What Do You Use for Streaming on Your TV?

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Mudpuppy
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Re: What Do You Use for Streaming on Your TV?

Post by Mudpuppy »

bicker wrote:I had to bump my FiOS service up to 75 Mbps/35 Mbps to get 720p reliably, and we're not talking about some remote area - this is right by the middle of the 128 tech corridor north of Boston
75Mbps is more than double the Mbps of an uncompressed HD channel and most streaming providers use compression for their HD streams. It sounds like there's something wonky going on with your FiOS provider.
sscritic
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Re: What Do You Use for Streaming on Your TV?

Post by sscritic »

Mudpuppy wrote: It sounds like there's something wonky going on with your FiOS provider.
Who else provides an iPhone but Apple? Who else provides FiOS but Verizon?
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bUU
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Re: What Do You Use for Streaming on Your TV?

Post by bUU »

Mudpuppy wrote: It sounds like there's something wonky going on with your FiOS provider.
Not at all. All service providers specify service levels as peak performance levels, not a minimum.
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Ducks
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Re: What Do You Use for Streaming on Your TV?

Post by Ducks »

topper1296 wrote:I have a related question. What is the best streaming option if you are a sports fan? I realize I can get ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox over "rabbit ears", but what about the ESPN network or Fox Sports Network? A minor consideration is watching CNBC.
Topper - There is an ESPN app on the XBoxbut I'm not sure what's on it. There is no Fox Sports Network app as far as I know... here is the page about sports: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/entertainment/sports

CNBC would probably need to come through the HDHomerun Prime/Windows Media Center thing earlier.
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magellan
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Re: What Do You Use for Streaming on Your TV?

Post by magellan »

bicker wrote:
Mudpuppy wrote: It sounds like there's something wonky going on with your FiOS provider.
Not at all. All service providers specify service levels as peak performance levels, not a minimum.
I think I'm with Mudpuppy on this one. Something doesn't sound right. Do you know the bitrate of the video stream that was failing? Most streaming 1080p video is encoded at under 15 Mbps and 720p can be as low as 2 to 3Mbps.

BTW, when it comes to video streaming, 1080p or 720p don't tell you much of anything. The bitrate and encoding technology is much more important. 1080p from youtube that's encoded at 5Mbps is no match for a 1080p Vudu stream coming down at 12Mbps, which is no match for a 720p blueray disc that's encoded at 35Mbps. But you can't just use the bitrate to discern quality, because newer codecs are much much better, to the point where some 15-20Mbps H.264 streams have quality that rivals a 35Mbps blueray stream.

Jim
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blacktupelo
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Re: What Do You Use for Streaming on Your TV?

Post by blacktupelo »

Apple TV v2 and an iPad 2 for Airplay or Mirroring of content from internet that can't be directly accessed from Apple TV.

Initially used wireless home network and recently did direct LAN cable from AT&T Uverse gateway.

Works great for Netflix streaming of movies, old TV shows, purchased iTunes TV programs like current season Doctor Who episodes.
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bUU
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Re: What Do You Use for Streaming on Your TV?

Post by bUU »

magellan wrote:I think I'm with Mudpuppy on this one. Something doesn't sound right.
Speedtest.net says otherwise. I think y'all are forgetting that there is no way to devote your entire network to a single task, especially with other people in the house.
Mudpuppy
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Re: What Do You Use for Streaming on Your TV?

Post by Mudpuppy »

bicker wrote:
magellan wrote:I think I'm with Mudpuppy on this one. Something doesn't sound right.
Speedtest.net says otherwise. I think y'all are forgetting that there is no way to devote your entire network to a single task, especially with other people in the house.
You neglected to mention that the bandwidth was shared with others in the household. Obviously, if the bandwidth is split a half-dozen ways, you will need more of it to make sure each "share" is sufficient for streaming. But that does not mean everyone will need 75 down/35 up to be able to stream 720p.
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bUU
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Re: What Do You Use for Streaming on Your TV?

Post by bUU »

Mudpuppy wrote:But that does not mean everyone will need 75 down/35 up to be able to stream 720p.
Indeed... I didn't. What I said was that, "I had to bump my FiOS service up to 75 Mbps/35 Mbps to get 720p reliably." I suspect that only folks who have teens in the house or a spouse that plays online video games while you're watching a movie will have such needs. In my experience, that's a pretty significant percentage of families, though.
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ruanddu
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Re: What Do You Use for Streaming on Your TV?

Post by ruanddu »

Has anyone tried the Vizio Co-star streaming box yet?

I am also intrigued about the Hisense box coming out soon for $100.
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midareff
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Re: What Do You Use for Streaming on Your TV?

Post by midareff »

Stream direct (mostly HD + 5.1) from wifi router for Hulu, Netflix and Vudu to Samsung Smart.
jridger2011
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Re: What Do You Use for Streaming on Your TV?

Post by jridger2011 »

Xbox 360 and PS3. The PS3 is a better value since the streaming is free of charge unlike Xbox's subscription model for Live. Also the PS3 includes a blu-ray player which is nice for newer movies.
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englishgirl
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Re: What Do You Use for Streaming on Your TV?

Post by englishgirl »

Well, after only 6 months with the Roku, I've decided to move it and the TV to the guest room, and get rid of the old, giant, clunky guest TV. And give up my Hulu Plus subscription. I think I got too used to streaming on my laptop, and didn't adjust well trying to go back to watching the TV. It seemed so far away! Plus, the controls seemed awkward just using the remote. And there's just me, so there just doesn't seem to be a need to have a TV in the living room at all. Lately I've been watching TV on my laptop using Hulu, CBS.com and PBS.org, so I may as well go back to not paying any monthly services.
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Lon
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Re: What Do You Use for Streaming on Your TV?

Post by Lon »

Roku on the bedroom TV and the Panasonic Vierra in the lounge gets both Netflix, Amazon and others via Wi Fi.
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ruanddu
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Re: What Do You Use for Streaming on Your TV?

Post by ruanddu »

Thanks for replies, please keep them coming.
brukster
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Re: What Do You Use for Streaming on Your TV?

Post by brukster »

I use the WDTV devices. These can stream from a NAS box on my home network. Mostly I download UK, Canadian, and Australian TV [links to bit torrent sites removed by admin LadyGeek].
rixer
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Re: What Do You Use for Streaming on Your TV?

Post by rixer »

I use a Sony Blu-Ray to stream. It was inexpensive and works very well. I love these new devices that will update themselves from the net. I'm hoping I'll be able to update it with the new Redbox streaming service that's about to begin. They will offer newer movies, something Netflix sorely lacks.
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Frobie
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Re: What Do You Use for Streaming on Your TV?

Post by Frobie »

We used to stream over wifi to an Internet-capable Blu-ray player (LG). That worked well for a while, but we live in a somewhat crowded neighborhood that has lots of competition/interference when it comes to wifi channels.

Eventually saw these on sale at Monoprice and rolled the dice. This approach has been MUCH more reliable than streaming over wifi, and if I had it to do over again I think I'd skip the wifi-capable Blu-ray player and go straight to the Ethernet over power adapter route (to a Blu-ray player with an old-fashioned Ethernet adapter and no wifi).
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bUU
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Re: What Do You Use for Streaming on Your TV?

Post by bUU »

Those used to suck badly (many years ago), but a friend of mine tried them out a few weeks back and reported back that they were quite excellent. They don't beat MoCA (the kind of networking that Verizon FiOS supports, which allows you to essentially screw in an Ethernet port wherever you have a cable connection), but they're very effective and better than Wi-fi if you have any significant interference, or need to bridge a long distance with in-house obstructions (my friend's situation).
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