Switching from charter to ...

Posted on
Wed Mar 07, 2018 11:50 am
Colorado4Wheeler offline
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Re: Switching from charter to ...

DaveL17 wrote:
I'd rather throw down $100 for a new Roku every once in a while to get the latest software.

Precisely my take on smart TV's too. I do like that they have an IP address though, then I can have triggers based on if they are pingable (and thus on) or not. I developed a number of Roku plugins and was a hardcore Roku user until Apple opened the TV API and an app store, now I haven't updated Roku in years. However, I am on the exact same page.

Oh and I also hate Vizio!

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Wed Mar 07, 2018 1:03 pm
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Re: Switching from charter to ...

Colorado4Wheeler wrote:
On the Apple TV too, I never look at the remote because of how it fits in my hand and the only touch part of it is navigation and that's easy to do eyes-free.


For me, though, I have a Yamaha receiver, TiVO and a Blu-ray player (though I rarely use it any more) that I need to control. The Apple TV remote can't do that.

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Posted on
Wed Mar 07, 2018 1:12 pm
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Re: Switching from charter to ...

jay (support) wrote:
The Apple TV remote can't do that.

Sure it can, it depends on how deep you want to go with it :). RemoteBuddy is one way, and was my primary method for using a single Apple remote (before ATV4) to control everything. But with AppleTV 4 you can also map volume to your receiver and actually do some other modest IR changes. I'm not saying it'll work for you, but that where there's a will there's a way and there's always a will for me (much to my wife's chagrin).

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Posted on
Wed Mar 07, 2018 1:13 pm
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Re: Switching from charter to ...

DaveL17 wrote:
jay (support) wrote:
The biggest one was getting the timing right because my Visio "smart" TV takes FOREVER to boot up (and I use those words rather than 'turn on' to impress how bad it is).

No more smart TVs for me in general and no more Vizio TVs for me in particular. Not only do they take a long time to boot, but we'll be in the middle of watching a program when the TV will just freeze and then reboot on its own (I have two different models and they both do this.) Also, Vizio was caught with their hand in the cookie jar and got in trouble for collecting and selling data without telling their customers. Nope.

Moreover, I find that smart TVs get abandoned by their manufacturers too quickly and their software isn't adequately kept up to date (I have a limited sample of experience on this point, though). What I want is a good display, preferably with IP or RS232 control, and that's it. I'd rather throw down $100 for a new Roku every once in a while to get the latest software. Plus, in my experience, Roku does a nice job of keeping things up to date and the things just work.


Totally agree - super high quality display with IP and IR control.

I will say, however, that I've only had a couple of occurrences of the Visio spontaneously rebooting (and that seems to have stopped after a software update). The picture quality of that Visio 4k in my media room is amazing (now that I'm actually getting 4k content). I have an older Sharp HD in the living room and it has some odd discolorations (you only really notice it on white/very light scenes) that are sometimes distracting to me though others seem not to notice.

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Posted on
Wed Mar 07, 2018 1:15 pm
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Re: Switching from charter to ...

Colorado4Wheeler wrote:
jay (support) wrote:
The Apple TV remote can't do that.

Sure it can, it depends on how deep you want to go with it :). RemoteBuddy is one way, and was my primary method for using a single Apple remote (before ATV4) to control everything. But with AppleTV 4 you can also map volume to your receiver and actually do some other modest IR changes. I'm not saying it'll work for you, but that where there's a will there's a way and there's always a will for me (much to my wife's chagrin).


I doubt very seriously that you could effectively control a TiVO using an Apple TV remote - you'd constantly be trying to find the TiVO remote to do things because there just aren't enough buttons/gestures to account for the functionality in the TiVO UI.

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Posted on
Wed Mar 07, 2018 1:23 pm
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Re: Switching from charter to ...

jay (support) wrote:
I doubt very seriously that you could effectively control a TiVO using an Apple TV remote

You're probably right, you have to definitely make sacrifices. At one point I was able to control a good deal of my immediate HA using an Apple remote using RemoteBuddy but you have to give things up. I even wrote an app for the Apple TV so that I could do it even more effectively that worked quite well but it was a bit clunky for sure.

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Posted on
Wed Mar 07, 2018 1:26 pm
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Re: Switching from charter to ...

jay (support) wrote:
I doubt very seriously that you could effectively control a TiVO using an Apple TV remote

BTW, I never got a Tivo, I use HDHomeRun + Plex for all my DVR because I have scripts that will cut all commercials and since Plex is an app on AppleTV, it all just works with one remote now without any messing around ;).

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Posted on
Mon Mar 12, 2018 8:59 pm
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Re: Switching from charter to ...

I am considering cutting the cord and kill my charter cable

We have been beta-testing dropping cable by only using streaming for the last two months and I have to say, I love it. Will turn in the cable equipment this week or next and enjoy it immensely (we have COX, but I don't think anyone is happy with any cable provider...)

I've been using YouTube TV (gives me streaming access to local stations, so avoid the need for a DVR setup), Netflix, and Amazon Prime. With the unlimited cloud DVR provided I pretty much can stay up to date on any show save Discovery & History Channel shows which are not on YouTube TV. Like Colorado said, though, you can usually find them an episode, or season, back.

I subscribe to the streaming HBO for the months that Westworld or GoT are on, then turn it off. So the content is out there...

Posted on
Mon Mar 12, 2018 10:29 pm
kw123 offline
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Re: Switching from charter to ...

This is why we have done
Att 1gbit ($90)
Vonage international -free calling to eu ($40) that is important
2 Apple TV
Directv now 2 streams ($45)
Have amazon prime
Also Netflix

Negative: the Apple TV remote is too small. But the universal remote setup works fine

Rest works fine

Karl



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