New technology, in particular Internet streaming, is poised to IMHO make a big dent in the cable tv market.
I've have an Apple TV device since Christmas and not long after that also got a Roku Streamer. If you're familiar with Netflix, that play streaming channels like that but in the case of Apple TV, about a dozen others (edit: 24 channels on top of apples in house content they sell lie songs and apps) as well and in the case of Roku, 750 other channels.
I'm watching a documentary via Apple TV right now in high definition. It's not quite as good as cable quality but its close.
With some slight limitations, I can't see how people in this economy won't be willing to live with some minor disadvantages and in exchange pay only pennies on the dollar or watch a good variety of TV programming for free. I still have cable tv but at this point if I had to I coud live without it and not miss it very much.
Anybody else watches Apple TV or roku?
I have an android set top box that works really well. I run XBMC media player and stream everything I watch. I cut the cable cord a long time ago and I'll never look back.
The sooner the cable and movie/tv companies figure this out the better off we'll all be.
I have a roku and I must say its great.
However, if you have one, get a decent computer and software called plex (decent computer needed for the on the fly transcoding). This has made my roku twice as useful.
the one problem with the roku though is that it sucks for just flipping channels. It tends to be most useful for when I want to watch something specific. Regular TV is still good for when I am bored.
It still seems to be alive and well here as those technologies in the OP don't work here or have rather limited selections.
Err... how you do you get your content to your Apple TV and Roku.. over the internet via cable TV.... who in most places are the only internet providers that can provide the bandwidth to accommodate streaming. Plus outside the US, content on Apple TV and Roku and similar devices is highly limited and out of date, which makes those devices useless... especially Apple TV because of its massive limitations on codec it can play.
Cable TV in the US is just fine.. since they have defacto monopoly in local areas.. and can charge pretty much what they want.
What's the lay explanation?
New technology, in particular Internet streaming, is poised to IMHO make a big dent in the cable tv market.
I've have an Apple TV device since Christmas and not long after that also got a Roku Streamer. If you're familiar with Netflix, that play streaming channels like that but in the case of Apple TV, about a dozen others (edit: 24 channels on top of apples in house content they sell lie songs and apps) as well and in the case of Roku, 750 other channels.
I'm watching a documentary via Apple TV right now in high definition. It's not quite as good as cable quality but its close.
With some slight limitations, I can't see how people in this economy won't be willing to live with some minor disadvantages and in exchange pay only pennies on the dollar or watch a good variety of TV programming for free. I still have cable tv but at this point if I had to I coud live without it and not miss it very much.
Anybody else watches Apple TV or roku?
I love my Plex. I'm ripping all of my DVDs to a hard drive in the machine and playing them from there. It takes a while, but it is so worth it.However, if you have one, get a decent computer and software called plex (decent computer needed for the on the fly transcoding). This has made my roku twice as useful.
It's like Netflix, but for your own media.What's the lay explanation?
I understand cable has a built in advantages since they are also ISPs. In fact my ISP actually blocks access that allows Roku to work but I was able to get around them with a Roku tech support lady. A lot of people only have Internet and do not subscribe to cable so it is possible. Yes, cable is better in a lot of ways but the cost savings is impressive and might be worth it for some. I see this as the beginning of a trend and will probably force cable to lower is costs.
I personally like access to channels not available on cable. I can't get Sky News or the Smithsonian Channel on cable. There are a couple of African networks you can get of roku but they're subscription services. Plus there are a lot of special interest channels such as open source college classes from top universities. Roku is now at 750 channels.
Problem is that you are technically breaking their terms by bypassing their block.
Really? I find that very odd and possibly even anti-trust-ish.
Now that I'm thinking about it more, that cannot be true. As recently as last night I was on my Apple TV verifying my cable TV subscription with various channels. I cannot mentally reconcile HBO, ESPN and Disney Channel needing me to prove my cable subscription on devices the cable service/ISP prohibits using.
Read your agreement with your ISP. They reserve the right to block anything for business reasons, plus anything that could hurt the quality of service of others. And that is why the Roku service most likely has been blocked.
You mean like me paying for Netflix US, but not being allowed to see it in Spain.. legally? No difference. You are paying for a service, not the content per say... and the service is getting the channels, not the content. Why do you think such things as Google TV and even Apple TV have been such big flops (relatively speaking).. because the content providers and service providers dont want people bypassing the business model.. I mean a Google TV/Apple TV with the ability to get access to much of the cable content out there.. brilliant!, no need to pay for expensive cable tv, and just pay for the internet bit.
So again, you are paying for the service, not the content per say, and the service provider reserves the right to change that content or block it at any time.
And if they provide the content via their own service, and you refuse to pay for that to get access to the content, then they can and will block getting access to the content and often with full blessing of the content provider, who has a vested interest in limiting access as much as possible, because then they can jack up the price as much as possible.
What it comes down to is fundamentally 2 things... copywrite laws and infrastructure. Copywrite laws are used as a gestapho method to limit content as much as possible, and the laws are in no way designed for the 21st century, and that is used in conjunction with a lack of infrastructure by the service providers (aka ISPs) to limit it even more.
Why do you think it took a so many years to get online services like HULU and Netflix? Because the content providers refused to license their content to anyone and refused to provide it in the ways that the consumer wants. Only when piracy hit epidemic proportions in the US, did the content providers rethink their model and are still thinking and thinking and thinking.
And that brings me back to you.. you have an ISP that has blocked Roku for some reason, to limit your access to content that they most likely provide via other means, and to get it to work, you resolved to bypassing their block (most likely easy as hell), and hence technically became a pirate.
Okay, I can sort of agree with you but firstly my ISP has made no effort to inform its customers streaming device use is prohibited under their terms of use agreement. In fact, I had absolutely no problem at all connecting my Apple TV but I did with Roku and almost returned it and they offer similar services except Roku offer a boatload of content NOT AVAILABLE on cable.
Secondly, we're talking about 2 different things in terms of what cable TV/ISPs allows.
1. Allowing the Roku device to be operated at all under what you suggest are binding contractual agreements
2. Once you do get it to work in violation of those agreements, the Cable service/ISP authorizing your access on their prohibited devices
If in fact they are prohibited then they wouldn't make exceptions for ESPN, HBO and the Disney Channel I wouldn't think so I reasonably conclude they're not banned, only discouraged through the use of complicated barriers. How can a cable company/ISP on one hand prohibit using these devices and then on the other hand allow you to enter your password to see premium channels on the same exact devices is what I'm asking.
And btw, the whole thing reminds me of Microsoft saying you must use their Internet Explorer browser if you have a Windows operating system that was ruled illegal, which might explain why the cable/ISPs might though up some barriers but ultimately cooperate in getting full use of them once you get it working.
Btw2, one of the largest cable/ISPs has their own Roku app and channel for its customers who also have Roku.
I can't stand watching movies/etc - on my computer. Drives me nuts.
Thats why mine is connected to my TV.
They dont need to directly inform you.. I bet it is in your terms on the contract you signed.. you know the fine print. For example I once had an ISP that sold me a connection as unlimited. 3 months later, the connection became limited to 1 GB a month at the time (was years ago), because they could not secure the quality of service without doing that.. basically they sold way more connections than they had infrastructure. But because the fine print allowed this without actually informing me, then I had nothing I could do.. other than stop payment and leave.
But saying that, you have not stated what did not work and how you bypassed the problem. Sounds a bit odd that Roku did not work, but Apple TV did.. they are basically the same thing.
....
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?