How many of you have installed HD set top boxes ?

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How many of you have installed HD set top boxes ?

Post by linux_rules »

I have purchased a HD LED TV but due to a tight budget I am stuck with a SD set top box. Where I live the price of HD set top boxes and the monthly fees for a HD signal is quite high.

How many of you have installed HD set top boxes ?
How many of you are still stuck with SD ?
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Re: How many of you have installed HD set top boxes ?

Post by coffee412 »

Were I live its expensive too.

I run Mythtv on an aging AMD 6core I had here. I have a GTX 650 in it hooked to the TV. I also have a Amazon firestick and another Android like box all with network connections to my main storage server. Im stuck with comcast HD set top box but its my GF that uses it most. I would prefer to just cut the cord actually.

Everything I mostly watch is streamed from the internet or downloaded from various sources. My Mythtv box has a ceton 6 port card in it. Therefore I can record 6 shows at once. Nice since once again the GF tends to abuse poor Mythtv :) lol..
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Re: How many of you have installed HD set top boxes ?

Post by greerd »

Mythtv, wow, haven't heard that name in a few years. I used to use Mythtv before Mythbuntu came out (or before I knew it was out), then switched to Mytbuntu using mostly a firewire connection from my cable box. I don't have a need for it now that my cable box is a DVR with On Demand so Myth went the way of the Dodo in my house. Still it brings back fond memories of priming the firewire and all the frustration I went through getting it setup just so, well maybe not all my memories are so fond!

Now a days I have an Asus chromebox (2014 model) rooted with Mint 18.3 hooked up to the main tv (full hdtv). A 16 GB ssd for my slash directory and an external usb drive for my /home. I've installed PIA, kodi and smplayer, use my old BB Player bluetooth keyboard/mousepad, works pretty darn good considering the hardware.

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Re: How many of you have installed HD set top boxes ?

Post by Moem »

linux_rules wrote: Tue Jun 26, 2018 10:42 am How many of you have installed HD set top boxes ?
How many of you are still stuck with SD ?
Neither.
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Re: How many of you have installed HD set top boxes ?

Post by alexa9 »

You might consider an antenna or YoutubeTV.
I know many people that have cut the cord and just gone with Amazon/Netflix.
The prices for cable are outrageous. HD is just another way to milk it. Just wait until they offer 4K HDR.
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Re: How many of you have installed HD set top boxes ?

Post by linux_rules »

alexa9 wrote: Fri Jun 29, 2018 9:23 am You might consider an antenna or YoutubeTV.
What is Youtube TV ? I have a Raspberry Pi but the problem is when I ON/OFF an electrical switch in the house the display of the Raspberry Pi "flickers".
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Re: How many of you have installed HD set top boxes ?

Post by Portreve »

linux_rules wrote: Tue Jun 26, 2018 10:42 am I have purchased a HD LED TV but due to a tight budget I am stuck with a SD set top box. Where I live the price of HD set top boxes and the monthly fees for a HD signal is quite high.
So, edify my curiosity: why would you need a set-top box in the first place, and why would you have a monthly fee? In my area, one can pick up HD broadcasts with a decent antenna, and there are no fees. You might have to spend $10 - $50 (~ €8.50 - €43) for an antenna, depending on needs and installation, but that'd be about it. If you're connecting to cable, then you wouldn't really need anything, so far a I am aware anyhow.

Bear in mind, I don't watch TV, so I'm just looking at this situation from the sidelines. Kind of, I guess, like Moem above.
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Re: How many of you have installed HD set top boxes ?

Post by AZgl1800 »

I for one, will NOT watch commercials.

so, watching a local "off the air" station just is not going to happen.

DTV is just considered part of our entertainment budget, quit worrying about that a long time ago.

we record what we are interested in, and then play it back, at a time of Our Choosing, and Fast Forward at 4x speed and skip the commercials. the commercials are paid for with the exorbitant fees to DTV so they are not missing a thing.

the TV can also watch Netflix, and we enjoy that because it never has commercials.

never heard of myth tv.
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Re: How many of you have installed HD set top boxes ?

Post by lsemmens »

IMO the only time you need HD is for sports. Heck I even watch videos recorded last century in Black and White. The story line is still conveyed more than adequately without seeing every DNA strand!

I just use a computer (running Mint) attached to my TV. It is set up as a dual monitor with TV as one monitor and a real monitor next to may armchair. Any videos on my home network or the internet in whatever resolution you so desire can be watched.
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Re: How many of you have installed HD set top boxes ?

Post by cliffgi »

Several years ago, I completely cut the cord. I built an HD HTPC/DVR for OTA TV on an Intel NUC. The OS was Ubuntu 14.04 (now 16.04) and runs both MythTV 'Front-End' and 'Back-End' services. It was a serious pain between the back pockets to setup originally, and is likewise, every time I attempt to mod the system in any way. Fortunately, I'm pretty good at the command line and extremely persistent. It has been very stable and served me well. I have looked at the other software alternatives. From a OTA DVR user perspective, none of the other non-commercial options are as straight forward and Kodi just complicated the matter further. Because it is a full-up Ubuntu installation, I browse and stream be it Netflix, or whatever, from the same system. I use Mint on all my other systems, and not confident in the value of switching my these two system... I also built this same system for my RV, but instead used the much cheaper ASUS MU004 Chromebox It is not as fast but fine as a OTA DVR... ripped Google Chrome off it faster that you could same "Daaaaaammmm!"
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Re: How many of you have installed HD set top boxes ?

Post by Portreve »

AZgl1500 wrote: Tue Jul 03, 2018 9:21 pm I for one, will NOT watch commercials.
I skip everything. It's much easier that way. Besides, there's very little worth watching, anyhow.
so, watching a local "off the air" station just is not going to happen.

DTV is just considered part of our entertainment budget, quit worrying about that a long time ago.

we record what we are interested in, and then play it back, at a time of Our Choosing, and Fast Forward at 4x speed and skip the commercials. the commercials are paid for with the exorbitant fees to DTV so they are not missing a thing.
You're the one choosing to live with dependence upon their terms. Don't complain to anyone else about it.
the TV can also watch Netflix, and we enjoy that because it never has commercials.
That's pretty sensible, really. However, I don't subscribe to any streaming service because I have other things I need that money for. Entertainment isn't one of them.
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Re: How many of you have installed HD set top boxes ?

Post by AZgl1800 »

I am either perusing the Mint forum,
my motorcycle forum ( moderator there )

or, I am reading my Kindle Paperwhite eReader....
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Re: How many of you have installed HD set top boxes ?

Post by linux_rules »

I have finally purchased a HD set top box. All is well now.
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