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How to get my senior citz. parents TV without cable? 255$ month cable bill!

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SilverSolder:

I notice in myself, as I get older, I really hate having to re-learn something I think I already know how to do. 

Turning on a TV and tuning in a channel just isn't something that should be complicated or require several Houston-level remote controls controlling multiple boxes to do...   that is just bad engineering.

Another example:  driving a car with too many controls to do a simple job is a real chore - I don't appreciate any of the benefits of a touch screen entertainment center in a car where I can't even find the button to turn the bl**dy thing on without pulling over and investigating the dashboard carefully and learn the "secret codes" just to listen to some music or news... WTF is up with that? - sheer incompetence. 

Nobody has tried swapping the brake and gas pedals yet, but you can be sure that if it wasn't because that is such an obviously bad idea that even a complete idiot can see how that is bound to fail, somebody would have tried it!  It plays out on only slightly less obvious levels every day.

None of the above means I won't put in the effort if there is something to be gained - like using a fitness tracker, or a cell phone, or a PC, or whatever. 

So, the main thing that happens to you as you get older seems to be:  you learn not to expend time and energy on poorly conceived and/or badly executed products!

rsjsouza:

--- Quote from: cdev on April 01, 2021, 02:23:02 pm ---For  an explanation of one argument for a revival of analog recordings, see here.

--- End quote ---


--- Quote from: SilverSolder on April 01, 2021, 03:07:18 pm ---The social aspect of sitting down with friends, looking at album artwork and playing records while getting pleasantly intoxicated, is hard to recreate digitally!  :D

--- End quote ---
No question about the overall experience surrounded by friends and the crapiness that some of the most heavy handed digital re-mixing and re-mastering did to previous records, but the practical aspects are extremely unfavourable as well especially when listening on crappy 3-in-1 belt-driven systems or with bargain-store bought stylus.

SilverSolder:

--- Quote from: rsjsouza on April 01, 2021, 06:22:16 pm ---[...]  the practical aspects are extremely unfavourable as well especially when listening on crappy 3-in-1 belt-driven systems or with bargain-store bought stylus.

--- End quote ---

Sure, but the girls never seemed to mind!  :D

Beamin:

--- Quote from: cdev on March 31, 2021, 03:42:32 pm ---
--- Quote from: james_s on March 30, 2021, 05:34:53 pm ---
--- Quote from: cdev on March 30, 2021, 02:12:54 pm ---Here in the US the switch to digital TV was such a scam and it must have cost us all trillions upon trillions of dollars.

--- End quote ---

IMO they should have switched cable to digital and left the analog broadcasts in place, I suppose they couldn't have predicted the streaming revolution though. I think very few people today are even aware that it's possible to receive HD over the air, and it is of very little value. At least it isn't as scammy as "HD Radio", what a joke that is, proprietary and closed, almost nobody uses it, the only place it ever gained any traction at all is car radios. Analog radio is superior in almost every way.

--- End quote ---

Here in the US its all about the upsell.. They want digital copy protection too. No "analog hole"

Europe has DVB-T and better digital radio which is mostly free and popular. They are talking about getting rid of analog-FM too.

--- End quote ---

I use analog fm radio 24/7 would miss it. Almost went to digital but found alot of BS with a proprietary box and subscription fee , I just want classical commercial free background music while I sleep. Nothing fancy just some noise so the thoughts in my head dont drive me insane, im not paying for that either thats why its a not for profit station i contribute to once a year.

So look for a roku box or fire stick? Idealy it would be some sort of streaming interface with wifi on one end HDMI and a remote on the other. Then they buy a cable modem/router and take back the leased 14$/mo equipment. Thats what I did and lowered my internet bill 20%. Leasing the box used to cost 3$ a month now its 14$! WTF in 10 years. I bought a TPLink5ghz wifi/modem off amazon for 70 bucks shipped that pays for itself in months. That gets their base internet to 40$ a month then another40$ for netflix discovery+ HBO and another package. 80$ TV/internet bill with no slow as hell stupid cable box that costs 12$ a month to rent because its hidef. EVERYTHING is hidef how can they still charge extra? A coat hanger into the coax is high def now. Charge extra  :horse:

james_s:

--- Quote from: SilverSolder on April 01, 2021, 05:36:39 pm ---
I notice in myself, as I get older, I really hate having to re-learn something I think I already know how to do. 

Turning on a TV and tuning in a channel just isn't something that should be complicated or require several Houston-level remote controls controlling multiple boxes to do...   that is just bad engineering.

Another example:  driving a car with too many controls to do a simple job is a real chore - I don't appreciate any of the benefits of a touch screen entertainment center in a car where I can't even find the button to turn the bl**dy thing on without pulling over and investigating the dashboard carefully and learn the "secret codes" just to listen to some music or news... WTF is up with that? - sheer incompetence. 

Nobody has tried swapping the brake and gas pedals yet, but you can be sure that if it wasn't because that is such an obviously bad idea that even a complete idiot can see how that is bound to fail, somebody would have tried it!  It plays out on only slightly less obvious levels every day.

None of the above means I won't put in the effort if there is something to be gained - like using a fitness tracker, or a cell phone, or a PC, or whatever. 

So, the main thing that happens to you as you get older seems to be:  you learn not to expend time and energy on poorly conceived and/or badly executed products!

--- End quote ---

This is a huge pet peeve of mine, there are so many new things I want to learn that I hate having to re-learn old stuff just because someone decided to make changes for the sake of changes so that something would be "new" and "fresh". My dad had a late model Tesla and there was hardly a physical switch in that car, absolutely everything was controlled by a giant touchscreen, I hated it. Even regular cars have gone in that direction, "clean" dash layouts that have just a few buttons to navigate multifunction displays. One of the things I love most about my car is that there are rows of physical switches, buttons, knobs and sliders. I know every one of them by feel and can operate everything without taking my eyes off the road. I really hate the obsession with "clean" interfaces, which just means create extra work by hiding everything under layers. It's like the idiotic parametric search on Digikey that makes you click a button EVERY TIME in order to access the parameters you need EVERY TIME. I encounter that same thing more and more elsewhere too. If it's something I use frequently, I want it all laid out logically in front of me, it isn't clutter, it's tools that I use.

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