TV-is it worth watching

[Dmitri]

Fwiw, I joined Netflix a little back and am very satisfied.

+1

Me and the little woman tossed cable awhile back and now its difficult for me to tolerate commercial interuptions.

+1

Netflix FTW!

[Steve James]

It was worth it just to get rid of the commercials. I also use the mailing option with Netflix. But, yeah, it does help to have a big screen lcd tv. However, you can connect your computer to just about anything that you can play your dvd through or on. All in all, it's just more convenient. Hey, do you ever use http://www.hulu.com ? It's also cool [edit: but, you have to watch commercials. They're fewer, but they're there].

[Dmitri]

I don't watch TV on the computer... so no Hulu over here. Our TV is hooked up to the network but it's via Windows Media Center which mostly sucks (no hulu, youtube, etc.)
I'm waiting for this new market of "internet on TV" to expand a bit and get established, before I commit to something like PlayOn server. Google is coming up with their own version in the near future... so we'll wait and see what's what in a few months. For now Netflix (via mail) is working just fine. My 6-year-old just discovered the original Transformers cartoon and he can't get enough of it...

Absence of commercials does get me "worried" sometimes though, as the kids won't be as desensitized to ads as 95% (I'm guessing?) of the other kids who watch regular TV are... so when they see them they take them seriously. He saw an ad of some kids toys on youtube (it played before the bit about lions/tigers I was about to play for him) and he immediately fell for it, i.e. "Oh what's that? That looks cool! Can we get it?"...

I wish our lawmakers who so love making a lot of various laws would make this one that really mattered, i.e. forbid targeting kids in commercials, anywhere. This is against my generally-libertarian outlook but MAN do I hate that shit.
Sorry don't mean to derail.

[Darthwing Teorist]

The LCD screen will not be big (32" at most). It will serve to replace our CRT TV as that beast takes a lot of space of our relatively small living room. It is easier to output to a LCD TV than to my old one and as I don't have time to fool around with the computer anymore, the hookup will have to wait. But, it is a great suggestion.

[Steve James]

Iinm, you may be able to hook your pc output to your dvd, and use that as the input to your tv. Although, I realize that I'm assuming you have multiple video outs on your computer card. If not, then (it's time for a new computer).

Hey, if I were to use a media center, I'd use a linux box for sure. The google idea is great; it's already here, pretty much, if you have cable or can get pay per view. Personally, I don't surf the net on my tv --er, monitor-- at all. I watch films/shows, etc on the big monitor, and I do computer work on the small one on my desk. Both, are connected to the computer. At some point, I imagine that I won't use cable for tv access either. It's inevitable. Of course, the computer has its own dangers.

[Dmitri]

Iinm, you may be able to hook your pc output to your dvd, and use that as the input to your tv. Although, I realize that I'm assuming you have multiple video outs on your computer card.

Your assumption is much, much more severe than that... you're assuming I have the computer next to my TV.
It's in the other room connected via wireless n network using this D-Link box that I got a while back.
Nor do I have mouse or keyboard -- just a remote... So this is an entirely different problem.
Thanks though.

[fuga]

Absence of commercials does get me "worried" sometimes though, as the kids won't be as desensitized to ads as 95% (I'm guessing?) of the other kids who watch regular TV are... so when they see them they take them seriously. He saw an ad of some kids toys on youtube (it played before the bit about lions/tigers I was about to play for him) and he immediately fell for it, i.e. "Oh what's that? That looks cool! Can we get it?"...

I wish our lawmakers who so love making a lot of various laws would make this one that really mattered, i.e. forbid targeting kids in commercials, anywhere. This is against my generally-libertarian outlook but MAN do I hate that shit.
Sorry don't mean to derail.

With my daughter who does not watch commercial TV, we make a game of it every time we actually watch commercials (at the grandparents.) What are they trying to sell you? Do you really need a new one? Are frozen waffles better than making pancakes with Dad? Do we need more stuff? I use commercials as an opportunity to talk to her, rather than let her get lulled in.

Given the overconsumption rampant in our culture, I am not so sure that the other 95% of kids who become adults are actually desensitized by the message to buy.

-pete

[Dmitri]

Yeah I usually turn off the sound (that's pretty much the rule, no sound during commercials) and then explain WHY they are showing them. I think he's pretty sure they're trying to trick us into buying things. With the older one (10) I a couple of times started to get into HOW they're trying to sell it to us... i.e. how a team of people worked on making this little "movie" to better sell it, how much it cost, etc. I agree that this kind of approach helps... But they still piss me off and I still think the world without commercials-for-kids would be a better place.

I am not so sure that the other 95% of kids who become adults are actually desensitized by the message to buy

yeah you're probably right...