Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with TV and internet

Live sports on PC

paulyballs — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:50:10 -0800

What's the best way to watch live tv (sports mainly) on a PC? My gf's parents have a vacation cabin with only internet access and they want to be able to watch live sports while they are there. What's the best option. Her mother asked me about "Digital TV for PC" but I think it's a scam. They do have full cable at their main home so I was thinking of advising Slingbox. Anything else out there that won't require me installing hardware at their main home? Thanks!

How to watch TV online

GComes — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:52:11 -0800

How can I watch the US Open tomorrow night? I don't have a tv but want desperately to watch the final tomorrow evening. It's on CBS. On the US open website you can watch live, but they aren't showing the women's singles final tomorrow. Is there a way I can watch TV live on my computer?

Internet TV w/ Closed Captions?

Yakuman — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:17:23 -0800

Is there a Slingbox-like device that will let me send a broadcast TV signal to myself, including closed captions?

How much of the telephone and Internet systems would survive a nuke?

wastelands — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 07:40:53 -0800

Would the landline telephone system be completely down after a nuclear strike on ~20 U.S. cities? I'm an avid post-apocalypse buff, and I've been watching Jericho on Netflix's Watch Instantly lately. I love the show. But a few points of realism bug me, specifically, the lack of communication by radio / phone / Internet in the show.

Would the landline telephone network actually be down as portrayed in the show? I could be wrong, but wouldn't regional parts of it still survive? Or is the assumption that the bombs would have screwed up trunks/backbones and major switching centers? Or maybe general lack of electricity would kill it?

In the same vein, how much of Internet access would survive in the "Nukes hitting 20 major cities" scenario? It's supposed to be distributed, but again, maybe the idea is that big trunks were severed?

The sense of isolation and lack of communication and news in the show makes it more ominous and mysterious, but I somehow doubt it's realistic. I mean, if nothing else, there'd be Ham radio operators relaying news, right?

What are the best options for cable TV + Internet in Chicago?

c:\awesome — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:43:52 -0800

What are the best options for cable TV + Internet in Chicago? Is it basically a choice between the lesser of two evils, Comcast and RCN? I'm not 100% sure RCN is available in my area, because their database says my address is unknown. But I'll be living in North Center, if that changes anything. Are there any other players in the Cable game?

I work from home so I need a good, solid Internet connection. I have an HDTV, so ideally I'd like a cable solution that offers the most bang for my buck.

Can't do Dish unfortunately.

Would I be better off doing a separate company for TV and Internet? Any benefit to that?

Help a Chicago cable newb.

i cant watch internet tv but i want to

edtut — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 05:51:00 -0800

i am having trouble watching worldondemand.net, streaming internet tv. what is wrong with my laptop setup? i am an aussie living in china. in japan i used worldondemand.net to watch some tv. but now when i open it, i click play on a channel, and it just gives me a blank box with a small red cross in the top corner (like when an image is unavilable due to a link issue). so i loaded worldondemand on my friends laptop and he can watch it fine. i updated my flash player but that was no help. what else could it be?
i am at a loss, and there is no support.

Need program to track progress in multiple TV series

lrodman — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:02:08 -0800

Is there a good program to monitor progress in various TV shows? I.e. what episode I'm on in shows if watching multiple shows in different seasons irregularly. Optimally this would integrate somehow with hulu/abc/WMP, but I wouldn't expect that. Anyone have a good app like this? It gets confusing with series starting and ending different times, and picking up or taking breaks from different shows.

How to get a .tv domain?

clockworkjoe — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:22:42 -0800

What's the best way to get a .tv domain without paying too much? I already have a hosting account on bluehost.com so I want register the domain and then transfer it to bluehost. Which registrar should I use? Sites like channelme don't spell out their deals so I don't want to fall victim to a bad deal. I thought perhaps some of the veteran web gurus here might know the best way to secure a .tv domain.

What's a good source for finding TV shows online? Specifically, Ninja Warrior (originally titles Sasuke in Japan)?

ignignokt — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 17:23:52 -0800

TV-over-the-internet-filter: What's a good source for finding TV shows online? Specifically, Ninja Warrior (originally titled Sasuke in Japan)? I don't have a Tivo and am not usually at home during prime time, so I download my TV shows and watch them when convenient. I haven't had problems finding episodes of The Office and The Ultimate Fighter on Usenet and Demonoid (a torrent sharing site), but Ninja Warrior (from G4TV, which I don't receive, BTW, so I can't do an old-school VCR recording of it) is giving me trouble. I've found three episodes, and I've found a torrent for an episode recorded straight from Japanese TV, but that's about it.

Any tips? Where do you guys usually get your shows?

What's the best TV/Internet/Phone bundle?

doctorschlock — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 11:11:58 -0800

I've noticed that the cable/phone/internet companies are offering bundle packages. What's the best package: Verizon or Comcast?

Help me find the best TV and/or Internet solution(s) for a multi dwelling unit

twiggy — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 12:49:06 -0800

I need help with crafting a multi-dwelling (Condo) solution for TV and/or Internet service The short version: 24 unit condo looking for both business and technical advice on serving TV and/or Internet to all units in the most cost effective manner possible.

The long version:

I need help with both the technical AND business / search aspects here because google has not been my friend. I can't seem to find companies that specialize in providing TV or internet to multi dwelling units. However, I know they exist because my condo building currently has a contract with a company for DirecTV installations which requires we buy equipment from them if we want Satellite TV. Therefore, while everyone else gets free DVRs and other stuff, we have to pay hundreds of dollars (they quoted me $350) to get set up.

Individual units can opt for Comcast, but not Dish Network because there is no Dish Network satellite on our roof.

Details on that from a technical perspective: Not all units face the right direction to have their own dishes, and the condo has rules against mounting dishes to the masonry so basically a lot of the units absolutely have to connect to the big dish on the roof. Since we (currently) have an exclusive contract with this one DirecTV contractor, we're stuck.

What I want to know:

1) Is it realistic to expect to find some kind of a discounted deal on TV and/or internet service for a 5 story condo building with 24 units if we can get with some company on it?

2) From a technical perspective, this current company insists that the reason we need to buy hardware from them is that it requires special tuners to work with the dish on our roof. Is this true?

3) Is it technically feasible to install our own dish(es) on the roof and just let people sign up for DirecTV or Dish Network on their own? Do both companies require you point your dish in the same direction - allowing us to save on costs there by using one dish to serve people options?

4) This stems from the fact that Comcast is a godawful nightmare for myself and several of our residents, but the ridiculous up front costs from this company, and being limited to DirecTV and not Dish, is causing us to seek out alternative solutions.

5) Does anyone have an inside track on what the deal is/will be with WiMax? Sprint is supposed to roll it out in Chicago within the next year, but nobody knows: Is this just going to be cell-phone-internet stuff, or will people actually sign up for WiMax like they do DSL / Cable internet?

While a group discount would be great, we'd also be happy just to have a technical solution where people could sign up for Dish, DirecTV or Comcast just like everyone else can and for the same prices. Paying this premium for boxes just because they connect to a shared dish seems to be a wasteful expense, and being locked out of Dish as an option is unattractive as well.

Who are authors writing on the impact of the Internet as a communications medium?

Jaybo — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 09:55:17 -0800

Who are scholars and/or popular authors writing on the impact of the Internet as a communications medium, specifically those talking about how the Internet removes previous time and/or space biases that are inevitably present in other forms of communication technology (telephone, television, radio, etc.)? I'm writing a paper on the ways that the Internet is supplanting television as the dominant communications medium in our society. To keep it manageable, I'm specifically comparing TV and the Internet as broadcast methods for video (although I may talk about other forms of "broadcasting" including RSS, blogs, etc.)

The essay's starting point is last summer's Live 8 concerts which caused one reporter to observe: "Television seemed shockingly old-fashioned in how it followed Saturday's worldwide concert for poverty relief. AOL's coverage was so superior, it may one day be seen as a historical marker in drawing people to computers instead of TV screens for big events"

Although my main question is asking for authors writing about how the Internet is fundamentally erasing space and time barriers that exist in communication currently, I'd also be interested in any suggestions of topics/issues/examples to cover. YouTube, the role of "The Long Tail", convergence, copyright and clearance, unsuccessful TV shows gaining large viewerships when released online, costs of production - ie. Rocketboom, the role of memes in online broadcasting are just a few examples of things on my "brainstorm" list.

Thanks in advance!

Is the SlingBox crap?

keep it tight — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 05:21:22 -0800

Has anyone had any experience with the Sling Box? I heard about this device any was curious in anyone had any real world experiences with it....

Thanks.

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