Survey: How do you watch TV shows, videos, or movies?

[Georgia Galaxy]

I chose books. I don't watch TV/movies anymore, primarily because of the light. I have trouble with flatscreens.

I also went to the movies constantly as a kid, and was a big TV watcher throughout childhood. After awhile it all feels the same. There are brilliant shows and films, but so much is cranked out and it's largely forgettable. No one is going to care about most (or any?) of these "prestige" shows in 50 years. The praise they get for being topical and expressive of our time is too self-congratulatory. It's a huge turnoff. Even something as wonderful as Breaking Bad will fade, just from the sheer glut of artifacts we're bombarded with. So what is the value in all this?

Much of what's hyper-popular is also indebted--thoroughly--to its time. I was obsessed with Seinfeld from age 10 until it ended, but seeing reruns now is like watching The Honeymooners in the early 90s. You respect it and get the importance, but you're watching the experience of another time. When I read Macbeth or Oedipus, I never feel that way. When I read Austen or Dickens I never feel that way. Even American Psycho--a novel devoted to this phenomenon--transcends this, as a parable. But, will White Lotus or Game of Thrones be remembered as more than trivia questions, if even that?

With so much competition, there is less room for subtlety. Everything must scream to be heard. Another victim, then, is insight. I'd rather quietly step away.

(Edit: of course, my avatar is a TV character)

I totally understand what you're saying, dude. Sometimes I just watch cute little movies that are made for younger girls and almost fall asleep during the day which is quite nice There are quite a few movies that are perfect for that. And personally I think it's good to laugh if something unusual happens ^^ I also understand the Seinfeld thing, me and my family watched the whole series twice and got sick of it after that!

 

[abby normal]

basic cable here [just rebroadcast of OTA channels] costs a criminal $70/month so i cut the cord long ago and went with a deep-fringe "fly swatter" DTV antenna atop a 100' tree, and get free OTA tv. rabbit ears won't work out here in the sticks.

 

[DaisyRose]

I love to use streaming devices to watch any form of tv, even though I have cable too. I don’t really like to watch movies at the theater or cinema it stresses me out. The loud sounds make me uncomfortable and drained. After the movie is finished, I feel so tired and exhausted. All I want to do is go home. I prefer to watch movies at home because I am more comfortable. I also to get snacks at home too.

 

[Outdated]

rabbit ears won't work out here in the sticks.

This was a problem where I was living too. It was sort of alright when the signal was analog, people could still get reception even if it was a bit snowy sometimes. As soon as they changed to digital transmission tens of thousands of people no longer got reception.

 

[Princess Viola]

Yeah I do appreciate the benefits of digital OTA vs analog, but being able to at least get some reception vs either all or none is definitely something I miss from the days of analog TV.

And I had/still have cable but I also live in Florida and we'd often use a portable battery-powered TV whenever a hurricane hit and we lost power, just to see what the local news was reporting after the storm.

I mean I guess you can still get portable TVs with digital tuners in them nowadays but IDK the old portable CRT we used back then just feels higher quality than modern portable flatscreens.

 

[SusanLR]

The guy I live with gets digital cable and pays a tremendous amount for it.
I have a tv in my bedroom that is hooked up to it and I can't find much I want to
watch. Some of the older series that lasted for years, I still like to watch most anytime on demand.

I also have Amazon Prime, so I bought a Firestick on Prime day for $25.00 and there
is a lot of stuff on there free to watch.
I just don't watch a lot of TV though.
There is a channel called Soundscapes that I have on all the time when I'm home and in my room.

 

[Crossbreed]

☑ Antenna
☑ Streaming (via cable internet)
☑ Movie theater (for 3D movies)

We have VHS & DVDs, but my wife only watches them during thunderstorms (when everything else is unplugged).
Our OTA antenna was blown over this winter, so OTA is down for now.
Different family members belong to different streaming services and we are allowed to share those services on a certain number of screens.

I get bored of TV after an hour or so.

 

[The Pandector]

I stream, rarely watch an old dvd. Won’t watch anything I haven’t recorded first; rarely find anything worth recording. I try to stay informed of current events and not burn out on Xbox before the next decent game is released.

I find most ‘entertainment’ looks like what it is; trash appealing to man’s base instincts. Worse, over the years I have developed an allergy to commercials; I find them loud and obnoxious, assuming me to be a mindless money machine controlled by a need for strange flesh and social status. Downright offensive.

Wait. Dean Winters always plays a despicable person and I just love his ‘Mayhem’ commercials. I will watch him if I see him skitter past on fast forward. He’s a miserable oasis in the midst of our pleasantly painted desert.

 

[Mary Terry]

I stream, rarely watch an old dvd. Won’t watch anything I haven’t recorded first; rarely find anything worth recording. I try to stay informed of current events and not burn out on Xbox before the next decent game is released.

I find most ‘entertainment’ looks like what it is; trash appealing to man’s base instincts. Worse, over the years I have developed an allergy to commercials; I find them loud and obnoxious, assuming me to be a mindless money machine controlled by a need for strange flesh and social status. Downright offensive.

Wait. Dean Winters always plays a despicable person and I just love his ‘Mayhem’ commercials. I will watch him if I see him skitter past on fast forward. He’s a miserable oasis in the midst of our pleasantly painted desert.

I hate commercials except for the Subaru commercials that feature the golden retriever family's outings in their car. Those always make me laugh.

 

[Outdated]

I hate commercials except for the Subaru commercials that feature the golden retriever family's outings in their car. Those always make me laugh.

Here we get a lot of funny ads from Toyota, especially for the Hilux. I like some of the ads in New Zealand too.

 

[Princess Viola]

I find myself not too bothered by ads on TV but that's probably because I usually just have whatever's on TV in the background while I'm doing something on my laptop (don't exactly need to be constantly looking at the TV when I'm watching Jeopardy, y'know) so 99% of the time I can just ignore the ads.

But that 1% of the time...

I despite this ad so much.

 

[Crossbreed]

Here we get a lot of funny ads from Toyota, especially for the Hilux. I like some of the ads in New Zealand too.

(That cab must be pretty roomy...!)

 

[Georgia Galaxy]

I love to use streaming devices to watch any form of tv, even though I have cable too. I don’t really like to watch movies at the theater or cinema it stresses me out. The loud sounds make me uncomfortable and drained. After the movie is finished, I feel so tired and exhausted. All I want to do is go home. I prefer to watch movies at home because I am more comfortable. I also to get snacks at home too.

Same with cinemas, although they can be pretty relaxing at times it is very loud

 

[Georgia Galaxy]

I find myself not too bothered by ads on TV but that's probably because I usually just have whatever's on TV in the background while I'm doing something on my laptop (don't exactly need to be constantly looking at the TV when I'm watching Jeopardy, y'know) so 99% of the time I can just ignore the ads.

But that 1% of the time...

I despite this ad so much.

I actually cringe and avoid a lot of ads, but I get what you're saying , Ads are a funny thing I reckon

 

[Georgia Galaxy]

The guy I live with gets digital cable and pays a tremendous amount for it.
I have a tv in my bedroom that is hooked up to it and I can't find much I want to
watch. Some of the older series that lasted for years, I still like to watch most anytime on demand.

I also have Amazon Prime, so I bought a Firestick on Prime day for $25.00 and there
is a lot of stuff on there free to watch.
I just don't watch a lot of TV though.
There is a channel called Soundscapes that I have on all the time when I'm home and in my room.

Soundscapes sounds really lovely for your house ^^ I think I've heard of that name before!

 

[lovely_darlingprettybaby]

I watch dvds for movies and have a small to medium collection my mum has more and sometimes watch free to air TV and usually can find something to watch depending on the day and time.
If there is nothing on TV, I read books
And I am happy
I hate Netflix, Disney etc
I can see why people might be interested in that
But I so not like using blue light screens and would prefer to wat h anything on a TV.
And I miss the charm of getting a movie and looking at the cover and reading the plot including doing this at the video store when you hired them.
And taping things using VHS on the TV like shows you could not watch or movies you liked.
And people having VHS collections and DVD collections
And getting 6 dvds for 12 dollars or something at the video store, two overnights and 4 weeklys.
I do not understand this age me and my brother grew up grateful for these blessings now everything is available at the click of a button and people are addicted to blue screens
I enjoy reading

 

[lovely_darlingprettybaby]

We have satellite television, Netflix and BritBox via Roku, YouTube, and DVD players.

We've signed up for StarLink (Elon Musk's company) for satellite internet service but have no idea when they will actually come install the dish and equipment. They promise it will be sometime in 2023.

By the way, is there such a thing as a DVD player that can hold more than one DVD? It is tiresome to have to get up and change the DVD every time after I watch one.

Well it seems hard to change one
Ever had a serious illness and had to do the dishes, washing, cooking, cleaning with chronic pain and sore exhausted limbs and fatigue
If you are hungry you have to make all the snanks and meals or starve.
I'd rather be well and have to change the DVD

 

[Lemon Zing]

Well, when I go on-line, it is 123movies or Prime Video that I visit.

 

[Forest Cat]

I have a streaming service called Viaplay on my tv, it's part of my satelite dish package, a company called Viasat. That was pretty good. They had tons of movies and series and kept adding content all the time. But now they are losing more money than a drunk gambling addict in a casino. So they have removed more and more content so now there's just nothing to watch there. I think that is happening and will happen to many streaming services, it started out great but now they lose money. Lots and lots of money.