How do you watch?

In the Groundhog Day thread, the topic of how we watch came up. How do you watch?

We get recommendations from friends and read the Watching column in the New York Times. We watch by streaming on Amazon, Netflix, HBOGO, etc. We have a cable box but only turn it on three or four times a year. When we turn it on, it's to watch something live that we specifically are looking to watch. We don't channel surf. Sometimes we browse through the stuff that the streaming services offer.

We use Tivo - mostly. Then we stream Netflix and Amazon through an Ipad connected to the TV.

I should mention also that we have never owned a DVR. We did own VHS recorders when they were a thing.

We have TiVos on both TVs, den and bedroom. We rarely watch TV in bed, but the bedroom TiVo serves as a (almost completely unnecessary) backup to the den TiVo. We have FiOS with about a million channels, including most if not all the premiums, and we also stream (via the TiVos) from Netflix and Amazon.

Stream Netflix, Hulu and Amazon using the apps in the Samsung DVD player. I have cable but rarely watch it. Most of my shows are broadcast tv so a lot of on Demand watching. I could live without cable but can't bring myself to cancel it.

We recently dropped Fios cable television service for a Roku and SlingTV, we retained Fios internet. We also watch Amazon and Netflix on the Roku. This worked well for us - and saved quite a bit of money. We trimmed the service back a bit but we were not heavy consumers.

After cutting the cord many years ago, I resubscribed to cable after the election so I could watch more news.

We detached from cable, keeping only FIOS internet. I'm letting the current contract run out, but when it does, I'll be on antenna for live TV and Amazon/Netflix to begin with streaming some other shows via their own apps and services. I'll probably sign up for HBONow for John Oliver and GoT. The only shows I watch religiously now are @Midnight and... Well, @Midnight. And I always DVR it, so I might as well just stream it from the CC app anyway.

When broadcast TV switched from analog to digital, we put up a new antenna and have watched live broadcast TV since then (with great reception, I might add). You'd be surprised how many channels and subchannels there are now -- for free! We also stream Netflix and a few things on Amazon, and check out DVDs from the library (mostly for the kids). That's a great resource!

For those of you harvesting the terrestrial broadcast signals, what antenna are you using?

Inside?

On the roof?

Attic?

Switched off cable. Signed up for DirectTvNow. It is an app on Apple TV or Amazon. $35 per mo. 110 channels (basically everything but CBS, includes Golf and Tennis). Got free Apple TV (4th gen) for signing up with them. Got free HBO for 1 year. So, cable & HBO for basically free (after all the perks). Brilliant 1080p resolution. They had reliability issues when they started in December, but most if not all of them have been resolved.

They are cheap because they have no DVR service. Immaterial because once joining them gives you subscription to all the individual channel apps on the Apple TV (like CC, NBC, History, HBO Go) There you can watch all past shows / series.

Other than that, the regular stuff (Netflix, Amazon Prime video, etc). All family members watch on their phones / tablets. TV is barely used.

More or less almost every way imaginable - Fios (live, on-demand & DVR) on TVs; Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, ShowtimeAnytime, MaxGo, HBOGo via laptop, phone, & smart TVs; Amazon FireStick on TV; DVDs via TV & laptop. I still also get Netflix DVDs via the U.S.P.S. (although I think they rebranded that particular service "DVD.com" or something).

There's too much content out there!!!! But then Saturday night rolls around and after the kids go to bed, Mrs. Lanky and I can't find anything to watch (at least on which we agree)...

Let go of FIOS, added Comcast for internet and basic cable on one tv, HBO, Netflix, HuluPlus and Prime subscriptions and I am still saving $100 a month over my FIOS plan.

I'm a sports fan, so I'm not giving up cable. Even if there are live sports available streaming on an app, that isn't attractive to me. I don't want to watch my sports on a 2 minute delay.

Our antenna is strapped to the chimney, it's pretty much the highest point on our house, and it's aimed at the Empire State Building, or at least in that general direction. We bought it and the other necessary equipment at solidsignal.com All told it cost around $250 (this was several years ago), and as a bonus it's also an FM antenna (anyone else listen to live radio?). The antenna wire runs down the side of the house, into the basement, and from there uses the coaxial splitters that were used for cable.

mrincredible said:

For those of you harvesting the terrestrial broadcast signals, what antenna are you using?

Inside?

On the roof?

Attic?

Wow, the variety of things people do is wide. I learned of new possibilities such as DirecTvNow.

Our cable TV box is the size of two smart phones. They gave us an introductory rate of something like $5/month, so I couldn't turn it down, but I bet that period has expired now, so I should check. It gives us a level LOWER than so-called basic service: we get Channels 1 through 13 and no cable networks. That's too stripped down for some but it's OK for us. (Channel 1 is a local news channel from Time Warner Cable. I'm not sure, but maybe other companies have it, too.)

mrincredible said:

For those of you harvesting the terrestrial broadcast signals, what antenna are you using?

Inside?

On the roof?

Attic?

Roof. Chimney, actually. Classic style.

We also use the old co-ax run to the TV and the stereo (for FM)I paid about $45 for the antenna at Radio Shack, another $45 for an in-line amplifier, and $50 to have it mounted on the roof.

For everything else, Roku, with Netflix and Fubo.  Roku has a bunch of free streaming services, but 90% of what we watch is Netflix, Fubo, or over the air.

I only have Netflix, no cable. I have Chromecast to play on a big TV, but I often sit in front of the TV and play it on my computer instead.

This is exactly what I need. Channel 1-13 with the cable box so that I'm not using an antenna. Between Netflix, Hulu, Redbox, Amazon Prime, and watching shows on my laptop, I don't have a real need for any more channels but I can't for the life of me cut the cord. One day.

Tom_Reingold said:

Wow, the variety of things people do is wide. I learned of new possibilities such as DirecTvNow.

Our cable TV box is the size of two smart phones. They gave us an introductory rate of something like $5/month, so I couldn't turn it down, but I bet that period has expired now, so I should check. It gives us a level LOWER than so-called basic service: we get Channels 1 through 13 and no cable networks. That's too stripped down for some but it's OK for us. (Channel 1 is a local news channel from Time Warner Cable. I'm not sure, but maybe other companies have it, too.)

As I said before, we turn it on two or three times a year which means we're overpaying. When I do eventually bring it back, I won't miss it (much). It's not like a departed relative.