In the next 15 days, I'll have been without any sort of traditional TV service for 1 year

maritzac

I stopped watching non-cable TV like... 7 years ago.

Then I stopped paying cable like 3 years ago, so there's that.

I don't watch TV. At all. I think the only "TV" I had watched in that period, on the insistence of my friends, were the Walking Dead first season dvds. And special sport events, such as the World Cup or the Olympics.

I don't miss it. I'm a super-cranky person, and the ads make me frothing rage mad. Election time is also good for working up a froth. Frothy frothy.

Squall

i do sincerely miss watching nhl games on tv tho

justin.tv just isn't the same

zucchini

to make up for these travesties, I am now going to watch three TVs.

Veretas

I am watching Wilfred on Hulu

oh my god you guys this is amazing

The Geek

Mysst wrote:

The Geek wrote:

We've been without cable for about half a year due to budget restrictions. We got a pretty good quality HD antenna for the TV so we can get local stations, and we've been watching other shows on Netflix or Hulu. For Hulu, we use the HDMI port on the laptop and hook it up to the TV. Most of the stuff we watch is on free hulu, like shows on SyFy. And networks that don't have their stuff on Hulu usually have their own streaming service on their own website. I think Cartoon Network stuff like Batman: TBATB, Young Justice, Adventure Time, etc. are the only things that I can't find on the web. I'm sure there are shady ways of getting them, but that requires too much work.

You can stream the most recent episodes of cartoon network off their site, so if you make sure to keep up you can be good. it is what I plan on doing!

Rad. Also dang, because I'm way behind now.

Melding

Also, this having no tv because it's replaced by internet streaming, not really too viable outside of the continental US.

Canada is starting to get to that point, and i think the UK is a bit ahead of us, but still leagues away from the USA.

In summary, i hate your copywrite laws as they prevent me from media i wish to consume.

Veretas

Melding you need to watch Wilfred right now

Cogliostro

The cable companies see the threat to the standard TV model and instead of going with the flow and catering to people like us (which are quickly becoming the majority), they do shit like capping bandwidth at a certain GB limit to try and limit services like Netflix and Hulu. The traditional cable is going the way of the dinosaur and I think it's dying. The old way of scheduling programs at certain times is going away. People don't want to wait until 8pm on Tuesday to watch their show... they want to watch it at their leisure. Showing it multiple times with butt tons of commercials isn't the answer.

Even with the bandwidth caps - we have two families in my house (mine and my friend's) that use Netflix + internet + downloading + Streaming music. We barely scratch 60gb - much less the 260GB that comcast gives us. Though from what I understand Comcast put the GB limit up there instead of reporting people to the RIAA. Though I could be wrong on that... it's hard to find a straight answer.

TheSonicRetard

Veretas wrote:

I am watching Wilfred on Hulu

oh my god you guys this is amazing

YES. Wilfred is goddamn hilarious.

Dichotomy

heh
260gb download cap

that's not a cap
here in canada, my bell plan has a cap of five gigs

bsjezz

in australia we get 15 good channels broadcast for free, and the ps3 has playtv which is excellent recording software - basically i have enough of a backlog of docos, sitcoms and b-movies to last me ten years. there are also xmb apps for web-streaming catch-up tv for a few channels. outside of that, there's a vending machine across the road with cheap rental dvds and - despite the odds in a country that thinks 'hockey' is a fat-cat member of the house of representatives - i can get all the canucks games.

the future's feeling pretty good

Artreus

I had AT&T U-verse for a year.

I don't think we had a cap.

I used a lot of bandwidth and never even got an email about it

YaYa

bsjezz is way more optimistic than I am

we have no Netflix or Hulu access, no real equivalent for any US cable shows, and right now the broadband proliferation isn't enough to really justify there being one

realistically, the two ways to find a whole bunch of cable TV backlogs is to wait for the DVDs or to throw on your eyepatch and sail the ISPs

MereHappenstance

Dichotomy wrote:

heh
260gb download cap

that's not a cap
here in canada, my bell plan has a cap of five gigs

That's less than most phone plans round these here parts.

Dichotomy

bell markets high-speed fiber-optic internet plans that can go through their provided monthly download cap within a few hours if actually going at the high speed you are paying for

bsjezz

YaYa wrote:

bsjezz is way more optimistic than I am

we have no Netflix or Hulu access, no real equivalent for any US cable shows, and right now the broadband proliferation isn't enough to really justify there being one

realistically, the two ways to find a whole bunch of cable TV backlogs is to wait for the DVDs or to throw on your eyepatch and sail the ISPs

you just have to learn to utilize what you got, rather than fawn over what you can't have

YaYa

bsjezz wrote:

YaYa wrote:

bsjezz is way more optimistic than I am

we have no Netflix or Hulu access, no real equivalent for any US cable shows, and right now the broadband proliferation isn't enough to really justify there being one

realistically, the two ways to find a whole bunch of cable TV backlogs is to wait for the DVDs or to throw on your eyepatch and sail the ISPs

you just have to learn to utilize what you got, rather than fawn over what you can't have

but Aussie TV generally sucks and it's very difficult to use what resources they have available to see most of the shows I'm interested in in a timely manner!

jackal

In my area the power company does fiber to the door. The base plan is 15/15 mbps uncapped (the high end is 1 gbps for $349/month). It is nice having a ISP that actually gives a shit instead of just trying to be 1 mbps faster than the competition.

Comcast tried to sue them to keep fiber from being rolled out. It didn't work out very well for them.

YaYa

jackal I think I just passed out

can you tell me those speeds again

Callius

I can't remember the last time I actually sat down to watch live TV...

YaYa

guys guys guys

I just got a great idea

live porn

not like webcams, I mean like high def, sports event quality cinematography, uninterrupted and live banging

let's find some VCs for this shit, we're taking it all the way

Houk

I would watch that only if you could get Bob Uecker and Marv Albert to commentate

bsjezz

YaYa wrote:

bsjezz wrote:

YaYa wrote:

bsjezz is way more optimistic than I am

we have no Netflix or Hulu access, no real equivalent for any US cable shows, and right now the broadband proliferation isn't enough to really justify there being one

realistically, the two ways to find a whole bunch of cable TV backlogs is to wait for the DVDs or to throw on your eyepatch and sail the ISPs

you just have to learn to utilize what you got, rather than fawn over what you can't have

but Aussie TV generally sucks and it's very difficult to use what resources they have available to see most of the shows I'm interested in in a timely manner!

if you say so

but if you don't mind, i'm not gonna take your cue and lead a falsely media-starved life

jackal

YaYa wrote:

guys guys guys

I just got a great idea

live porn

not like webcams, I mean like high def, sports event quality cinematography, uninterrupted and live banging

let's find some VCs for this shit, we're taking it all the way

I think a company did/is doing that. I can't remember the name, but it was kind of expensive and only broadcast once a week, but they had actual big name pornstars. I can't seem to find its name so maybe they went out of business.

Tossrock

Rolo wrote:

Sars_Boy wrote:

fuck people who "don't watch tv"

what does that mean? do you just physically not look at televisions?

because downloading shows and watching them still counts as watching tv, hoss.

there just aren't many shows that I want to watch

I don't see why this is so difficult to understand

maybe I appreciate having more free time and not becoming a mindless zombie for hours on end

you're probably functionally illiterate which is why you prefer having your information spoon fed to you like a mental infant

as advertising is forced down your throat and you become indoctrinated into a lifestyle of blatant consumerism

slowly losing your free will and sense of self (or maybe you never developed one?) because your poor mole-eyes can't see any further than the glowing box in front of you

and your hands won't reach any further than to grasp for the remote

as your disgusting pot belly, swollen with 'diet' soft drinks and snack foods, gurgles its disgust for your sedentary lifestyle

you are everything that is wrong with america



unlike me

I just watch starcraft and street fighter videos on youtube

that is completely different

man, you catch the North American Battle.net Invitational? Idra shook Huk's hand! After losing!

Aneurhythmia

YaYa wrote:

guys guys guys

I just got a great idea

live porn

not like webcams, I mean like high def, sports event quality cinematography, uninterrupted and live banging

let's find some VCs for this shit, we're taking it all the way

"Uninterrupted." You know how football is like 45 seconds of line-up and flag waving and fouls called for every 10 seconds of play time? How do you think porn is shot?

YaYa

Aneurhythmia wrote:

YaYa wrote:

guys guys guys

I just got a great idea

live porn

not like webcams, I mean like high def, sports event quality cinematography, uninterrupted and live banging

let's find some VCs for this shit, we're taking it all the way

"Uninterrupted." You know how football is like 45 seconds of line-up and flag waving and fouls called for every 10 seconds of play time? How do you think porn is shot?

fuck that, we're reinventing the paradigm here

look at how big amateur has gotten, people don't need fancy editing and choreography, they need raw porn, like nature intended

we've got a thing here, people

TheSonicRetard

Artreus wrote:

I had AT&T U-verse for a year.

I don't think we had a cap.

I used a lot of bandwidth and never even got an email about it

Uverse has a 250 gb cap

Artreus

TheSonicRetard wrote:

Artreus wrote:

I had AT&T U-verse for a year.

I don't think we had a cap.

I used a lot of bandwidth and never even got an email about it

Uverse has a 250 gb cap

I don't think mine did, cause I passed that

Aneurhythmia

YaYa wrote:

Aneurhythmia wrote:

YaYa wrote:

guys guys guys

I just got a great idea

live porn

not like webcams, I mean like high def, sports event quality cinematography, uninterrupted and live banging

let's find some VCs for this shit, we're taking it all the way

"Uninterrupted." You know how football is like 45 seconds of line-up and flag waving and fouls called for every 10 seconds of play time? How do you think porn is shot?

fuck that, we're reinventing the paradigm here

look at how big amateur has gotten, people don't need fancy editing and choreography, they need raw porn, like nature intended

we've got a thing here, people

You'll be the C-SPAN of the porn world.

Tonkka

When did the digital switch happen?

That was the last time I had broadcast television at home.

Skull Man

I haven't had traditional TV service since summer of 2009

TheSonicRetard

Artreus wrote:

TheSonicRetard wrote:

Artreus wrote:

I had AT&T U-verse for a year.

I don't think we had a cap.

I used a lot of bandwidth and never even got an email about it

Uverse has a 250 gb cap

I don't think mine did, cause I passed that

http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/01/psa-atandt-dsl-and-u-verse-landline-internet-caps-begin-tomorrow/

Cogliostro

Honestly I was super-pissed about the cap when I found out about it because I use a LOT of streaming movie/tv show services (LEGAL!). I spent my first month at normal usage and was surprised to learn the entire household uses about 60 - 80gb a month. I still think it's bullcrap, but oh well... it is their business and they get to decide, and I can always move. I do feel bad for those that actually HAVE to go with a specific cable service.

Zoel

Last time I had TV was hm... Saints superbowl. When's that? 2010?

TV sucks anyway. I mean, really there's nothing on it unless you spend $180 for the packages that let you get HBO/Fox Soccer Channel w/e

If it's cheaper for me to go to taco mac and blow $35 every week than it is to pay $200 for your cable package (and during off season too) well.

Bandwidth caps suck but if it gets too expensive I'll just stop using the internet I guess. I guess there was a time that I needed it.

I'd be really surprised if internet access isn't $300 a month (plus inflation) ten years from now.

spono

I've had a similar setup to TSR for the last 4 months

Built an HTPC and hooked it up to the bedroom TV. This will play netflix and hulu, store all of my ripped DVDs, record live TV with a tv tuner, and stream all that media to the xbox, which is attached to the living room TV. The xbox has access to everything except hulu

it's working pretty well so far, and I'm saving close to $70/month

Rankenphile

I haven't had cable service in probably three or four years, at least.

Which isn't to say I don't watch a lot of TV shows, but I watch them using streaming services, for the most part. I do most of my tv watching when I'm working - having a show in the corner of one of my monitors while animating helps keep me focused and prevents me from wandering off to browse the web. If I've got a big project I'm working on, I can go through an entire season of a show in a day or two.

I also have gotten into the routine of watching the Daily Show on hulu in the morning while I eat breakfast and get caught up on my mail and stuff. When the tv season is in full swing I tend to do Community, Parks & Rec and shows like that on Hulu, as well. I've been doing that for Louie and Wilfred for a few weeks now.

I don't miss cable, really. Every once in a while when I'm completely burned out I do miss having the ability to just let whatever come in without making the choice of what to watch, but then I actually see cable when I'm over at someone's house and it just feels awful - nothing but the same goddamn stupid ads and lousy fucking programming. I couldn't imagine paying for it any more, when there are so many better alternatives to get the content I want. I understand why some folks would, but it is definitely not for me.

Veretas

Rank I am surprised you do not adhere to Rule #1 in the Animator Survival Guide

Fishman

I built an HTPC a couple years back. No Netflix or Hulu here, but freeview is HD over DVB-T with most decent shows within a few months of release. It wasn't until I started viewing what I wanted when I wanted with no ads that I realised how little TV I actually enjoy viewing. I can go weeks without watching any TV at all these days, just sitting down and binging for an evening on half a season all at once every couple of months. Although I suspect half of that is because I detest almost everything my wife watches.

Still, considering I have no account, no subscription, and no costs of any kind other than initial outlay, I'm pretty satisified with my low-cost TV option.

Raneados

been without cable for almost 2 years, only got netflix last month

and I used to watch tv all the time

I don't miss it terribly, but it's not a huge deal, I just didn't want it enough to justify 50 bucks a month