Cutting Cable

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > Cutting Cable

Luceo: Apr 29, 2003; As predicted in the Bible.

Evil Sock posted:

So what's the best device for playing off of an external HDD? I already have the thing plugged into my Wii with WiiMC installed, but it chokes on anything above 480p. If it can stream from my PC, that would be a bonus, as well. I rarely use YouTube/Hulu+ for whatever that's worth (on satellite, so limited bandwidth) I was hoping the Amazon Fire would be the ticket, but they seem to have disabled external storage support...

FireTV can play off an external drive if you root it. And like all Android devices, you should root it, because it's yours.

# ? Sep 26, 2014 20:12

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# ? Apr 28, 2024 09:31

compounded daily: Mar 29, 2007; Fun Shoe

Thanks for the advice! My TV's got a few years under its belt (and only a diagnostics USB port), but it's still going strong, so I'd rather not replace it until it gives up the ghost. I'm no stranger to rooting Android, so I'll give the Fire some more consideration. The Chromecast would be cheaper, but I'm not sure I'd want something without its own dedicated remote. It's still food for thought, though.

# ? Sep 26, 2014 23:28

sellouts: Apr 23, 2003

Don Lapre posted:

An 8x4 allows up to 336Mbps downstream and 120Mbps upstream. A 16 is nice but really not necessary and its possible your isp doesnt' even support 16 channel bonding

TWC requires 16 channel bonding to get their TWC 200 and 300mbps MAXX tiers. It's one of the reasons why 6183 isn't in stock -- most are going straight to the cable companies.

# ? Sep 28, 2014 05:46

Toad King: Apr 23, 2008; Yeah, I'm the best

I recently moved to Chicago and was trying to get an indoor antenna to use. Even though I'm only 4-5 miles from the broadcast towers I get a horrible signal with the Amazon High Performance antenna, probably because my apartment is facing the opposite direction of all the broadcast towers downtown and all the high-rises in the way. Is there a good antenna for this kind of situation: short distance but lots of poo poo in the way?

# ? Sep 28, 2014 14:18

Panty Saluter: Jan 17, 2004; Making learning fun!

Toad King posted:

I recently moved to Chicago and was trying to get an indoor antenna to use. Even though I'm only 4-5 miles from the broadcast towers I get a horrible signal with the Amazon High Performance antenna, probably because my apartment is facing the opposite direction of all the broadcast towers downtown and all the high-rises in the way. Is there a good antenna for this kind of situation: short distance but lots of poo poo in the way?

The kind you can mount really high :v:

You would want a highly directional antenna. Most likely the one you have now is omnidirectional since that means a lot less fooling with positioning. A directional antenna would require a lot more fine tuning and maybe repositioning between channel changes but I would say it's your best bet.

# ? Sep 28, 2014 14:42

Toad King: Apr 23, 2008; Yeah, I'm the best

Panty Saluter posted:

The kind you can mount really high

You would want a highly directional antenna. Most likely the one you have now is omnidirectional since that means a lot less fooling with positioning. A directional antenna would require a lot more fine tuning and maybe repositioning between channel changes but I would say it's your best bet.

Yeah, every channel I want broadcasts from the same building so that would be the best bet. Are there any recommended directional antennas for indoors? Right now this one seems to pop up a lot: http://www.amazon.com/Amplified-High-Definition-Antenna-Off-Air-Reception/dp/B0007MXZB2/

# ? Sep 28, 2014 18:20

Panty Saluter: Jan 17, 2004; Making learning fun!

I think Terk is generally regarded as OK. I'm kind of a fan of Winegard antennae personally. They don't seem to have a compact directional that I can find and the one I linked could be a little ungainly inside a house. If you can mount it in the attic it might not be a bad idea.

# ? Sep 28, 2014 19:50

Toad King: Apr 23, 2008; Yeah, I'm the best

I'm in an apartment so attic isn't an option. It's on the 7th floor so I was a little surprised the omnidirectional one didn't work.

# ? Sep 28, 2014 21:24

Panty Saluter: Jan 17, 2004; Making learning fun!

Toad King posted:

I'm in an apartment so attic isn't an option. It's on the 7th floor so I was a little surprised the omnidirectional one didn't work.

Well if you are surrounded by tall structures (or even just sufficiently near them) the multipath will still be pretty bad. IIRC ATSC was designed with directional antennae in mind so if all your transmitters are in one direction I think a directional antenna will suit you well.

# ? Sep 28, 2014 23:38

halokiller: Dec 28, 2008; Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves

DangerZoneDelux posted:

This is a pure internet price you can get if you use your own modem. The comcast modem adds the rental fee. It's not a promotion and just available in most markets

For us triple play people, are we stuck paying the rental fee because I can't find a modem that supports Comcast's phone service.

# ? Sep 29, 2014 01:56

Don Lapre: Mar 28, 2001; If you're having problems you're either holding the phone wrong or you have tiny girl hands.

halokiller posted:

For us triple play people, are we stuck paying the rental fee because I can't find a modem that supports Comcast's phone service.

Alternate option. Don't get home phone service.

# ? Sep 29, 2014 01:57

Gozinbulx: Feb 19, 2004

Alternate alternate option: Use your data connection to connect to your voip provider of choice. There are plenty of small, cheap interface devices that just connect to your network and throw out a regular ptsn signal on the other end. You can even use a cheap, pre-paid service like voip.ms or flowroute or something if you receive/make only a few calls on your "landline"

# ? Sep 29, 2014 13:09

Panty Saluter: Jan 17, 2004; Making learning fun!

Another option: get a cheap cell and use Ting (or something like it). You'll want to be sure Sprint coverage is good in your area first. The wife and I are very lite phone users so we generally wind up paying around $20 a month. Highest ever was $30. If you can boot the money for the phone up front (or already have an unlocked Sprint phone) it is WELL worth it.

Also they have discounts for referrals so if you feel like signing up, here's my link: https://zbs7s12c0e1.ting.com/ :v:

# ? Sep 29, 2014 13:18

OBAMNA PHONE: Aug 7, 2002

halokiller posted:

For us triple play people, are we stuck paying the rental fee because I can't find a modem that supports Comcast's phone service.

Yeah, it's a pure bullshit policy. as if I really give a poo poo about the landline just let me use my own loving modem you cunts.

# ? Sep 29, 2014 23:42

EugeneJ: Feb 5, 2012; by FactsAreUseless

Time Warner just sent me an email saying they're lowering the price of their Starter TV package to $10.00/month with equipment included (local channels, PBS, TBS, shopping channels).

# ? Oct 2, 2014 17:25

Panty Saluter: Jan 17, 2004; Making learning fun!

EugeneJ posted:

Time Warner just sent me an email saying they're lowering the price of their Starter TV package to $10.00/month with equipment included (local channels, PBS, TBS, shopping channels).

That's not bad for what amounts to an "I don't want to fool with an antenna" package. It had been closer to 30/month PLUS equipment rental and that's kind of outrageous for local channels, TBS, and a couple of shopping channels.

# ? Oct 2, 2014 19:00

Cheesus: Oct 17, 2002; Let us retract the foreskin of ignorance and apply the wirebrush of enlightenment.; Yam Slacker

My parents are experimenting with moving from Dish to Roku via their phone/DSL company. They have three televisions and are planning on getting a Rokus for each television.

Some might see this as a plus, but not my parents. They'd rather have one remote and the same programing on all televisions (I can also forsee major frustration from three different remotes, even if they label them). In fact, their current dish setup has the receiver outputting HDMI to the main television and coax for the other two.

It seems like there should be a way to split the signal so that the primary TV can continue to receive HDMI and some kind of converting/splitting for the other coax-only input sets.

My research indicates "maybe" with at an HDMI splitter and from that, an HDMI->component converter and from that a component to coax converter. That sounds like a lot of pieces that may not actually work, so I ask, is it possible? If so, does what I've described sound correct or is there a better way?

# ? Oct 3, 2014 14:52

Gozinbulx: Feb 19, 2004

Cheesus posted:

My parents are experimenting with moving from Dish to Roku via their phone/DSL company. They have three televisions and are planning on getting a Rokus for each television.

Some might see this as a plus, but not my parents. They'd rather have one remote and the same programing on all televisions (I can also forsee major frustration from three different remotes, even if they label them). In fact, their current dish setup has the receiver outputting HDMI to the main television and coax for the other two.

It seems like there should be a way to split the signal so that the primary TV can continue to receive HDMI and some kind of converting/splitting for the other coax-only input sets.

My research indicates "maybe" with at an HDMI splitter and from that, an HDMI->component converter and from that a component to coax converter. That sounds like a lot of pieces that may not actually work, so I ask, is it possible? If so, does what I've described sound correct or is there a better way?

Your parents do not sound like good candidates for cord cutting.

You want all 3 TVs to be playing the same thing, mirrored?

# ? Oct 3, 2014 15:04

Don Lapre: Mar 28, 2001; If you're having problems you're either holding the phone wrong or you have tiny girl hands.

Cheesus posted:

My parents are experimenting with moving from Dish to Roku via their phone/DSL company. They have three televisions and are planning on getting a Rokus for each television.

Some might see this as a plus, but not my parents. They'd rather have one remote and the same programing on all televisions (I can also forsee major frustration from three different remotes, even if they label them). In fact, their current dish setup has the receiver outputting HDMI to the main television and coax for the other two.

It seems like there should be a way to split the signal so that the primary TV can continue to receive HDMI and some kind of converting/splitting for the other coax-only input sets.

My research indicates "maybe" with at an HDMI splitter and from that, an HDMI->component converter and from that a component to coax converter. That sounds like a lot of pieces that may not actually work, so I ask, is it possible? If so, does what I've described sound correct or is there a better way?

This isn't going to work. If they want them all to play the same content you need to do an HDMI splitter and then get the hdmi signal to each tv over a long hdmi or an ethernet bridge.

# ? Oct 3, 2014 15:17

Photex: Apr 6, 2009

Cheesus posted:

My parents are experimenting with moving from Dish to Roku via their phone/DSL company. They have three televisions and are planning on getting a Rokus for each television.

Some might see this as a plus, but not my parents. They'd rather have one remote and the same programing on all televisions (I can also forsee major frustration from three different remotes, even if they label them). In fact, their current dish setup has the receiver outputting HDMI to the main television and coax for the other two.

It seems like there should be a way to split the signal so that the primary TV can continue to receive HDMI and some kind of converting/splitting for the other coax-only input sets.

My research indicates "maybe" with at an HDMI splitter and from that, an HDMI->component converter and from that a component to coax converter. That sounds like a lot of pieces that may not actually work, so I ask, is it possible? If so, does what I've described sound correct or is there a better way?

Enjoy doing all this work only for your parents to get cable in a month because they can't watch lifetime or the NCIS marathon on USA.

# ? Oct 4, 2014 04:50

Dauher: Jul 22, 2007; The man from not near.

Whats the cheapest way to play media from a USB drive of some sort? I've been looking at mini PCs, raspberry pi's, etc but there's so many options from weird small manufacturers that its hard to tell what to trust. I want something around 50 bucks ideally or else I'd just grab a Roku 3, I guess. I'm pretty accustomed to the XBMC set up but it doesnt have to be anything fancy like that.

# ? Oct 6, 2014 01:19

Cyrano4747: Sep 25, 2006; Yes, I know I'm old, get off my fucking lawn so I can yell at these clouds.

Dauher posted:

Whats the cheapest way to play media from a USB drive of some sort? I've been looking at mini PCs, raspberry pi's, etc but there's so many options from weird small manufacturers that its hard to tell what to trust. I want something around 50 bucks ideally or else I'd just grab a Roku 3, I guess. I'm pretty accustomed to the XBMC set up but it doesnt have to be anything fancy like that.

You can snag a Roku 2 for around $50 or so and it works fine for basic stuff like that. I've been running a plex server off of a Macbook Pro on an as-needed basis purely for streaming media to my Roku 2. It wouldn't work if I needed the files available to stream all the time, but for just wanting to kick back and watch some media that's on my HD up on my TV before bed or whatever, it works just fine.

# ? Oct 6, 2014 01:54

Dauher: Jul 22, 2007; The man from not near.

I don't want to Stream tho and I understand Roku 2's don't take a USB drive?

# ? Oct 6, 2014 03:21

Rooted Vegetable: Jun 1, 2002

Dauher posted:

I don't want to Stream tho and I understand Roku 2's don't take a USB drive?

Used/refurb WD TV Live then? Works like a champ for local media

# ? Oct 6, 2014 06:23

Gozinbulx: Feb 19, 2004

Android Set top box (not stick).

If it REALLY needs to be ~$50, I think the only thing you'll get is an old dual core box. If I were you I would splurge for the ~$85 quad core boxes out now. You can run XBMC like a dream on them. It's what I use.

Here's one for $77 with Prime: http://www.amazon.com/RK3188-Google...&keywords=cs968

That's a RK3188 based (quad core) box generically known as the CS968.

# ? Oct 6, 2014 12:26

Boris Galerkin: Dec 17, 2011; I don't understand why I can't harass people online. Seriously, somebody please explain why I shouldn't be allowed to stalk others on social media!

So is a Apple TV pretty cool? Thinking about buying one.

# ? Oct 6, 2014 23:13

otter: Jul 23, 2007; Ask me about my XCOM and controller collection

word.

Boris Galerkin posted:

So is a Apple TV pretty cool? Thinking about buying one.

I prefer my Apple TV over all of the other solutions I have tried. I have a Roku 2 in the bedroom but the only time the bedroom tv is on is when wifey wants noise so she can fall asleep so it's always on reruns of Friends or something. In the year plus since getting the Roku I would say we used it for a total of maybe 6 hours so that my nieces can watch Lilo and Stitch.

The Apple TV works best if you are (like me) already invested in the apple ecosystem. I keep all of my movies and tv and music organized through iTunes so it is an elegant solution for it. I had a generation 1 which was okay. I liked the older interface better. I currently have a generation 2 that is jail broken but I never use those features so I am considering getting a gen 3 for the newer software updates.

The only thing it does not have that I wish it had is Amazon prime video.

# ? Oct 7, 2014 04:42

sellouts: Apr 23, 2003

I am heavily invested in apple products but sold my ATV 2s. They were slow and I never rented anything. I just wanted something silent and back then options were limited.

I now run plex on a Mac mini and an amazon fire tv. Amazon fire tv is so much faster than ATV it's kind of crazy.

# ? Oct 7, 2014 05:05

Thwomp: Apr 10, 2003; BA-DUHHH; Grimey Drawer

It depends on how invested in Apple's ecosystem you really are.

If you use iTunes and have at least 1 iDevice, you'll get a lot of use out of it. You can AirPlay music and video via iTunes or iDevices, access your iTunes library over the network for streaming play, and it integrates with all of Apple's other services so you can access your iCloud accout too.

If you don't use iTunes or don't have any iDevices, it still provides a pretty good overall experience. It's added a bunch of "channels" over the last year or so so you've got better options than just YouTube and Netflix and iTunes. But it isn't the fastest or more innovative product on the market.

All of this is prefaced on Apple not releasing an updated product in the near future (which they are constantly rumored to be doing which could be either a cable box or an Apple-branded TV set).

# ? Oct 7, 2014 13:35

porktree: Mar 23, 2002; You just fucked with the wrong Mexican.

sellouts posted:

I am heavily invested in apple products but sold my ATV 2s. They were slow and I never rented anything. I just wanted something silent and back then options were limited.

I did the same thing - in a house with 3 iPads and 4 iPhones I had 2 jailbroken ATV 2's. I ended up dumping them both and going to a Chromecast/Plex solution. While I could deal with XBMC's flakiness and slowness on the ATV's - the less technically inclined were challenged. Putting Plex on everyone's device has worked great.

I looked at the Fire, a very slick piece of kit, but it's overkill for me.

# ? Oct 7, 2014 15:24

Popero: Apr 17, 2001; .406/.553/.735

Managed to track down a Roamio OTA tonight (it took the very confused Best Buy people like a half hour to find it in the back), which will be my first TiVo. Looking forward to setting it up despite a sort-of painful monthly fee.

# ? Oct 8, 2014 02:48

Gozinbulx: Feb 19, 2004

If you have an ATV2 (or 1) for defs sell that poo poo on Ebay more mucho buckos and get yourself an AFTV or similar with cash to spare.

# ? Oct 8, 2014 13:34

Boris Galerkin: Dec 17, 2011; I don't understand why I can't harass people online. Seriously, somebody please explain why I shouldn't be allowed to stalk others on social media!

I just bought the Apple TV. Please tell me there's I way I can use my iPhone's keyboard with the Apple TV because there's no way I'm going to be able to sign into Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go, and MLS using that god drat included remote and the on-screen keyboard because all my passwords are like 50 characters long with random capitalizations and symbols.

# ? Oct 14, 2014 03:56

lousy hat: Jul 17, 2004; bone appetit; Clapping Larry

Boris Galerkin posted:

I just bought the Apple TV. Please tell me there's I way I can use my iPhone's keyboard with the Apple TV because there's no way I'm going to be able to sign into Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go, and MLS using that god drat included remote and the on-screen keyboard because all my passwords are like 50 characters long with random capitalizations and symbols.

Yeah there's a "Remote" app by Apple in the App Store. It mostly (badly) mimics the hardware remote, but when you're using it and get a text or password field, it'll bring up your iPhone keyboard. Only issue is that (I think) it might require home sharing to be turned on, and you'd need to set up a password for that with the IRL remote.

I could be wrong about that last bit, it's been a while.

# ? Oct 14, 2014 04:23

Don Lapre: Mar 28, 2001; If you're having problems you're either holding the phone wrong or you have tiny girl hands.

lousy hat posted:

Yeah there's a "Remote" app by Apple in the App Store. It mostly (badly) mimics the hardware remote, but when you're using it and get a text or password field, it'll bring up your iPhone keyboard. Only issue is that (I think) it might require home sharing to be turned on, and you'd need to set up a password for that with the IRL remote.

I could be wrong about that last bit, it's been a while.

I used to love the remote app, swiping to scroll was a godsend for long lists.

# ? Oct 14, 2014 04:36

lousy hat: Jul 17, 2004; bone appetit; Clapping Larry

Don Lapre posted:

I used to love the remote app, swiping to scroll was a godsend for long lists.

Definitely better for long lists, but precision swiping can be iffy at best.

# ? Oct 14, 2014 04:45

Boris Galerkin: Dec 17, 2011; I don't understand why I can't harass people online. Seriously, somebody please explain why I shouldn't be allowed to stalk others on social media!

Can I send stuff from VLC to my ATV?

# ? Oct 15, 2014 00:21

Sleepstupid: Feb 23, 2009

You'll be able to watch HBO without a cable subscription in 2015 :siren:

# ? Oct 15, 2014 16:53

Hughmoris: Apr 21, 2007; Let's go to the abyss!

Google is putting out their new streaming player:

http://www.google.com/nexus/player/

# ? Oct 15, 2014 17:15

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# ? Apr 28, 2024 09:31

Don Lapre: Mar 28, 2001; If you're having problems you're either holding the phone wrong or you have tiny girl hands.

Hughmoris posted:

Google is putting out their new streaming player:

http://www.google.com/nexus/player/

Was not expecting a quad core atom. Goes on sale 10/17

# ? Oct 15, 2014 17:17

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