TV

[Camino LS6]

So, my television coughed-up its last about a month ago.

I'm considering canceling my FIOS TV service instead of replacing the TV.

Sure, there is some stuff I'll miss, but I don't think I'll miss it very much.

Why not save a little cash?

[Satty]

Unless you're a sports fan, there isn't much reason to pay for cable/satellite/whatever anymore. Programming sucks, so unless you absolutely NEED to watch the Mariners play the Tigers at 10PM, you're not missing much. And there are always ways to catch the shows you do watch on the intertubes.

[Intrepidation]

The only thing I miss is the Discovery Channel, since they don't really play their shows online. I haven't had cable for like 3 years, don't miss it. Sometimes I want to get a nice TV for movie watching, but I don't own enough movies or the time to justify it.

[Camino LS6]

I've been reading instead.

[FAPTurbo]

There's always services like Hulu which let you watch shows online. If you decide to go that route, you may want to see what your ISP's bandwidth limits are. It may be worthwhile to take some of the money saved from the cable subscription, and use it for a higher bandwidth cap.

[Justin Bimmer]

Netflix is a great service and Amazon has really great prices on TVs. Also Best Buy typically will qualify you for 18 months no-interest financing on TVs over 400 dollars.

As far as the reading route, I would highly recommend Michael Connelly books.

[FAPTurbo]

Or a nicely sized computer monitor with HD resolution for even cheaper.

[Camino LS6]

Well, I just finished reading The Trial Of Socrates - so I think something lighter will be up next.

As for buying anything to replace TV, I don't think I'll bother.

I may upgrade my Fios internet though.

I like speed.

[Justin Bimmer]

Michael Connelly's books are very good reads and the chapters are broken up well where you can pick up and put it down at many points. The stories are well written an enthralling.

I would recommend starting with The Black Echo it is the first book in his series for detective Harry Bosch.

[Camino LS6]

Haven't read a detective novel in a very long time, maybe I'll give them a shot.

Thanks for the suggestion.

I've been hoping that Caleb Carr might have something new out - love his stuff.

[FAPTurbo]

I'd assume your FIOS is rated at about 15Mbit down/5Mbit up, which is quite speedy. Even if the actual speed isn't the same as advertised, I doubt going up the next tier would make much difference for browsing.

The thing to look for is the amount of data that your plan allows you to access. If you decide to ditch the cable, and view TV shows online, you'll want to check with (Verizon?) about how many Gigabytes per month you are allowed before incurring a penalty.

[Camino LS6]

The numbers escape me, but the provider (Verizon) offers three levels of Fios service.

I have the basic one now.

I doubt I'd watch shows online, though.

[FAPTurbo]

In that case, upgrading your internet would have little benefit. Eliminating cable, and just having the basic FIOS like you do now would be the best way to go. And if you do decide to watch shows, movies or download media, the internet will be more than adequate.

[Camino LS6]

Sounds like a plan.

[Robert Hall]

I've thought about ditching the cable...I don't watch a lot of tv, what I do watch is usually always time-shifted w/ the DVR. I like having a big screen HDTV for movies and some sports (though F1 is not in HD yet).. been a Netflix customer for over a decade, watch a couple movies a week from them..started w/ DVDs then Blu-Ray...done Netflix streaming occasionally also.

I also often hook up an HDMI cable from my laptop to the tv to watch clips from Motorsport Retro/You Tube, etc...I've streamed TV shows via Boxee to my laptop and watch them on the tv also occasionally.

Edited July 11, 2011 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Camino LS6]

I never watch movies at home.

[balthazar]

I would have no problem dropping TV (satellite here), as I rarely watch it and find the programming boring. The rest of the household seems hooked on it tho.

[Cory Wolfe]

There's only one show I truly miss... and that is Top Gear UK. Even so, I can just download the episodes if I feel I need to (though, not with my current computer)

[Justin Bimmer]

Unfortunately, I'm too much of a NASCAR and baseball junkie to eliminate cable. NASCAR is one of those sports which is not broadcast online.

[ocnblu]

I don't think I've turned my television on in the last 2 months, yet I have my internet and TV on the bill from Comcast. Maybe it's time to reevaluate.

[Delta Force79]

My TV hasn't even been turned on in about 3 years, and that was to use my old PS2. I haven't actually watched a program on TV in about 6 years or more. Anything I care to watch can usually be found online. My PS3 is hooked up to my HD computer monitor, however I have been sort of playing around with the idea of buying a new flat screen TV eventually when I get a new place.

[SAmadei]

I'm shocked Camino has FIOS.

The big caveat with FIOS is that VZ permanently kills your copper loop when they install it... Keeping your copper loop is important for a couple reasons. The main reason VZ is killing the loops is to eliminate DSL as competition. For others, the big deal being that 911 works during a power outage over copper, but not over the FIOS. Also, certain other devices, such as alarm circuits or some TTYs require copper. Once FIOS is installed, VZ has so far refused to every run copper to your house again... even if your house changes hands.

People are virtually giving away the old TV sets now that analog broadcasting has gone away... which is somewhat crazy, since being on cable/FIOS/satellite, this doesn't matter... you still have a analog signal between the box and TV anyway. I would keep an eye on Freecycle or CL's Free stuff for "sale" and grab a free TV. You never know if you'll need it. I plucked a fairly new 36" JVC CRT with PIP this way. Yeah, I still prefer CRTs, especially when they are free, as I don't bother running any HD.

I'm surprised your FIOS has been reliable enough to consider giving up the TV feed. Most of my friends using FIOS have switched back, describing it as unusable.

[Delta Force79]

I'm shocked Camino has FIOS.

The big caveat with FIOS is that VZ permanently kills your copper loop when they install it... Keeping your copper loop is important for a couple reasons. The main reason VZ is killing the loops is to eliminate DSL as competition. For others, the big deal being that 911 works during a power outage over copper, but not over the FIOS. Also, certain other devices, such as alarm circuits or some TTYs require copper. Once FIOS is installed, VZ has so far refused to every run copper to your house again... even if your house changes hands.

People are virtually giving away the old TV sets now that analog broadcasting has gone away... which is somewhat crazy, since being on cable/FIOS/satellite, this doesn't matter... you still have a analog signal between the box and TV anyway. I would keep an eye on Freecycle or CL's Free stuff for "sale" and grab a free TV. You never know if you'll need it. I plucked a fairly new 36" JVC CRT with PIP this way. Yeah, I still prefer CRTs, especially when they are free, as I don't bother running any HD.

I'm surprised your FIOS has been reliable enough to consider giving up the TV feed. Most of my friends using FIOS have switched back, describing it as unusable.

A good friend of mine has had FIOS now for about 3 or 4 years and I haven't heard any complaints about it from him so far. I'm sure there's been times where it was down, but nothing out of the ordinary for most ISP's. Personally I have cable internet through Optimum Online, it's been fairly reliable over the last 4 or 5 years that I've had it. I will say though that recently I've noticed more drops in connection since adding a router to my network to run my PS3 for online gaming.

[Robert Hall]

As far as I can tell, FIOS isn't offered here...I have Cox cable and internet currently..but the cable modem is about 5 years old, probably needs upgraded... I replaced the wireless router earlier this year, but sometimes (esp. on weekends) the connection can get laggy when two people are online w/ 2-3 laptops..

[the_yellow_dart]

Internet programming does not yet do it for me. I searched around the Netflix site for about 10-15 shows that my wife and I watch, and one of them came up. Sad.

Also, if I did go that way, I would have to substantially upgrade my internet so I don't run into the cap. It would cost almost as much as the cable does now after the multi-service discount.

[Satty]

NASCAR is one of those sports which is not broadcast online.

1) Dump a bag of Skittles in the toilet

2) Flush

3) Repeat for 4 hours

[Camino LS6]

I've had Fios for quite a long time now - my area was one of the first to get it.

All the copper is still in place but I dumped my landline, so that point is moot.

[Camino LS6]

My dropping TV really isn't all that radical - I've gone over a year without one before (pre-internet).

And yeah, used TVs are hard to avoid - I've already had one given to me.

I do like the fact that I have never purchased a TV or VCR in my life, and hope I can keep it that way.

[Robert Hall]

My dropping TV really isn't all that radical - I've gone over a year without one before (pre-internet).

And yeah, used TVs are hard to avoid - I've already had one given to me.

I do like the fact that I have never purchased a TV or VCR in my life, and hope I can keep it that way.

I was given a TV and a VCR once..when I went off to college 23 years ago. I've bought my own TVs, DVD players, Blu-Ray players etc since then. About the FIOS, for some reason, I thought you had dialup (300 baud modem?)

[Camino LS6]

Haven't been on dialup for a long time.