A while back I wrote an article detailing how I have set up a free system to watch TV without sacrificing a whole lot. I made the argument that cable/satellite TV was a broken system – why pay for a bunch of stuff you don’t watch? Even more: you don’t get to choose when to watch something, except for rather limited “on-demand” stuff, in which case you might even wind up spending more money to watch.
My original setup consisted of my laptop, a Netflix subscription, a VGA (monitor) cable, a decent antenna, and a cord to connect the headphone jack to the television. I have a rather nice Dynex 32” HDTV, which is plenty big for my tiny apartment, and puts out a very nice picture. In that setup, I kept my laptop continuously plugged in to the TV by running a long cord behind my furniture. The only drawback is that I never felt like I had an actual laptop – plugging in a laptop all the time kinda defeats the purpose.
I have an XBox 360 that I’ve had for a little over a year now. It’s a great gaming console for the few games I play on it (like Madden NFL 10, as seen above, next to my avatar that looks nothing like me anymore since I shaved the beard, grew my hair out, and stopped wearing contacts). I was excited when I heard that Netflix “Watch Instantly” streaming movies and TV shows were coming to the XBox 360, but I was disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it. See, I share my internet connection with my landlord and connect via the wireless. The router is in her apartment. My XBox 360 had no wireless router, and I didn’t want to drop a then-$100 to buy one. So I plugged the computer in directly.
Well, I recently was given a wireless adapter to borrow, and I’m planning on buying it from the guy, because this is the best non-cable experience I’ve ever had. The interface for the XBox 360 is intuitive, easy-to-use, and with a little set up, it will be a completely integrated solution that has even MORE functionality than my previous setup.
Without cable: On-demand high definition streaming
You may not be able to see it, but it says “Presented in HD” up there. For some reason, the folks over at Microsoft do not really push the advantages of the HD streaming: there’s no “HD” category when looking for Watch Instantly content, and they only place a tiny icon that says “HD” next to the titles of the videos. That said, it looks fantastic. To test it out, I bought a month of XBox Live Gold (more on that a little later), and played an episode of Grey’s Anatomy that was available. I hate the show, but the video quality is excellent!
You can almost see the angst in Meredith’s eyes.
Tons of great on-demand content!
When Netflix first debuted the Watch Instantly feature, the content was pretty sparse. They had seasons of The Office and a handful of movies nobody cared about. Since then, they’ve strategically developed new partnerships, including one with Starz, that has literally brought thousands of titles to the Watch Instantly line.
One thing I’ve missed about cable is networks like the Discovery Channel and the Travel Channel. Lo and behold, we’ve got content from there – great shows like Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Survivorman, and Mythbusters. And the standard content is also pretty good quality. Here’s a shot of Mythbusters that I watched on my lunch break today:
Very nice! Movies that recently came out on DVD find their way to Watch Instantly, and TV shows are being added all the time. Some movies are in HD, but the majority of HD titles are television shows. Before setting this up, the only true HD content I could enjoy was through over-the-air network television. It was still good, but it was not on-demand.
In addition to the Netflix feature, you can also purchase from the XBox Marketplace. They do, however, use a lousy purchasing system called “Microsoft Points”. But if you are looking to rival iTunes for your need to have the latest episode of Heroes, you can buy them here too.
Extend functionality by sharing media with your computer
This is where things got wonderful for me. Without a dedicated DVR, I’ve used torrent downloading to automatically download the latest episodes of certain TV shows to watch them on my own time. To watch them quickly and easily, I used to just hook up the computer to the television (and I still can, if I so choose). Through the XBox 360, however, you can share that library of movies and music with your television wirelessly. Google around to find your situation. I will either be sharing movies through my Zune software or through Windows Media Player.
Above is a picture of my downloaded episode of The Office, streaming from my computer through the Zune software and to my XBox 360. It uses up none of my computer’s resources.
And if you are using Windows Media Center, you can very easily connect that wirelessly with your XBox 360 – and share your DVR library with your television seamlessly. I decided not to go this route, as my laptop just isn’t that powerful to handle the software.
And, of course, the price.
You’ll have to have a computer and an XBox 360 on the same network, either wired to a router or connected wirelessly. Microsoft has made setup a simple procedure, you can just follow the step-by-step instructions they provide to connect. To enjoy high-definition content, obviously, you need a high-definition television!
So, outside of equipment (which is a one-time expense), what price are we looking at? My old cable bill was $70 per month, just for television service. That included a few HD channels, and the networks. So, for a year, I was paying $840 for cable.
This new setup requires a Netflix subscription that allows unlimited access to the Watch Instantly feature. I have a subscription that includes that, plus unlimited DVDs in my mailbox, one at a time. That’s $9.49 a month. In addition, you’ll need an XBox Live Gold subscription, which is currently retailing for $50 a year. [$9.49 x 12] + $50 = $163.88 a year, or annual savings of $676.12. That’s HUGE savings!
What else can we add?
There’s a service called PlayOn, which brings more streaming content, like Hulu and YouTube, to your XBox 360 or PS3. I have not yet tested this, but I plan to this evening. They also have a growing library of plug-ins, to watch ESPN and NFL Network videos on your television. If you are a fan of watching streaming television channels like TVAnts for your sports needs, do a Google search for sending those streams to your XBox 360 to be watched on your TV.
What I love about this service is that it eliminates more cords and integrates everything to one remote control. It’s user-friendly, attractive, and has great functionality. Did I miss anything? Do any of you employ this method or something similar? Share in the comments!
Tom is an entrepreneur and freelance writer, working out of his apartment full-time, or wherever he feels like taking his laptop. He doesn't take long European vacations or blogs on the beach. He's an Average Joe that took control of his life. He wants you to do the same.
