Technology catch-all thread

[Steve9347]

I bought a Samsung 4k television over the holiday. The visual leap is akin to the leap from SD to HD back in the day. Watching Planet Earth 2 on the Ultra HD Netflix stream was a sight to behold.

 

Also, I am incredibly impressed by the Smart TV aspects of this one in particular. Using the menus is actually enjoyable, switching between inputs (and controlling devices) is super easy, the integration with my soundbar was out of the box, and the apps run flawlessly and are enjoyable to use.

 

I am pleased. The 50" Samsung 4K television was only $459 at Costco. I went there to get the 50" Samsung 1080p television for $429 and didn't even realize the 4K was only $30 more. Glad I made that choice.

 

I also upgraded to the PS4 Pro and can confirm that NBA 2k18 looks way better.

[LittleHurt05]

I'm finally about to pull the trigger on cutting the cord and getting rid of my cable TV with Comcast. I'd like to completely get rid of Comcast altogether, but they seem to be the best internet, but have seen mixed reviews for WOW. Has anybody in Chicagoland used them WOW at all? Not concerned about the TV quality, just more concerned with the internet.

[StrangeSox]

Are you looking at any of the streaming services instead? Our Comcast contract is up at the end of the month and I'd like to dump cable, too.

[LittleHurt05]

Are you looking at any of the streaming services instead? Our Comcast contract is up at the end of the month and I'd like to dump cable, too.

 

Yeah, we are looking at a combo of Sling, Amazon, and NetFlix. I think our kids watch more than we do nowadays, so we don't need much. I just care about the sports, and I think can cover about 80% of what I have now through Sling TV, so that should be enough. We've been talking about it for months, but it's now New years resolution #1.

 

Comcast probably does have the internet so I might have to stick to them, unless WOW is serviceable. I don't think AT&T has fast enough speeds this area.

[Brian]

How much do you pay with Comcast where you are not happy? I see so many people complain about them but I have never had a problem with them.

Well one, and it was stupid but the rectified it swiftly.

 

I looked into streaming stuff as well awhile back but fear I'd miss too much sports.

 

DirecTV Now was intriguing as well.

Edited January 3, 2018 by Brian

[LittleHurt05]

How much do you pay with Comcast where you are not happy? I see so many people complain about them but I have never had a problem with them.

Well one, and it was stupid but the rectified it swiftly.

 

I looked into streaming stuff as well awhile back but fear I'd miss too much sports.

 

DirecTV Now was intriguing as well.

 

Honestly I've never really had much of a problem with them, other than it being a giant pain in the ass to call them. And the new X1 system is pretty sweet and user friendly. It's just way too expensive for how little TV I actually watch. We have the triple play with internet & phone and it now exceeds $250. I can threaten to quit, they chop a little off for a year, but it's not much. I have all the premium channels, I ask to cancel them, but it's all "free" in my cable package so it doesn't change the price anyway.

[Brian]

Honestly I've never really had much of a problem with them, other than it being a giant pain in the ass to call them. And the new X1 system is pretty sweet and user friendly. It's just way too expensive for how little TV I actually watch. We have the triple play with internet & phone and it now exceeds $250. I can threaten to quit, they chop a little off for a year, but it's not much. I have all the premium channels, I ask to cancel them, but it's all "free" in my cable package so it doesn't change the price anyway.

 

Yikes. I call whenever my bill goes up and make changes. Sometimes cut some stuff out. Roku has an xfinity app so I got rid of the box in my room which was $10 a month. Cut HBO cuz I get it for free with my ATT cell.

I pay $140 a months with Showtime/Starz and sports package (Red Zone and Tennis channels, etc). Internet is 100 mbps or whatever.

May cut Showtime when Shameless ends.

[bmags]

My problems with comcast were cut down infinitely when i stopped moving annually. That process is garbage. But now that i'm not doing that, pretty happy with them.

 

*shudders* equipment return on north avenue

[LittleHurt05]

Yikes. I call whenever my bill goes up and make changes. Sometimes cut some stuff out. Roku has an xfinity app so I got rid of the box in my room which was $10 a month. Cut HBO cuz I get it for free with my ATT cell.

I pay $140 a months with Showtime/Starz and sports package (Red Zone and Tennis channels, etc). Internet is 100 mbps or whatever.

May cut Showtime when Shameless ends.

 

Yeah, I'm kind of embarrassed to ever admit how much our bill is now. The few channels I do watch are only on their biggest package, I need some a la carte options. I can't even cut HBO/Showtime and all of that because it's "free" with the other channels I look for.

 

I just find talking to them about it painful. And online they only let you add service, not remove service of course.

[Bob Sacamano]

Yikes. I call whenever my bill goes up and make changes. Sometimes cut some stuff out. Roku has an xfinity app so I got rid of the box in my room which was $10 a month. Cut HBO cuz I get it for free with my ATT cell.

I pay $140 a months with Showtime/Starz and sports package (Red Zone and Tennis channels, etc). Internet is 100 mbps or whatever.

May cut Showtime when Shameless ends.

 

I currently have a Hulu account and what I am currently doing to watch Shameless is pay the extra monthly fee to get Showtime (watching some other stuff now as well to make it worth it). It's really easy to go back and forth on your account so once Shameless is over and my friends/family who currently watch the show on my account are done, I plan on getting rid of Showtime on my account (may potentially freeze my Hulu account for a month or two as well).

Edited January 3, 2018 by soxfan2014

[Jenksismyhero]

I've heard the best way to go is to find someone older, like your parents or grandparents, who can't live without cable and borrow their log in information and then you can watch whatever you want.... just a rumor. Not sure if it works...

[Balta1701]

So apparently due to a major security flaw discovered in their chips, Intel and other companies are going to release patches likely to reduce the speed of "ALL" computers on the market by about 30%. Will hit Intel machines hardest first, Linux and Windows, but future patches likely for all OS.

[Texsox]

We cut the cable about a year ago

Hulu, Netflix, CBS, Amazon Prime, through Roku has been the main go tos. We've picked up Acorn and similar to binge watch certain series then cancel. I only watch a few hours per week so it really hasn't been much of a problem for me, although I haven't found a way to get the Golf Channel which has been a hassle at times.

[iamshack]

Yeah, I'm kind of embarrassed to ever admit how much our bill is now. The few channels I do watch are only on their biggest package, I need some a la carte options. I can't even cut HBO/Showtime and all of that because it's "free" with the other channels I look for.

 

I just find talking to them about it painful. And online they only let you add service, not remove service of course.

I did this about 4 months ago after getting fed up with DirecTV’s customer service.

 

I invested in a new router and modem, bumped up our internet speed, bought some Apple TVs, and a few HD digital antennas. Initial investment of about $750.

 

We’ve settled into Sling (orange and blue + NFL RedZone) HBO Now, Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube and MLB at-bat. Ends up costing about $80/mo for the programning. Internet is $88.

 

Granted, I no longer have NFL Sunday Ticket, but I get everything else I need + much more, and I save about $100-125 mo.

 

Investment will be recouped after 6-7 months essentially.

 

I probably could shave off HBO Now for most of the year....we don’t even really watch that.

 

Sling’s quality can suck from time to time, but I chose its over DirecTV Now because they had NFL RedZone and DTV did not. Otherwise, everything works pretty well after a getting-used to period.

 

I now need to figure out a way to get Root sports, since they broadcast the VGK games.

[Texsox]

Live sports is the problem for us. My wife is a big college football fan, especially UT. We can get to a couple of the home games, but the away games are a problem.

[iamshack]

Live sports is the problem for us. My wife is a big college football fan, especially UT. We can get to a couple of the home games, but the away games are a problem.

They have their own network, right?

[Heads22]

They have their own network, right?

 

Their network only has 1 or 2 football games.

[StrangeSox]

So apparently due to a major security flaw discovered in their chips, Intel and other companies are going to release patches likely to reduce the speed of "ALL" computers on the market by about 30%. Will hit Intel machines hardest first, Linux and Windows, but future patches likely for all OS.

 

This is bad, it affects AMD chips too so nobody escapes. Some of the problems are at the hardware level so there's no way to fix short of swapping in a new, redesigned processor.

[RockRaines]

How much do you pay with Comcast where you are not happy? I see so many people complain about them but I have never had a problem with them.

Well one, and it was stupid but the rectified it swiftly.

 

I looked into streaming stuff as well awhile back but fear I'd miss too much sports.

 

DirecTV Now was intriguing as well.

Directv keeps going up too. Its all about threatening them. My bill literally doubled overnight this last month. Every provider wants to get you and then milk you. They know its a pain to drill holes in your house.

[iamshack]

Peloton Tread

[RockRaines]

Peloton Tread

Yeah, thats pretty awesome.

[BigSqwert]

Yikes at that price. Definitely targeting those who likely already own 2 Teslas.

[iamshack]

Yikes at that price. Definitely targeting those who likely already own 2 Teslas.

I’ll be honest, Marko...while the up front investment is not insignificant, they do offer financing which is competitive with high-end gym subscriptions.

 

I’ve had my bike, which was $2k, for just over a year. During that time, I have paid something like $480 in subscription fees. I’ve taken about 160 rides. Thus far, that pencils out to about $16 a ride. I know that isn’t cheap, but as I continue to ride, that price goes down. On my current pace, after 4 more years, that number will hit about $5.60/ride. If you compare that to similar products, such as a boutique spinning class, that is well-below the prices most of them are getting.

 

I view the Tread the same way. The initial investment is no doubt steep, but if you are a current subscriber, the content comes at no additional cost. So I’ll be getting the spinning content and the circuit training content for $39/mo.

 

I do agree it is not inexpensive, but when you pencil it, it’s not as bad as one might initially think. I put in my reservation already.

[Harry Chappas]

I’ll be honest, Marko...while the up front investment is not insignificant, they do offer financing which is competitive with high-end gym subscriptions.

 

I’ve had my bike, which was $2k, for just over a year. During that time, I have paid something like $480 in subscription fees. I’ve taken about 160 rides. Thus far, that pencils out to about $16 a ride. I know that isn’t cheap, but as I continue to ride, that price goes down. On my current pace, after 4 more years, that number will hit about $5.60/ride. If you compare that to similar products, such as a boutique spinning class, that is well-below the prices most of them are getting.

 

I view the Tread the same way. The initial investment is no doubt steep, but if you are a current subscriber, the content comes at no additional cost. So I’ll be getting the spinning content and the circuit training content for $39/mo.

 

I do agree it is not inexpensive, but when you pencil it, it’s not as bad as one might initially think. I put in my reservation already.

 

I'm looking into the bike, I take it you like it? If it's sturdy I'm not concerned with the price. Does it break down at all?

[iamshack]

I'm looking into the bike, I take it you like it? If it's sturdy I'm not concerned with the price. Does it break down at all?

Yeah, it’s a really solid product. I’ve had it a year and I think I’ve ridden about 2500 miles on it or so, and it’s held up perfectly. I know that a few folks have had some minor issues like pedals squeaking, but that is a pretty simple fix. There is a facebook community of over 50k members and many resources there for basically anything that can possibly go wrong. That said, I have had no problems with mine whatsoever.

 

While the bike is outstanding, the content is really what keeps people riding it. A ton of great classes offered both live as well as something like 8,000 on demand classes. There is truly something for everyone.