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Cancelled Cable Today

I couldn't agree more that the discovery channel has been completely dumbed down. I remember in the mid to late 90's watching tons of nature shows, a show about movie special effects, and some show called Beyond 2000. Now it's all car and motorcycle reality shows, and of course the one that features fishermen swearing and dropping square box after square box into the bering sea. Not to mention I can't even remember the last time I saw TLC actually advertise it as The Learning Channel instead of the Trading Spaces channel.
 
I don't watch TV, but Lee (leekohler) has an indoor HD antenna and he loves it. I can attest to its quality. I certainly would never pay for cable while that's available.

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I've got Digital Cable + Premium Channels, High Speed Cable Internet, and BRAND NEW: DVR - which is AWESOME!
 
I have a love hate relationship with cable, I use earthlink via the tw bill. I have digital, encore, starz and 40 music ch I never listen to.

My wife and I were talking about canning it just an hour ago. I am serious about going to basic ($7.00/month) but love cnbc, hgtv, and the occasional crap movie at 2am.
 
stubeeef said:
I have a love hate relationship with cable, I use earthlink via the tw bill. I have digital, encore, starz and 40 music ch I never listen to.

My wife and I were talking about canning it just an hour ago. I am serious about going to basic ($7.00/month) but love cnbc, hgtv, and the occasional crap movie at 2am.
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I really wish that I could be able to just buy the channels I want to watch and do away with all this bundle crap. I think I've set up the TV to skip about half the channels I currently pay for. I'd even be happy if they ranked their channel lineup in order of popularity and charged a premium on the more popular ones, so long as my total bill goes down when I get rid of the golf channel, Lifetime, and all that other crap i have no use for.
 
As long as I can get my local channels, I'm happy. I had cable for a while, but then I moved and didn't have any easy options, so I learned to live without it.

I like SilentPanda's thinking. I imagine NetFlix might be a cheaper way to go as well, if you don't mind waiting for your shows.
 
adk said:
I couldn't agree more that the discovery channel has been completely dumbed down. [snip] Now it's all car and motorcycle reality shows, and of course the one that features fishermen swearing and dropping square box after square box into the bering sea. [snip]
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RIGHT ON!
 
I never understood why:

We pay for cable.
and yet there are still commercials.

We pay for 100+ channels
and can only watch one at a time (with analog its 1 per hookup)

I hate paying for television and since my childhood having 30 minute shows go from 27 minutes to 22 minutes. I like TV, but Id rather only pay for the channels I want. Which I think was brought up recently though the crappy channels (Lifetime, PAX, etc) put up a huge fight because no one would want their channels on their lineup at home....
 
electronboy said:
Tired of infomercials and poor programming. I used to enjoy watching Discovery Channel until it was overrun with motorcycles, cars, and crab fishermen. :( Then I watched the Science Channel and now I have to watch Les eat insects and drink rainwater. :mad: Oh the excitement! :rolleyes:

I'm saving for a HD tuner (Samsung or LG) and an indoor HD antenna. If you're not satisfied you might do the same? The networks will not improve programming unless the cable operators put pressure on them. Maybe I have got that all wrong. Oh well, at least I'm $60 richer and more likely to pick up Brian Greene's latest book or an interesting science article.

Thanks for letting me vent.
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Good for you! I bought an HDTV last year with an antenna. I'd never get cable. For one thing, all the digital and HD stuff is completely free over the airwaves. I can't believe people actually pay an additional fee for HD programming through cable. Ridiculous.

EDIT: I see scem0 mentioned it above.
 
TV is a waste of time, and therefore a waste of money. The only shows I really watch are Seinfeld.. and... that's really about it. Those all come out on DVD. When I move out, it'll be DSL that I spend my money on, not cable TV.
 
I miss the documentaries that Discovery and TLC used to have. TLC has gone straight into the toilet over the past several years. The only thing you learn is how to redecorate your house and how to dress like a trendy tool. :rolleyes:

I do like shows such as Mythbusters, Dirty Jobs and American Chopper, but I don't want all shows to become stuck with cheap entertainment themes, which is what seems to be happening.
 
Seriously, why not just get rid of the TV altogether? I sh*t-canned mine years ago and life is WAY better without it.

Unless you would feel left out if you couldn't join in on all those riveting water-cooler conversations about "Idol" and "Lost", what's the point in wasting your time watching tee-vee?

Junk your television. Read more books. Talk to your spouse/kids/cat more. In short, get more out of life. ;)

ND
 
Kill your TV. My kids don't miss it, neither does my wallet, wife, work, fun, friends, books, sleeping, painting or music
 
Been without cable for 6 months. I went into withdrawals for about a month but got over it. I missed the Sci-Fi channel but with Battlestar Galactica on iTunes that kind of smoothed things over. My new TV has a built in digital tuner which also helps.

I do miss The History Channel though, and may start buying some of the DVD sets.
 
Boggle said:
I am doing the almost the exact same thing w/o cancelling cable completely. down to the bare minimum channels for me. I need the science channel.
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I have been there for a year so far. Hate to pay about $5o a month for HS internet and the most basic of basic of cable (lucky I have Bravo and CSpan - but no Weather Channel or local weather radar :eek: ).
 
Sdashiki said:
We pay for cable.
and yet there are still commercials.
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Yeah, it sucks, it's overpriced...and yet I couldn't live without my occasional Daily Show or Countdown.

Re: commercials: there is a movement afoot in TV right now -- broadcast, cable, everyone -- to add to the commercial clutter by increasing the use of product placement. I just read about a study which showed that product placement, when done "organically", can be quite successful. They cited a prime time show in which a particular household cleaner (a Pine-Sol type of product) was clearly shown on the kitchen counter during a conversation. Viewer retention of the product was rather good, and went up when the characters in the show talked about using the product. It went up further still when the product placement was combined with a commercial during the show for the same product.

Unfortunately, these things seem to work like gangbusters, so now the networks are all studying how they can integrate them more often. Writers are horrified, because they believe (correctly) that this kind of horse**** is going to be awkward at a minimum, and when done badly can bring the show to a grinding halt.
 
My parents pay for ours but if on my own i wouldnt have it. I wont even have a tv next year in my dorm. Just my lappy, since i can download the two shows I watch.
 
Count me in. I canceled a few days ago and they're picking up their equipment Friday. Funny, I'm feeling a loss but I'll get over it soon I'm sure. Especially with all the extra free time for Mac Rumors. :D
 
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