Can You Drop Cable/Satellite?

In addition to Brotha Tech, I also do Residential Electronics Integration (I install TV’s and other stuff). I am currently working a friend/customer on hooking up her place with some nice new toys. One of her concerns is that she isn’t sure if wants to pay for cable. The initial thought that popped in my head was “I am about to hook your place up with some very nice gadgetry and you are not gonna use it?”

But, as I learned from a short stint in sales, you are not supposed to object to any customers concerns. You listen, qualify, and determine the best solution based on their needs/wants. So I am gonna talk to her about dropping cable and using her nice new shiny televisions as giant computer screens to watch TV over the internet.

The Lowdown:

Which made me ponder the question, “Could I drop my own cable/satellite provider?” In order to do that, I would first have to list all of the shows and events I watch regularly.

Sports (duh!)

Kids shows (I my daughter loves SpongeBob SquarePants and I Love Carly)

Comedy (mostly Comedy Central…and I too don’t like bears)

Movies (movie tickets are getting mad crazy expensive these days)

That’s about it. Now the question is can I find alternative ways to enjoy TV without cable? Well let’s run through the list:

Sports – I never REALLY needed cable to watch all the major sporting events in the first place because they have been broadcast free via the major networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC). All I would need now is a TV with a built-in digital tuner (or use my current TV and buy a digital set-top box) and maybe a digital antenna if I get a crappy signal.

Kids shows & Comedy – Hulu.com (among others) does a great job at throwing up a huge number of television shows for free (for now)…AND the commercials are short. I just have to make sure I browse for complete episodes (and not the tons of clips and exclusives that may cloud up your selections)

Movies – Netflix, itunes, amazon…take your pick (more are popping up daily) – All are offering ON DEMAND TV shows and movies for very nominal rental/subscriptions fees compared to the monthly charges I could rack up messin’ around with cable/satellite.

[image courtesy of moko.labs]

The downside:

Equipment – I can’t get away from the devices cluttering up my entertainment center. So in order to get rid of the cable/satellite set-to box, I would have to replace it with a box that will enable to get the free network broadcast signals, surf the web, and download on-demand movies. Luckily, I know of one box that do all of that – my computer! I don’t have to, my current computer setup could handle it (I don’t have anything special), but that would give me the chance to upgrade my computer with a TV tuner video card, and upgraded audio card (for surround sound). Or I can just use my computer to browse for the shows on the net and use the built-in tuner in my TV (since the digital switch, just about all TV’s have a built-in tuner).

For my movies from Netflix, Amazon, and other places, I can use my computer as well, or purchase a box that will enable me to connect to these services without the need for a computer (PS3 and XBox have these features built in as well as some nicer DVD players and other boxes specifically designed to utilize these services)

HDTV – The ONLY thing cable/satellite is good for is HDTV. Cable/satellite providers are pushing out a great of HD programming. Add that with the fact that the internet is not big enough to handle ALL of us streaming pure, uncompressed HDTV signals to our computers, and your average computer can’t display that nice image (yet). BUT, if I can get the free network broadcast signals, I am good on getting the major network signals in HD. The rest (internet shows, and on demand movies) aren’t too far off from the quality they currently display. Good enough that I could consider sacrificing quality for the savings I get if I ditch cable/satellite.

Here are some other links/resources on the subject.

TV Over Net
Cancel Cable
Web Browser TV
Boxee TV
Devices To Help You Ditch Cable TV

So to answer my own question of whether or not I can live without cable/satellite, the answer is “sure”. The real question is can you?

[image courtesy of moko.labs...he made the switch!]

Best Media Remote For your Digital Living Room

…One of these days, Brotha Tech will be large enough to where my inbox will be full of messages from companies itching to send me their products so I can bless them with my insightful, witty reviews. Until then, there are some other folks out there who are already where I am trying to go. So instead of ignoring their existence until I am put on, I will gladly support other great sources for great tech products.

The Lowdown:

One such source is Digital Living Room. The article that caught my eye was “Top 3 Media Remotes for your HTPC Media Center”.

A Media Remote is a little different than your average TV, VCR, DVD, AVR remote…actually, it’s all those remotes with the addition of an PC remote all rolled up into one. For those who don’t know (this IS a place for learning), a Home Theater PC is a computer that can handle most if not all of your typical media. Whether it be music, home videos, streaming movies, online and broadcast TV shows, and movies you’ve saved (legally of course) on your PC, a HTPC has “upgraded” equipment and software than can handle the load most media can throw at a device…I should’ve just quoted from the article myself…it did a better job!

A Media Remote is one of the most important elements of your digital living room as that determines how comfortable you are able to control your HTPC Media Center. The key contribution of this article is to help you first to recognize what do you expect from your HTPC Media Center and then suggest the best media remote for those activities.

Since nobody wants to fumble around with a large keyboard and mouse in your lap (I used to do it with a TV dinner tray) just to get to the content on your PC, a Media Remote is the best choice.

That’s where the article comes in and gives you a breakdown of the top remotes that can control your HTPC. So check it out: Top 3 Media Remotes For Your HTPC Media Center.

A Mac Fanboy’s Apology

…not a real apology (I doubt if you would get any real apology for ANY true fanboy of anything), but the following memo is what Jon Fort, senior writer for Fortune.com envisions an apology from a Mac Fanboy would look like if in fact an apology to Microsoft were in order:

“I’m sorry, Microsoft. On behalf of Silicon Valley, I’m sorry.

We cursed you, mocked you, labeled you the Evil Empire. Your crime: trying to control the technology world. Sure, we had reason to be upset. During the dawning of the PC era, the Windows operating system made you the most powerful company in tech, and it went to your head.

Your detractors say you intimidated PC makers, crushed Netscape, and tried to turn the web into an extension of the Windows platform. As it turns out, local darling Apple (AAPL) probably would have done the same thing.

Just look at how Apple is behaving today with a fraction of the power you had.

Apple’s iTunes has an estimated 87% market share in music downloads, a beachhead it is using to expand its influence in much the same way you used Windows to expand yours. What has Apple done with its dominance? It has refused to let other media players sync with iTunes. It has tried to strong-arm Hollywood into selling content on terms mostly favorable to Cupertino. It has tightly controlled the iPhone ecosystem, insisting that its own iTunes app store serve as the only way to broadly distribute software.

And now, in the Google Voice episode (more on that here), we see Apple blocking perfectly good software that competes with its ideas. When you tried this sort of thing, Microsoft, we called you a bully and went to the feds. Now that Apple’s doing it, we’re calling it … well, we’re not sure what to call it.

The most disturbing thing about the Google Voice (GOOG) dustup is Apple’s Orwellian claim that it didn’t reject the app. Apple did. Google submitted it and waited several weeks before Apple said it wouldn’t be adding it to the app store. In the wake of the rejection, Google is working on a web-based version of the app that won’t work as smoothly. Yes, Apple can always change its mind and accept the app, but that won’t change the initial nixing. Note to Apple: Time Machine is an awesome feature in Mac OS X, but you can’t use it to rewrite actual history.

So again, Microsoft (MSFT), I’m sorry we gave you such a hard time. Your sins weren’t unique after all. Yes, you pushed some people around. You trampled some ideas. Now, though, we can see the truth: We’ve been living the Silicon Valley version of Animal Farm all along. Like Napoleon the pig in the classic story, Apple promised us beautiful technology that would set us free to express and innovate.

Apple’s technology is gorgeous all right. But as Apple gets more power, a funny thing is happening on the farm. Innovation and expression on Apple’s iPhone platform are beginning to suffer, even as Apple insists that its restrictions are for our own good. And as we gaze out at the titans of the tech landscape, it’s getting difficult to tell which are the humans and which are the pigs.”

Last day to get Windows 7 trial

If you are a Microsoft fanboy supporter, or just want to the lowdown on the newest Windows OS inevitably coming down the pike, then today is the last day to download the Windows 7 Release Candidate directly from Microsoft (I am sure you will be able to bootleg it later, so this is for us “legit” folks).

There has been word that the link to the download has been acting shady, so jump on it if you can. If you want some quick reading on Windows 7, before you committ to the download, then check out this review by engadget