As a replacement, I've turned to subscribing to three streaming services: Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime. Netflix has a pretty large library of TV shows and movies, but quality can be spotty. Some of the movie offerings I could do without, but I do like many of the TV shows, including "The IT Crowd," "Dexter," and "Breaking Bad." The problem with the TV offerings is that they tend to be older series. Since I often want to watch recently aired programs, I also subscribe to Hulu Plus, which streams a number of programs I like a day or two after the network air date.
I also have an Amazon Prime membership, which affords me access to a number of TV and movie offerings included in the subscription fee, with rentals and purchases available for many more titles.
Streaming programs can save you money over that bloated cable subscription, but it's a decidedly mixed bag for a number of reasons.
First, you won't have immediate access to the all of the new episodes you like, and some seasons aren't made available to streaming services for up to a year after the original air dates. A number of really good programs are still available, and some of the older offerings are classics or ought to be considered classics. You also have access to many hidden gems you didn't even know existed, especially programs from the other side of the pond.
Network performance can be another issue. Even if your ISP isn't throttling bandwidth for some services, you have to put up with occasional buffering. I pay a premium for faster internet service, so I don't expect to have problem streaming video. I play online games without a problem, but sometimes I do experience lag and buffering while trying to watch video. Believe it or not, your hardware can be the source of streaming issues. I learned this firsthand while using an internet-ready Sony Blu-Ray player. I almost always had an issue with Netflix. At certain times in the evening I was just plain unable to watch a movie or TV program because the stream would buffer every few minutes and would sometimes never resume. It got so bad that I finally just cancelled Netflix. I didn't have the same problem with Vudu, a digital rental and purchase service, so I decided it must be an issue with Netflix's service.
Sometime later I purchased a Roku for my streaming needs, and, lo and behold, my buffering issues went away. A little research on the internet revealed that this was a common problem among users of the same Blu-Ray player I owned.
After I started streaming programs on the Roku, I saw a significant decline in the number of network and buffering issues. And by "significant", I mean they went from an everyday occurrence to almost never. And if you do like to stream movies and TV, I highly recommend the Roku. I consider it the best $100 I've ever spent on a video/network device.
Aside from challenges like these, I can't say that I really miss cable that much. For regular broadcast TV, I'm doing okay with the antennae, but I will certainly install an outdoor antenna as a long-term solution. The craziest part is, I still end up channel surfing. How's that? you wonder. Well, I often find myself spending hours paging through Netflix or Hulu or Amazon programs trying to find something to watch. Yes, there are tons of options—perhaps too many sometimes, but I still find myself pondering, "What am I in the mood for?"
When it comes to comedy, I have frankly been spoiled by "The IT Crowd." While I enjoy many comedies, including "Community," "Scrubs" and "Psych," few have given me the same kind of laughs as "The IT Crowd."
Which service is best? Well, it's hard to say, really; it depends on what exactly you're looking for. I would break it down like this:
No one service is a complete solution, in my opinion, but if I were forced to choose just one, I'd probably go with Netflix simply because of the size of its library. And I am convinced that the only way to stream anything is on a Roku. Not only do I highly recommend the Roku, I'm strongly considering purchasing additional units for the other rooms in the house.
I also have an Amazon Prime membership, which affords me access to a number of TV and movie offerings included in the subscription fee, with rentals and purchases available for many more titles.
Streaming programs can save you money over that bloated cable subscription, but it's a decidedly mixed bag for a number of reasons.
First, you won't have immediate access to the all of the new episodes you like, and some seasons aren't made available to streaming services for up to a year after the original air dates. A number of really good programs are still available, and some of the older offerings are classics or ought to be considered classics. You also have access to many hidden gems you didn't even know existed, especially programs from the other side of the pond.
Network performance can be another issue. Even if your ISP isn't throttling bandwidth for some services, you have to put up with occasional buffering. I pay a premium for faster internet service, so I don't expect to have problem streaming video. I play online games without a problem, but sometimes I do experience lag and buffering while trying to watch video. Believe it or not, your hardware can be the source of streaming issues. I learned this firsthand while using an internet-ready Sony Blu-Ray player. I almost always had an issue with Netflix. At certain times in the evening I was just plain unable to watch a movie or TV program because the stream would buffer every few minutes and would sometimes never resume. It got so bad that I finally just cancelled Netflix. I didn't have the same problem with Vudu, a digital rental and purchase service, so I decided it must be an issue with Netflix's service.
Sometime later I purchased a Roku for my streaming needs, and, lo and behold, my buffering issues went away. A little research on the internet revealed that this was a common problem among users of the same Blu-Ray player I owned.
After I started streaming programs on the Roku, I saw a significant decline in the number of network and buffering issues. And by "significant", I mean they went from an everyday occurrence to almost never. And if you do like to stream movies and TV, I highly recommend the Roku. I consider it the best $100 I've ever spent on a video/network device.
Aside from challenges like these, I can't say that I really miss cable that much. For regular broadcast TV, I'm doing okay with the antennae, but I will certainly install an outdoor antenna as a long-term solution. The craziest part is, I still end up channel surfing. How's that? you wonder. Well, I often find myself spending hours paging through Netflix or Hulu or Amazon programs trying to find something to watch. Yes, there are tons of options—perhaps too many sometimes, but I still find myself pondering, "What am I in the mood for?"
When it comes to comedy, I have frankly been spoiled by "The IT Crowd." While I enjoy many comedies, including "Community," "Scrubs" and "Psych," few have given me the same kind of laughs as "The IT Crowd."
Which service is best? Well, it's hard to say, really; it depends on what exactly you're looking for. I would break it down like this:
- Netflix: Tons and tons of movies and TV programs to watch. Generally good quality video. The new navigation interface is terrible, however. It's fine for when you're looking for a specific program, but if you're just browsing, like when I'm channel surfing, it's horrendous. Netflix needs to get a clue and offer a better browsing experience, for example, by specific channel or genre. The genre categories are really bad too. It's like they hired a 12-year-old to make some arbitrary labels. I'm telling you, it's gawdawful, and I often switch to another streaming service simply because I get frustrated with Netflix browsing.
- Hulu Plus: Great for TV, especially current programs, and offers some decent original content. Hulu Plus is my go-to service for watching the most recent episodes of programs I like, such as "Community," "Bob's Burgers," and "Agents of Shield" (yes, dammit, I'm watching it). Movie offerings aren't great, but that's not really its niche. The browsing experience is much, much better than Netflix's.
- Amazon Prime: Not nearly as big a collection as Netflix and no new content like Hulu Plus, but the Prime membership does give you access to some great programs, including "Justified," "Whitechapel," "Sherlock" and others. I've had almost zero network problems with Amazon.
- Vudu: My favorite services for renting movies and for purchasing programs digitally. The video quality is great, and I almost never have any network issues streaming programs. If you've never used Vudu, I highly recommend it for movie rentals. Since it's a rental service, there's no monthly fee like the streaming services. I've purchased a number of program seasons on Vudu and love to browse the Collections list.
No one service is a complete solution, in my opinion, but if I were forced to choose just one, I'd probably go with Netflix simply because of the size of its library. And I am convinced that the only way to stream anything is on a Roku. Not only do I highly recommend the Roku, I'm strongly considering purchasing additional units for the other rooms in the house.
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