I dumped cable TV, and still have loads to watch

I do need a networked hard drive. Any recommendations?

WD My Book Live. I have the 1TB version. Plugs into your router via ethernet cord, you can set up sharing and FTP on it. Works well for me.

Coldstream wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:

We digitized our DVD collection and put the media files on an external hard drive attached to the Roku itself. No need for any sort of server (we don't own a desktop) and viewing our videos remotely isn't a concern. You can play back videos, music, and photos on an external hard drive through the Roku USB Media channel.

I'd be interested in doing this. What would you guys recommend as the optimal method for ripping DVDs and BluRays?

I used Handbrake and was quite happy with the results. I don't know if it does BluRays, though.

Handbrake does BluRay's nicely. But you need something to actually rip the BluRay. It's apparently a shady area since Sony would prefer you keep your BluRay's on BluRay, just like DVD's quite a few years ago. But the only program I've found that actually works is MakeMKV.

After you have the ginormous MKV file, you can reencode it down to a reasonable size with Handbrake

I used to use a very cheap program called Fair Use Wizard to rip some of my DVDs into DIVX files. Haven't messed with that in a couple years though, since I started getting blu-rays. Still only have the PS3, and not a BR-drive on my pc.

Handbrake seems to be the defacto encoding program for movies these days. Also, free and open source.

I used a AnyDVD HD trial to rip using handbrake. Once that expired I started using DVDFab to copy to DVD my HDD as I buy them then Handbrake to rip to M4V, then delete the HDD disc folders and move the M4V to the plex server.

Anybody have recent experience with Hulu Plus? Has the overall content gotten any better?

My wife and I are thinking about dropping DirectTV to save some $. We already have Netflix streaming, Amazon prime video, a few OTA channels (may look into getting a new antenna), and are thinking about signing up for Hulu Plus.

MacBrave wrote:

Anybody have recent experience with Hulu Plus? Has the overall content gotten any better?

My wife and I are thinking about dropping DirectTV to save some $. We already have Netflix streaming, Amazon prime video, a few OTA channels (may look into getting a new antenna), and are thinking about signing up for Hulu Plus.

When we dropped cable, we also bought a Tivo. that pretty much took care of recording all OTA TV we wanted, which is pretty much what Hulu Plus is. But we live in the city, with all the major networks', plus the WB affiliate's towers within a few miles. But Hulu Plus might be a better deal overall. But with Tivo, there wasn't a good enough reason to pay for Hulu Plus.

MacBrave wrote:

Anybody have recent experience with Hulu Plus? Has the overall content gotten any better?

My wife and I are thinking about dropping DirectTV to save some $. We already have Netflix streaming, Amazon prime video, a few OTA channels (may look into getting a new antenna), and are thinking about signing up for Hulu Plus.

I bought my wife 6 months of Hulu Plus for her birthday and she was sorely disappointed. A lot of the shows available via Plus you can only watch on PC, so if you like to watch on a PS3 or whatever you'll be screwed. Additionally, there's still a ton of ads with Plus, so you get all the same annoyances.

That seems like a odd move.

Well, Hulu+ is more than worth it just for the Criterion Collection content. It's not a replacement for everything cable. I use it quite a bit, though, to keep up with TV shows. CC movies have no commercials, but the TV shows do. I don't find the commercials to be terrible, though. Between Hulu+, Netflix, and Crunchyroll, I have plenty of content to watch and the monthly payments are minimal.

I do f***ing hate the PC only licensing issues. I have a laptop I plug in for that, but it's really f***ing annoying and stupid to have to do that. I use the PS3 for most everything else.

Hmm, I was't aware of the PC only stuff. That might be a deal breaker.

Honestly, if you have the other two services it feels pretty redundant to me. We have all 3, but pretty much only use Hulu Plus as a DVR for NBC shows. And yes, the PC only is pretty sh*tty.

Don't know whether this deserves its own thread or not, so here goes: Amazon is showing 14 original pilots for free. Any series that goes on to full production will be available for no extra charge to Amazon Prime subscribers, so the idea is apparently to mimic the success of Netflix's House of Cards with some value-add for the subscription service.

The wife and I sat down and watched the short trailers for all 14 shows, and I don't see any clear winners here:

- The Onion News Empire goes for an Airplane-style take on the newsroom, with very fast, punny dialogue. Some of the jokes do land, but a lot more of them fall flat. The funniest bits are the Onion-style news reports that serve as set pieces; the "plot" feels forced and doesn't seem to play to the strengths of the writers. (We actually watched this full episode, unlike the rest which I'm basing only off of the trailers)

- Alpha House is a GOP-bashing political comedy starring Jon Goodman. I like Goodman a lot in supporting roles, but I'm dubious about his ability to carry a comedy series now, and the preview wasn't nearly as funny as I'd hope for. We might go back and watch the pilot.

- Zombieland seems like a groan-inducing zombie romp, stylistically going for the same tropes as the film of the same name, but lacking the star power and cleverness to pull it off

- Betas looks to be a juvenile nerd-culture pander vaguely reminiscent of Big Bang Theory, only without the strict sitcom format and with some decent production quality. I might convince myself to give the pilot a chance because the preview did have a couple of almost funny moments.

- Browsers is... Glee... for millennials? It's hard to imagine a premise more closely fitting the description of "not my thing" so I'll leave it at that.

- Dark Minions is a stop motion show which seems to combine the silliest bits of Archer, Robot Chicken, Venture Brothers, etc. Maybe it'll work for some people but I've had my fill of this kind of thing for now.

- Supanatural looks like an adult-swim style animated show with stupid people doing stupid things. I'll take a pass.

- Those who Can't is a quirky comedy about childish teachers. The trailer didn't immediately grab me but we might try the pilot.

- Annebots / Creative Galaxy / Positively Ozitively / Sara Solves it / Teeny Tiny Dogs / Tumbleaf: all are kids shows and I'm ill qualified to speak of them in much detail. I did find it interesting that "Teeny Tiny Dogs" is a production of the Jim Henson Company, which I was surprised to learn still existed (all of its valuable IP was slurped up by Disney et al). It's a puppet dog show.

The most interesting thing? No drama at all. I assume this is because the comedies are cheaper to make.

We have a Hidden Gems of Amazon Prime thread where the shows have been discussed a bit.

Think there's a similar Netflix thread somewhere too.

Stele wrote:

Think there's a similar Netflix thread somewhere too.

Netflix

So is this the thread to ask for advice with my new Roku and transitioning my wife to a point where we can cut the cable? Sorry for skimming...

I would have done it already but she MUST have the Alabama football games live.

I got Amazon Prime and a Roku box over the weekend, and I want to start making it the device she prefers to use over the DVR. I assume I need to get Netflix and maybe Hulu to cover other tv shows. The main issue is ESPN. Any tips and tricks? Any other channels I should look into? Is Aereo worth it?

Sports are generally a pain without cable. ESPN3/watchespn used to be accessible online but in the past year they've changed it so you can only access the content with a cable tv subscription. Some events (Monday Night Football, the NCAA hoops tourney) can be viewed free but the major pro sports each have their own sub you have to buy. I have no idea about Alabama/SEC football.

My brothers HBO and Directv packages came with an online sub so that was convenient for watching NFL and movies, since he never uses them.

mindset.threat wrote:

Sports are generally a pain without cable. ESPN3/watchespn used to be accessible online but in the past year they've changed it so you can only access the content with a cable tv subscription. Some events (Monday Night Football, the NCAA hoops tourney) can be viewed free but the major pro sports each have their own sub you have to buy. I have no idea about Alabama/SEC football.

My brothers HBO and Directv packages came with an online sub so that was convenient for watching NFL and movies, since he never uses them.

I could be wrong, but I think espn3 still only requires internet via an approved isp.

If the game is on ESPN3 specifically, and not blacked out.

But it seems that 90% of the content that is shown on the main ESPN/2/U/ABC networks is blacked out on ESPN3. For any of that stuff, you have to have a cable provider login, and have that particular channel on your subscription.

There are still some ESPN3 only things that you can watch without cable tv, but almost everything on the main networks is locked out now, and has been for a year, maybe 2.

manta173 wrote:

So is this the thread to ask for advice with my new Roku and transitioning my wife to a point where we can cut the cable? Sorry for skimming...

I would have done it already but she MUST have the Alabama football games live.

I got Amazon Prime and a Roku box over the weekend, and I want to start making it the device she prefers to use over the DVR. I assume I need to get Netflix and maybe Hulu to cover other tv shows. The main issue is ESPN. Any tips and tricks? Any other channels I should look into? Is Aereo worth it?

As a lifelong Bama fan, I suffer the same problem. ESPN was an issue before, but now that they have nearly ALL the freakin' CFB bowl games, it's a big problem.

What I do is use OTA antenna for the networks during the regular season (Bama is on CBS usually), and for the odd occasion that Bama games aren't on a network channel, you can

* go to a sports bar that's showing it

* worst case, find it streaming online. I've found Wiziwig is an excellent forum to find streaming games.

For the NCG last year, I watched it at a neighbor's house who's a big football fan and had invited me over.

Jeff-66 wrote:
manta173 wrote:

So is this the thread to ask for advice with my new Roku and transitioning my wife to a point where we can cut the cable? Sorry for skimming...

I would have done it already but she MUST have the Alabama football games live.

I got Amazon Prime and a Roku box over the weekend, and I want to start making it the device she prefers to use over the DVR. I assume I need to get Netflix and maybe Hulu to cover other tv shows. The main issue is ESPN. Any tips and tricks? Any other channels I should look into? Is Aereo worth it?

As a lifelong Bama fan, I suffer the same problem. ESPN was an issue before, but now that they have nearly ALL the freakin' CFB bowl games, it's a big problem.

What I do is use OTA antenna for the networks during the regular season (Bama is on CBS usually), and for the odd occasion that Bama games aren't on a network channel, you can

* go to a sports bar that's showing it

* worst case, find it streaming online. I've found Wiziwig is an excellent forum to find streaming games.

For the NCG last year, I watched it at a neighbor's house who's a big football fan and had invited me over.

Yeah having to go out to catch a game is not an option. I will check out wiziwig this year though and see what I can do. Maybe with the ESPN SEC channel coming there will be more options.

I realize I forgot to mention I currently use Xfinity.

Also... ROLL TIDE

manta173 wrote:

So is this the thread to ask for advice with my new Roku and transitioning my wife to a point where we can cut the cable? Sorry for skimming...

I would have done it already but she MUST have the Alabama football games live.

I got Amazon Prime and a Roku box over the weekend, and I want to start making it the device she prefers to use over the DVR. I assume I need to get Netflix and maybe Hulu to cover other tv shows. The main issue is ESPN. Any tips and tricks? Any other channels I should look into? Is Aereo worth it?

My wife's a lot the same. I've managed to find it streaming online in a handful of places.

Oh there are always games streaming online but the quality is crap, especially compared to WatchESPN/ESPN3. Most days that signal comes through at 720p, looking as good as my HDTV. For a lot of games I play them on my TV even, with a very long HDMI cable I bought. It's never worth doing that with secondary streams though, as they look so terrible.

If sports are a dealbreaker, you need cable or satellite. this goes double if your spouse is not totally on board. Telling her that your new plan is to cut the cord, and she gets to find Bama on sketchy stream service is not really going to be very convincing.

I know, but if I can cut the cord for everything but ESPN it would still save money and make my life easier.

Right now we have 3 DVR's full of shows we will never watch. I hope to get to the point where we rarely record anything and just watch from the internet.

EDIT: I assume within the next 5 years ESPN will allow streaming. If it takes me a year or two to transition to everything but ESPN then when it does go we can swap right away.

Badferret wrote:
mindset.threat wrote:

Sports are generally a pain without cable. ESPN3/watchespn used to be accessible online but in the past year they've changed it so you can only access the content with a cable tv subscription. Some events (Monday Night Football, the NCAA hoops tourney) can be viewed free but the major pro sports each have their own sub you have to buy. I have no idea about Alabama/SEC football.

My brothers HBO and Directv packages came with an online sub so that was convenient for watching NFL and movies, since he never uses them.

I could be wrong, but I think espn3 still only requires internet via an approved isp.

Yes, but you still need to have a cable or satellite TV subscription to access the blacked out content, which is, essentially, 95% of division 1 NCAA football games. They require a Comcast/Fios/Time Warner/etc... login to unlock the content. It's an illogical and maddening system because the whole reason I'm tuning into ESPN3 is to see the broadcast games, not some Romanian shuffleboard match.

Evo wrote:
Badferret wrote:
mindset.threat wrote:

Sports are generally a pain without cable. ESPN3/watchespn used to be accessible online but in the past year they've changed it so you can only access the content with a cable tv subscription. Some events (Monday Night Football, the NCAA hoops tourney) can be viewed free but the major pro sports each have their own sub you have to buy. I have no idea about Alabama/SEC football.

My brothers HBO and Directv packages came with an online sub so that was convenient for watching NFL and movies, since he never uses them.

I could be wrong, but I think espn3 still only requires internet via an approved isp.

Yes, but you still need to have a cable or satellite TV subscription to access the blacked out content, which is, essentially, 95% of division 1 NCAA football games. They require a Comcast/Fios/Time Warner/etc... login to unlock the content. It's an illogical and maddening system because the whole reason I'm tuning into ESPN3 is to see the broadcast games, not some Romanian shuffleboard match.

Well, it's not completely illogical. ESPN broadcasts games in order to make money. They make a crapload of money from having several channels paying them premium fees for every subscriber. It was more illogical that they offered it in the first place.

That said, Kansas just signed a deal to offer 70 events (including six basketball games) on ESPN3 specifically. So there is that!

Evo wrote:

It's an illogical and maddening system because the whole reason I'm tuning into ESPN3 is to see the broadcast games, not some Romanian shuffleboard match.

IMAGE(http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/2/25716/2286454-espn_8_the_ocho.jpg)