As seasonal residents of Travelers Rest, Eddie and I regularly read the summer updates posted on the resort website. This past summer, we were dismayed to learn that, as expected, the TR cable had been replaced by an over the air antenna system. Two weeks ago, shortly after arriving at TR for the season, an antennas was installed at our house in the village. We may occasionally utilize the antenna to watch programs on the three major networks and PBS, but we sorely miss having access to CNBC, MSNBC, AMC (how does one survive without the Walking Dead?) ESPN and TNT.
By now you are probably wondering, what is the relationship of TR cable and computer technology, the major topic of the OnMouseClick columns? In this second decade of the twenty-first century, computers and computing devices are ubiquitous, and at our house we make extensive use of one such computing device connected to our television— an Apple TV. It is a small, WiFi device, a little bigger than a pack of cards, that when connected to a HDTV through an HDMI port gives access to streaming content from the internet. We purchased the Apple TV primarily to watch Netflix, the subscription streaming service that allows us to view hundreds of TV series and movies without commercial interruption.
However, Apple TV is more than just a conduit for Netflix. It also gives us access to an alternative streaming service, HULUPlus, as well as a variety of TV stations, including HBO, Showtime, ESPN, ABC, CNBC, Bloomberg TV, The Weather Channel, ABC News, CBS News, PBS, Lifetime, A&E, The History Channel, and more. Most of the programming is on-demand. Once a show has been aired for the first time, the episode is then available to view whenever you want. A full listing of the current Apple TV lineup can be found here.
Reading the previous paragraph, Apple TV sounds too good to be true, and, as with most things there is a catch. To view most of the content, you need to be a customer of a cable TV company, and the network you want to watch must be part of your subscription package. To watch a network on the Apple TV, you sign in with your cable company user name and password. Since we have a home up north with cable service, Apple TV allows us to watch in Florida most of what we are paying for back in N.Y.
Apple TV is not the only such device available. Other similar devices are the Roku and Chromecaste, and if you have a smart TV, you can access some of the same content directly through your TV. Naturally, all of the devices mentioned work off a WiFI signal, and you need to have a dedicated WiFi signal in your home. In our case, we have a Centurylong DSL internet connection.
Both the Apple TV and ROKU list for $99, and the Chromecast lists for $35.
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