Cutting the Cord #tvchat

Last night @dels and @cleverkate hosted a twitter chat on cutting the cord, based on the Geek Girls Guide Podcast Kyle was on last week outlining his media center system he uses at home. Cutting the cord is the idea of canceling cable TV and going Netflix and streaming only. It was a great chat, and nice to see a large number of people finding different ways to get what they want, without the need for a large monthly cable bill. We canceled cable when Baby Dean was born, marking the first time I’ve been without cable TV since I was 5 (back in 1982)

Most of the participants rely heavily on Netflix for their media, whether it was on a computer, gaming system, or a device like a Roku or Apple TV. Hulu is also a common source, but most found Hulu+ to be not worth the price. Few do the season pass route on iTunes and only a couple admitted to downloading torrents.

The need for sports, especially in HD, is still the primary reason for people keeping cable or satellite, which makes sense, and what I miss most about not having cable. It was really painful to not have Gopher hockey this winter, and I might cry over the thought of not watching the Twins this summer. When it comes to sports news, I don’t miss ESPN at all, sports blogs and podcasts have more than made up for that. All I really need is Fox Sports North, and I’d pay $20/mo to just have that one channel!

People really want Netflix to expand their streaming selection, but at the same time, cable companies keep pulling content (Showtime just pulled Dexter and Californication). Hopefully something can be worked out, but I wonder if premium cable networks like Shotime and HBO won’t just offer their own streaming deal at some point. Online streaming sold by the networks could be the ala carte option that so many people want, but the providers refuse to offer.

Personally, I’m a Boxee users on my Mac Mini, mainly for access to media on my local drives, but also for watching random videos I come across during the day using the very slick Boxee Bookmarket. Hulu has blocked access from Boxee which really sucks, as it used to be a great way to watch current shows, hopefully that gets resolved sometime soon.

Basically I think it comes down to this: if you want to watch sports and current TV shows without the hassle of Hulu or torrents, just stick with the cord. If you only watch a few things (iTunes Season pass or Hulu) or don’t mind if the content is older (Netflix streaming or dvds), then get an Apple TV or Roku box or something like that. And if you want to rip a large collection of DVD movies, download torrents, or want a full computer interface on your TV/Media system, then get a Mac Mini or laptop.

What do you think? Have you changed your media consumption now that we have more streaming options?

My iPhone Drama

My plan all along has been to get a new iPhone (5 or whatever it’s called) and switch to Verizon or AT&T this summer when my Sprint contract ends, but in comparing prices with what we now pay for Sprint, I’m having a very hard time justifying the cost. It seems like it would cost an extra $25 or more a month (from $123 to $150 for a family plan after corporate discount). Forget that.

For the most part I’ve been very happy with Sprint. Have never dropped a call and decent internet speeds, but coverage at our cabin sucks as well as at the in-laws house in KC (Sprint’s HQ!). Coverage issues could be party due to the phone, but I’m not sure.

I currently carry two devices nearly wherever I go, my Palm Pre and my iPod Touch. I’m a heavy iTunes user and need to be able to sync my music and podcasts, and the apps on the Pre are horrible. I’d love to be down to just one device, but the iTunes syncing on Android is a little questionable. Also, I have a ton of paid apps on my iPod so I’d have to buy Android versions of a lot of those which adds to the upfront cost. Oh, and we also use our Flip HD quite often, which could basically be replaced with the iPhone.

My options seem to be:

1. Suck it up and get an iPhone and pay the man

2. Stick with Sprint, get a new Android phone and also…
a. carry my iPod Touch for music and some apps
b. iPad (1st gen wifi) - shared with the wife, used for reading, games and videos
c. iPod Nano - just for music, which I wouldn’t need to have with me all the time

Please comment if you have any thoughts on Android, especially as it works with music, or if you’ve used both iPhone and Android.

Flip Video and Macs

We just got a Flip HD and would like to get organized with my videos before we get into bad habits of just loading them up without any structure. What do you use to organize and edit your videos on the Mac?