Anklo blog

Turns out that the decision was the simple part of the process of dropping cable. Providing a semi-convenient video substitute to each of the viewing areas is the hard part. Let’s begin with a description of the current setup.

Family room: 42″ LCD rear projection HDTV (broken), DVD player, and TWC HD DVR. Bonus room: 27″ CRT TV, TWC DVR, DVD player, and Wii. Bedroom: 32″ LCD HDTV and TWC HD DVR.

In summary by gadget, three TVs each with a DVR. Two are HD and one of those needs to be replaced. The CRT doesn’t have a digital tuner. Note than none of these currently have a computer attached and only the bedroom TV has a VGA input. Also, all the computers we own are Macs, three of the four are PPC, and the lone Intel is Maria’s laptop (original Core Duo Macbook circa 2006).

Issues per room: Family room has digital tuner and DVD player, but no source for internet streaming. Bedroom has digital tuner and can accept laptop for streaming, but no DVD player. Bonus room has DVD and Netflix streaming via Wii, but no generic streaming and no digital tuner (so no OTA). Don’t forget that none of the rooms has a DVR substitute.

What all this means is that I’m going to have to spend money on gadgetry in order to save money on monthly cable fees. I’m okay with that, but it means there are a lot of options to consider and choices to be made.

Started the 30-day free trial with Netflix and yesterday we received the first DVD, “No Country for Old Men”.

Also in the mail was the disc for streaming Netflix to the Wii. Easy peasy. Pop the disc into Wii and load it. You’ll see an activation code. From a computer, log into your Netflix account and input the activation code. Boom, you’re ready to watch instantly. Browsed a few titles and, since Kinnamon was in the room, I picked “The Munsters” for the first test.

To my amazement, K was not impressed by Herman, Lilly, Grandpa, and Eddie. Kids today, sheesh. However the Wii streaming was excellent. I think the Netflix portion of the TV solution is going to work out nicely.

I had a burst of optimism after my initial trial of the basic RE and loop combo antenna. Further testing proved that the simple and cheap solution wasn’t going to cut it. The TVs could pick up enough signal to identity that the stations existed, but not enough signal to maintain a picture for more than 30 seconds or so.

So, the next chore is to identify an outdoor antenna that is likely to do the job. I don’t want to put it on the roof, so it will have to be small enough to go on a post near the corner of the house. The problem with antennas is that the only way to know if it will work is to get it and try it. Ugh.

Before cutting the cable I wanted to setup some of the post-cable infrastructure. The cheapest and easiest are the over-the-air (OTA) local stations. I used the resources at HDTv Antenna Labs and at AntennaWeb to determine what stations are reasonably receivable at my address. I should be able to receive 15-20 stations OTA including all the major networks.

So now I needed an antenna. After a lot of Googling and reading of posts in various forums, it seemed the best advice was to try the cheap indoor antenna first. I selected the Budget TV Antenna from Radio Shack for $11.99 plus tax. I had to get something to handle both UHF and VHF since the local ABC station is on VHF. BTW, I had the same experience at Radio Shack as some forum posters. The sales clerk questioned my selection and pointed out that they had other antennas that were much better.

I’ll give you the results of this antenna test in another post.

We’ve decided to quit smoking. Well, not actually smoking since we’ve never been smokers. But, it’s kind of like smoking. It’s bad for you in general and it’s a daily waste of money. We’re going to get rid of cable. I hear your gasps, guffaws, and even your eyes rolling; all in disbelief. That’s okay, I’m not sure that I’ll fully believe it myself until the three DVRs are actually in the hands of Time Warner.

There are two primary goals, 1) save $130/month, and 2) spend less time in front of the TV wasting heartbeats that I’ll never get back. The rough plan is to cancel the TV portion of cable, but keep the internet access. We’ll add antenna(s) for OTA stations, a Netflix subscription for DVDs and streaming, and some sort of other hardware TBD for other internet content like Hulu.

I’ll be sharing the pain and the joy as the adventure continues.