Roku Now Has YouTube

One of the most missed apps on my Roku was YouTube. My son loves watching some shows that are not on Netflix. I would have to take him down to the living room television to watch YouTube on our Apple TV. It's nice to have YouTube on Roku which means when I am working up stairs my son can be kept busy with YouTube videos while I get some stuff done.

Viewtv At-163 ATSC Digital TV Converter Box Media Player with Recording PVR Function

Now that I am moving back to over the air television I have been searching for a PVR solution. There are many choices on the markets at various price points. I did not want to spend to much on a PVR and found from under $100 on Amazon. The one that seemed to get great reviews and costs only $59.99 is from a company called Viewtv I will be ordering this shortly and hope to have it set up for a full review as soon as possible.

The box acts as digital tv converter for those with an old anoloug tv and it is also a steaming box that plays your own media files. The most important feature for me is to record television show. The only additional cost is for a USB drive to record the shows on. These can be found very cheaply now. I also like the design of the unit it looks sharp and modern.


Viewtv At-163 ATSC Digital TV Converter Box and Media Player w/ Recording PVR Function / HDMI Out / Coaxial Out / Composite Out / USB Input

Recap Back from Cable to Cord Cutter

When we moved about a year and half ago the cable company gave us a promo deal. With the bundle package we got phone cable and internet for less than we were paying for just phone and internet at our old house. Since it was a great deal I took them up on their offer. We got a PVR and were able to record shows which would be the only way I would be able to watch stuff from cable due to my limited time. It worked out well for the promo period, but now the promo is over.

I called the cable company to see if they could offer any better pricing for cable and they did not make any effort. Well that was easy I asked them to cancel and they said they needed a 30 day notice, OK here is your 30 day notice I said. The cable will be off in about 20 days from the date I wrote this post.

Back to cord cutting basics and the tools of the trade. We already have all the smart boxes to get internet TV and 5 antennas of all shapes and sizes. I just need to set up the antennas and the smart boxes were already ready to go and use them all the time for Netflix.

We have the following streaming boxes:

Apple TV
Boxee Box
Chromecast
Roku
Xbox

We have two television sets one in the bedroom with Roku the other streaming boxes are attached to the living room television.

We do have an antenna issue. We can get reception on the upstairs television set, but the living room is bellow ground and placing an antenna by the window has not been very successful.

I will need to install an outdoor antenna and have it wired down to the basement. It seem like a project I am unwilling to take at this time. I was thinking of adding a pvr upstairs and record the show I want to watch and just catch up in the bedroom when I have time. I could also just bring the box down to the living room when I need to watch the shows on a bigger screen.

It feels good to once again be free from cable television.

Toshiba Blu-Ray Wifi Frogloot

The Toshiba Blu-Ray player with Wifi is on sale at daily deal site FrogLoot.com this is the player that has the built in apps like Netflix and Vudo. Check price by clicking here!

LG Smart TV Upgrader (SP820)

The first generation of LG Smart TV Upgrader has been out for a little over a year and a half. The product has change a bit since the first generation and price is about $75 more than the original. The LG Smart TV Upgrader is a media stream that adds advance functions to your HDTV. When you attache the Upgrader to the TV you will be able to find a great deal of apps that bring in such service as Netflix Vudo or YouTube. If you are on the fence about cord cutting than this types of devices can bring in much need content for those who want to give up cable TV. The unit is easy to set up and very simple to navigate with. The included remote makes moving around and work with the apps as easy as possible.The SP820 uses built-in Wi-Fi to connect to your home network so you can instantly stream content to your TV using premium apps from LG. Use the included Magic Remote to point and click your way through menus using simple movements and gestures. We had this unit up and running in minutes all the apps that I use for online video were built into the app and social media is also well integrated. The unit is able to play back various video and audio file formats and with USB getting your personal content to the unit was a breeze. If the price wasn't at $179 I would say go out and get one, but at this price I think the Boxee Box from Dlink is a better buy. As with any technology you might start seeing the unit appearing in stores in a couple of months at a much lower price. Until then if you need a decent media streamer with apps than the LG is more than capable of being a great extender to add to your television.

Windows 8 For Entertainment

If you have updated to Windows 8 you might have noticed that in the store there are media apps. Instead of going to Hulu for example through your web browser you would install a Windows app. The dedicated app is not much different than actually going on the site, but the interface for most media apps are clean and easy to use. Why use apps? If you have a touch screen computer than having the app installed is like using any type of tablet like Android or iOS. As Windows moves to a more tablet like experience you will have all your media apps in one area at the click of a mouse. On my touch screen computer this is a nice feature, but on my laptop without touch I rather just go to the web site. Exploring the new app store in Windows 8 you will find many great apps to consume free media as a cord cutter there is a nice collection of apps to pull your favorite content into one spot.

HP Envy 23 All In One

Those who have small space might want to consider getting an all in one PC instead of a television. The nice thing about all in one computers is that they do not take up much space and can provide a great deal of entertainment power in a convenient package.

The HP Envy come with a 23 HD display with the ability for touch. If you have the newest model with Windows 8 touch is a must. We installed everything we needed to get this baby working as our new entertainment center. The computer has a built in DVD drive which served us well for a season Dexter. We also signed into Netflix and Cinema Now. The picture was very sharp and the video played back very smooth. If you are looking to play music the HP Envy comes with Beats Audio. The built in speaker system take full advantage of the Beats technology. The computer also makes a great gaming system. With Intel or AMD prossesors depending on the model you pick it this system can handle almost any task you through at it.

The HP Envy also comes with built in Adobe software to make editing pictures and movies a breeze. I had been putting off editing some videos shot on my smartphone, but using the Envy made it a quick process to upload my videos sort and edit in just a couple hours. There are other all in one's in the same price range, but I think HP did a great job on this all in one and it looks great.

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