider iTunes renting as a last resort for the shows you can't get elsewhere, namely HBO/ShowTime shows like True Blood and Dexter. And I think those have a week lag.
At $2 an episode, that's not bad for 2-3 shows a week for the 12 weeks those 2 shows run, but it would totally suck for ALL shows. $70/4 weeks/$2 an episode is about 8 shows a week. Its possible that we watch more shows than that (hard to say, since we're in a season break, it's hard to tell how many shows are active at a time to be wanting to watch.
Right now, I do NetFlix for $10 a month on my PS3 and 360. Another $10 for Hulu would have been a perfect trade versus $70 a month.
I'm curious what I'm missing from my analysis. Other services? Would a full "shows we watch" list be useful?
Thinga I haven't explored: the iTunes Server functionality in my Dlink DNS 321 box. My iTunes library is on it already. If I buy a show, can it stream it to my 360/ps3? Thereby not needing a laptop to watch iTunes content.
Whats the lag time for release of shows in iTunes? How much stuff is in there? Are there new shows missing (that i might be watching)? Where are the CBS shows (I'd heard they were backers of Hulu, yet Hulu is very lacking in CBS content).
Key requirements are:
legality
ease of operation/minimal hassle
reasonable hardware requirements
