Streaming Video PC

I was doing some research on computer hardware for a streaming video PC. I can make a pretty good computer for around $500. That included a TV tuner card (somewhat worthless at the moment) and a Blu-ray DVD drive (which I can always upgrade to later). If I drop those two components, I can get it down to around $375. Not ready to pull the trigger on tat yet, but I'm considering it.

Looks like streaming video on the laptop and a movie are on the entertainment docket tonight. I think I'm officially in denial.

It's Official

I am fully functioning on DSL today. We had worship team practice at the church, coupled with a long day at work means no time to miss TV today.

So far I am pleased, although it's barely day 1. The bandwidth test showed 1.8 mbps on the DSL download speed.

The shakes still come and go...

Am I Going to Survive This?

I came home from work today to a box on my front doorstep. My DSL modem came today along with the activation instructions and a notice that explained my service starts tomorrow (yay!). My internet has officially been disconnected. My wife and I plan on watching a movie this evening to help pass the time. We even plan on going to bed early!

Today has been too busy to suffer from shakes.

Hello DSL

In the midst of the melee, I signed up for 3.0 mbps DSL from a national local/wireless phone company. They told me my service would start on Friday, May 1st. I still have no solution for TV.

The shakes are coming regularly now...

Cutting the Cord

I called the cable company about my billing issue and the very unpleasant lady on the phone told me that I had to deal with it. I was apparently on a promotion (that lasted 2 years) and there was no way to lower the price or put me on another promotion for the service I had subscribed to. She was sure to offer me slower internet for $30 and proceeded to bash DSL in the process. What she didn't realize is that the DSL I looked into was twice as fast for about the same price. I asked her to give me a good reason to stay with her company and she kept repeating the $30 "deal." I was extremely frustrated. I told her to cancel everything. She asked me the date to cancel and I told her that I didn't care what date it was but that they shouldn't expect next month's bill.

When I got home from work, I took my cable box to the local office. I was hoping they would ask why I terminated my service. I had this grand vision in my head that I would tell them what happened and they would beg and please for my subscription back, laying the world at my feet. They didn't. The lady was very nice but to the point. I walked out of the office a free man.

And that's when the shakes started...

I have Options

I didn't get around to calling Com... the cable company today but did have a little bit of time to research some options. Internet is easy: DSL. I went to Ver... I mean a DSL provider's website and found out that they do provide service to my house. I don't have a phone line so need to find out if this will be a problem and what the price points will be. It does look like I can get 3.0 mbps service or 7.1 mbps. I have a feeling that a dedicated 3.0 mbps line will be more than enough (especially since I know I wasn't getting 10.0 service with cable even though it was advertised as that).

As far as TV goes, my wife and I talked and I think we're going to attempt to ride it out for a while. There are many video options on the internet. I'm looking into running Boxee on an old laptop hooked to the TV as well as simple streaming video sites. I visited Hulu.com today and was pretty amazed at their video selections and the quality. Before and after the visit I did a CNET bandwidth test on my cable and it said I was barely getting 1.5 mpbs download. With 3.0 DSL service, streaming video as a replacement for TV could very well be viable. And if it's not, an upgrade to 7.1 service might be a very good substitute to cable or satelite service.

Too Expensive to Justify

In the last 6 months, my cable bill has gone up twice. Once about 6 months ago. I was paying a very respectable $78 per month for high-speed internet and "advanced" cable. I was happy then. About 6 months ago, I got a bill for a little more than I expected (around $99). That was quite a bit more than I was expecting. I called ready to cancel my cable as I really could not afford a cable bill that high. I talked to a very nice lady who was able to get my bill down to $90 ($12 more than I was used to, but manageable).

I was expecting my cable bill to arrive soon but I was not expecting what awaited me. I opened the bill to find that I was expected to pay $120 for next month's service (both TV and internet). The internet portion of my bill has risen by $30 (to $60 from $30). This is unacceptable in my opinion. I know I will not pay the bill in full as I don't think TV and internet are worth that dollar amount. At the moment, I am planning on calling the cable company first thing in the morning to try to get this straightend out.

Some Background Information

I am a former cable subscriber. I used to receive high-speed internet and TV service from a provider which shall remain nameless (however, you might have seen their quirky commercials in which "happy" customers traverse a dream world of peppy music and bright colors). Com... I mean, the cable company in question is the only cable provider in my area. I have been a subscriber of this company for over 2 years. I used to be a happy customer, when prices were lower and I had more channels. This is before Insight was bought by Com... I mean the cable company in question.