It’s been a week today. We don’t have cable TV anymore. And tonight is the Super Bowl. We could (gasp) not watch the game and just catch the commercials later on YouTube. We were prepared to accept that. Instead, we are sitting at the kitchen table with big mugs of tea, followed by a glass or two of Pinot Grigio, watching a perfectly clear picture of Super Bowl 2011 via the $10.00 set of rabbit ears I picked up at Radio Shack. The kitchen works best for reception, and the picture is clearer than cable because the digital signal is not compressed. Most of the time, however, we don’t need a TV at all.
We have not missed a single one of our favorite TV programs all week: Grey’s Anatomy, Harry’s Law, The Good Wife, Detroit 187, CBS Sunday Morning. We watch them whenever we want to, and we can hit “pause” on the laptop or the iPad for rest stops. We can even watch the nightly NBC News with Brian Williams if we want to wait an hour for it to show up on Paddy. In addition, our $8.99 a month subscription to Netflix allows us to watch movies like The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo instantly online or via a DVD that arrives in the mail practically as soon as it’s been ordered. We can watch all of this in any room in the house, or out on the screen porch when the weather gets warmer.
We are saving over $100.00 a month, and enjoying it.
Oh, and an hour into the Super Bowl, we’ve only had one second of signal interference, when we both screamed “Yes!” and raised four arms in victory. Then we laughed.
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Rabbit ears are indeed wonderful, magical little devices. We've never had cable or satellite TV (though we have a dish on the porch railing left by the previous owners), and I don't think we've missed a thing. We'd probably enjoy cable TV if we had it, but I think we'd read less, sit on the porch less, and talk less if we did.
ReplyDeleteWell, I admire your grit to go without cable. I myself was without cable and my wireless Internet, due to technical difficulties--at some point in time someone had cut the cable in two in the apartment above mine. I do not have any plans to "cut the cord," though, although I would'n mind saving some $. Maybe I'll downgrade or whatever you call it. It's something to think about.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of the Superbowl.. but I don't know what it is. Baseball? Football?
ReplyDeleteNice article, thanks for the information.
ReplyDeleteDear Sharon,
ReplyDeleteI miss you and your blog. Hope all is well.
Love, Beth