[agskinner]

WOWT | Cox (http://www.wowt.com/cox - broken link)

This kind of ads on to what I was saying.

KETV did the same thing a few years ago. They wanted Cox to pay them more than they paid any other channel for their HD service. In turn Cox worked out a deal with them to put their little weather channel on the digital service tier, and everyone was happy.

Now WOWT is at it...

Naturally they spin the story to favor them.

[TheoGeek]

Originally Posted by cn90

Since 2005, I have been subscribing to Cox telephone, Internet and Cable TV (with DVR), but Cox is greedy and it is getting too expensive for all of the services listed below:

1. Cox land-line telephone: $20-30/month......I can live with this.

2. Internet: $50/month for "Cox High Speed Internet Preferred":
Internet Pricing & Plans serving Omaha | Cox Communications

3. Cable TV (with DVR): $97/month

I already have a Sony BDP-S185 (Bluray + Internet Streaming), so I can watch Neltflix, Vudu, Amazon etc.

#1 and #2, I will keep these as I need them.

My question is on #3: I am thinking about getting rid of Cable TV.
But my questions are, how do I get:
a. CNN Live News
b. CBS Live News
c. ESPN
d. Food Network (currently channel 54 on Cable TV)
etc.

The bottom line is: how do I get "all the good stuff" using Internet Streaming?



PS: Anyone here uses Qwest (now Century Link)?
- ISP any good?
- Pricing any better than Cox?

I ditched Cox's digital cable over a year ago. I now pay for channels 1-27, and the low-speed internet that gets me something like 1.5 mbp. It costs me about $60/month.

Along with that, I bought a $50 tv card for my computer. I plug the cable into it, and it can record video with Windows Media Center. My xbox connects to it over my home network as an Extender, allowing me to use it as my DVR. I have an on-screen guide and can record, pause, etc just like a DRV. If I want to watch ESPN, my xbox live membership for $50/year allows me to watch bowl games and other major sporting events streamed through my xbox. I do miss the food network...but I've learned to do without. I'm probably better off for not watching as much TV.

There was one tv show that I had gotten interested in (Breaking Bad) that I really didn't want to miss...so I bought the Season Pass off of Itunes for $20. I then downloaded it every Monday morning, and I could watch it by plugging an HDMI cable into my tv, or on my Ipad.

For my phone I use Ooma. It is a device that plugs into my router, then my phone plugs into it. I use a cordless phone with 3 handsets. It cost me $120 initially, but I eliminated the monthly phone bill and pay only ~$3.50/month for taxes. In the past year I estimate I'm probably $100 ahead based on saving $20/month.

[McBain II]

Originally Posted by JustMe_T3K

Recommending torrents = recommending illegal activity.

Actually, that really isn't the case. As Agskinner pointed out, there is nothing specifically illegal about torrents themselves. Even with copyrighted material, IP law can be full of gray areas. For instance, just the other night I downloaded an episode of Hawaii Five-0 and a copy of the Denver Broncos/Buffalo Bills game. Did I break the law? The RIAA, MPAA and NFL would probably take that position, but both programs were broadcast on CBS. I can watch that channel without so much as a cable subscription, and is downloading the torrents really any different than if I'd used a VCR or DVR to record the broadcast?

Or how about an even murkier example? I downloaded a movie torrent about a week ago, but have an active, paid subscription to Netflix. Did I break the law by downloading a torrent of the movie rather than waiting a couple days for a physical copy to arrive in the mail? That's pretty debatable, and the studio sure wouldn't be able to claim any real loss.

Now I could certainly see situations where you can cross the line with torrents, like distributing copies of movies still in theaters, but if you're just pulling copies of broadcast TV shows and older movies that have been on TV a hundred times, you're really in a legal and moral gray area.

Originally Posted by agskinner

WOWT | Cox (http://www.wowt.com/cox - broken link)

This kind of ads on to what I was saying.

KETV did the same thing a few years ago. They wanted Cox to pay them more than they paid any other channel for their HD service. In turn Cox worked out a deal with them to put their little weather channel on the digital service tier, and everyone was happy.

Now WOWT is at it...

Naturally they spin the story to favor them.

This is happening all over the place. Here is a local example.

WFLA programming to continue on Verizon FiOS | TBO.com

[agskinner]

I agree Bosco.

Unfortunately most of the answers to the proposed questions would be yes, you violated the law.

They've amended many laws since, however is anyone going to persue any legal injunctions against you? Not likely. BUt as you said, lots of gray areas there too.

I do find it funny how people will quickly point out that downloading a song, movie, TV Episode, or etc yet how many times do they speed, cross a double yellow to get to a store, or do a U-turn when the No U-Turn sign is posted? Speeding is illegal too. I mean it's just one of those things, if that's the best argument against that or there's not much else people can say other than "it's illegal" well that just doesn't have the same impact.


Ultimately, you can get anything and everything you want for little money, if any, but to enjoy TV as we know it now. you're gonna need someone to sell you their product. To come home, turn on the TV, find your channel, and watch your show that's how it is right now.

[JustMe_T3K]

Originally Posted by agskinner

I agree Bosco.

Unfortunately most of the answers to the proposed questions would be yes, you violated the law.

They've amended many laws since, however is anyone going to persue any legal injunctions against you? Not likely. BUt as you said, lots of gray areas there too.

I do find it funny how people will quickly point out that downloading a song, movie, TV Episode, or etc yet how many times do they speed, cross a double yellow to get to a store, or do a U-turn when the No U-Turn sign is posted? Speeding is illegal too. I mean it's just one of those things, if that's the best argument against that or there's not much else people can say other than "it's illegal" well that just doesn't have the same impact.


Ultimately, you can get anything and everything you want for little money, if any, but to enjoy TV as we know it now. you're gonna need someone to sell you their product. To come home, turn on the TV, find your channel, and watch your show that's how it is right now.

Downloading copyright material illegally is like speeding. A lot of people do it and don't get caught. Some get caught. While a speeding may be a small cost, a lawsuit for copyright violation is never small.

[McBain II]

Originally Posted by agskinner

I agree Bosco.

Unfortunately most of the answers to the proposed questions would be yes, you violated the law.

Sure, they might take that position, but could they actually win in court? I don't think they could, and I've spoken to a couple lawyers who deal in IP law and they agree. In my first two examples, there is absolutely no loss suffered, so they would essentially have no case. The third instance could go either way though.

Originally Posted by JustMe_T3K

Downloading copyright material illegally is like speeding. A lot of people do it and don't get caught. Some get caught. While a speeding may be a small cost, a lawsuit for copyright violation is never small.

Only if you lose.

[JustMe_T3K]

Originally Posted by Bosco55David

Sure, they might take that position, but could they actually win in court? I don't think they could, and I've spoken to a couple lawyers who deal in IP law and they agree. In my first two examples, there is absolutely no loss suffered, so they would essentially have no case. The third instance could go either way though.



Only if you lose.

Yeah if you don't mind putting down a large retainer or if you have an attorney friend that works for free.

[joelwnelson]

Originally Posted by agskinner

People say a lot "dish is cheaper", well not if you have the same channels you do with Cox. If you have fewer channels with Dish, yeah, cheaper. Of course. I priced out Direct TV where I live, I would have ended up paying soooooooooo much more after the first year. Two year contract?

Just saying there are workarounds. Thanks to the Dish referral program I get over 200 channels, many in HD, dual-tuner DVR, NFL RedZone, and out-of-market sports channels for about $30. There's no question that is cheaper than Cox and there are channels I get that Cox does not carry (regional sports net Altitude, for one). Regular price would be $72 for that package. As to weather outages it happens but it's rare. Most rain and snow storms do not result in any interruptions; the few that do, it's usually back in minutes.

I will add that my CenturyLink/Qwest 40/5 connection is faster than the connection I had with Cox. No, their regular DSL doesn't cut it. But their fiber-to-the-node service, if you can get it, is a worthy alternative and at my particular location, where Cox seemed to have oversold their network due to CenturyLink previously having no Internet service at all, it's been a very welcome change. Competition is good. I'm well aware that CenturyLink's network stinks in much of Omaha though; hopefully that changes as they roll out more upgrades.

[billiefan2000]

Originally Posted by cn90

Since 2005, I have been subscribing to Cox telephone, Internet and Cable TV (with DVR), but Cox is greedy and it is getting too expensive for all of the services listed below:

1. Cox land-line telephone: $20-30/month......I can live with this.

2. Internet: $50/month for "Cox High Speed Internet Preferred":
Internet Pricing & Plans serving Omaha | Cox Communications

3. Cable TV (with DVR): $97/month

I already have a Sony BDP-S185 (Bluray + Internet Streaming), so I can watch Neltflix, Vudu, Amazon etc.

#1 and #2, I will keep these as I need them.

My question is on #3: I am thinking about getting rid of Cable TV.
But my questions are, how do I get:
a. CNN Live News
b. CBS Live News
c. ESPN
d. Food Network (currently channel 54 on Cable TV)
etc.

The bottom line is: how do I get "all the good stuff" using Internet Streaming?



PS: Anyone here uses Qwest (now Century Link)?
- ISP any good?
- Pricing any better than Cox?

one way cox is greedy is not moving channels 66 and 67 and 70 to channels 13 and 15 and 20



at least those with channels 2-27 folks could have something other mostly public access and blank channels on their Starter TV lineup



4,13,15,and 20 are btw all blank on the Starter TV lineup

[joeyrindone]

I got rid of cable last year and have never looked back. Buy or build a cheap PC with HDMI out (Add a tv tuner card if you want to keep some basic live television). Download XBMC. XBMC is like Windows Media Center, but with more customization, a better gui, and an app store. Everything including the apps are completely free since it is an open source project. Some of the apps it has are FreeCable. FreeCable takes all of the streams that are available on major network websites and sorts them into channels for you to browse. It has about 25 networks including abc, nbc, cbs, food, bravo, espn, comedy, amc, usa, tbs, cnn. The only thing you don't get are live streams. There is a live sports app (can't remember the name right now) that finds live internet streams of sports on the internet and allows you to browse and watch them. There are always HUNDREDS of live sports streams. I'm almost always able to find the game I want to watch. I haven't looked for a way to watch live CNN or CBS...but I'm guessing its there somewhere. Like I said tho, you could always add a tv tuner card and keep basic channels. There is no reason to buy a remote for your pc either as you can control it all from the remote app on your android phone/iphone/tablet.