Comments on: Cutting The Cord And The Impact of a PC In Every Living Room http://jasonlbaptiste.com/jason-l-baptiste-random-thoughts/cut-the-cord-with-mainstream-htpc/ Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:20:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: M Davenport NY. http://jasonlbaptiste.com/jason-l-baptiste-random-thoughts/cut-the-cord-with-mainstream-htpc/#comment-4160 M Davenport NY. Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:43:00 +0000 http://jasonlbaptiste.com/?p=358#comment-4160 Two months since I cut the cord with Time Warner cable. Three months since I built my own HTPC. First of all full disclosure I didn't even graduate high school which may be evident with my spelling I apoligize. The point being that just about anyone can build a Home theater PC. I first used my old cookie cutter pentium 4 sony vaio I bought 9 years ago to do all the research Youtude, google, newegg.com, ebay. Pricing and idea's. The questions you need to ask yourself at this point are what do I want this thing to do and what is your budget. Me I like graphic intense games, a healthy variety of tv shows and new and old release movies, music and pictures home videos you name it. Also as the article mentions will the wife accept this new way of obtaining your media. And as it turns out there are three children wondering why their new flat sreen tv's in thier rooms no longer have cable. Well good for them I have been putting the pieces in place over the last 2 years. The two younger ones got ps3's and the oldest got the 9 year old vaio mentioned earlier. As for my bedroom tv xbox 360 with wireless N. As a foot note I should mention that the ps3's do not support wireless N so the use of a program called playon doesn't work well in a wireless configuration with that console. However it does work perfectly with the xbox 360 with wirless N. The ps3's can still accsess netflix and anything on the HTPC that I choose to share. Movies, videos, pictures, music. My budget was $1300 dollars. What I got for my money. Coolermaster HAF tower, gigabyte MB, i7 950 processor, 12 gigs OCZ gold DDR3 1600Mhz ram, Gigabyte Gtx 460 super overclocked nvidia graphics card, 850 watt power supply, asus dvd drive, xbox joystick wireless adapter, OEM copy of windows 7 home premium 64 bit, western digital 1TB HDD 64mb cache, 2.4 ghz wireless keyboard w/trackball built in. Personal opinon here trackball better for moving mouse cursor across 50 inch screen than laser mouse. Also less stuff to get lost and moved around your living room. Everything purchased from newegg except the xbox wireless adapter and wireless keyboard which were purchased on ebay. Took me 4 hours to assemble it load windows and set everything the way I like it. Funny story the wireless keyboard I got had no "Y" button instead it had 2 "R"s hilarious. Contacted the seller and they sent me my "Y" button which took 2 seconds to pop off and fix it's perfect now. My only regret after 2 months of no cable is I wish I had made the move sooner. I figure after a year I will recoupe what I spent on the HTPC. This thing is awesome thats al I can say. Games on it look better and play smoother than the xbox or ps3. I now subsribe to hulu plus and netflix at a cost of just $16 dollars a month for both combined. We also have a magicjack phone hooked to the HTPC works perfectly as well. Now realistically this isn't for everyone. In order to do this you will need a good wireless setup in your home and the bandwidth to boot. I have time warner roadrunner turbo internet and get speeds of 30 mbs downstream and 1 mb up and sometimes with 5 people that even becomes strained. And that costs $65 a month for that. Over all the family is adjusting very well. I had back surgery a few years back and I can't tell you how awesome it is to lay in the recliner and surf the internet in my living room sure beats sitting at a desk. I totally agree with the statement that alot of products out there don't cover all the bases for media and functionality but a pc comes the closest thats for sure. I wrote a book sorry for that hope it helps convince people to make the leap. Two months since I cut the cord with Time Warner cable. Three months since I built my own HTPC. First of all full disclosure I didn’t even graduate high school which may be evident with my spelling I apoligize. The point being that just about anyone can build a Home theater PC. I first used my old cookie cutter pentium 4 sony vaio I bought 9 years ago to do all the research Youtude, google, newegg.com, ebay. Pricing and idea’s. The questions you need to ask yourself at this point are what do I want this thing to do and what is your budget. Me I like graphic intense games, a healthy variety of tv shows and new and old release movies, music and pictures home videos you name it.
Also as the article mentions will the wife accept this new way of obtaining your media. And as it turns out there are three children wondering why their new flat sreen tv’s in thier rooms no longer have cable. Well good for them I have been putting the pieces in place over the last 2 years. The two younger ones got ps3′s and the oldest got the 9 year old vaio mentioned earlier. As for my bedroom tv xbox 360 with wireless N. As a foot note I should mention that the ps3′s do not support wireless N so the use of a program called playon doesn’t work well in a wireless configuration with that console. However it does work perfectly with the xbox 360 with wirless N. The ps3′s can still accsess netflix and anything on the HTPC that I choose to share. Movies, videos, pictures, music.
My budget was $1300 dollars. What I got for my money. Coolermaster HAF tower, gigabyte MB, i7 950 processor, 12 gigs OCZ gold DDR3 1600Mhz ram, Gigabyte Gtx 460 super overclocked nvidia graphics card, 850 watt power supply, asus dvd drive, xbox joystick wireless adapter, OEM copy of windows 7 home premium 64 bit, western digital 1TB HDD 64mb cache, 2.4 ghz wireless keyboard w/trackball built in. Personal opinon here trackball better for moving mouse cursor across 50 inch screen than laser mouse. Also less stuff to get lost and moved around your living room. Everything purchased from newegg except the xbox wireless adapter and wireless keyboard which were purchased on ebay. Took me 4 hours to assemble it load windows and set everything the way I like it. Funny story the wireless keyboard I got had no “Y” button instead it had 2 “R”s hilarious. Contacted the seller and they sent me my “Y” button which took 2 seconds to pop off and fix it’s perfect now.
My only regret after 2 months of no cable is I wish I had made the move sooner. I figure after a year I will recoupe what I spent on the HTPC. This thing is awesome thats al I can say. Games on it look better and play smoother than the xbox or ps3. I now subsribe to hulu plus and netflix at a cost of just $16 dollars a month for both combined. We also have a magicjack phone hooked to the HTPC works perfectly as well. Now realistically this isn’t for everyone. In order to do this you will need a good wireless setup in your home and the bandwidth to boot. I have time warner roadrunner turbo internet and get speeds of 30 mbs downstream and 1 mb up and sometimes with 5 people that even becomes strained. And that costs $65 a month for that. Over all the family is adjusting very well. I had back surgery a few years back and I can’t tell you how awesome it is to lay in the recliner and surf the internet in my living room sure beats sitting at a desk. I totally agree with the statement that alot of products out there don’t cover all the bases for media and functionality but a pc comes the closest thats for sure. I wrote a book sorry for that hope it helps convince people to make the leap.

]]> By: ldsuds http://jasonlbaptiste.com/jason-l-baptiste-random-thoughts/cut-the-cord-with-mainstream-htpc/#comment-219 ldsuds Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:07:33 +0000 http://jasonlbaptiste.com/?p=358#comment-219 This doesn't work well unless I want to buy certain content--for example, Doctor. Who episodes. The BBC keeps a tight lid on all of it's programming; it's not released in the US anywhere but BBC America; so for all the great BBC programs--Being Human, Doctor Who, Sarah Jane Adventures, Top Gear, etc. I have no choice but to have Cable/Satellite for the programming. I don't really want to wait 6 months or more for the episodes to be available, when I can only be two weeks behind the UK with BBC America. This doesn't work well unless I want to buy certain content–for example, Doctor. Who episodes. The BBC keeps a tight lid on all of it's programming; it's not released in the US anywhere but BBC America; so for all the great BBC programs–Being Human, Doctor Who, Sarah Jane Adventures, Top Gear, etc. I have no choice but to have Cable/Satellite for the programming. I don't really want to wait 6 months or more for the episodes to be available, when I can only be two weeks behind the UK with BBC America.

]]> By: Kevin Thompson http://jasonlbaptiste.com/jason-l-baptiste-random-thoughts/cut-the-cord-with-mainstream-htpc/#comment-174 Kevin Thompson Sat, 13 Feb 2010 01:01:41 +0000 http://jasonlbaptiste.com/?p=358#comment-174 Awesome article, great content, and concise overview. Thanks for recommending me to read it via Facebook. I'd love to chat more with you about your ideas with HTPCs. Awesome article, great content, and concise overview. Thanks for recommending me to read it via Facebook. I'd love to chat more with you about your ideas with HTPCs.

]]> By: Jason L. Baptiste http://jasonlbaptiste.com/jason-l-baptiste-random-thoughts/cut-the-cord-with-mainstream-htpc/#comment-153 Jason L. Baptiste Thu, 14 Jan 2010 02:23:16 +0000 http://jasonlbaptiste.com/?p=358#comment-153 what programs are missing? what programs are missing?

]]> By: Jason L. Baptiste http://jasonlbaptiste.com/jason-l-baptiste-random-thoughts/cut-the-cord-with-mainstream-htpc/#comment-152 Jason L. Baptiste Thu, 14 Jan 2010 02:22:48 +0000 http://jasonlbaptiste.com/?p=358#comment-152 I absolutely love this line and i'm going to use it whenever possible: <br><br>"It might be an even more perfect storm than the one that made the iPod possible." I absolutely love this line and i'm going to use it whenever possible:

“It might be an even more perfect storm than the one that made the iPod possible.”

]]> By: Jason L. Baptiste http://jasonlbaptiste.com/jason-l-baptiste-random-thoughts/cut-the-cord-with-mainstream-htpc/#comment-151 Jason L. Baptiste Thu, 14 Jan 2010 02:22:18 +0000 http://jasonlbaptiste.com/?p=358#comment-151 boxee beta on appletv and it runs smooth? wow. did you hack that together or did they give you an early version, since it's not out yet. <br><br>what were you using on your htpc besides boxee and what made you switch to appletv with boxee?<br><br>Comcast is ridiculous. Microsoft selling off all their comcast shares reminds me of Bill Gates' "Kodak is toast" comment. What isp did you switch to?<br><br>The internet is all about choice. It's about access to anything you want whenever you want. It's spread to everything else and it's happening to cable. Live sports and the few shows that aren't online yet, will be. Thanks for commenting!<br><br>-jlb boxee beta on appletv and it runs smooth? wow. did you hack that together or did they give you an early version, since it's not out yet.

what were you using on your htpc besides boxee and what made you switch to appletv with boxee?

Comcast is ridiculous. Microsoft selling off all their comcast shares reminds me of Bill Gates' “Kodak is toast” comment. What isp did you switch to?

The internet is all about choice. It's about access to anything you want whenever you want. It's spread to everything else and it's happening to cable. Live sports and the few shows that aren't online yet, will be. Thanks for commenting!

-jlb

]]> By: Pat http://jasonlbaptiste.com/jason-l-baptiste-random-thoughts/cut-the-cord-with-mainstream-htpc/#comment-150 Pat Thu, 14 Jan 2010 01:16:33 +0000 http://jasonlbaptiste.com/?p=358#comment-150 Lack of sports programming would be the killer for me. I don't watch much TV but what little I do watch is not available online. Lack of sports programming would be the killer for me. I don't watch much TV but what little I do watch is not available online.

]]> By: kevinelliott http://jasonlbaptiste.com/jason-l-baptiste-random-thoughts/cut-the-cord-with-mainstream-htpc/#comment-149 kevinelliott Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:04:46 +0000 http://jasonlbaptiste.com/?p=358#comment-149 I just got finished installing the Boxee Beta (not the Alpha) on my Apple TV the other night. Works like a charm. I was drooling over the Beta on my Windows/OSX systems, and I'm happy that I can shut off my HTPC again.<br><br>I "cut the cord" last year when Comcast gave me a 1-month warning for my Internet usage (filled with NetFlix Instant HD usage about 5-6 hours a day in my household), followed by a 12-month ban. That gave me just enough anger to cut the cord with their TV service permanently.<br><br>I have to say. There's a lot less garbage on our screens these days. No more of that MTV trash that others here watch. Etc. We don't miss the cable content much (other than some live sports, and a few of our favorite shows that aren't yet online).<br><br>Worth the financial savings, and peace of mind. I just got finished installing the Boxee Beta (not the Alpha) on my Apple TV the other night. Works like a charm. I was drooling over the Beta on my Windows/OSX systems, and I'm happy that I can shut off my HTPC again.

I “cut the cord” last year when Comcast gave me a 1-month warning for my Internet usage (filled with NetFlix Instant HD usage about 5-6 hours a day in my household), followed by a 12-month ban. That gave me just enough anger to cut the cord with their TV service permanently.

I have to say. There's a lot less garbage on our screens these days. No more of that MTV trash that others here watch. Etc. We don't miss the cable content much (other than some live sports, and a few of our favorite shows that aren't yet online).

Worth the financial savings, and peace of mind.

]]> By: Bryan Christmas http://jasonlbaptiste.com/jason-l-baptiste-random-thoughts/cut-the-cord-with-mainstream-htpc/#comment-148 Bryan Christmas Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:29:19 +0000 http://jasonlbaptiste.com/?p=358#comment-148 It does put a lot of perspective on Apple's rumored move into TV subscriptions. It seems like there is a bit of a chicken/egg problem with services and hardware right now, (at least for mainstream consumers) and who is better and rangling in the big content providers AND being right there with the hardware/platform to make money off of it? <br><br>It might be an even more perfect storm than the one that made the iPod possible. It does put a lot of perspective on Apple's rumored move into TV subscriptions. It seems like there is a bit of a chicken/egg problem with services and hardware right now, (at least for mainstream consumers) and who is better and rangling in the big content providers AND being right there with the hardware/platform to make money off of it?

It might be an even more perfect storm than the one that made the iPod possible.

]]>