| reply to kingb71
Re: [Rant] Price Increases - TV gosh. said by kingb71:I'd love to cut the cord, but the natives would get restless, especially my 6 year old dictator addicted to that stupid crack for kids known as Disney Jr. 
I never even watch TV, with the exception of the odd soccer game I can sneak in when the 6 year old isn't around... You need badly to cut the cord. Let him cry a little now, otherwise he'll cry a lot later with obesity, diabetes and coronary disease. Not to speak of bullying. Morons love to pick on the fat kid who can't run.
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Keep It Safe, Stupid!
Yes, I CanChat. Can You? |
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| reply to Linklist
said by Linklist 
It is cheap entertainment. A night out for 2(movie, dinner, drinks) costs what you get for cable TV for a month.
[/BQUOTE :I haven't seen a movie since before Iron Man 2. I'd rather use that money to hit the pawnshops and buy up 1-20 DVD movies to watch. |
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 Wolfie00My dog is an elitistPremium
join:2005-03-12
kudos:5 | reply to Cdnmoose
said by Cdnmoose:... and a XIOS DS box running linux XBMC.
I thought the XIOS box was strictly Android but I see that you can put Linux and Linux XBMC on it. Can you or anyone else comment on how that's working out?
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"The promoters of the global economy see nothing odd or difficult about unlimited economic growth or unlimited consumption in a limited world."
-- Wendell Berry |
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Reviews:
 ·Shaw
| reply to LastDon
Yah its getting pretty bad. I think the TV industry is on a downhill slide. We're now getting increases from both sides.
1) The TV Channels have much lower ratings than 10 or 20 years ago which means Ads don't generate the revenue they used to. They charge "carriage fees" to the cableco's for the right to broadcast their channel. These fee's are going up exponentially to try and make up for the lack of Ad revenue. The cableco's pass on these increases directly to the consumer. It gets worse. TV Channels are owned by media companies. Media companies want to earn revenue on all of their channels (even the ones we don't like). When the negotiate carriage terms with your cableco, they will force good channels to bundled with bad ones, so that they can earn carriage fees on the crappy channels too.
2) Cableco's are corporations. On top of their expenses skyrocketing they need to continually increase profits to keep their shareholders happy.
Overall I think the TV business needs to reform and tighten up. Possibly a basic cable charge (to cover infrastructure, expenses and profit) and A La Carte after that? Most people don't want 100 or 200 channels because they might watch 20. The Cableco's are going to price themselves out of the market.
For me the one thing keeping me on cable is Live Sports. To get TSN/Sportsnet all I need is a basic subscription. I can use the internet for anything else. My wife likes HGTV/Food/Animal Planet so I have to add on an extra package.
If someone made a set top internet box where you could subscribe to channels directly over the internet and skip out on the giant bundles you need to get from cableco's, I'd be all over it. |
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 elwoodbluesElwood BluesPremium
join:2006-08-30
HarperLand
 ·Cybersurf Intern..
| said by zod5000:If someone made a set top internet box where you could subscribe to channels directly over the internet and skip out on the giant bundles you need to get from cableco's, I'd be all over it.
That's easy, but not exactly legal.
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No, I didn't. Honest... I ran out of gas. I... I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake....... |
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| reply to LastDon
Suggestions:
Go VOIP instead of expensive landline -> huge saving from monthly gouging. $5 approx per month and includes features such as voicemail, call blocking / filtering (very important for the robocalls), etc. as compared to $20 / $25 plus additional for those features. You can opt to only pay for the outgoing calls for a fraction of a penny a minute and save a bundle. Incoming and 1-800 calls are usually free.
I understand you have problems with FTA in your area -> switch to basic cable + install XBMC on PC or set top box.
I would suggest you first install XBMC on a PC and checkout the content that is available for free + more importantly it is on demand and add-free. There is content from all over the world. Once you are satisfied with content, then buy a box (approx $100) such as Apple TV, etc and install XBMC on it to hook it up to your TV. If you like the geek factor then you can even try the Raspberry Pi (approx. $35).
Cord-cutting can be a fun exercise, and you will save a bundle while you are at it. |
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