So yesterday I signed up for SlingTv in an effort to look at things that I might use to do a little Cord Cutting. In case you are mystified as to why I am doing this, consider that I will be retiring in as little as 2 years and I need to cut costs to my home budget. I am currently spending over $2400 per year for FIOS. That has got to change. Fortunately, SlingTv has a 7 day trial offer on the table that really looks attractive. The downside is that it is a single unit streamer and there is no cloud dvr capability.
I am not sure what I will be able to do with this since one of my "must haves" is to be able to record the Food Network. I am aware that I can sort of get archived recordings but my wife likes to record the stream on our FIOS DVR and watch it later when we are not occupied with work or errands. This is the nature of recording the shows, not that we are going to sell or trade the shows with someone, but that we are not around when the shows are on that we want to watch. The networks end up penalizing customers who simply want to watch their shows in a different time slot when they prevent recording for personal use. There is nothing illegal at all about recording for personal use, but the networks are using things like the DMCA to force everyone to use their business model. Well, I have to cut the cost or I drop everything - period.
So, this weekend the experiments are to:
(1) try out SlingTv to see what it has to offer and see how the streaming holds up on my internet connection.
(2) finish setting up Mythbuntu on a VM to connect to my OTA setup running through the HDHomeRun Connect system. Need to figure out the connection to my upstairs tv though.
(3) potentially try out WMC using the OTA setup through my Ceton Echos.
More Later ...
This is a blog mostly about techie things, what I am doing to my apartment network on the cheap, IOT, 3D Printing, Raspberry Pis, Arduinos, ESP32, ESP8266, Home Automation, Personal Weather Stations, Things That Go Bump in the Night, and some side issues that need discussing. Remember, sometimes the journey to an end is as much fun as the goal achieved!
Friday, July 31, 2015
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Weather Station Project #22 - Added a PoE Switch to the network to support some RPi projects
I went out over the weekend and purchased a 8 port Gigabit switch with 4 PoE ethernet ports on it. My goal is to use this switch possibly in the attic in the future where I can run ethernet wires through out and use the power from the PoE switch to both power and connect the outputs to my home network. I am already using it to power the Gertduino/Raspberry Pi Solar Radiation/UV sensor so that I will not have to use the injector; clutter catcher that it is. When I do get to the point of connecting the Solar Radiation/UV sensor up, I am planning on setting up a pan/tilt camera mounted next to it for weather pictures.
Thursday, July 23, 2015
GTD #1 - Rethinking My Use of Tech for Getting Things Done
This post will seem to be a little off target for what I have posted here before since this is not electronic or networking in nature. However, since this is my blog I can set my own rules. I have used the Getting Things Done approach for a number of years, mostly using manual/paper/analog type things to keep track of the mess that is my life. I have since graduated to an on and off use of ToodleDo and Pocket Informant plus notebooks. This morning I pulled up Pocket Informant on my iPad only to discover that I had 37 items that were overdue - time to rethink the problem!! I also discovered a simple "Getting Things Done in 500 Words or Less" post this morning that was outstanding.
I am going to keep using the notebooks that I have always used. The reason for keeping notes in a notebook is that it slows me down enough to really think about the problem - and as a plus it keeps my handwriting up. For a while there my chicken scratching was almost unreadable. This was a far cry from my days as a young engineer in which I had my drafting class lettering fresh in my mind. That was 40 years ago, this is now and with all of the distractions around me I am having problems keeping concentrating on a single subject for very long. So this will be my series of discussions on what I am doing to alleviate the issue.
I am going to keep using the notebooks that I have always used. The reason for keeping notes in a notebook is that it slows me down enough to really think about the problem - and as a plus it keeps my handwriting up. For a while there my chicken scratching was almost unreadable. This was a far cry from my days as a young engineer in which I had my drafting class lettering fresh in my mind. That was 40 years ago, this is now and with all of the distractions around me I am having problems keeping concentrating on a single subject for very long. So this will be my series of discussions on what I am doing to alleviate the issue.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
CC#4 - Media VLAN has Changed to Support Cord Cutting
My Media vlan now looks like this:
The blocked out areas refer to equipment that is FIOS TV specific. I am currently trying to figure out a scheme to get around having to use FIOS TV but still give me the things that I am used to using. I still have the Windows Media Center, although it now only gets to the HDHomeRun Connect for OTA channels. The Mac Mini will still be used as a Plex server in the arrangement. I am going to use the WMC as the primary with the Plex server as the secondary use of media. Note that I have a Roku3 in the mix now as I have removed the Apple TV that was upstairs due to Apple's insistence that they control everything. Actually the Netflix control from the Roku3 box is much better.
So, the next actions to take include:
That should give me a start.
The blocked out areas refer to equipment that is FIOS TV specific. I am currently trying to figure out a scheme to get around having to use FIOS TV but still give me the things that I am used to using. I still have the Windows Media Center, although it now only gets to the HDHomeRun Connect for OTA channels. The Mac Mini will still be used as a Plex server in the arrangement. I am going to use the WMC as the primary with the Plex server as the secondary use of media. Note that I have a Roku3 in the mix now as I have removed the Apple TV that was upstairs due to Apple's insistence that they control everything. Actually the Netflix control from the Roku3 box is much better.
So, the next actions to take include:
- Get the HDHomeRun Connect running through WMC7
- Install Ceton's WMC interface software
- Ensure that the WMC7 works with the Echos
- Get one or all of the iPads in the house to control the Ceton Echos in the house
That should give me a start.
Monday, July 20, 2015
CC#3 - Set up an HDHomeRun Connect on the Network
So, over the weekend I managed to setup an HDHomeRun Connect with a 50W OTA antenna. I was able to scan the stations and display some of the OTA channels from the WMC7 box that I have in my network. I was using the HDHomeRun Installer/Setup scripts to do this. So far I have not ventured to attach the Connect to my WMC7 box because I already have a running HDHomeRun Prime setup that works. I am a bit afraid to change it out in case I cannot get the Prime setup again.
I shouldn't be this cautious given all of the things that I have done with my network thus far. I have gotten some sage advice from the Cord Cutters group on Reddit which I am about to try out. I have a program which can selectively limit the channels on the WMC7 box.
I shouldn't be this cautious given all of the things that I have done with my network thus far. I have gotten some sage advice from the Cord Cutters group on Reddit which I am about to try out. I have a program which can selectively limit the channels on the WMC7 box.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
CC#2 - Cord Cutting TV Items I Can't Do Without
I have been analyzing the minimal TV channels on Verizon FIOS TV that I have to have prior to cord cutting. This is pretty easy since my wife is the one who watches TV the most. As long as I get her the channels she wants to watch, along with the services that she wants, I am in the game. However, women are fickle; especially my wife. For example, even though I have a Windows Media Center setup she will not use it because of the way in which the channels are accessed (i.e., she doesn't like the interface or the remote that I have).
First of all, I don't mind spending money on technical items if in the long run it saves me money. As I said in a previous post, I spend above $2400 per year on Verizon FIOS and I have to cut that amount in half. I have a lot of the technical items that I have gathered in the last few years that should give me the ability to do just that.
But, back to the minimal channel thing. These are the channels that I need (preferably with an HD offering).
Absolute must haves:
Some streaming solutions come to mind as well. I can stream via Hulu, Hulu Plus, Netflix, Amazon Prime, or SlingTV. I could put up a server for Plex, MythTV, XBMC, etc. I have the hardware and the connections throughout the house to accomplish this. So what do I do? First up, how do I get to tape the Food Network stream? Or, do I really need to. Maybe the first question should be how to get the Food Network stream itself. I know that I don't have the Food Network over the air. There are pre-taped Food Network shows on each of the services above. At last count the costs were:
To be continued ...
First of all, I don't mind spending money on technical items if in the long run it saves me money. As I said in a previous post, I spend above $2400 per year on Verizon FIOS and I have to cut that amount in half. I have a lot of the technical items that I have gathered in the last few years that should give me the ability to do just that.
But, back to the minimal channel thing. These are the channels that I need (preferably with an HD offering).
Absolute must haves:
- ABC over the air
- TCM
- Food Network (she tapes this one)
- Other over the air channels like Fox, CBS, NBC
- Hallmark channel
- SyFy channel
Some streaming solutions come to mind as well. I can stream via Hulu, Hulu Plus, Netflix, Amazon Prime, or SlingTV. I could put up a server for Plex, MythTV, XBMC, etc. I have the hardware and the connections throughout the house to accomplish this. So what do I do? First up, how do I get to tape the Food Network stream? Or, do I really need to. Maybe the first question should be how to get the Food Network stream itself. I know that I don't have the Food Network over the air. There are pre-taped Food Network shows on each of the services above. At last count the costs were:
- Hulu: $7.99 per month
- Hulu Plus: $7.99 per month
- Netflix: $10.99 per month (I have streaming and 3 DVDs plan)
- Amazon Prime: $90 per year (use it a lot for no cost shipping)
- SlingTV: $25 per month (given the shows that I want to watch)
To be continued ...
CC#1 - Setting up for Cord Cutting
In just a very short number of years I will be retiring. I already have my mortgage paid off and I have dropped what I owe to a minimum in preparation for that event. If you still have a mortgage when you get ready to retire, by definition you will not be able to retire unless you are making oodles of money. I am not that way. One of the things that I need to do is start cutting household expenses to a minimum. I am also planning to run for a couple of years on "retirement income" levels to see how I fare.
One of the larger household expenditures that I have is my cable bill. I have Verizon FIOS and I am spending over $2400 per year on that service. I have FIOS TV with one DVR and one STB, no premium movie channels, a telephone land line, and internet (25 up/25 down). I want to cut that expenditure in half. The issue is that I have been a Verizon customer for a good number of years but find myself ineligible to participate in ANY offer that Verizon FIOS has. Every single one of their offers to save money makes the blanket statement that only new customers are eligible. That means that I will have to quit Verizon and go somewhere else if I am to lower my monthly costs to the level that I need. My goal is to halve the cost for my cable bill; which means that the service cannot cost more than $100 per month.
So my choices are: (1) to go elsewhere for a period of time until the other service raises their rates and then come back to Verizon and get their offers, or (2) do a Cord Cutting measure and reduce my dependence on Verizon FIOS to internet only. I can get internet from other sources, but I would prefer to stick with Verizon FIOS internet.
First on the chopping block is the landline. I already pay AT&T a lot of money for keeping up three iPhones. I don't foresee that changing for a while although I could back off and go to flip phones which would reduce the bill to a minimum (my granddaughter would not be happy though). If I have internet service, I would be able to convert over to VOIP (which is what I get from Verizon anyway). I have an Obi110 in my bag of goodies which I can use to get the landline moved to something reasonable.
Next on the chopping block is the Verizon FIOS internet service. The service by itself is expensive. In my area, 25/25 by itself is $45 per month and 50/50 is $55 per month, which is half of the $100 per month in my budget. I am not sure at this point if I can get those prices if I drop my Verizon FIOS TV and Land Line since I am an existing customer. I have heard rumors that they will only drop the cost to $75 per month if you drop the rest of the services in an effort to keep you on the whole till. I will need to explore this
Next on the chopping block is the Verizon FIOS TV.
To be continued ...
One of the larger household expenditures that I have is my cable bill. I have Verizon FIOS and I am spending over $2400 per year on that service. I have FIOS TV with one DVR and one STB, no premium movie channels, a telephone land line, and internet (25 up/25 down). I want to cut that expenditure in half. The issue is that I have been a Verizon customer for a good number of years but find myself ineligible to participate in ANY offer that Verizon FIOS has. Every single one of their offers to save money makes the blanket statement that only new customers are eligible. That means that I will have to quit Verizon and go somewhere else if I am to lower my monthly costs to the level that I need. My goal is to halve the cost for my cable bill; which means that the service cannot cost more than $100 per month.
So my choices are: (1) to go elsewhere for a period of time until the other service raises their rates and then come back to Verizon and get their offers, or (2) do a Cord Cutting measure and reduce my dependence on Verizon FIOS to internet only. I can get internet from other sources, but I would prefer to stick with Verizon FIOS internet.
First on the chopping block is the landline. I already pay AT&T a lot of money for keeping up three iPhones. I don't foresee that changing for a while although I could back off and go to flip phones which would reduce the bill to a minimum (my granddaughter would not be happy though). If I have internet service, I would be able to convert over to VOIP (which is what I get from Verizon anyway). I have an Obi110 in my bag of goodies which I can use to get the landline moved to something reasonable.
Next on the chopping block is the Verizon FIOS internet service. The service by itself is expensive. In my area, 25/25 by itself is $45 per month and 50/50 is $55 per month, which is half of the $100 per month in my budget. I am not sure at this point if I can get those prices if I drop my Verizon FIOS TV and Land Line since I am an existing customer. I have heard rumors that they will only drop the cost to $75 per month if you drop the rest of the services in an effort to keep you on the whole till. I will need to explore this
Next on the chopping block is the Verizon FIOS TV.
To be continued ...
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
An Issue Has Arisen - VLAN Crossover
Methinks that the default setup for Mac OS X Mavericks opens the same ports for every VLAN that has been defined. I thought that I was going crazy here because I thought that the default was no crossover connections between VLANs within my network. I have been very careful to make sure that the router and switch setups do not cross over. However, it would seem that Mavericks puts the same ports on each vlan that is defined in the Setup. I don't want this, I want a separate set of ports to be open for each vlan from the Mac Mini. The reason for this is that I want to do some SDN type things using Fusion on the Mac Mini, now I am not so sure that I will be able to do it. I don't really understand PF as I am more of a Linux guy. I will update as I find the answer.
Friday, July 10, 2015
Weather Station Project #21 - Updated the RPi Hardware
Interesting; as it turns out it's very easy to go from the old B model to the RPi 2 without difficulty. I wanted to update my software and the version of the raspberry pi. I did an update, followed by an upgrade, followed by a dist–upgrade and was then able to take that SD card and grab an image of it. I then placed the image onto a micro-SD card which would fit on the RPi 2. It booted right up and has been outputting weather data ever since.
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