Recommendations: Cord Cutter TV Data Powered

[drmike]

I know viewers here are TV heads.  You love that box.


Lots has changed in the past few years with platforms, maturity of solutions, TV providers, etc.  Looking for current recommendations on gear that stands out while being reasonable to cheap on price.  Obviously I am a fan of cheap, but functional.  Cheap for sake of cheap is blah.


Some emphasis on low power here too.  Running latest desktop electric hungry chip to power say Plex isn't really emphasis here.


What currently are people using that is both affordable (i.e. sub $300 on TV,  sub $150 on any TV tethered box) and they are impressed with?

 

[drmike]

I'll start with my simple setup here.


Roku 2 XS - had it sitting in parts pile unused. Years old, no frills.  Still works too well, I think they have magicians hidden in each Roku.

Vizio 24" LCD without apps - no frills 1080p set.


Not bad, lots of apps on the Roku, the Roku is like Android with a megaton of apps all over and disjointed interaction between things


Total power pull at the plug with reasonable sound level = 15-18 watts streaming online content. 


Now to figure out if Roku can stream LAN content from NAS units...


Need to tether a cheap Android stick to enjoy some TV apps Modbro.  That will require an HDMI source switcher or annoying plug and unplug to devices.

 

[MannDude]

I've not had cable in years, I never watch TV and have no real interest in any of the 'cord cutter' devices but my father recently cut the cord and bought a Roku and maybe a couple other various similar products. Between those and Netflix, he's pretty happy and it's saving him a noteworthy of money each month I reckon.


I get my news and information from the internet, and I'm lucky enough that I have access to a literal metric shit-ton of media via someone's Plex server that I was given access to. That and Netflix keeps me entertained when I feel like / have time to kick back and tune out for a bit.

 

[jarland]

Not quite hardware side but SlingTV is playing a big role for me right now. It's a big step toward the service I've wanted for a while, legit broadcast TV that relies entirely on an Internet connection alone.

 

[drmike]

Not quite hardware side but SlingTV is playing a big role for me right now. It's a big step toward the service I've wanted for a while, legit broadcast TV that relies entirely on an Internet connection alone.

How does SlingTV fit in?   It streams traditional TV you subscribe to correct?

 

[drmike]

Oh I see, Sling now is offering cable channels directly to your device.


Interesting, but limited on stations... $20 a month is a bit hefty.

 

[qps]

Oh I see, Sling now is offering cable channels directly to your device.


Interesting, but limited on stations... $20 a month is a bit hefty.

$20 per month would be ok if it included more channels.  Sling is only one stream at a time, so can't have more than one TV going at a time.  Until they fix that, it's not that attractive.


Additionally right now, canceling my cable subscription will jack up my broadband price by at least that much if I opt out of the "bundle", so I'm stuck with cable.