Poll: What's your primary source of HD?
By Ben Drawbaugh 
posted May 31st 2010 3:27PM
posted May 31st 2010 3:27PM
posted May 31st 2010 3:27PM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
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Perfect poll after the last article.
@BryCivicSi
Wow that took me awhile. I wondered why all the company names were laid out so weird. They're laid out to spell HD. lol, I get stuff.
@BryCivicSi
Wow, I hadn't noticed till you said that :P
Cable TV and Netflix (both discs and instant-watch) are my main HD pipes. Zune Video Marketplace when I can't find it on one of the aforementioned sources. And if I can't even find it on Zune, I'll resort to teh torrentz.
I get my HD content a number of ways, OTA, via the web, Blu Ray...........pretty much every way there is. There should be an option to pick 'a mix' or something.
directv
all the shows i watch regularly in HD are found somewhere on the easternet, but netflix for movies. i watch it over cable broadcast if i'm around when its on but i usually miss it.
U-Verse, as well as occasionally buying stuff off Xbox Live
Most comes from cable, but I record OTA HD all the time.
@andysexton Yes, I wish I could vote for more than one answer.
HD Cable TV is ridiculously expensive here in Australia, so I just rent/buy blu-rays. Also, streaming services such as Netflix aren't as big here as they are over in the US either.
Seems like you guys are always talking about Cable. Cable Cards, Media Center PC's with Cable Cards, DVR's available for Cable, etc. but never seem to talk too much about DirecTV. I'm a DirecTV person myself, and other than the fact the sometimes the HR20-21's that I have slow up sometimes, they seem to be great for me.
@Mexigun
Well its a result of the providers we have. Richard has Comcast while I have FiOS. Back when I had DirecTV and Kevin had Dish Network we covered them more. Sorry we cover every provider in as much detail.
@Mexigun yeah, I think it's because here in the Midwest it storms a lot...and storms aren't exactly good for satellite. I think either Richard or Ben lives in Detroit if I'm not mistaken.
There is nothing more frustrating than watching a live sports game and missing a touchdown. Or even worse...you come back from dinner and watch a recording and every 15min there's a 2min piece missing.
I've had tons of friends with satellite and although it's cheaper and better, they all have experienced this usually on a daily basis. So I wish I could have reliable satellite, but it doesn't seem to work too well here. :(
@tkuhl87
I agree with your statements 100% tluhl87. I have DirectTV here in nice Pasadena,CA. That being said, I get 82 OTA HD channels in Windows 7 Media Center. I listen to Richard and Ben's podcast and they are in the wrong market in my opinion. I also have Netflix streaming HD and most of the HD shows such as HD Nation and other podcasts are all out her on the beautiful West Coast. Therefore, we don't have
to worry about unfavorable weather
conditions as well. They really need to
come out this way see how much the West Coast offers with a plethora of services. Ben and Richard, brung you behinds out here for
a show or two and get a vibe of what's in Cali
baby. The home of tech and Silicon Valley.
You should be able to pick more than one way. I have Dish and OTA.
@(Unverified)
I agree, and I use OTA mostly, but also have FiOS. But our poll app only lets you make one selection.
Several ways.
Sky+HD (satellite TV in the UK, pay-for)
The Internet (not entirely legal, free)
Xbox Live Marketplace (Zune rentals, though I've only used it once so far due to the price, it's dead easy)
Blu-ray Disc (my favourite method. 40Mbit 1080p makes me happy)
And the 38 people that don't watch HD accidentally followed a link from gizmodo...
Being is Australia I am pretty much stuck to bluray disks as our free to air tv has only 6 channels and our cable is too expensive to justify.
I don't watch TV. BD movies is about 95% of it.
Shaw VOD-Canada
Here's another reason why I hate comcast and can't wait for a Ceton CableCARD.
I decide to watch an HD movie I find on Comcast's Free HD movies. It's in my basement with my projector which is around a 200in screen so it has to be 720p/1080i for it to look anywhere half decent.
So I start it up and I realize the "HD" movie not only was 4:3 but seemed to be something close to 480p...which was unbearable.
I fired up Netflix on my 360 and found the same movie on there in beautiful 1080i widescreen. So why do I even bother with HD over Comcast when most of it isn't even HD?
Sky+HD (satellite dish) here in UK as well as a blu-ray player.
Internet is way too slow to watch HD content....
I watch shows from DirecTV and that is my primary source of HD content. I own a few Blu-Ray movies but for most movies, I'll just use Netflix (mail and streaming). I rarely get stuff from torrents anymore because I'm old/mature enough to realize that it is OK to pay for this content.
And before everyone jumps down my throat for this, I'm not saying that what I'm doing, everyone should be doing. I realize the economics of the situation and for the artists, produces, actors, musicians, etc to make money. Yes, in order for them to make money, the evil **AA companies make money as well. Also, I make enough money that it isn't going to break my bank to pay for CDs and movies every once in awhile. Also, Netflix has opened up an inexpensive way for me to watch movies that I want to watch only once without having to buy them (costs money to me) or download them (illegal). It's just a personal choice and I've chosen to do this based upon my logic and I don't look down on people that continue to download media through torrent sites.
@JasterMereel42
I totally agree JasterMereel42. That's just
about how I get my content. I'm not utilizing a torrent, but lets just say a torrent doesn't
exist. What the MPAA and music industry doesn't
realize is that in personal opinion they started losing money with advent of the cd/DVD/blu-Ray
burner. I won't down those same leechers and seeders from torrants as well. But one consumer can purchase a cd from Target for instance and
burn 20 copies to friends. That's where they lose the money in my honest opinion. A bit off topic, but agree totally.
I think what Richard and Ben need to also talk about the expenses as well for HDedia. You're paying a sattelite/cable company, Netflix, now Hulu soon....Just think, I like the one thing free: OTA. This crap is getting expensive and I think Richard and Ben need to talk the other guy they had on the show last week about how he is fairing with no satellite or cable service. He seemed to be getting by and they completely swept that topic under the rug. That's just my opinion though and I fully respect yours and
others.
Right now I have AT&T Uverse but am thinking of switching. Other options available are Time Warner, or Dish/DirectTV. Went with AT&T initially because they don't require a 2 year contract.
Any thoughts?
Comcast (previously Cox before I moved) and Blu-Ray for me.
It could be a 50/50 split between our DirecTV service and Netflix...but they need more series in HD. And i can't wait for 5.1 Dolby...
...but DirecTV eeks out just a little bit over Netflix 'Watch Instantly'. Next would be "HD" podcasts via AppleTV/iTunes, then my weekly Blu-Ray (Netflix) fix. Blu-ray's (mine or rented) happen a max of wice per week for me.
Oh really..Comcast??? Get back to me when you decide to bring British Eurosport HD to North America. In the meantime bittorent rules! I'm another "Yank" who understands there's more to sports than American couch potato ball sports.
Cmon folks! only 10% OTA? Why are you paying so much for content?!?. Oh well, if Discovery HD is worth > $600 / yr then more power to ya. If you time-shift OTA and have Netflix ($16.99) you should have MORE than enough to keep you busy.
For films: Zune on the 360 (smooth 1080p streaming 4tmfw, not too often as it's rather expensive), FreesatHD (when ITV can be bothered to put films on, like they did last night at 1080i with Batman Begins)
TV series: interweb (I'm not waiting months/years for awesome series like SoA, spartacus, fringe, etc, to make their way across the pond to the UK), but legal content as well (BBC iplayer, etc)
Sports: FreesatHD when it's available (champions league at 1080i? hell yes. worldcup at 1080i? yes thank you very much. Sky go f*** your overpriced self)