I have contemplated ?cutting the cord? for a long time. Today I actually did it; I canceled the Comcast cable service. I thought I?d share my experience and the journey I have gone through while getting here. Is cutting the cord really worth it? Let?s find out.
I have been a Comcast customer for a long time. Unlike many others, I have had no major issues with the customer service. Cable service itself is pretty decent. Comcast (and I am sure, most other cable or satellite providers) does a very good job at distributing more than enough channels than you?d need. Even with Digital Starter package, you get a fairly nice selection of movies, news, and other channels. Moreover with their TV Everywhere/Xfinity offering, they are at least trying to be more innovative.
While the service is a bit pricey of course, and ideally I?d like to pay for only those channels that we consistently watch, my primary reason for abandoning the cable service is not price per se. I am not a thrifty consumer in general, and am happy to pay a bit more to get better service (and save time). But at the same time, I am also gadget and technology lover, and very curious about newer ?cool? solutions in the market. So while I experiment with these solutions, technology loving side of me wants to actually put them to ?use?. What?s the point of these alternate solutions when I can?t dispose of my cable service?
I cut the cord just today, but before getting here I have tried several solutions, still keep a few, and dropped several others. Here is my take on them.
Sony BRAVIA Internet Link Module. This is a surprisingly lesser known solution, and it works actually quite well. Several Sony BRAVIA HDTV?s (a year and older) allow an add-on module, which fits very nicely and seamlessly on the back of the TV. One wouldn?t be able to tell whether it?s built into the TV or separate. Collection of channels is pretty decent (and same as available on most/all other Sony solutions), and includes all the big names such as Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon VOD. The interface is quite nice, and jells in with the native TV interface (and remote). Streaming quality is 480p or 720p at best, at least with the one I have. It?s fairly cheap: When I bought it, it was less than $100 (but of course you need a compatible Sony HDTV).
Sony PlayStation 3. If you are a hard core console gamer, then PS3 could be for you. It comes at a cost of around $300 though, and does not jell as seamlessly with the TV interface as the BRAVIA Internet Link Module. The UI is similar to the standard Sony BRAVIA/Qriocity service, but still slightly different. There are also fewer channels. The user experience overall is a bit clunkier, although not bad. Overall, I was not impressed by PS3 as an internet TV set-top box and will not recommend it unless you really want to play PS3 games. (In case you are wondering why the interface/service would be different from the standard Sony BRAVIA service, it has to do with organizational politics: Sony TV?s and gaming consoles are still hosted under different organizations within Sony).
Microsoft Xbox 360. A lot of what I said for PS3 also applies to Xbox 360. However, the interface is slightly better than that of PS3, and as a game console, it?s a bit more polished and richer (however, as I am not a console gamer, I wouldn?t compare the two on their gaming capabilities). Again, I wouldn?t specifically recommend it unless if you wanted to play Xbox games.
Samsung Internet@TV. Several Samsung boxes and TV?s come with their internet TV platform. Mine is a blu-ray player and has a bunch of Samsung apps, and usual suspects in Netflix, Amazon VOD, VUDU (the primary reason I went with this box), and Pandora. The interface is decent, but not special. I have yet to find a glaring Samsung app. The usual services work just fine, but again it does not look like that the box was made especially for internet TV (and it was not).
Apple TV. I might be biased because I love Apple products, but let me say this unequivocally: Apple TV has the nicest, simplest, and ?leanest? (this one is not necessarily a good thing) offering of all. It comes with Netflix, a few other apps to watch NBA and MLB, and of course iTunes, but that?s pretty much it. Netflix streams at 720p (unlike 1080p with Sony PS3 for example), but surprisingly its quality looks better to me than the one I have seen with PS3. Apple TV is also one of the best and simplest way to share media amongst devices; for example, I stream my iPod/iPhone/Mac music using AirPlay, and it works like a charm (no need for iPod docks anymore). It also streams photos and other media from your Mac (as a comparison Roku requires one to insert a USB thumb drive, how 20th century-ish!).
If all you want to do is watch Netflix, or rent TV shows and movies from iTunes, Apple TV will be a pleasure to use. If you are looking for other content sources as Amazon VOD, Hulu Plus, you might never get them with Apple TV. However, if Apple is indeed able to strike deals with studios to offer a subscription TV service, Apple TV would beat other boxes hands down. Therefore, no matter what else I have, I intend to keep Apple TV in place.
(For more on what might come with Apple TV, read?What to expect from Apple?s event tomorrow? and iTunes turned the music market on its head. Could iTunes TV do the same for TV?)
Roku. Roku box is one of the cheapest on the market (the one I bought is $79.95), and has one of the largest collection of channels. Since Roku is all about providing an internet TV box at least at the moment (expect social games in near future though), this allows them to do the job very well. They arguably have more content partnerships than any other box out there. The UI is decent but not special.
Boxee. Boxee comes as a software for your PC or Mac, and also as a Boxee Box. It is one of the prettiest user interfaces amongst the competition. However, it isn?t as usable as it might seem. I would consider Apple TV for example more usable (note that pretty looking interface does not necessarily mean that it is also very good at usability). It is a very good media server and can retrieve, aggregate, and play media stored on your hard drive pretty well. The box itself is expensive ($299), so for now I only use its Mac application.
Despite its coolness factor and open philosophy (or perhaps because of it), it doesn?t have the best content partnerships, especially when compared against Roku. Since anyone can write an app for it, it isn?t guaranteed that the app is legit or high quality. While I will continue to monitor Boxee, I do not consider it a viable solution at the moment.
(For my earlier coverage on Boxee, read 3 reasons TV?s about to get a facelift)
TiVo: TiVo has one of the sleekest interfaces. TiVo is a lot more than just an internet TV set-top box however; it doubles as a DVR, has a sophisticated recommendation engine, and can search across internet and cable channels (which by the way is Google TV?s promise that yet has to be fulfilled). TiVo comes with a monthly service however, and is best used to augment and not replace cable service.
Google TV: Google TV despite its promise and hype has a clunky interface, questionable value proposition at least at the moment, and comes with a high price tag (when compared to RoKu or Apple TV for example). Given Google?s marketing muscle, this might change in future, but until it does I will hold off buying it (unless you were buying a Sony blu-ray player and wanted to get Google TV built into it for an extra $100).
(For a comparison between Apple TV and Google TV, read Should you buy Google TV or wait for the new Apple TV to launch?)
There are obviously several other set-top boxes with different price ranges and features, and I do not intend to list each of them. Moreover, set-top boxes on their own of course will not be enough; you need content and other services to go with them. Let?s take a look at some of the services.
Netflix is definitely a must-have. If nothing else, get the basic instant-only service. The collection is limited but you can watch unlimited number movies from the collection. In order to augment the collection, you can either upgrade Netflix for mail-in DVD service, or if you really want to do away with DVD?s, you can buy Amazon movies on demand (and free prime instant movies as well). If your box allows you to stream media from your laptop/PC, or if you have Apple TV, iTunes can also be used to purchase or rent movies. Hulu Plus is also an option for some who would like to see more recent TV shows. Between these four services, you will have a very large collection of movies and TV shows.
(For a comparison between Amazon VOD and Netflix, read Would Amazon?s rumored Netflix-like streaming best Netflix?)
What you won?t get with the above services is live sports or TV shows that are currently playing for example. They, however, can be bought with individual season passes.
Lastly, do buy an HDTV antenna to catch local channels for free. HD content on these channels is actually superior to the one on cable, since content over the air is not compressed and therefore delivered in higher quality.
There is one more service that I?d recommend: VUDU. VUDU?s website is amazingly unimpressive, but their streaming quality is better than anything else out there. However, in order to enjoy the high quality, you need to have an HDTV that supports 1080p and a home theater system. Also, VUDU is available on a very few set-top boxes, so getting VUDU might limit your set-top box choices.
I currently have Samsung Internet@TV, Apple TV, Sony BRAVIA, and Roku. Amongst the most well known content services, I have Netflix, Amazon, VUDU, and iTunes/Apple TV. ?You obviously should buy just one of the set-top boxes with one or more content services. ?For the set-top box, I?d recommend Roku, which is not the best quality but is very cheap and comes with a bunch of channels and services.
To be honest, cutting the cord does make the experience a bit ?bumpy?. I will try it out for a few months, and might add the cable service again if I am not too happy with the experience. Internet TV, while zillions of steps ahead than it was a few years ago, just doesn?t cut it yet. Until there is a strong business model for studios, internet TV will be best used to augment and not replace cable TV.
You might also like the following articles on digital media:
- Would Amazon?s rumored Netflix-like streaming best Netflix?
- iTunes turned the music market on its head. Could iTunes TV do the same for TV?
- 3 reasons TV?s about to get a facelift
- Should you buy Google TV or wait for the new Apple TV to launch?
- What to expect from Apple?s event tomorrow?
- roku, boxee box, or?
Source: http://itvale.com/2011/05/is-cutting-the-cord-worth-it-and-how-you-can-do-it-too.html/
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