UPS advice for NAS & desktop

[stevech]

Yeah, my DVR takes maybe 5 minutes to reboot. Fortunately, after yelling at Time Warner for months, I finally have one that has only one bug in its software. The prior had a known bug that TWC just didn't care to get their vendor (Samsung) to fix. It caused daily reboots and lots of missed recordings. I found that there is one company making the DVR software loads for most all the cable companies. They skin it for TWC vs. Cox, etc. But the box maker (e.g., Samsung, Cisco, Motorola-du-jour, et al), is responsible / pays for getting this standard software ported to their box. That's the rub.
Compounded by the duopoly in pay TV we have now - where lack of competition leads to a lack of excellence.

 

[azazel1024]

tell me about it. If it wasn't for my wife, we would probably have switched away from pay TV. Sadly, just too many shows that don't have paid/free apps/streaming options.

However, my fingers are crossed that we are now swiftly moving in that direction. For a couple of channels that I really love/my wife insists on watching, I wouldn't mind paying $5-10 a month for them. Especially if they are setup so back episodes of whatever can be watched at anytime after it has aired (and of course live TV). That or they can be setup to be DVR'd through whatever box/device can stream them.

With my current FIOS with all discounts included, I am paying about $150 a month with taxes and DVR rental for phone, 75/75 and one step up from basic TV channels (the phone actually makes it slightly cheaper, as it makes it a triple play package, which has some discounts, but Verizon was also recently running a $10 off wired and $10 off wireless deal for 2 years if you have a wireless plan and triple play bundle, so it would actually cost me almost $20 more a month to lose home phone service, which I don't really want smh).

Just internet would be $80 (damned expensive IMHO), so call it a $70 cost difference. Unless A la carte (if we truely ever get it) ends up being ridiculously expensive per channel/service (service example, all HBO. Or maybe "all" of Discovery network, or just AMC, etc.), I'd imagine for the "TV" I'd want, it might be another $20-30 a month. Some nice savings IMHO.

If the situation just keeps getting worse with cost and a la carte never shows up, I'd imagine at some point I'll be able to talk my wife out of needing TV and just watching stuff when it shows up on Netflix for streaming or DVDs.

 

[stevech]

FIOS.. nice. My brother has it. 25/10Mbps

I am gouged $169/mo from TWC for
Digital phone (good service, far cheaper than T)
Internet 35/5
TV with sports add-on, and a package with all the discovery and NG channels. These add 30/mo or so.
one box, a reasonably reliable DVR with a large disk

Every time I price Dish/Direct for TV, it comes out more costly.

95% of what we watch is owned by Discovery, Food TV, National Geo, and the Pro road race biking on UCI and NBC sports. Netflix - I've had it off and on. Very little of interest on Netflix.
Zero use of network TV nor all the trash shows.

 

[azazel1024]

My wife and I get a bit out of Netflix, her more than me. Mostly it is for our kids. They probably watch 80% of their TV as Netflix. Maybe 10% as various kids movies I've ripped (they know what a DVD/BR is, but for them it is mostly "that is what the Xbox game is") and maybe 10% either live TV Disney Junior/PBS kids or the Disney Junior or PBS Kids app through the Apple TV.

My wife is probably 40% DVR'd TV shows, 25% movies from our collection of that one-at-a-time Netflix BR we get in the mail, 10% streaming from some channel's website/Apple TV app and 25% binge watching a TV series on Netflix.

I am probably 50% one-at-a-time Netflix BR, 25% binge watching a TV series on Netflix, 10% from some channe's website/Apple TV app and 15% DVR'd TV shows.

Just a little crack in that "needing traditional cable channels" and we could easily get away from having a TV subscription.

I do like FIOS, I just wish it was a little cheaper (don't we all?). What chaps me the most is just that basic internet access so so danged expensive. Comcast's basic in my area is 6 up, 1 down and it is $39.99 a month. Verizon FIOS is 25/25 in my area, but also $39.99 a month.

I would LOVE to have a back-up connection, even at 6/1, but I am NOT paying $40 a month for it. $10 a month, sure. Heck, I'd even go slower than 6/1, like a 4m/768k or possibly even a 3m/512k for "the even of losing my primary connection".

It happens oh so rarely, but I HAVE had FIOS go out a handful of times. Once our ONT box was fried from a power surge (and attendent 40hr power outage, longest/only prolonged one I have had in the 2 1/2yrs I have been living in my current house) and it took about 5 days for Verizon to be able to come out to replace it (because the ice storm caused so much damage, and of course we didn't even know it was friend until we got power back after almost 2 days. Irony is I finally bit the bullet and ordered a generator for next day delivery from Amazon (thank goodness prime, shipping was only $50 for next day, instead of something like $200). I left work early the next day to hook it up when the tracking info showed it was delivered. As I pulled up my drive way, the lights/power came back on in my house. Oh well. Now I have a generator as a back up for when it happens again (because central Maryland LOVEs to have massive ice storms every couple of years). Sadly I did not order it in advance like I was contemplating doing hearing the severity of the forecast. Been a handful, maybe 3-4, other times we've lost FIOS, generally internet, pretty much never TV service. The outages haven't ever been super long, so it isn't THAT big a deal, but it is annoying to have to use your cell phone for any internet connectivity even if it is only for a couple of hours.

For $10 a month, I'd pay for a little (slow) piece of mind. I, however, would not pay $50 a month. I am vaguely interested in a USB LTE modem as a backup, as I could probably add that for $10 a month, but sadly it would do zip for increasing my data alotment, which is meager enough (though just fine for my wife and I, but if we were using it for fixed service, even for just a day or two, we'd blow WAY past the limits).

 

[TheSwede86]

Just wanted to report back that I bought an:
CyberPower PFC Sinewave CP1500EPFCLCD
Link

I am very pleased with it, its very sleek and doesnt look at all like that ugly box that other UPS:es sometimes look like (and since its on my desktop due to the fact I live in an small apartment its somewhat important). It is quiet and all my gear (as stated earlier except the printer ofc) seems to task it for around 100W in idle and for around 300W in load. Already "saved" my NAS from one power-outtage and coupled the UPS + my NAS and my desktop using WinNUT since my NAS is able to be a "UPS Network Server" so it tells my computer (running WinNUT) to shutdown when its on battery power. My NAS is directly hooked up to the UPS using USB. Works great, I am VERY pleased with it.

Please note that it seems to be two different versions of it, one (old) that has battery+surge on 3x outlets and only surge on the remaining 3. The newer one has battery+surge on all 6x outlets. Also depending on where you are you might want to research the outlets, read on Amazon.uk that they have gotten "Schuko"-outlets instead of their UK-style outlets. Mine has 6x "Schuko" and I am very pleased, didn't want any "IEC"-outlets so this works out great.

It is also "pure sinewave" which seems to be recommended for APFC PSU:s like my EVGA SuperNova G2 750W.

 

[stevech]

Verizon FIOS is 25/25 in my area, but also $39.99 a month.

that's a bargain as compared to living in a Time Warner territory. $45 and up for 35/5, IF that's bundled with TV.

 

[azazel1024]

I should mention, that is only if you get a 2 year contract, I think off contract rate/non-teaser is $49.99 for 25/25 for Verizon FIOS.