Times are tough, money is tight, and Americans are starting to take a long, hard look at their monthly bills. One expense, in particular, stands out: cable. It's hard to cut back on most utilities—a modern home doesn't quite run without electricity, water or fuel, and some sort of phone seems essential, but television? Don't they broadcast that for free?
As a matter of fact, they do. And yet the average monthly cable bill in the U.S. is $58.80—more than $700 per year. Satellite TV generally offers a mild savings compared to cable, depending on what equipment and channels you select. But is there a way to get the range of TV content that typically comes from these services without the steep monthly fees?
Well, yes .. and no. If you're just looking to get local channels, an ordinary antenna will do. In fact, given the level of digital compression that cable companies use to squeeze ever more channels down the pipe, an antenna may deliver a better quality signal with hi-def content.
To receive over-the-air digital television, you need a TV with a digital tuner and an antenna that receives UHF and VHF signals. Plenty of television antennas are currently marketed as HDTV antennas, but as television engineer Mark Schubin puts it: 'There is no such thing as an HDTV antenna.' That doesn't mean that all antennas are the same. Weak digital signals, unlike weak analog signals, don't show up with static—they don't show up at all. So if you live in an area with substandard reception, it may be worth it to buy an amplified antenna to boost signal. Check out antennaweb.org to get an idea of what stations to expect, based on your address.
Variety-Packed
Okay, that takes care of local channels, but cable offers hundreds. What about ESPN? CNN? HBO? What about video on demand? Can you replace those once the coaxial cable is cut? The honest answer is that, if you love surfing through an endless series of channels, then nothing will truly replace cable. But according to a 2007 Nielsen study, the average American household received 104 channels—and watched only 15 of them regularly. So if statistics are any measure, a broad selection of content is important to viewers, but sheer quantity is not.
A surprising amount of TV and movie content is now available over the Internet for free or for a nominal price. The richest and most impressive source of Internet video, aside from outright torrent theft, is Netflix's 'Watch Instantly.' This streaming video service is a freebie extra for anyone who subscribes to the company's DVD-by-mail service (any plan over $8.99 per month offers unlimited streaming of content). Watch Instantly lets users browse through a library of 12,000 movies and television shows, much as they would surf channels on a cable box. It nicely combines the joy of serendipitous movie discovery that comes from watching HBO or Showtime with the impulse entertainment of video on demand.
Most major networks and cable channels offer a deep reservoir of content that can be streamed over the Internet. CNN's site posts video feeds of breaking news, and ESPN has partnerships with various Internet providers around the country to offer its ESPN360 live sports streaming service. New episodes of popular TV shows such as Lost and 24 are usually up on network sites within a day. NBC and Fox have teamed up to create the site hulu.com, which has so many shows and movies available for streaming that it is beginning to resemble a separate network itself.
Magic Boxes
Internet streaming video is great, but how do you get all that cable—obviating goodness onto the big-screen TV in the living room? Many new digital TVs from manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and Vizio come with Internet hookups that can directly link to sources such as Netflix and YouTube. Also, Dell and HP sell computers under $500 with HDMI outputs that can be hooked up directly to a TV.
In addition to full-featured PCs, there are a variety of Internet-enabled boxes that can be tricked out to tap into one or more of these sources. The Microsoft Xbox 360 can show streaming Netflix movies with a $50 yearly Xbox Live subscription. Perhaps the most elegant add-on device is the $99 Roku video-streaming box. It has built-in Wi-Fi and is a snap to set up and use. Roku streams Netflix movies and video-on-demand from Amazon, which has both free and rentable content.
Which brings us to the big question: How much do you really save out of all this? To take full advantage of online content, you'll need to have an Internet connection of at least 1.5 megabits per second (expect to pay at least $30 per month for that). And if you don't have a computer that hooks up easily to your TV, you can quickly find yourself stacking various set-top boxes at $100 to $300 each to get the selection of content you like. If you really go crazy with this stuff, you can burn through enough time, money and trouble that you might look back on your cable box with longing. On the other hand, if you're taking advantage of equipment and services you already have, there's a double sense of satisfaction to telling a monopolistic service provider to take a hike, combined with cash back in your pocket. That more than makes up for the loss of The Jewelry Channel. The fresh prince of bel-air dvdiso torrent.
Fancy new HDTVs have Internet hookups built right in, but there are plenty of ways to get Web video to your existing set.
Game Systems
Microsoft's Xbox 360 streams Netflix and sells TV shows through its Xbox Live service. Sony's PS3 has movies and shows for rent. But both gaming consoles are limited to content approved by their parent companies.
Blu-Ray Players
Players from Samsung and LG have integrated Netflix streaming. As yet, no Blu-ray players offer support for online TV sources, but many players are firmware updatable, so stay tuned.
Stand-Alone Players
Roku's video-streaming box plays content from Netflix and Amazon. Apple TV users can purchase content from the iTunes Store or tap into free, Web-based content by installing open-source Boxee software (which will violate their warranty).
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The faster the speed, the fewer the options for internet service. The Federal Communications Commission reported in 2014 that most Americans only have access to one or two choices for wired broadband service — which includes various types of “always-on,” high-speed internet, as opposed to dial-up.
What’s available in your area
To start finding what’s available near you, we’d recommend typing in your ZIP code at these sites:
These sites — which have no affiliation with NerdWallet — may make money when you click through to their recommendations. However, they seem to have the most accurate information out of the many internet provider search sites available.
There’s also a government-maintained broadband search site at broadbandmap.gov, but the data are several years old.
Choosing the best internet service
After you figure out which providers serve your area, make sure you understand the different types of internet service.
In many places, you’ll receive the fastest and most reliable internet speeds from either a cable company or a phone company’s DSL service. Fiber optic internet, one of the fastest internet delivery technologies, may be available but is less common. If you’re far from a metro hub, satellite internet may be your best option.
Choosing the best internet service for you depends on what’s available near you, what speed you need and how much you want to spend.
Stephen Layton is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: [email protected].
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Best Cell Phone Plans for SeniorsWhos My Cable Provider Account1. Check channel availability
Cable TV providers offer a large selection of channels and programs for customers; however, these companies must make arrangements with individual broadcast networks to gain access and curate deliverable content for their subscribers. Some channels may not be provided in your area or can be “blacked out” because of a pricing dispute. As you shop, make sure the company you are considering can provide you with the content you want. Along with availability, you should also discuss
2. Make sure they are reliable
Local weather, satellite placement and the number of customers using a provider's internet or cable feed can have an impact on reliability. Blank TV channels and slow connections can shape the reputation of a company's reliability.
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3. Study the company’s contract terms
The majority of cable and satellite TV providers offer customers packaged deal pricing on a contract basis. Generally, rates are locked in for two or more years, although companies may include an increase in cost after six or 12 months. Customers should ensure they do research about their contract and what it entails before locking in service with one company.
4. Look into additional services
Many cable and satellite TV providers also offer extra services; for instance, they may offer television and music channels in addition to the basic package.
5. Ask for package deals
Cable and satellite TV companies often package these related services together in bundles. Consumers can save by subscribing to TV and internet through the same company, for instance.
Can employees at a local telephone ISP [Internet Service Provider]
ISP is an acronym for Internet Service Provider. (Not to be confused with IP, which is completely unrelated.) An ISP is the company providing your home or place of business its connection to the internet. They may also provide services such as email, web hosting, or more. '>ISP read my e-mails and monitor my web surfing and tell others about what they read/see?
(Click on the term for full definition.)
Yes. Yes, they can.
The real question is, would they? Probably not. And yet … there are new concerns that they might occasionally even be required to.
If it’s of real concern to you, what might you do? I do have some ideas.
Your ISP
If you have a connection to the internet, it’s provided by an ISP; that’s what the acronym stands for: ISP [Internet Service Provider]
ISP is an acronym for Internet Service Provider. (Not to be confused with IP, which is completely unrelated.) An ISP is the company providing your home or place of business its connection to the internet. They may also provide services such as email, web hosting, or more. '>Internet Service Provider. Be it your work, school, phone or cable company, your internet service is provided by someone, and that someone is your ISP.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
Not only do they provide your internet connection, they completely control it.
Your ISP knows a lot about you. Traditional ISPs, like telephone and cable companies (and quite possibly many “non-traditional” ISPs, such as wireless providers and others), know where you live, so as to be able to physically get your connection to you (not to mention where to send the bill).
For example, as I’ve said over and over and over and over, in order to locate you by your IP address [Internet Protocol Address]
An IP address, short for Internet Protocol Address, is a number used to identify a device connected to a TCP/IP network like the internet. In IP version 4 (IPv4), an address is a 32-bit number typically displayed as four decimal numbers ranging from 0 to 255, separated by periods. '>IP address, it typically takes law enforcement and a court order. Where do they take that court order? To your ISP, to get them to reveal your physical location.
(Click on the term for full definition.) Monitoring your connection
Your ISP also controls the equipment that all your internet data flows over once it leave your location. You connect to your ISP, and your ISP routes the data to where it’s supposed to go elsewhere on the internet.
Can they “sneak a peek” at your data while they route it? Absolutely they can.
The question is: would they?
Folks, I’ve said this before too: we’re just not that interesting. Why would anyone want to spend time looking at gigabytes of data just so they can spy on your surfing habits or email? Most ISPs are overworked enough as it is, without adding some kind of electronic voyeurism to their job.
In my strong opinion, most people need do nothing to protect themselves from their ISP.
Protecting your connection
OK, so what if you still want to protect yourself? What if you have a legitimate reason for being paranoid?
Several possible solutions come to mind.
So it really all boils down to your level of paranoia, which could be quite legitimate or not, compared with the amount of effort you’re willing to put into keeping your connection secure.
But ultimately, I don’t believe that their ISP snooping on them is something most people need to worry about.
On the other hand…
In recent years, some governments have begun to require that ISPs keep at least some information about your internet habits. Anything your ISP can see is, potentially, logged and made available, should those governments come knocking.
What’s kept? Which ISPs? How long? Which governments?
There’s no way to know with certainty. Indeed, the landscape is changing often, and today’s answer to any of these questions might be different tomorrow.
Once again, I maintain that most of us simply aren’t that interesting, and aren’t likely to be doing anything that would warrant the interest of your government, much less of your ISP.
However, it’s certainly worth knowing what is possible, and perhaps might even be required, so that you can take any steps you feel are appropriate to protect yourself.
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