Hey everybody, I am curious to see what other people thought about paying for Cable TV vs. building a HTPC and watching everything over the Internet.
Today I read this article on Yahoo.com. http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home...ries-a-article
It basically describes how you can cancel your Cable TV service and instead watch everything over the Internet.
I currently pay $160 a month for Cable TV. HD, DVR Service, HBO, Internet and Phone service.
My thoughts are I can build a HTPC with a HD TV Tuner built so I can still watch HD TV, It would also act as a DVR service so I can still record my shows. I can watch other shows on hulu, Youtube, Internet TV etc.
I also already subscribe to Netflix, So I could stream movies to my tv anytime I want. That takes care of HBO.
Lastly, normal local channels are provided free of charge in HD over the air to my TV!
So All I'm left with is the Internet service, which I will have to keep, and Phone service.
Obviously I would use Windows Media Center, and a remote. But it will be a really different way of watching TV.
Here is the downside. Its not just me using this. Its My wife, and my 6 Yr. old son that has to use it too. I'm not worried about my son picking up on it, but my Wife is another story. She's not very Tech savy, so for her to learn a whole new way to find a show might be too much for her.
If I end up doing this I would build a new computer dedicated to this. It would replace my Cable box and Dvd player as I would install a BD drive to play moves and BluRay. It would probably run around $1000, but in the long run, I would save around $100 a month for cable tv. So in 10 months, it would pay for itself.
So here are my questions in a nutshell.
1. Do you see TV in general going away from broadcast to Internet?
2. Do you feel $100 a month is enough money to save to warrant doing this?
3. Do any of you have this kind of setup, if so, How do you like it? Do you wish you had cable back?
4. Do you find it difficult to find a show using the internet (for those that use a HTPC)
5. Anything else that I'm not thinking of?
Thanks!