Congratulations on cutting loose your shackles, and sticking two fingers up at the military-industrial-entertainment complex. I am legally required to spend GBP145 per year for a television licence which funds the BBC, but I also (voluntarily) spend another GBP240 to receive satellite channels, most of which I don't actually watch, although my family does.
You are not alone. Since all the TV stations were forced over to digital you should be able to get many more than if you were putting up an antenna for the old analog signals. Around here there are many who installed antennas and get about 20 to 25 good high quality video.
The DVR can be a challenge, but doable. There is a nice Linux TV package I used to use, but never kept up with it since I do very little TV watching. Like most all Linux, it worked and it was FREE. Only cost was a good Video card with a TV receiver.
Mike, welcome to the club. I have been TV-less for years. If I really want to follow some shows (e.g., Mad Men, Top Chef), I go to Netflix or pay $1.99 per episode on Amazon. I wish I were techie enough to putz around with other online alternatives though.
One thing for sure, I do not regret cutting the cord.
Good for you! I have been without TV for several years now, and it is one of the better decisions I made. If there is anything Leila and I want to watch, we do so on the computer, myself sparingly. No more mindlessly flipping channels, no more advertising shoved down your throat...none of it! Also, it frees up so much space in a living room without a TV, which is always a plus when collecting typewriters. Ken
I cut my cable TV quite awhile back, and then ended up canceling Netflix this winter when their selection took a nosedive and I found myself too busy anyway. There really are an awful lot of decent pay-as-you-go options these days, I think.
I'm still thinking of signing back up for Netflix for awhile now that there's another season of Doctor Who to watch. I am weak.
Do what I did. Quit watching t.v. altogether. I've never bothered getting as much as basic television reception in the 13 years of owning my home. I buy, borrow, or rent dvds, and that's it.
(After all this time, if I go elsewhere where a television is on, I've found now that I have zero tolerance for commercial interruptions.)
The last time I had a TV was in college - I just haven't had the room for one since (funny, since my dorm room was tiny!). It just stopped being a priority (or even a thought) as the internet got faster and became a reliable source for shows. Now I am more selective about what I watch and get to skip ads. While Hulu is sadly not available to viewers outside the US, at least I can still catch the Daily Show and Colbert Report on Comedy Central's website, which is nice. For the most part I have replaced the entertainment aspect of TV with web browsing, although it is nice to have a show on when my hands are otherwise occupied (during sewing or even typing, for instance).
Going on two years without cable or satellite TV here. Saved us about $100 a month. We watch stuff over the air or on Netflix and haven't looked back.
I did have a PC hooked up to our main TV and was in the process of installing a couple things to make it a DVR, but most of the stuff we watch can be watched anytime, all the time.
We still have one PC hooked up to a TV to pull in some streaming, non-Netflix stuff, but it gets used less and less.
10 comments:
That's cool, I didn't know you could build your own DVR.
Most of the little TV I watch is on Hulu.
Congratulations on cutting loose your shackles, and sticking two fingers up at the military-industrial-entertainment complex. I am legally required to spend GBP145 per year for a television licence which funds the BBC, but I also (voluntarily) spend another GBP240 to receive satellite channels, most of which I don't actually watch, although my family does.
You are not alone. Since all the TV stations were forced over to digital you should be able to get many more than if you were putting up an antenna for the old analog signals. Around here there are many who installed antennas and get about 20 to 25 good high quality video.
The DVR can be a challenge, but doable. There is a nice Linux TV package I used to use, but never kept up with it since I do very little TV watching. Like most all Linux, it worked and it was FREE. Only cost was a good Video card with a TV receiver.
Mike, welcome to the club.
I have been TV-less for years. If I really want to follow some shows (e.g., Mad Men, Top Chef), I go to Netflix or pay $1.99 per episode on Amazon. I wish I were techie enough to putz around with other online alternatives though.
One thing for sure, I do not regret cutting the cord.
Good for you! I have been without TV for several years now, and it is one of the better decisions I made. If there is anything Leila and I want to watch, we do so on the computer, myself sparingly. No more mindlessly flipping channels, no more advertising shoved down your throat...none of it!
Also, it frees up so much space in a living room without a TV, which is always a plus when collecting typewriters.
Ken
I cut my cable TV quite awhile back, and then ended up canceling Netflix this winter when their selection took a nosedive and I found myself too busy anyway. There really are an awful lot of decent pay-as-you-go options these days, I think.
I'm still thinking of signing back up for Netflix for awhile now that there's another season of Doctor Who to watch. I am weak.
Do what I did. Quit watching t.v. altogether. I've never bothered getting as much as basic television reception in the 13 years of owning my home. I buy, borrow, or rent dvds, and that's it.
(After all this time, if I go elsewhere where a television is on, I've found now that I have zero tolerance for commercial interruptions.)
Just moved house about 3 months ago.
When we moved, we got rid of the pay TV service that J had been watching for almost 15 years.
And can I say, it was fantastic to not have to tolerate the Kardashian like crap that was 'on'.
Now... we use an Apple TV. Cheaper, and I Jailbroke it so I can use plex on it, and watch all the TV shows that I have on my hard drive.
Never going to look back. Only paying for the shows that I care about now. Best thing we ever did.
The last time I had a TV was in college - I just haven't had the room for one since (funny, since my dorm room was tiny!). It just stopped being a priority (or even a thought) as the internet got faster and became a reliable source for shows. Now I am more selective about what I watch and get to skip ads. While Hulu is sadly not available to viewers outside the US, at least I can still catch the Daily Show and Colbert Report on Comedy Central's website, which is nice. For the most part I have replaced the entertainment aspect of TV with web browsing, although it is nice to have a show on when my hands are otherwise occupied (during sewing or even typing, for instance).
Going on two years without cable or satellite TV here. Saved us about $100 a month. We watch stuff over the air or on Netflix and haven't looked back.
I did have a PC hooked up to our main TV and was in the process of installing a couple things to make it a DVR, but most of the stuff we watch can be watched anytime, all the time.
We still have one PC hooked up to a TV to pull in some streaming, non-Netflix stuff, but it gets used less and less.
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