Getting rid of cable...

Anyway I can change the size that iTunes wants to push out to the Apple TV?

I would assume so. I don't own one, so I can't say for certain. Of course, changing the size might mean you get a Standard Def picture instead of an HD one.

We are annoyed. We had bought a bluray player intending on using it for Netflix but the sound doesn't work on the Netflix I really want to cut the satellite and go with Netflix but it made the TV addicted young adult and husband scream and cry in horror (literally)).

I've never seen an Apple TV before...what if they get all messed up from an update like my beloved phone and IOS7

Too late, some would say. Apple pushed out a new UI a year or so ago that folks didn't like compared to the previous one. A month or so ago, Apple pushed out at update that screwed up a number of Apple TVs and they had to roll it back. Unless you buy lots of movies/TV shows from the iTunes Store or YouTube, there's really no reason to pick an Apple TV over a Roku box. (Roku's can even play some content from iTunes, if its in the right format and is on your iPhone or iPad.) Roku offers more choices than an Apple TV does, in terms of programming, and if you decide you'd rather have an Android phone than an iPhone, the Roku app for Android is as easy to set up as the one for iPhone is.

Not bashing Apple TV, mind you. A friend of mine has one, so I have some idea of what they're like. The two services they offer that Roku doesn't have are access to the iTunes Store and YouTube. Roku, however, has something like 1000 channels, covering the gamut of what's available out there. You might not be able to get everything that you want (but Amazon is starting to carry the same titles as the iTunes Store and is available on the Roku), but you can get enough content that you really don't miss (or at least I don't) the other stuff. Rokus also range in price from $50 - $100, so they can be cheaper than an Apple TV. (The $70 model has a better remote than the $50 model, and the $100 model let's you play games like Angry Birds. I've got a $50 model, and don't feel the need to upgrade.)

Actually, you can install Plex Home Media Server on your PC, and have it stream to your Roku box. I say this because one of the channels the Plex Media Server offers (for free) is access to Youtube.

I get the feeling my next TV will need very little extras attached to it. I mean, Samsung already has 42" Smart TVs for $549 right now. By the time I look into getting a new TV (about a year from now), I expect that price to have dropped somewhat.

Yeah. I'm getting close to this myself. I figure we keep the internet connection, drop everything else and invest in a Roku box and an HD broadcast antennae (local weather).

HD over antenna is actually the highest quality video you can get. It's THE way to watch anything on the major networks.

YouTube coming to Roku next year. (Those of you with a Roku 3 can already get it.)

I have Plex media server, so I get Youtube anyway. :

Anyone have that new ChromeCast USB thingy? some guy at Best buy was trying to sell me one, and it looks liek it's similar to Roku in that you get most of the Internet sites and can snych to your phone/Pc or something. Does a shit ton of stuff for just 35 dollars.

Why?

I thought about getting one, until I heard people who love their ChromeCast say, "If you've got a Roku, you don't need a ChromeCast." This isn't to say that there's anything wrong with the ChromeCast, just that it doesn't do quite as much as a Roku does. There's far fewer channels available (though Google is slowly adding more of them over time) than on the Roku. Roku 2 and 3 both do a similar phone/PC synch that the ChromeCast does, though only the Roku 3 (for now) gets YouTube. The ChromeCast is cheaper, and gets you access to the Google Play store where you can buy/rent movies, etc., and those are about the only major advantages over the Roku. You could get one and be happy with it, but they're not quite up to having the kind of content that Roku does.

My Roku is an N1000, which is the very first generation Roku box (the Roku 1/2/3 series are 3rd generation), and with Plex (it's free) you can get Youtube, so all the Roku boxes can have Youtube if they want it.

They reserve a huge amount of spectrum for HD over the air. It pushes the signal once - thus it sends more data.

Less compression = better picture.

Yea for U.

Cordkillers is a new podcast aimed at people who've decided they've had enough with paying for cable and are looking to find ways to legally watch what they want to watch.

ORLY?

Yup. Next month they're going to do a special episode on hardware, services, etc. to show people different ways it can all be done, from the simple to the crazy assed. They also talk about the things they're presently watching, and might, uh, give hints about, uh, "extra-legal" methods of finding content so that one doesn't have to worry about doing it by accident.

And I just found out about Instant Watcher which tells you about the new things on Netflix.

Looks like we are doing this, can't justify $75 a month for something we don't use. I'm sure this might already be answered, but what is the best advice regarding an HD antenna?

This show has some good advice. Since you're in Boston, you might want to consider signing up for Aereo, since it'll give you all your broadcast channels. If you still want to get an antenna, this site, let's you key in your address and it gives you directions on how to best point your antenna.

Have you looked into "naked DSL"? That's a data only connection, and depending upon where you are, can have pretty good speed. Also, don't hesitate to call up your cable company and threaten to cancel, even if you have no intention of doing so. Right now, they're so desperate to keep subscribers (because that's what keeps their stock price up, not profits, so much for the logic of the markets), that they'll often cut your bill to keep you around.

That sucks. We will definitely save $75 a month, but we have phone and data through the same provider, so maybe that makes a difference.

Subscriptions drive future profits (or the lack therof). Thus the logic of the markets.

Yeah, no, not in this case. Because they're trying to keep cable subscribers, not simply internet subscribers, and they're offering rates well-below what their official rates are. We're talking about giving people the full slate of available channels for the price of what most people are paying for just internet. This isn't like the cellphone industry where customers can cancel their service and switch to another provider (AKA "churn") and get stuff similar to what they have now, so you offer them deals to keep them around. Most people have little to no choice as to who their cable/internet provider is, and people aren't canceling both their cable and internet subscriptions in droves, they're canceling their cable subscriptions, but keeping their internet subscription. Thus, by throwing in a cable TV package for free, the cable companies are damaging their bottom line, simply to artificially prop up the numbers of the cable networks.

Additionally, just because a person has cable TV channels, doesn't mean that they watch them. I have an internet and basic cable TV package, as its cheap, I never watch cable TV. If I can't see it via the web or my Roku box, I don't watch it. So, the effort to give me cable TV channels is just pissing in the wind, as far as the cable company is concerned, but they do it anyway. Nor am I unique in this aspect. The kids growing up today, and those just coming out of college, aren't interested in cable TV, they get their programming via the web. For them, getting a cable package is like buying a 2014 model car that has a hand cranked starter, not something they're interested in at all.

Even the idea of ala carte cable channels is starting to look dated. Pick any cable network out there, how many shows on that network do you watch? Probably not more than a handful, if that. So, you could pay $8/mo. for, say A&E, to watch 3 shows on that network (while ignoring the rest), or you could plunk down the same amount of money for a service like Netflix or HuluPlus, where you get thousands, or tens of thousands of different programs, that start when you want them to start, potentially have no commercials, and don't require you to be at home to watch them. Instead of clinging to a dying business model, the cable companies would be better served by shifting to a different business model.

And while I'm thinking about it, you might want to look at Ooma so you can ditch your phone service as well. One time cost for hardware, plus a small monthly fee, and you can call anywhere in the US for free.