Does Anyone here NOT own a Television?

[mkane]

not in the last 25 years

 

[dosmalo]

More importantly though, Billy!! Haven't seen you around here for quite some time! You doing alright, dude?

You know, I was thinking the same thing when I first stopped in on this thread!

 

[Doug Snow]

I have a rear projection and watch over the air sci fi channel and vhs for 1 hr in the late evening when i cannot play my music in my apartment.

 

[reydelaplaya]

Thank you for asking Rey. Mahalo! Yes, I'm doing well. Hope you are too.
I spend 99 percent of my time these days in the AK "Jazz Playlist Thread", so I'm on here almost daily, but I'm hiding in the Jazz Thread.

I applaud your packing up the TV and closeting it my friend. And I applaud (big time) your watching the World Baseball Classic. One of the ONLY things I'd miss about getting rid of my TV is Baseball. I happen to love Baseball. It's both relaxing and exciting to me. Especially the MLB Playoffs and the World Classic. Baseball and HDTV is a match made in heaven for me. It's the only reason I still have cable. I want the MLB Network. So, alas, as much as I want to get rid of the TV, every Baseball season, the little guy that lives on my shoulder would tap start kicking me in the head and saying, "Billy, it's Baseball Season.... Where's the TV?"

Aloha!
-Billy

Yeah I agree on baseball being a good reason to have one. It's the only thing I actually enjoy watching on tv. I do enjoy going to the double A league games here - because the only thing better than bball on tv is bball in the stadium. And here it's only 5 bucks a ticket with free parking. But since I don't have any cable provider, my only connection is OTA with that antenna on the roof. Even then, though, most stations don't come in up here on the top-left corner of paradise - there's a little mountain in the way of the big mountain with the antennas. Since PR was in the final, it was broadcast on almost every station accessible - I had 5 channels to choose from! LOL

That antenna is usually just connected to my receiver for broadcast FM. Even then, it doesn't pull in much. There's a reason most of my neighbors have their antennas mounted on 40-50ft poles on their rooftops. Mine's probably 12ft from the ground at most.

But I'd say you and I are probably a couple of the luckier ones here on the forum. We live in the tropics where there's plenty of stuff to do outside year round. A tv during the cold crappy winter months isn't really a necessity.

Glad to hear you're doing well, dude.

Saludos y bendiciones.

 

[bowtie427ss]

I watch as little television as possible. Have a small set in the kitchen that plays the local news many evenings. The set in my living space was last on for the 2016 MLB World Series.

 

[Ds2000]

I have a TV, and I like to catch some shows, maybe a classic car auction a few times a year too. But I prefer listening to music and reading whatever I can get my hands on, in whichever medium is near or convenient to me.

 

[WillVT]

I grew up without a TV. Although I was embarrassed then, I am glad it was this way. This was the 80's, so most people did have TVs.

Back then, NPR had a program called NPR Playhouse, where each night of the week was a different radio drama. Some old ones like the Lone Ranger, Gunsmoke, or Sgt. Preston, and some newer ones like Dreams of Rio, and even a pretty good Star Wars production. I loved them all. Also, my dad would usually read to us almost every night. We went through a lot of classics, like King Arthur, Treasure Island, all the Little House on the Prairie books, etc.

This all made the adventure of going to the movies pretty magical. We had a drive-in nearby, and seeing movies there was so exciting.

My wife and I have a TV now, and watch quite a bit, but we never watch broadcast television. In fact, I find TV news and advertising pretty nauseating. I really don't know how people can stand it.

 

[cratz2]

I have a TV but could live without one if I had to. I'd MUCH rather have a stereo and no TV than vice versa.

I mostly watch DVD/Blu Rays and stuff from the computer. I do not have cable or an antenna hooked to either of my TVs.

 

[arclight73]

I watch very little TV. Music is on pretty much all day when I'm home and not working. However I do have several things I do watch and keep up on.

Tennis - I have the Tennis Channel so this is on even for the small tournaments. Usually the volume is down while I listen to music and check in every so often to see how things are going.
Late Night Talk Shows - I love Conan and typically watch every night on top of some of the others depending who the guest is.
Top Gear - Grand Tour - These shows fill in the blanks if nothing else is on and I want to watch something.
Movies - We all like a good flick from time to time.

This about sums up my TV activity these days. Music is my drug of choice.

 

[stereoguy70]

I have a TV and have always had a TV. Growing up in the 1970's and being an only child, it was kind of my "babysitter" when I had to be inside. My current TV was a gift from a friend for helping him move after his divorce several years ago. He fought with the ex to keep the TV. Then he goes out and buys a bigger one than this one and gives me this one, partially to thank me for letting him crash at my place for a while until he found a new place of his own and partially to spite the ex. Anyway, its an older (now) 37" Magnavox LCD flat screen. It's died on me a couple of times, but I've been able to revive it and keep it going. I no longer subscribe to the big cable company because it has gotten ridiculously expensive for a billion channels that I never watched anyway. That and hardly being home seemed to help with the decision to eliminate the cable. Now its hooked to my apartment building's antenna and I usually get about 31 or so channels (weather permitting) for absolutely free. When it is on, which is not nearly as often as it once was, I'm usually tuned into some interesting program on PBS or one of those nostalgia rerun channels that shows most of the old TV shows that I grew up watching, be it first run or reruns at that time too. This usually leads to falling asleep on the couch. LOL! Otherwise, most times the stereo is on spinning some jazz or classic rock.......also usually leading to falling asleep on the couch....LOL! Maybe I'm just tired at the end of the day

 

[illini]

I have not owned or used a real television since the Fall of 2010.

 

[Tom Brennan]

I reckon that watching video on a computer is the same as watching video on a TV.

 

[Phil-from-Tn]

My dad used to call it the idiot box. He was right!! I have a tv in the living room that the wife watches but I just can't get into it. I never have been a tv watcher because I can't stand commercials. I'd rather listen to the radio or my collection. I may watch an occasional netflix on my workstation but I just don't make time for it; there's nothing on anyway. I'll take Spotify premium over netflix any day. Then there is always just plain old reading...

 

[SOTA]

I have 4 tv sets but never watch tv. All 4 are fed from computers so I watch what I want when I want. The kicker?...I work in tv production!

 

[Condorsat]

I've got a TV, dishwasher, refrigerator, AC & even an indoor toilet. Not bad ... for a guy that lives in Amish country.

 

[hjames]

We have 1 TV, connected to FIOS and a 7.1 surround system I assembled -
there's a couple of favorite shows we like to watch (Americans, Better Call Saul, Colony, Expanse, Fargo, Legion),
Some streaming shows from netflix or Amazon, some movies now and then (mostly BluRay, NEVER commercial channel films) .
Oh, there is a 2nd smaller set connected to a VCR so we can watch "Bicycle Europe" type films when we walk the treadmill - never TV there.

Summertime we are out in the yard or running around -
TV is mostly a winter/cold weather thing or winding down after dinner.

 

[blownsi]

I rarely watch TV (maybe 1-3 hours a month) but we have 3 sets in the house and the Mrs won't hear of ditching Uverse to save $100/mo.

 

[Bodyblue]

http://www.theonion.com/article/area-man-constantly-mentioning-he-doesnt-own-a-tel-429

"
"A few days ago, [store manager] Annette [Haig] was saying her new contacts were bothering her," Elkins said. "The second she said that, I knew Jonathan would pounce. He was like, 'I didn't know you had contacts, Annette. Are your eyes bad? That a shame. I'm really lucky to have almost perfect vision. I'm guessing it's because I don't watch TV. In fact, I don't even own one."

According to Elkins, "idiot box" is Green's favorite derogatory term for television.

"He uses that one a lot," she said. "But he's got other ones, too, like 'boob tube' and 'electronic babysitter.'"

Elkins said Green always makes sure to read the copies of Entertainment Weekly and People lying around the shop's break room, "just so he can point out all the stars and shows he's never heard of.""

 

[Bodyblue]

Since my wife works early we go to bed early and usually watch the shows we like on On Demand on Comcast. About 60% of the shows we watch commercials can be skipped over during playback. The Xfinity boxes are awesome now that they have Netflix and other apps built right in. There are thousands of free movies and shows to watch between Neflix and On Demand. We have a 50in TV in the living room hooked up to our AV receiver with 7.1 sound so no we rarely go to the movies anymore since watching at home is so much more comfortable. Of course some films are more fun in the theater but many dont need to be seen there. I have Comcast as our IP with 150 MBPS download speeds and have my PS4 and PS3 hooked up with ethernet cables so they download movies and stream music effortlessly. In the bedroom we have a 46in with a soundbar since the TV speakers are not very good but we also have three vintage two channel (two sets of speakers and I swap one out once in a while) receivers for when we listen to music (we prefer two channel vintage units for music); one for the turntable and one is hooked up to an old cell phone with Spotify and a CD player.

I am 50 and am amazed and interested in how much information one can gather so effortlessly in the modern world. Is all of it relevant or interesting to me? Of course not, that is why I pick and choose what I want to watch. For instance right now as I type this I Diana Krall playing through Spotify on the Pioneer SX 680 hooked up to my brand new Dell computer. It is a great mix of old and new tech. Behind me I have Battlefield One running on the PS4. I play a while while Spotify plays music, stop and check the news online, send an email etc. I love to read and learn things so I read either online or with an e reader or a paper book depending on what the subject matter is. I dont care one way or another how I get the info, I just want to be informed or entertained.

A good example of how something new can lead one to something old: Spotify sends play lists every week of songs that it thinks you might like based on your listening habits and saved artists. A few days ago the song "For Sentimental Reasons" showed up, not a surprise since I love the classics, but was was interesting was that it was sung by Glenn Frey of the Eagles. He did an album in 2012 called "After Hours" where he covered the standards. I grew up listening to the Eagles and loved Glenn but I had never heard of the album. It turns out I LOVED it and have listened to it about 10 times in the past few days. I may have never discovered it without Spotify.

Technology is what one makes of it. Nobody forces one to use or like it but modern TV and cable can be simply amazing.

 

[Tom Brennan]

Bragging that you don't watch TV is so 1960s. ;-)

I watch some TV. I listen to music. I read at least 2 books a week. These aren't either-or things.