kill your cable

Steve’s Kill Your Cable Adventure #5: Finding The Off Switch

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Been awhile since I posted one of these columns, though at least you know I haven't been busy watching cable.

Essentially in the month since the last column, no one in my home has watched cable.  In fact, only recently did we go "hey, wait, we should cancel this."

The shift happened that quickly.

So now this week I've got to go get rid of Cable and TiVO.  Both have their own challenges, but it's also going to mean about $80 or so we don't spend a month.  So, yeah, if you've got a deluxe cable package, you're spending more, and that adds up.

Getting away from cable, after a short time, was pretty easy:

  • Hulu and Netflix of course made it easier to get old and new shows.
  • Some companies put their shows online anyway (though I expect there's some odd battles coming).
  • There are companies that put specific content online, such as anime.
  • If you really want it, get the DVD from Netflix, or buy one, or buy one and sell it to a  used media store. 

So pretty much if I want television of some kind, I can probably get it.  In other words, yes, you don't need cable.  Also you probably have Netflix anyway.

I also noticed definite psychological shifts:

  • We all know a lot of television is crap.  When you're not watching it, the crap becomes more, painfully, apparent.
  • Having cable is like having a ticket to a buffer of mediocrity.  You'll use it because it's there, but in actuality, you're not getting much out of it.
  • Having to decide on my entertainment and video viewing as opposed to flipping on the TV has gotten me exploring a wider variety of content.  Cable, in some ways, is also limiting.
  • My interest in different media extended to other areas of my life – such as webcomics.
  • I feel even more social.  Television doesn't become a tool of socialization so much as a tool for shared experiences.

The shift in mindset is still something I'm analyzing, and there will doubtlessly be more analysis to come.  In the end I came to the following conclusions:

  • You probably don't need cable and it might be good to get away from it.
  • It's easy to get away from it.
  • Cable companies are going to need to change radically to deal with the changes in the world – and I think they could, but I'm not sure they will (essentially becoming "internet providers plus").  Hint – potential career opportunity.

So probably one more column to come on how I turned it all off . . . then silence.

Followed by me watching Netflix.

– Steven Savage

 

Steve’s Kill Your Cable Adventure #4: Into The Abyss

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Last week was a convenient way to practice Kill Your Cable – my roommate was out for a trip.  So I decided to go Cold Turducken and not watch anything on cable – just via other sources.

Here's what I found:

  • Hulu has ads, and that annoys me, but when you think about it you get a half-decent selection for a low price.  Being ad-free should not be a measure of something's value, it's more per-dollars.  I get used to it – but I'd pony up a little more for no ads.
  • Netflix still has an amazing selection of items.
  • The XBox really is evolving nicely as a media machine – I like what it can do and I think the latest update shows Microsoft is finding it's niche.  As they have a good gaming box and PC gaming is big, I figure it's entertainment.
  • Any browser hooked to a TV is valuable – because a TV really is a giant honking monitor.  Don't deny the possibility of using it to run shows off of a computer normally not used for the process.
  • The update to the Logitech Revue, which includes apps, is a nice start.  It's got a ways to go, but I think a big advantage of potential Killboxes for Cable is their updatability.
  • The act of having to search for things to watch actually opens up your horizons to other shows, properties, etc.
  • I missed Glee and realized I didn't miss Glee.  Still want a show with Kurt, Blaine, and Puck living together.  That's just me. 

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Steve’s Kill Your Cable Adventure #3: Oh, wait

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For you new readers, and apparently we've gotten a few, I've been engaged in an effort to get away from cable.  I'm not sure I need it, and frankly as this seems to be the future, I figure experiencing it will give me something to share with progeeks – and help me understand what's going on.

We've hit a few snags in our Kill Your Cable Adventure:

  • Diversity of systems.  I know that's a given, but seriously did Netflix have to take Sengoku Basra away for while – so now I can only see it on Hulu on the web?  It seems like you need 2-3 other television alternatives to get what you want.
  • Wait, that's not available.  We're actually waiting for a season of a show that we can't find anywhere to end.  That may sound ridiculous, but hey, you get used to things – and discuss them with friends.
  • What's on what?  In the end it appears that the XBox is going to be our Killbox.  I wouldn't have thought that.  I may change my mind in a few months.
  • Ads when I pay?  Look, Hulu is underrated, it's quite good, but why am I paying for ads?

So we're still on track to do it, but feeling it out is a bit more difficult than expected.  Then again it's live and learn – and my big lesson here is to examine carefully and have everyone in the household look at the impact.

It's on its way, but man is it a weird ride.

Now some further observations:

  • Cable is almost a complete waste if you're single.  The fees ($30-$100 a month depending on what you want) just don't add up with all of the online elements available.
  • Cable may actually be financially viable in a house of 3 or more people with diverse tastes.  This will change over time. 
  • DVR services are less and less needed in an age of all these services.  Once we Kill Cable, we're not going to need TiVO.
  • A lot of services people would have without cable anyway (Netflix or Crunchyroll a prime example).  So oddly, you may have what you need to Kill Your Cable anyway and not know it.
  • Hulu in no way should be having problems.  It's a nice system, it works pretty good, there's a decent selection that could be expanded.  It's issues are a lack of follow-through (oh, and greed).
  • Netflix really shafted itself with it's changes.  As I investigate Kill Your Cable options, Netflix was riding high – but has enough competition and there are enough social changes that they shouldn't have messed with a winning formula.
  • The last writer's strike, stupid reality TV, and other blunders and idiocies have made Kill Your Cable MUCH easier.

The final factor I want to share is the psychological shift I'm experiencing leaving Cable behind.

It's been basically a week and a half since we started this experiment in my house.  I've avoided turning on cable for background noise, tried to watch things online only (with some exceptions as noted), and in short tried to stay away from cable.

I'm starting to ask myself what the big deal is.

Television, as stated previously, is a habit.  Now that I've decided to step away (which was surprisingly easy) it seems kind of useless, a ritual that has lost meaning, a leftover of family nights in front of the television.  What is the point of this habit?

There really isn't one except some vague social rituals of watching shows within a similar timeframe.

Oh I still watch things – things I want to watch, or share with friends.  But this conscious move has made my other viewing habits more conscious.  I am more purposeful with my selections.

If anything I can recommend the Kill Your Cable exercise because it makes you think.

People have options for their video consumption.  This means they have to think and make choices – and it makes them start asking what's going on, why they do these things, what matters.

It gets complicated – especially for those of us working with media and technology.

– Steven Savage