8 months since I have watched TV - thoughts

[Sammy]

One of the rules in our home is that there is no TV set. I remember when we had it, it was such a thief of time... Of course, Animal Planet and National Geographic were cool to watch, but there were LOTS of ads anyway and it could go on an on and then the day was almost over... So yeah, no TV. Internet is bad enough, but Internet and TV... shivers

[Beth Andrea]

Basically I don't watch TV. The last thing I watched with any regularity was the news...and once I realized it's just a source of anxiety for me, and that the weather forecasts are 60% wrong, I just stopped.

Movies and shows on DVD 's? Naaah, I find it hard to focus and be entertained at the same time. My daydreams are better and more 'fulfilling' than anything I've seen on TV in the past 30 years.

[Lesley_Roberta]

8 bucks in Canada, no dvds (why would I even want them?).

For those saying Netflix sucks (in any nation) get a service like Unblockus, mine costs me 5 bucks, and with it, I watch anything from anywhere. Thus the Canadian content limits are meaningless. Eventually the fools limiting our access based on region will finally realize none of us give a ->-bleeped-<- about their rules. Sorry but I couldn't care less if the show is not licensed for Canada. Not my problem.

But regarding the TV, to me it's really just a great big viewing screen. I use it for games, I use it for video content. Ya know, it's not bad for porn either (almost life size).

The thing with Netflix, is it is accessible on anything that can get online, so that means my desktop, laptop, the wife's laptop, the son's desktop, my two tablets. That makes for some very handy access. And the TV can talk to any of that.

Meanwhile cable, they want 65 bucks and will get in a snit if you have the nerve to expect the signal to arrive in more than one location. Yeah get real.

I admit, a lot of what I watch on Netflix, is old stuff. I miss that old stuff though. But half the shows I have watched, well I missed them when they were on too and a lot of stuff has been great and is now gone off the usual sources.
Netflix has some dreadful films, I often think the horror category is worse than reality TV some days hehe.
But still, I always find something to look at, so I suppose it just depends on how easy to please the viewer is.

I like having something on while I make a model at my desk and the show is airing on a laptop or my tablet beside me.
But if I want great films, well those usually require more effort. Still since the arrival of Blueray, I have only bought LotR and Pandora.
I might need it for anime in the future though. I have a massive film stash in dvd emulated as disc images on the desktop though.

[vegie271]

8 bucks in Canada, no dvds (why would I even want them?).

because HUGE amounts of stuff is only available on disk, just does not come instant I love my disks. 

But regarding the TV, to me it's really just a great big viewing screen. I use it for games, I use it for video content. Ya know, it's not bad for porn either (almost life size).

had a 37" LCD it broke, just ordered a 40" LED it is on it's way today.

as far as porn - never watch.

[Lesley_Roberta]

Once upon a time there was a service called Zip.ca. Ok it is likely still out there too.

But around hmm must have been like 2005ish, they arrived and they was awesome. The thing was, they did indeed have sooooo much stuff on dvd and they had incredible turn around time. The price per month was such, that if you got enough stuff sent and got it back soon enough, the effective price per disk was like a dollar. Not bad really. And a buddy showed me how easy it was to just rip the disk, store the disk and watch at your own leisure. Better to get the disk in the mail, rip and 30 minutes later back in the mail.

Now of course eeeeeeeveryone was doing it, and they all steadfastly insisted oh no we are not doing that... yeah whatever man. But eventually Zip.ca realized crap we is getting murdered in postage costs and our prices are way too low. In time the gravy train left the station.

But it was possible to get a disk, rip and put on a blank worth 20 cents and well it was what it was. There is a finite number of good movies out there though. A finite number of documentaries of animes of whatever. And eventually it has to be stored too And so many films, they really are only worth watching once, and it seems increasingly so too thanks to their being so entirely special effects driven and no real substance. I can watch Doctor Zhivago over and over, but, just about anything made in the last 20 years, well rarely do I find something actually worth buying, but, it is easy enough to just buy those very rare good films.

Hollycrud makes a lot of noise about their crap, but, crap it is indeed in most cases.
I haven't actually wanted a film to add to my collection in several years now.
So if Netflix is slow in getting anything new, it is often no loss.

 

[Eva Marie]

I can't stand to watch live TV - I find myself getting aggravated and turning it back off because of never-ending blocks of ads. It seems like now there are more ads than tv show when i try to watch. The producers have finally killed the golden goose with their greed.

We do record a few selected shows and i'll sit for an hour in the evening and watch those, skipping the commercials. I am amazed at how long some of those blocks of ads are and how long it takes to fast forward past them.

We are about to move and I currently have a lot of channels. I looked very hard at pulling the plug on cable altogether, but I wound up buying a basic package instead. We may later just have it cancelled altogether and keep the internet service.

I'd much rather surf the net now than watch tv.

[Lesley_Roberta]

Just watched Chasing Mavericks on Netflix, a film of stunning visuals a good story and proof positive, TV and cable is for people with no sense or more money than sense.

I didn't need cable to see this great movie.

Oh and what are these things called commercials? I here a lot of talk about them. Not sure I recall them.

[vegie271]

Hollycrud makes a lot of noise about their crap, but, crap it is indeed in most cases.
I haven't actually wanted a film to add to my collection in several years now.
So if Netflix is slow in getting anything new, it is often no loss.

I just got every Star Trek Movie on Blue Ray - I thought that was worth it - only $9 (I do surveys so I had  a coupon)

I can't stand to watch live TV - I find myself getting aggravated and turning it back off because of never-ending blocks of ads. It seems like now there are more ads than tv show when i try to watch. The producers have finally killed the golden goose with their greed.

We do record a few selected shows and i'll sit for an hour in the evening and watch those, skipping the commercials. I am amazed at how long some of those blocks of ads are and how long it takes to fast forward past them.

We are about to move and I currently have a lot of channels. I looked very hard at pulling the plug on cable altogether, but I wound up buying a basic package instead. We may later just have it cancelled altogether and keep the internet service.

I'd much rather surf the net now than watch tv.

150 channels is enough for me with a DVR so I don't have to watch commercials

[Jamie D]

I don't watch much television anymore.  I liked to watch House when it was in production.

I still watch The O'Reilly Factor on FNC.

[Kay]

I haven't had cable in a couple of years now.  I don't really miss it.  The last few years of it was mostly just sci-fi shows being used as minor entertainment while I was on the computer.   I know I could watch a lot of shows I used to watch on my computer (like NCIS), but just haven't cared enough to do so.
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I do tend to get left out of the social talk at work about programs and commercials though.  They just kinda shake their head at the strange one that doesn't have cable...or a digital TV that can accept antenna signals.  My old CRT does well enough for my needs.  (even if it does seem to be getting heavier every year    )
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No netflix.  Just not interested in TV enough anymore to bother with it.
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I do have a good collection of DVDs for when I do use the TV.  Anime and movies.  Usually I only use it when I have company.  Though I do agree that once you get a main core of good movies on DVD, it's difficult to find anything you really want to add to the collection.  I have a 2nd hand store nearby that sells DVDs for really cheap though ($1.50), so sometimes I'll pick odd things up on a whim...it's no more expensive than using a RedBox to rent them, so why not? 

[Lesley_Roberta]

Sometimes I have too much choice.

500 dvds of anime, 400 films, hundreds of war documentaries, countless science documentaries.

But in the end, I am most often just in need of sound, something I have already seen, and can relate to as I do something like the usual make a model choice.

I like watching aka listening to SG1. And with 10 years of stuff it takes a while to listen to it all once through.
Then there is my Bond Collection.

Most anime fans are mixed view on sub vs dub, but, if the show is truly good, sometimes it is ok to listen to it knowing you can really see in your mind what is on the screen, although the screen is really there if my eyes are not busy doing something.

So much TV programming though, it's empty of substance transitory crap only good for wasting time, and even I don't have so much time I am ok just throwing it away on garbage TV. I have no desire to watch people get arrested on shows like Cops. I don't care if you have a problem with your money or you junk or your kids. I don't want to watch shows pretending to be about survival when it is just a popularity challenge. I am not interested in watching a batch of talent trying to be the one that wins the prize. I don't care who gets picked to be the groom/bride. I am not interested in your business notion being offered to bored rich people.

And I sure don't feel like watching the news.

[Rachel]

My wife and daughter are addicted to TV. I watch an occasional show on animals or science if it happens to be on TV and they are watching.

[vegie271]

I haven't had cable in a couple of years now.  I don't really miss it.  The last few years of it was mostly just sci-fi shows being used as minor entertainment while I was on the computer.   I know I could watch a lot of shows I used to watch on my computer (like NCIS), but just haven't cared enough to do so.
.
I do tend to get left out of the social talk at work about programs and commercials though.  They just kinda shake their head at the strange one that doesn't have cable...or a digital TV that can accept antenna signals. My old CRT does well enough for my needs. (even if it does seem to be getting heavier every year    )
.
No netflix.  Just not interested in TV enough anymore to bother with it.
.
I do have a good collection of DVDs for when I do use the TV.  Anime and movies.  Usually I only use it when I have company.  Though I do agree that once you get a main core of good movies on DVD, it's difficult to find anything you really want to add to the collection.  I have a 2nd hand store nearby that sells DVDs for really cheap though ($1.50), so sometimes I'll pick odd things up on a whim...it's no more expensive than using a RedBox to rent them, so why not? 

ahhhhhh!  I could not live with that any more, I helped a girlfriend set up a converter box for hers it was awful! the only advantage to them is you can drop them off a 14 floor building and they still work. I broke my LCD just by bumping it with a vacuum cleaner and had to buy a new TV. but at least I get to see Blue Ray quality 1080P  40" AND it is lighter when I move.

[Kay]

Sometimes I have too much choice.

500 dvds of anime....

I like watching aka listening to SG1. And with 10 years of stuff it takes a while to listen to it all once through.

I'd say 500 dvds is a good start. 
SG1 (and Atlantis) were always my favorites for background noise too. 

[Kaori]

I went without a TV for years. Finally got one for video games at one point and never used it for anything else. I've owned a computer since high school so between that and video games I never really wanted/missed one.

I finally broke down and bought a nice one a couple years back because I started having more people over and we wanted to watch DVD's and television series once in a while together.

Every month when I get the cable bill, I swear I'm going to shut off cable service - it's ridiculously expensive considering how little I use it. Literally, only when family/friends sit down with me to watch a DVD or television shows.

So yeah, we're going to cancel service pretty soon and stick to DVD's. Everything else, I can get off the internet with Netflix or whatever and just hook the DMI cable to my TV (it's really just a huge monitor anyway most of the time, haha).
With all the sites on the net offering shows and movies, our house has no need to pay for cable.

As for the TV itself, it's nice to play Xbox with friends or watch a DVD on - that's it. I won't be buying another. I don't stair at the wall enough to make it worth the investment. Not that I don't stare at a computer screen for hours each day... I'm just saying!

[JLT1]

Wow, I feel out of place.  Let's see – I'm 51 so that takes care of the age request.

My wife and I have two TV's (one up stairs and one down stairs) and the full Direct TV (satellite) package with somewhere around 500 channels.  Both TVs have DVRs, computers or are wireless capable, stereos, and separate DVD players on them.  All of that and I really only watch 8 shows per week (no commercials) although she tends to watch much more. 

Down stairs, she watches that one while ironing.  We use it together with my old lap top so we can do on-line dance lessons together, in our own home.  Look at the move, pause, work it out, dance a little then go on to the next. You tube is great on the big screen. I do the "Insanity" work out in front of that TV.  We both love to listen to the "Sonic Tap", which is 80 some channels of music.
 
I guess that while they are TV's, they are also huge monitors and music boxes that we interface with for more than watching television shows.

[Kaelin]

Do you watch TV to fit in with friends?

Flat no.  Never have, actually.

That said, I will watch a few sporting events, as well as stuff on Netflix/Crunchyroll that grabs and keeps my interest, plus I'll stream The Daily Show and The Colbert Report (not necessarily in their entirety, but usually most of it).  But it'll be on my terms.

[Penny Gurl]

I actually haven't owned a TV for about a year and a half.  I have an Amazon Prime membership and can stream so much from that, and anything that is "network" TV i can usually stream off of their website.  I don't even own a television anymore, instead of buying a new one, I upgraded my computer monitor, and that I get much more use out of since I'm a freelance photographer and image editor.  At the day job i actually take pride in the fact that I don't own a TV, basically I look at it this way, the time that I would have spent watching TV i can spend building my business, or getting outside into the real world.

[MariaMx]

Good call. I haven't watched TV in almost 5 years now. Only exception is when I visit my mom and she turns it on.

[big kim]

Hardly watch it 2/3 hours a week at most.I only have Freeview but there is so little of interest to me,it has to educate,amuse or entertain me and  it is exactly the opposite.I enjoy wildlife/nature and history,art and cookery programmes and good thrillers but there hasn't been much to make me want to watch it recently.