It’s been more than 1-2 years and my over-the-air antenna, AppleTV and Netflix configuration has helped me to save a substantial amount of money. To be perfectly honest the experiment started when I began to observe that family members were not watching the TV; opting to go online to get their content. Paying for a monthly plan just did not make sense. There were really only two issues. How do I get my news and what about entertaining guests from time to time?
Starting with cable, with over-the-air HD quality signals I cut the cord. My plasma TV already had a built in tuner. I purchased a Digiwave yagi antenna and 2 regular HD antenna’s; running them into my attic. The results, after going to TVFOOL.COM, was approximately 20-25 channels.
What about additional content? Well, since we were avid podcast followers the Apple TV seemed to be the perfect fit. We researched many others, but devices like the Roku and Google TV unfortunately were not available in Canada. I loved the Boxee, but not it’s price. I believe it was an error to sell it for so much. In any case I am happy with the ATV2. I can rent movies with ease, use the iCloud for my pictures, connect with YouTube, use Vimeo, the Wall Street Journal and a host of other items from one device.
My Netflix experience is extremely positive. I have no complaints. Content is fine, albeit it would be nice to get more British media. Integration in the Apple TV is seamless. There are a few other features available with the AppleTV, which I have not used; in particular iTunes Match. Other bonuses are online radio and the ability to purchase movies and TV from iTunes and have it available from iCloud.
All in all the Apple created a simple and easy to use experience. There were a lot of nay-sayers, in regards to my over-the-air antenna. However I can happily say that I have found other uses for the cash. Ironically Netflix did not affect my 60 GB limit as much as I thought it would. Online, through a browser, radio seems to use more bandwidth and bytes. If you want to cut the cord first evaluate what is important to you. It’s not for everyone. However, if you find, like me, you are doing more online it maybe time to look at spending a bit more on bandwidth and cut the cord.
Related articles
- For Apple TV, subscription video service still missing (news.cnet.com)
- Everyone should own an Apple TV (cdevroe.com)
- <a href=”http://epicagear.com/new-2012-apple-tv-review-thoughts-pictures-more/”
target=”_blank”>New 2012 Apple TV: Review, Thoughts, Pictures & More (epicagear.com)
You forgot to list free legal satellite TV as an option. With a 36 inch dish and an HD FTA satellite receiver, you can receive about 85 English channels with over 10 of those in HD on Ku Band FTA satellite. If you have room for a bigger dish to receive C band FTA satellite, you can get even more with over 200 additional English channels and over 50 of them in HD. All currently available FTA satellite channels are listed at http://fta.channels.drsat.ca
In addition to these full time channels, you may also receive temporary “wild feed” channels which don’t appear on the above list but carry many sporting & special events along with breaking news coverage. You may find these channels yourself by rescanning certain satellites on your receiver or following a few feed hunting groups such as the Dr. Sat SatHunters Club at http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=170234
These channels are unencrypted so they are legally available for free with no monthly subscription and complement nicely the channels you may already receive using an OTA antenna. However unlike OTA, FTA satellite offers near-nationwide coverage which is great for people who have a limited amount of OTA channels available in their area.