Fifty Plus (50+) - Way, way, way off topic

We finally did it. We cut the cable yesterday. Got tired of paying nearly $100 a month for service when we watched maybe one or two cable programs per night average - and many of those were on PBS - which is free. When nothing was on, which was quite often, we'd watch a Netflix movie (DVD or instant).

Went to antennaweb.org to get the info on an antenna, direction to aim it, available channels, etc. The new indoor/outdoor antenna (which I put in the attic) and RG-6 cable to connect it to the TV cost less than what we'd pay for a month of cable service and we get over 40 channels. Some are Spanish language, or shopping, or kids channels but free is free. :thumb:

To make this sort of bicycle related I'll say that at least we get Universal Sports so I can watch the Giro, Vuelta, and other bike races, some delayed, some live. I guess I'll have to look into Versus, CyclingTV, or some other online streaming service to watch the TdF live next July.

My daughter is all Netflix too. We visited them for a few days last month. After we returned, I had a day long orgy of watching Tivo'd TdF reruns.

$1,200 per year = a pretty nice +1.

Sure wish some of us in the smaller TV market area had something like that. Cycling on TV amazing. After the 84 Olympics there were quite a few cycling events on, but very little now.

We don't use our TV for anything except playing DVD's. Works for us (my wife and I), but may not be good for everyone.

Rick / OCRR

Still using satelite and as the UK is going Digital completely within the next few years- For some of the areas of the UK- this is the only way we can go. Cost us about $40 per month and that includes HD transmissions aswell.

But right now have the tour of Poland on the box. Don't get jealous because it is all the lower riders from the teams and a few National Polish teams that no-one has ever heard of.

EDIT
The first 3 stages have been won by the same rider in sprint finishes He rides for Skil Shimano and his name is Marcel Kittel. Compared to the rest he reminds me of Griepel in appearance and he is fast. May be a name for the future- or perhaps he is just fast up against the rest.

Well I'm a TV junkie. Like the CSI and Law and Order series, Fringe, This Old House, to name a few. At the new house I have a bit of a mountain between me and the Philadelphia antennae farm. Just can't seem to get many stations. So I signed up for cable; however, I went with the basic service, $13 a month. Deleted well over half the stations, just repeats. Despite the list I downloaded that shows Universal Sports as a channel, I don't have it. So antennae will stay, turned for reception of that station, as I too like to watch the Giro and Vuelta. Other shows I get thru the computer at Hulu.com.

Nice, now go all the way and have no T.V. We have been without t.v. for over 2 years and love it, I did purchase the tour online.That was cool.

I'm connected via radio and the interweb. Haven't turned the tv on in months. I hardly miss it...

I watch TV but at 52 years old have never owned one. I do spend too much time online sometimes.

To make this sort of bicycle related I'll say that at least we get Universal Sports so I can watch the Giro, Vuelta, and other bike races, some delayed, some live. I guess I'll have to look into Versus, CyclingTV, or some other online streaming service to watch the TdF live next July.

My best friend did exactly what you did... so to fill in the missing Tour de France, he comes to my house and watches it on Versus. All you need to do is make friends with other cyclist who have cable and then figure out a way to invite yourself over!

Thats what i have to do if i want to watch Notre Dame football, hahaha.I have to bring the beer.

I have been disconnected from cable/antenna TV for 12 years now. Only Netflix through the mail and internet via aircard.

Don't miss the TV at all but love the netflix for the HBO series and such, kinda into BBC stuff right now.

Nice, now go all the way and have no T.V.
Can't do that. We enjoy many of the Brit shows too much - Judge John Deed, Doc Martin, Midsomer Murders, Poirot, George Gently, A Touch of Frost, Bob & Rose, Miss Marple, Jonathan Creek, Inspector Lynley, Blue Murder, Wallander, and many, many more. They're all on Netflix. :) :beer:

Oh,ok i will have to see if i can check out a few of those online.I never heard of any of those.I have heard of Monty and Are you being served,and a few others.We did like the Red Green show.

Well I'm a TV junkie...
The Motto of the Couch Potato Lodge is "Art imitiates Life, but Life imitates Television."

I enjoy the TV and so does my wife. I can pay the bill, now, but when my job plays out in January, we may be going to free air TV.

I enjoy the TV and so does my wife. I can pay the bill, now, but when my job plays out in January, we may be going to free air TV.

I would love to de satellite, but there is a ridge between me and the TV mountain antennas. I only get a couple of on-the-air channels.

I'm sticking with Netflix, despite the price increase. Love the idea that certain made-for-cable shows are available, either via streaming, or DVDs.

Lately, I've been watching "The Walking Dead". :eek:

We don't use our TV for anything except playing DVD's. Works for us (my wife and I), but may not be good for everyone.

Rick / OCRR

That would also be my approach. :)

I dumped my cable TV about a year ago. It was the best thing I ever did. I have a digital converter box, on my little TV, but the TV can go days without being on. I have my computer and I have netflix, I get Hulu for free, and I watch shows on CBS.com and ABC.com when it is convenient for me.
I love Dr. Who from the BBC. It's my favorite.

I also loved Take a Seat on Universal Sports. But I tend not to watch sports programs.

For a one-time $99, the price of a month's cable bill, the Apple TV makes a really nice interface to Netflix, MLB.com, and NBA League Pass (if they were playing). If I could get Sunday Ticket on it for NFL I'd be a happy camper (DirectTV has an exclusive contract). It allows web browsing, YouTube, local computer streaming, and iTunes purchases as well. I turned my cable box in a couple of months ago.

KeS

I'm sticking with Netflix, despite the price increase.
Same here. I'll pay a few dollars more for something I watch every day. Not like cable where they take away a few channels and then jack up the price $14.95 and tell you you're getting more to choose from. :fight:


For those of you who don't have or know about Netflix and the other streaming services, you can get dozens of "channels" with a Roku box. Go to roku.com for the details.

$100 a month for cable(like 240 channels. 40 of which are HD, including Versus), internet and telephone. I'm sticking right where I am :)

Can't do that. We enjoy many of the Brit shows too much - Judge John Deed, Doc Martin, Midsomer Murders, Poirot, George Gently, A Touch of Frost, Bob & Rose, Miss Marple, Jonathan Creek, Inspector Lynley, Blue Murder, Wallander, and many, many more. They're all on Netflix. :) :beer:

+1 on Doc Martin..have you tried Hamish McBeth?

We don't use our TV for anything except playing DVD's. Works for us (my wife and I), but may not be good for everyone.

Rick / OCRR

Same in my household. No cable. No Sat. No antenna. Instead we, for quite a few years, have bought DVDs, HD-DVDs and Blu Rays of the many (many!) films we like. Several thousand in fact. Most I buy 2nd hand. We watch what we want when we want. No ads either. :) And when I retire in not too many years the collection will be largely complete and the cost zilch.

-don

$100 a month for cable(like 240 channels. 40 of which are HD, including Versus), internet and telephone. I'm sticking right where I am :)
Any shows/movies new enough to be HD are streamed in HD.



+1 on Doc Martin..have you tried Hamish McBeth?
We tried it in May 2009. I thought it was ok but my wife didn't like it.



Instead we, for quite a few years, have bought DVDs, HD-DVDs and Blu Rays of the many (many!) films we like.
Buy?? :eek: No need to buy with Netflix. It's a monthly fee for all the movies/programs you want to watch. Some programs that we particularly enjoy we repeat every few months. :beer: Many of our favorites stay in our instant queue.

Can't do that. We enjoy many of the Brit shows too much - Judge John Deed, Doc Martin, Midsomer Murders, Poirot, George Gently, A Touch of Frost, Bob & Rose, Miss Marple, Jonathan Creek, Inspector Lynley, Blue Murder, Wallander, and many, many more. They're all on Netflix. :) :beer:

That is almost my exact match from NetFlix!


:lol:213662

I just got cable internet, so I could get rid of my $565 per month, 1.5 mb T1. Yes, I was paying nearly $600 per month to get half way decent internet service. I'm very happy to pay $110 per month for my new 30 mb cable service, thank you, now that I can get it! Living in the boonies has advantages. It also has distinct disadvantages.

Netflix streaming video is great. Anybody seen "Off the Charts?" There's a great song in it about a bicycle named Angelaria.

We've been stuck with a house we can't sell for a number of years now so we split our time between two. I managed to go about three years in the newer house with no TV. It was great. Caught up on a lot of reading. We succumbed to a TV for the 2nd home mostly so we could watch the TdF in N Georgia where we prefer to spend the summer. I switched to satellite TV to pay for one service for both homes. We carry the receiver back and forth.

I do enjoy a lot of the history and some of the science programs. Unfortunately I can't get Universal Sports at either location. We have the HDDVR with the satellite receiver which is a big improvement. Not only can you time shift, but fast forward very quickly through the commercials or uninteresting parts. I couldn't stand to go back to watching TV with out it. The VCR is too cumbersome to use and slow to fast forward.

The T1 line brings back memories. That was the gold standard decades ago. We had several at the Navy lab where I worked. I think my N Georgia connection is faster then what we had then. When I Google, the search results come up immediately as I type in the query and changes almost in real time as more words are typed.

I attribute it to the fact it's in a small rural town where the state has granted a monopoly to the company and we pay high fees accordingly. They are making such a good profit that they can afford to put fewer customers on the same cable network/channel.

Al

I just got cable internet, so I could get rid of my $565 per month, 1.5 mb T1. Yes, I was paying nearly $600 per month to get half way decent internet service. I'm very happy to pay $110 per month for my new 30 mb cable service, thank you, now that I can get it! Living in the boonies has advantages. It also has distinct disadvantages.

Netflix streaming video is great. Anybody seen "Off the Charts?" There's a great song in it about a bicycle named Angelaria.

Does cable still suffer from the 4PM slowdown, during the school year? Was for a while around 4PM when all the teen boys got home from school, cable internet would slow right down, as they all checked out girly sites, to see if they could find something interesting....

Buy?? :eek: No need to buy with Netflix. It's a monthly fee for all the movies/programs you want to watch. Some programs that we particularly enjoy we repeat every few months. :beer: Many of our favorites stay in our instant queue.

That is a legitimate POV. I, by nature, like to to own and keep control. Particularly as we have moved toward retirement my wife and I have made our lives more and more self-contained.

A home theater is part of that. And I mean a real "theater." A Music room. (Early on I worked in music and film - they are key components of my life) A Great Room with billiards and bar. And our current project: A library loft. A guest cottage. Tennis/badminton and Bocce courts. A gym. A spa. A "barn" and a couple of sheds for our wheeled toys. Acres of warming firewood should we need it. And a house full of wood-burning heat sources.

Need vegetables? Plenty of open land for that. More than a few firearms, long and short barreled, with boxes of ammo. Oh, and our own well too.

Under consideration is a generator.

Its just a philosophy and way of life. Not necessarily "better" but different from the urban consumer society.

BTW, the cost of building the video library is no more than most of my friends spend on NetFlix, and certainly less - far less - than many spend on NetFix and outside entertainment. We've been filling out our collection slowly, on sale, and most often used. Some new flicks, many, many classics. (It helps that as my son upgrades his enormous collection to Blu Ray any DVD is available to us for $5. Many unopened.)

-don

I like riding bicycles. But you couldn't pay me to watch other people ride bicycles. I resent paying over 40.00 a month for basic cable, but my wife and I love a good belly laugh and we love our TV - we live in a golden age of well-written sitcoms like "How I Met Your Mother," Big Bang Theory," "Mike & Molly," "Rules of Engagement," "The Middle," "Modern Family," etc. I'm a little surprised no one else seems to appreciate American programming - the writing is far superior.

Have you watched any Brit sitcoms? Most are much better than any US sitcom.

$100 a month for cable(like 240 channels. 40 of which are HD, including Versus), internet and telephone. I'm sticking right where I am :)

When the communication company bundles the package, its really difficult to un-bundle.

We were semi-bundled with Comcast. We had Digital Preferred with internet. We had more channel than anyone could ever watch but we watched only 5 or 6 regularly, so why pay for the other 300 channels? It cost us over $140 a month. Way too much. We dropped the cable and kept the internet. It's been over a week and they haven't "adjusted" our connection speed yet -- still 12-20 Mb depending on the time of day. :) They did increase the cost of internet only. I went up about $8. :notamused:

I dropped my cable 6 months after I retired, and I do not have an antenna. It has been 6 years and I have never regretted my decision. I do use the TV for watching DVDs and Netflix but that is pretty limited.

Hey, jaywbee3 have you ever been to Curtis's BBQ in southern Vermont? Putney VT,

We quit the Netflix mail-in DVDs and now watch a Netflix movie or two each night, using a Roku Box that we bought at Walmart for $79. We love it and wouldn't go back! Check it out.

That Roku Box accesses the Internet, wired or wi-fi, and you can get not only Netflix but all the others as well, plus Pandora Internet Radio, Fox News, and all sorts of great stuff. Most is free, except Netflix and Amazon, which you subscribe to at $8 a month.