Cord cutting (TV and phone)

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dandys

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Cord cutting (TV and phone)

#1

Post by dandys » Sat Nov 09, 2013 8:22 pm

Hi everyone,

After finally networking the house, I have been considering cord cutting for my home and switching to things like streaming video and DVD/bluray. The goal will be to have small HTPCs with every TV but no boxes (cable boxes or streaming boxes) and centralized NAS storage.

My first question is, especially for other family members, things like local news would be nice to have. I was wondering if anyone could share their experience/knowledge about getting free OTA transmissions with an antenna and maybe using something like a HDHomeRun OTA version network tuner to watch in Windows Media Center? I was hoping that maybe I could even pick up the transcoding dual-tuner HDHR coming out in December. How well does that work and what kind of channels can you get?

Another thing I have been considering is switching to VOIP (so I can totally get rid of TV/phone bundle and go just to internet). The two options that have attracted me most have been Skype (with pay plan for calling/receiving calls from landlines) and Ooma telephone. Can anyone give me some input?
The thing about the telephone though is that 1) I really want to keep my existing number and 2) for the sake of other family members the phones have to be simple to use and independent of computers. I'm comfortable wiring them with Ethernet but I don't want to have to have a computer on or a computer interface. Does the number transfer requirement mean that Ooma is my only choice? Is it not even worth it to switch and should I just keep regular phone service? Can I get things like voicemail/ caller ID?

barnabas1969

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#2

Post by barnabas1969 » Sat Nov 09, 2013 8:46 pm

For information about your OTA reception, go to http://www.tvfool.com and click on the TV Signal Locator button on the left side of the page. Enter your address, and the height of your antenna (above ground level). It will give you lots of good info about TV signals in your area. From there, you can decide the type/size/placement of the antenna that you will need.

To be honest, you can get extenders for Windows Media Center (like the XBox360) cheaper than you can build small PC's. The extenders don't offer all of the functionality that a full-blown PC does, but they do give you some advantages. First, they work just like any other piece of consumer electronics, so it will be easier for your family to figure out. Second, they connect to your main HTPC, and share the recorded shows, guide, and recording schedule... so you can schedule a recording from any TV in the house... and you also get the ability to pause/stop a show in one room, and start watching in another room right where you left off. You can't do those things with small PC's around the house.

For the other stuff that you don't get with a Media Center extender, get a Roku box or a "smart" BluRay player for the other TV's in the house.

The new HDHR tuner with transcoding won't help you with your Media Center PC's. All it will give you is the ability to watch live TV on your smart phones and tablets. If you go with the setup I recommended above, and since you are only talking about OTA TV (which isn't copy-protected), then you can watch almost-live TV (and your recordings too) on your phones/tablets with some free software called Remote Potato.

For telephone, check out Obihai. With it, you can use Google Voice for your telephone number, which is currently free for calls to anywhere in the USA/Canada. You can't beat free. The Obihai devices don't have any monthly subscription costs... unless you choose to use it with a subscription service.

Both the Ooma and the Obihai devices just connect to your router for Internet. The phones in your house will connect to the device via normal telephone wire... so all your family has to do is pick up the phone and dial.

I'm not sure if you can move your existing number to Google voice. Google it.

adam1991

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#3

Post by adam1991 » Sat Nov 09, 2013 10:44 pm

I use Viatalk for phone service. $189 flat for two years, then of course a small bit of federal tax every month.

One number, but two lines. Comes into a single small box via ethernet, and that simply plugs into a phone jack in the house and voila! two lines of phone service at every phone jack in the house. No special phones required, no rewiring required. This is how VoIP works. It's not about the phones themselves, it's only about the interface. And of course the service. There are many many many VoIP services out there that all behave the same way; the difference is in how they bill you.

Just13d

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#4

Post by Just13d » Sat Nov 09, 2013 11:24 pm

I cut the cord about 6 months ago and have not looked back. I put a antenna in the attic to get the locals and I am still using Media Center for all of my recordings. I have a Ceton card and found out after cutting the cord that it does not support OTA. I bought a HD Homerun and it has worked rather well picking up all the OTA channels. I also have a Ooma and love it. It just works. I pay around $3.89 a month for the phone which is for state taxes and fees and that includes 911 service. I payed $200.00 for the Ooma box originally. Now I get emails for a friend and family discount where you can get the box for $100.00. If you are interested I can send you the link the next time they do the promotion. With the Ooma you can sign up for their beefier package for $10.00 a month if you like. The basic gives you one number with call waiting and voice mail. With the beefier package you can have up to 3 numbers I think with caller ID etc. I also remember reading if you buy a used Ooma box you have to pay a fee to reactivate it. Hope this helps.

slowbiscuit

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#5

Post by slowbiscuit » Sun Nov 10, 2013 4:23 pm

barnabas1969 wrote: For telephone, check out Obihai. With it, you can use Google Voice for your telephone number, which is currently free for calls to anywhere in the USA/Canada. You can't beat free. The Obihai devices don't have any monthly subscription costs... unless you choose to use it with a subscription service.
That was a great idea (I've been using the Obi for a couple of years with GV) until Google recently announced that the XMPP protocol the Obi uses is going away in May. After that the Obi will have to connect to a SIP provider like any other ATA. Ooma is a good choice, but it's not free to use (costs about $3.50-$4 a month in most states).

http://blog.obihai.com/2013/10/importan ... voice.html

Shackleford

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#6

Post by Shackleford » Sun Nov 10, 2013 4:31 pm

slowbiscuit wrote:
That was a great idea (I've been using the Obi for a couple of years with GV) until Google recently announced that the XMPP protocol the Obi uses is going away in May. After that the Obi will have to connect to a SIP provider like any other ATA. Ooma is a good choice, but it's not free to use (costs about $3.50-$4 a month in most states).

http://blog.obihai.com/2013/10/importan ... voice.html
Oh man this sucks.

barnabas1969

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#7

Post by barnabas1969 » Mon Nov 11, 2013 2:07 pm

Yeah, that does suck. I hope someone comes up with a software solution to work around this.

barnabas1969

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#8

Post by barnabas1969 » Mon Nov 11, 2013 3:57 pm

OK, so now that GV is going away, I have a question.

I read on Google's site that the Android app for GV can be set to always be used whenever a number is dialed on the android phone.

The Obihai BT adapter, which works with the Obi202, can dial the android phone.

As I understand it, the Android GV app can work over WiFi, so I could use an old Android smartphone (with no phone/data plan).

So... here's the question... will this setup work to allow an Obi202 + BT adapter to continue to use GV even after May 15, 2014?

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machausta

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#9

Post by machausta » Mon Nov 11, 2013 4:21 pm

you can use it with call centric if you don't mind having a NY phone #.

barnabas1969

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#10

Post by barnabas1969 » Mon Nov 11, 2013 5:02 pm

Well, it turns out that the official GV app uses the voice line of the cell phone to make a call, so my idea above won't work. That's just beyond stupid.

Yeah, I know about callcentric, but that's only free for inbound calls.

Shackleford

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#11

Post by Shackleford » Mon Nov 11, 2013 5:07 pm

barnabas1969 wrote:OK, so now that GV is going away, I have a question.

I read on Google's site that the Android app for GV can be set to always be used whenever a number is dialed on the android phone.

The Obihai BT adapter, which works with the Obi202, can dial the android phone.

As I understand it, the Android GV app can work over WiFi, so I could use an old Android smartphone (with no phone/data plan).

So... here's the question... will this setup work to allow an Obi202 + BT adapter to continue to use GV even after May 15, 2014?
My understanding is the google voice app is merging with hangouts and won't function like that. This is to stop all third party Google voice apps that violate the ToS. So no matter how you look at it you will need some kind of phone service to utilize the features of google voice.

slowbiscuit

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#12

Post by slowbiscuit » Mon Nov 11, 2013 5:42 pm

Or go back to the old way of doing outbound GV calls and use a PC/Android GV app to initiate the call using your phone (the Chrome extension works well and is easy to use). The free inbound #'s from callcentric or IPKall would mean it's still free on the Obi, just a little more of a pain to use since you can't call out directly from the phone. All you have to do is forward your GV number to your free inbound # with callcentric, and have the Obi connect to callcentric on SP2.

http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=3640.0

Cryofax

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#13

Post by Cryofax » Mon Dec 30, 2013 6:54 am

Putting 2 cents in a bit late. I use one of these http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0043D ... UTF8&psc=1 with a cell phone. When you're home it allows up to 2 cell phones to be tied into the house's "regular" phone via blutooth. There are then several phones around the house hooked into the main set via wireless (the usual cordless phone satellite setup). I am the lightest cellphone user, doing most of my business via internet, so I transferred the "home number" to my cell, then leave it tied into the house network when I'm home. If I leave I take the house phone with me. May not be an ideal solution for everyone but it works in my case very well.

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