Watching Cable TV on My iMac

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In retirement I'm always trying to find a way to save a buck. My Social Security checks put me below the poverty level so I try to be frugal with my money. In that effort I decided to research the possibility of watch tv from my cable company, Comcast, on my 21.5" iMac. I read the ideas on the internet and decided to go the cheap route, a firewire direct link to my Comcast control box.

I have a Motorola RNG150N box which is designated a High Definition device. Let me say up from the resulting picture on your iMac from this hookup is not in HD. The process is pretty straight forward. Hook the firewire port from your cable control box to your iMac firewire port, load two pieces of free software and bingo, you've got tv on your Mac.

The two pieces of software are VLC (VideoLAN - Official page for VLC media player, the Open Source video framework!) and firewiresdk26.dmg, a utility program free from Apple on their developmental page. Lots of luck in actually finding it as they keep changing the name and moving it around. My guru friend dug it up and downloaded it. He actually hooked up the whole system and got it running smoothly. I bought the firewire cable itself from PCH Cable in Beaverton, OR. Computer and Audio Video Cables at Discount Prices You will never get good quality cables cheaper anywhere. It's a candy store for geeks.

Since I already had VLC on my iMac once my friend acquired the Apple software we were in in less than 5 minutes. You get an on-screen channel changer with the software setup plus the ability to record programs using VLC. So cool, so easy, so cheap!
 

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In retirement I'm always trying to find a way to save a buck. My Social Security checks put me below the poverty level so I try to be frugal with my money. In that effort I decided to research the possibility of watch tv from my cable company, Comcast, on my 21.5" iMac. I read the ideas on the internet and decided to go the cheap route, a firewire direct link to my Comcast control box.

Bob,

Maybe I missed a detail somewhere...but how is this setup going to save you money?

If you're still paying Comcast for cable TV service...then that's your main cost there...plus having a TV of course. I don't think you mentioned canceling your Comcast cable TV service (and somehow accessing your favorite channels via the internet)...which of course then that would save a bunch of bucks.

- Nick
 

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I agree with Nick. I have Verizon FIOS TV which also affords the same convenience, however, I would still have to pay Verizon for the service. And to be honest, I would rather watch TV on my large screen Samsung and use my 21.5" iMac for what I bought it for.

And Bob.... maybe that SS check would go a bit farther if you cut back on all that expensive camera equipment you buy.... hey, just kidding! I know photography is your love. :) By the way, if I had to live off my SS check, I would have had to move to the poor house long ago. :p
 
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Bob,

Maybe I missed a detail somewhere...but how is this setup going to save you money?

If you're still paying Comcast for cable TV service...then that's your main cost there...plus having a TV of course. I don't think you mentioned canceling your Comcast cable TV service (and somehow accessing your favorite channels via the internet)...which of course then that would save a bunch of bucks.

- Nick

First, by watching my cable on my TV I don't need to use my much larger and more power consuming TV. Second, It also adds recording capabilities I wouldn't have otherwise. I don't own a DVR, Tivo or VCR. I like to do computer work while watching TV so this makes it easy to open multiple windows to do so. I'm running 16 Meg of RAM so multitasking memory hungry applications is not an issue.
 
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I agree with Nick. I have Verizon FIOS TV which also affords the same convenience, however, I would still have to pay Verizon for the service. And to be honest, I would rather watch TV on my large screen Samsung and use my 21.5" iMac for what I bought it for.

And Bob.... maybe that SS check would go a bit farther if you cut back on all that expensive camera equipment you buy.... hey, just kidding! I know photography is your love. :) By the way, if I had to live off my SS check, I would have had to move to the poor house long ago. :p

Camera equipment is cheap compared to medical costs. I've invested $9,000 in dental care over the last 3 years. I just broke off a two tooth cantilevered bridge two days ago. Estimated cost to repair is $12,000. I have no dental insurance and VA Medical benefits don't cover dental, not one penny. :( Try living on $1392 a month with high taxes and rent in the Pacific Northwest. Not complaining because I love the clean natural wonders here. I just live very close to the vest now. :)
 

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I can sympathize with the dental bills. We just spent over $5000 on dental work for my wife, and that only involved two implants. It's too bad the VA doesn't cover dental work.... Also, the government sponsored dental insurance is too high and only pays around 40% of actual costs. When I retired from government service I kept my health and dental insurance for awhile. But when I reached 65, I dropped both of them because of the high cost and decided to just go with medicare and Tri-Care for life.
 

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First, by watching my cable on my TV I don't need to use my much larger and more power consuming TV.

I can certainly understand this...I'm sure your iMac uses less energy than a large TV.

But just for conversations sake...lets do some calculations. I looked up Portland, Oregon electricity rates...and the peak rate is 13.266 cents/kWh. I don't know how many watts your TV uses...but let's assume a fairly high number such as 500 watts.

Time Of Use: Pricing | PGE

Now...if we make a REALLY conservative calculation...and use the:

- peak electricity rate of 13.266 cents/kWh
- the TV consumes 500 watts
- and the TV is on 24hours/day

If we did this calculation...it works outs to be $49.35/month. Like I said this is a VERY conservative calculation...since:

- Your TV may not consume 500 watts
- You're not always being charged the peak electricity rate of 13.266cents/kWh (the mid-peak rate is 7.500cents/kWh & Off-peak rate is only 4.422cents/kWh)
- You're certainly not leaving your TV on 24hours/day...for a full 31 day month.

So if the worst case scenario is $49.35/month...I'm thinking a more realistic calculation is probably more like:

- TV consumes 400 watts
- TV is on for 12 hours/day
- Average electricity charge is more like 10cents/kWh)

This would work out to be about $14.88/month electricity charge to use your TV (not a lot of savings in the big scheme of things).;)

Second, It also adds recording capabilities I wouldn't have otherwise. I don't own a DVR, Tivo or VCR. I like to do computer work while watching TV so this makes it easy to open multiple windows to do so. I'm running 16 Meg of RAM so multitasking memory hungry applications is not an issue.

These are certainly some nice benefits of using the iMac. :)

- Nick

p.s. Of course even my more "realistic" calculation may be over-estimated...thus the monthly electricity charge for just the TV may even be lower than $14.88/month.:)
 
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I can certainly understand this...I'm sure your iMac uses less energy than a large TV.

But just for conversations sake...lets do some calculations. I looked up Portland, Oregon electricity rates...and the peak rate is 13.266 cents/kWh. I don't know how many watts your TV uses...but let's assume a fairly high number such as 500 watts.

Time Of Use: Pricing | PGE

Now...if we make a REALLY conservative calculation...and use the:

- peak electricity rate of 13.266 cents/kWh
- the TV consumes 500 watts
- and the TV is on 24hours/day

If we did this calculation...it works outs to be $49.35/month. Like I said this is a VERY conservative calculation...since:

- Your TV may not consume 500 watts
- You're not always being charged the peak electricity rate of 13.266cents/kWh (the mid-peak rate is 7.500cents/kWh & Off-peak rate is only 4.422cents/kWh)
- You're certainly not leaving your TV on 24hours/day...for a full 31 day month.

So if the worst case scenario is $49.35/month...I'm thinking a more realistic calculation is probably more like:

- TV consumes 400 watts
- TV is on for 12 hours/day
- Average electricity charge is more like 10cents/kWh)

This would work out to be about $14.88/month electricity charge to use your TV (not a lot of savings in the big scheme of things).;)



These are certainly some nice benefits of using the iMac. :)

- Nick

p.s. Of course even my more "realistic" calculation may be over-estimated...thus the monthly electricity charge for just the TV may even be lower than $14.88/month.:)

Looking at my electric bills since I moved into my present apartment the monthly amount has more than doubled in the past 3-4 years. Now, I'm on the averaging plan for the whole year and my 182 square foot sub-studio apartment, that's 13'6" x 13'6", is $54 a month. I realize the rates have gone up during that time but not proportionally to my fixed income. Even unemployment benefits pay more than Social Security. I was on unemployment for one year before turning 62 and taking early Social Security benefits. We received one COLA raise in the past 4 years. I can assure you that over time, even just 4 years, my ability to live is slipping away. I was on food stamps for a year, receiving $16 a month in benefits. That $16 buys a bag of groceries once a month. It doesn't sound like much but take it away and it makes a difference.

As far as the so called fancy camera gear I bought layoff money, 401K plan cash outs and final bonuses from Intel Corp, my final employer, paid for that. I've been a photographer for 42 years so it's my main hobby. Knowing I would likely never be able to buy good gear again I invest in my cameras while I still had some cash. I also bought a new SmartCar and Piaggio BV250 Touring Scooter. Both were quickly paid off before my 2010 layoff. The scooter gets 72 mpg & the car 40 mpg. Both are incredibly low maintenance.

I invested my money well to set myself up for retirement. I don't regret a single financial move that I made. By every government standard out there I live in abject poverty with a reportable income of $3200 a year. At that rate I don't even need to file a tax return.

What I am starting to regret is creating and posting this thread. Men's need to pick apart the post for nit picking reasons bores the **** out of me. All I can do is wish you the best in your retirement attempts.
 

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I'm starting to "get it". Between not caring for the "pursuit of money" and my own lifestyle choices, never expected to see 30, much less 60.

Wife was laid off a year and a half before she hit 62 - there were no jobs to be had for a 60 yr old exec admin. She was invited in for 3 job interviews during that time and made it to the top 2 applicants - the 30 yr old got all 3 of them.

Her SS pays $1,008 a month. I'll probably never be able to "retire". One of the first bills that went was the $8/mth hulu plus.

Oh, one more thing...

keep those pics coming. :)
 

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What I am starting to regret is creating and posting this thread. Men's need to pick apart the post for nit picking reasons bores the **** out of me. All I can do is wish you the best in your retirement attempts.

Bob,

I sure as heck hope that you don't think that I'm "nit-picking" your post.;)...just having a conversation.:) I did all those calculations to show...that even operating a 400-500 watt large TV over the course of a month only costs about $15 bucks in electricity. That's an awful lot of entertainment value for just $15.:) And I know almost all of us easily waste $15 bucks/month on much less important stuff.;)

- Nick

p.s. By the way...it probably took me about 20+ minutes to put together that "electricity" post above. BELIEVE me...I would not have wasted 20+ minutes on a single post if I wasn't trying to help!:)

p.p.s. Also...NEVER EVER post any information/personal information on an internet forum that you don't mind the whole world seeing (this is not a private forum). AND FULLY EXPECT every detail of it to potentially be "nit-picked" apart. It's just the "nature of the beast" when posting information for the whole world to see.
 
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I'm starting to "get it". Between not caring for the "pursuit of money" and my own lifestyle choices, never expected to see 30, much less 60.

Wife was laid off a year and a half before she hit 62 - there were no jobs to be had for a 60 yr old exec admin. She was invited in for 3 job interviews during that time and made it to the top 2 applicants - the 30 yr old got all 3 of them.

Her SS pays $1,008 a month. I'll probably never be able to "retire". One of the first bills that went was the $8/mth hulu plus.

Oh, one more thing...

keep those pics coming. :)

I still use the free version of Hulu. I refuse to pay a monthly fee for limited viewing of the shows I wish to watch. I've discovered ON Demand from Comcast has all the TV shows for free. Either that or I can go online to the appropriate network and watch the episodes for free there. I cancelled everything, including Netflix and all my magazine subscriptions. I even get all our local newspapers for free online.

My rent for my sub-studio is $639 a month. That's almost half my Social Security check. By the time I pay for the 10 medications I take, fill up my gas tanks in the bike & car once and buy food, there's nothing left. I'm right on the edge of being homeless. Welcome to retirement. Now you know why I voted for Obama. Ryan & Romney would have put me on the street. Ain't life grand?
 

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My rent for my sub-studio is $639 a month. That's almost half my Social Security check. By the time I pay for the 10 medications I take, fill up my gas tanks in the bike & car once and buy food, there's nothing left. I'm right on the edge of being homeless. Welcome to retirement. Now you know why I voted for Obama. Ryan & Romney would have put me on the street. Ain't life grand?

Sorry to hear about this Bob. It does sound like the monthly budget is pretty tight...and maybe saving even $15 dollars in electricity not using your larger TV would be an area to save money.:)

Sounds like you're doing everything you can to keep costs down! Good luck!:)

- Nick
 

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...Welcome to retirement. Now you know why I voted for Obama. Ryan & Romney would have put me on the street. Ain't life grand?


Yep, I've had friends on disability that have voted primarily for democratic candidates for years for similar reasons. Personally, have considered and am dreading the day when my vote will be cast based on the benefits I can get from the government because if I don't get it, I'm on the street, have no food, &/or can't get the medical services I/or my wife need.

Of course, if the government just stopped spending the $$ it gets for SS/MC and put back the money (plus interest) it has spent from those funds over the years on other things, those in need in this country wouldn't have near the worries they do now. Like that will ever happen.
 
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Yep, I've had friends on disability that have voted primarily for democratic candidates for years for similar reasons. Personally, have considered and am dreading the day when my vote will be cast based on the benefits I can get from the government because if I don't get it, I'm on the street, have no food, &/or can't get the medical services I/or my wife need.

Of course, if the government just stopped spending the $$ it gets for SS/MC and put back the money (plus interest) it has spent from those funds over the years on other things, those in need in this country wouldn't have near the worries they do now. Like that will ever happen.

I'm a Vietnam era vet. We were lied to then about fighting communism and lied to now about weapons of mass destruction. All our goods are now made by communist countries like China, Vietnam & Cambodia. As far as weapons of mass destruction that's just wrong on every level. We need to get our *** out of other people's business and spending zillions of dollars dictating policies and leaders so we can take over and put our puppet governments in their place. From European viewpoints we're the terrorists.
 
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Hi, bobmelkie,
It’s good that you are using your retirement money with care. You did a lot of effort to save your bucks and still watching the TV in HD. But I have a better alternative for you. You can use spectrum cable services as they are less costly than Comcast and even then they provide a lot of free HD channels. You can also use DVR service to record your favorite clips rather than using VLC. So I think that it will save your money more.
 
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@ashleyrosa, welcome to the forum.

I have one tip for you: The post you responded to was originally posted in November, 2012. You can see the date of the post/thread just above each post. Your suggestion may still be valid, but now that 6 years have passed, the original poster may no longer have the need. You might want to keep an eye on the age of the threads before posting.

Again, welcome.
 

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More than likely a spam post for Charter - Spectrum. Sounds like she's an agent for them. I removed the URL.
 

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