Let’s just get this out there right now: I watch way more TV than most of you. Yes, it rots my brain. Yes, I know that if I read or coded or did anything else I’d likely be a better person. And yet, I feel a certain need - call it an addiction - to the American OTC crack cocaine that is cable/broadcast television.
Suffice to say, I’m not satisfied with the status quo. Sure, I’d rather be a better person, or at least not be nailed to the couch like the typical American potato, but I’d also rather not pay for the privilege of having my brain rotted by the typical gutter-sludge quality of what passes for entertainment around here. So here’s the new plan: We’re going to cancel our TV subscription.
It’s strange to think that most of the world still gets their TV via broadcast over the air. We haven’t used OTA TV since I was little. We’ve had cable TV for what seems like forever, and then satellite, and then most recently fiber. And I admit, I like the features that fiber TV offers. Hundreds of channels, high definition, high-qualitiy, with a guide and timers and DVR and on-demand and all the widgets and gizmos that make modern TV actually usable. But I’ve recently taken a look at what we pay versus what we’re getting, and comparing that to what I can get via an internet service or two, and I really thing we’re getting hosed.
So, here’s my tentative alternative plan. First, we cancel Fios TV and phone. We got the bundle because it was cheaper than the individual services (why does that work?), but we’ve never even hooked up the phone. We’ve been using Vonage, which we’ll also cancel, falling back to our cell phones (which we won’t cancel) and a Google Voice number to use as our “home” number.
To replace the TV service, I plan to buy a Tivo. It seems kind of backwards, but the current crop of Tivo boxes have two built-in ATSC tuners, which tune in OTA digital HD signals. I should be able to watch and record network TV as broadcast by local stations, plus keep all of the fancy DVR features that I’ve discovered absolutely drive me crazy to go without. (“Wait. Why don’t you just pause it? What do you mean there’s no DVR on your OTA TV?”)
The current Tivo boxes also support Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube playback, so there will be no need to switch over to the XBox for those features. This will please Berta, who I think believes our current system is too complicated to use at all. The only thing we won’t be able to do with the Tivo is play videos from the network – shows and movies that I’ve ripped from DVD or paid downloads. (cough) I’d really love if Tivo was a DLNA player, since that might make the transition easier. I’m still looking for some combination of devices that will reliably play HD MKV sources on my family room TV from the server in the basement, though I think such a thing is unlikely to be found.
From what I understand, OTA TV coverage should get us at least the three major networks in digital HD. There are 12 and may be up to 20 stations that we could tune in with a decent outdoor antenna. Altogether, the changes listed above will save more than $200 per month when you combine all the things we’ll be getting rid of - a good savings, and yes, a bit insane to be spending that much already.
Truly, I think we can do without hundreds of channels of TV. We’ll likely miss a few odd stations like USA and SciFi (really? there’s hardly anything worthwhile there anymore), but can probably make it up with a much cheaper Hulu subscription. And if we read more, that’s good, too.
