I just got Netflix. I've held off for years, not understanding it 100% and not wanting to get into any contracts.

So, I looked into it. $8.99/mo. and I don't have to waste time downloading torrents and risking lawsuits (ahem, hurtlocker).

I've received Mad Men Season 3 DVDs to watch, and I've been watching WEEDS instantly, starting at Season 1, using the Wii.

It totally rocks. Lovin' it. I wish I had done it a while back. It's 300x better than Comcast's OnDemand, and cheaper. I'm catching up on Weeds cuz I don't have Premium channels.

I just wish it had more up-to-date movies. While I enjoyed watchin' "Don't be a Menace to South Central while Drinking Your Juice in the Hood" for the nth time last night, I'm not finding a lot of new releases that are interesting. Throw some IronMan in there or something, ya know?

Anyways, I'm lovin' it so far.

 

We've had it for a while and agree. Weeds is great also.

 

^^ It sounds like you're advertising. My brother ditched his Netflix account 4 years ago because he had built his library to the point it became a waste of money to add any more DVDs to his 400 disc collection.

Well, since we're advertising our favorite services.. I figured I'd show you the legal way to build a library of content.

I have a cheap Walmart computer, and a $100 dual tuner SiliconDust HDHomeRun. The computer runs a free version of linux with a free TV recording program called MythTV with a free program I designed called mythicalLibrarian , and a free media center app called XBMC. The entire setup cost about $400 last year and is capable of recording 2 shows at a time, scalable by adding extra $100 per each 2 tuners.

Using this method I am able to build a library of every episode of any show which is on television. All television shows are recorded, stripped of commercials and put in the appropriate folders.

/episodes/Title/Season/Title season.episode (episode title).mpg
/movies/title/Title(year).mpg
/showing/Title/Season 0/ Title S0.E0 (recorded on:year:month:day:hour:minute:second title if available)
categoric naming is available as well
/showing/College Football/College Football S2010E0627 (Recorded on date Broncos versus Bulls).mpg

Running 2 tuners recording live TV for 8 hours a day while you're at work will provide more content then your family can watch during the entire day.

You can legally build a library of any content which comes on television. Remember, copying content from the Internet or DVD is illegal. You can record live digital TV and categorize it just fine. I think I'm supposed to turn off commercial skipping to be perfectly legal though.

Naaaw mean?

 

Oh yeah, to bring it all back to a comparison..

To build a library on netflix, first it's illegal, so technically you get nothing for the money that you pay.

Using my system, you can build a fully legal library out of free content. It takes a bit of setup but once it's done, you just surf to the website set up on your MythTV computer, and it will record whatever you select, making determinations of which episodes you already have. The library is recorded to a media center hard disk or if you want, you can burn it to a DVD to record the entire season. You can set it up to auto-delete certain shows when it needs space, or not.

If you're looking for a library, it's legal on my system. If you're just looking for entertainment, you will get far more content from my system.

 

1. Showtime isn't free. There's a monthly charge for me to use a computer as a DVR.
2. $8.99 per month over 12 months = $108 ... IF i chose to continue every month (no contracts)
3. I don't buy DVDs. Seriously, I have less than 5.
4. I'll use my Comcast DVR for everything I have on my subscription package. I'll use Netflix to catch up on the last 6 season of Weeds and the first 3 seasons of Mad Men. Cheaper than buying the DVDs, and unavailable on TV.

However, I have been interested in setting up my recently acquired desktop as a DVR.

It's also very easy. I turn on my Wii, and start watching the seasons I have waiting.

 

I get a bunch more stuff on Netflix in HD also, which is nice.

I don't keep anything I watch on Netflix. I don't even get the DVD's I just stream what I want to watch.

 

I've been thinking about doing this through the Wii as well. Aside from the disc for the Wii, what else is needed to run netflix through the system?

 

MythTV is a UPnP DLNA server. your PS3, XBOX3 and computers are able to connect and watch live/recorded TV. I'm pretty sure the Wii has that capability as well. I surf mythWeb every once in a while and find out what's on that I'd want to record.

I really don't think people understand what they already have available with the proper hardware.


You've already got a gigantic selection at your finger tips. More then you could ever possibly watch. It's just a matter of keeping track of what you want to see, what you've watched, and what you have in your library. My system does everything except what I want to see. I have to choose that.

Remember, the internet is not a big truck. The internet is tubes! Tubes!!!!
<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/f99PcP0aFNE"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/f99PcP0aFNE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
Senator Ted Stevens was speaking about NetFlix when he made this address.

 

Nothing. You have a disc in the Wii and it connects to the internet to download the shows. Works pretty quickly, great HD quality. They sent the disc overnight to me along with my first DVD that I chose. I keep the DVD as long as I want, and when I return it they'll send me the next one on my list.

You can watch it from your laptop, desktop, or the Wii if the shows are available instantly. If they aren't, they'll send you the DVD overnight. Shipping is paid both ways already, so you're only out the $8.99.

Now, the $8.99 allows you one DVD at a time.
$13.99 is two DVDs at a time.
$16.99 is three DVDs at a time.

You can order as many DVDs per month as you want. As soon as you return one, they ship the next one.

 

You guys watch entirely way too much tv! tongue.gif