For HD, 2gb /hr is about right:
“Currently, our top HD streams are about 4800 kilobits per second.”
4800kb/s = 600 KiloBYTES/second * 3600 Seconds/hour = 2,160,000KB = 2.05GB for their best quality streams.
For SD, or for HD at less than top quality, less obviously. But it still illustrates how low the data caps are on cellular- while certainly Verizon 4g is more than fast enough to stream that HD movie, the normal 2 gigabyte cap for a month can’t even cover the first hour.
Check your library as well. My mom rents a lot of movies/TV shows from the library.
Also, aside from getting movies from friends or the library, you can rent a DVD from Redbox for $1.20 plus sales tax. They have self-service machines in many supermarkets and other stores and they have most recent big releases. If you want to watch more obscure stuff, the Netflix DVD-by-mail service is a good deal at $8/month, although you only get one disc at a time.
OK - can Ifind the magic phrase to make this Q legal:
re. “loaning DVD”
It is my understanding that, over10 years ago, somebody shipped a product with the CSS (“Content Scrambling System” - the copy-protection scheme used on (at least early) DVD’s.
Hackers, being hackers, grabbed this and, as I heard it, came up with “9 lines of PERL” to de-code DVD’s.
I have a little box (takes a 9 volt battery) which removed Macrovision from VHS tapes. Before that little box came out, I used a professional duplicator. Yes, I’m a bad boy
I also heard of the FBI grabbing a fellow as he got off the plane from China, where he had procured 10,000 CSS-busting chips.
So, is CSS still used? Does it still stop anyone from copying a DVD?
I do have the ability to crack CSS - I am aware that it can be done, (no, don’t bother PMing me). The device I use was on the US market for about 3 months circa 2001.
No, Microsoft will NOT screw you. The Xbox 360 is a gaming platform and it offers Xbox Live Gold as a subscription multiplayer online gaming service. The TV/movie streaming options it offers are as a BONUS to the Xbox Live Gold service, and more than that are fully noted upfront in all literature as requiring a paid subscription to utilise.
The Xbox 360 is not a media box that can also happen to play games, it’s a game console that happens to offer media streaming as an adjunct to their subscription gaming service. There’s no ripping off or screwing anywhere involved with it.
Yes, CSS is still used. Any commercially released movie or TV show on DVD will use it.
There are many, many programs out there that let you rip DVDs so it’s hardly a deterrent.
The studios (the worst is Disney) are throwing in various oddball things into the DVD headers to confuse these programs. Unfortunately, they also tend to confuse some (especially older) DVD players. Of course the software folk just update their programs as needed.
I have never heard of a CSS-defeating chip. Seems like a complete waste of time if it worked at all.
Given that the OP is “CHEAP and techno-dumb”, there’s a probability that they will have to upgrade their computer in order to stream on the desktop. If most online videos start and stop frequently, that’s a sign of a potential problem.
Sounds to me like you have 4 main options:
-Netflix DVDs by mail.
-Upgrading your Internet to DSL or something with a much higher limit (1 GB per hour of video is a good number to use.) Cable internet may give you 250 GB or more per month. Don’t bother with satellite internet, they don’t want you streaming video over it. After you upgrade your Internet you can get Netflix streaming for $8 per month, Hulu Plus, or Amazon Prime. All have decent libraries of TV shows and movies, but keep in mind it won’t be current stuff, at least a year or 2 old.
-Getting basic satellite, if you press the right buttons with Dish you should be able to do ~$35 per month.
-Buying a Tivo with it’s $12/mo service to maximize your free over-the-air programming; record stuff that’s on while you’re at work or asleep.
Unless you live far away from town, you should be able to get more than one station with poor reception. ( This site may help you determine what over the air channels are near you: http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/maps/ ) You might just need an antenna and digital tv receiver connected to your tv. (for example http://www.walmart.com/ip/RCA-Digital-TV-Converter-Box/17011350 and http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10983718&findingMethod=rr )
a very good summary, thank you. I plan on doing the first for now.
Locksmithe, I live far from any city. there is supposedly one “moderate” signal at my address but I have a digital TV and got an antenna for it but the TV is not picking up the signal. a pity, it is ABC and that would be nice.
the one signal I do get is not on the map generated by your link.
but thanks, anyway.
gives really good help in what tv stations you will get with what antenna. click on ‘Check Your Address for Free TV’ and enter zip, address or coordinates and height of antenna. i’ve used it for myself and other people and it is accurate.
an excellent link, Johnpost, thank you. shows me the one (dumb) station I get and there are two more I could get if I put an antenna on the roof.
I watch plenty of shows via Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus, as we cancelled our satellite subscription a few months back. TONS of stuff on Hulu Plus is available the very next day after it airs on broadcast TV. Fox programming has I believe an 8-day delay, but that’s sort of the exception to the rule.
Amazon Prime tends to be a little more like you describe…a show currently in its sixth season on broadcast TV may have the first four seasons available for free viewing with a Prime membership, a fifth season available for purchase, and no sixth season episodes available yet.
But Hulu Plus has a LOT of programming much newer than a “year or two old,” so I wanted to point this out.
It all depends on what you want to watch. The very cheapest option is Netflix and library DVDs, but that means no local news and waiting a year to see a series.
If you want something like a normal TV experience, I’d recommend satellite. I have DishNetwork which is pretty good.
Next up is DSL and a wireless router (often built into the modem.) That will give you access to all the services talked about, assuming it is available in your area. DSL itself doesn’t give you broadcast TV, but it is worth it to use the web without worrying about running out of bandwidth. I’ve got DSL and satellite.
Next up is cable, often bundled with high speed internet. I don’t watch enough TV to make this worth it, and we have only one.
The more you pay the more you get.