Pay T.V or Free to air?

[amur 0]

What do you think? which is better: Pay T.V or Free to air? With Pay T.V. you get more channels but are there to much? And with Free to Air you might have less channels but it will be easier to choose what to watch! Am I making sense?

[Guest Ktrek]

I'm not sure what you're asking here but free TV is only free through an antenna. In most communities, like the one I live in, the broadcasts are too far to get great reception. So, I have only one choice for a good picture and that is pay TV. I bought a satellite dish and really enjoy it. Yea there are alot of channels but I program in only the 50 or so channels I will watch. It gives me more selection. I prefer to pay and be able to watch the Sci-fi channel, Turnner Classic Movies, Fox Movie Channel, Discovery, National Geographic, and many others plus my local channels in a clear picture. I would only go back to using an antenna if I could not afford cable or satellite.

 

Ktrek

[A l t e r E g o 9]

Ktrek about sums it up, I would only have a satellite dish if I lived somewhere I could not get cable but the point is I would have one or the other. The down side to either one is ALL THE FLIPPING INFOMERCIALS. I do get tired of shelling out clams for cable then sometimes needing to flip through channel after channel of barkers trying to shove their garbage down my throat but that is, unfortunately, a side effect of the biz, often you have to take the bad with the good. One particually sneaky thing our cable provider did was when they did the fiber optic upgrades to their system. It added about 40 channels to the 36 we were getting and about $10 bucks to the bill but the sneaky part happened after they began offering digital services, which require a different box. Over the course of a year or so, 8 of the channels we were getting with the fiber optic upgrade were moved to the digital domain exclusively and another 3 became full time infomercial channels. Did we see a drop in the bill to reflect the loss of some channels, of course not… &)_*%*~^~$#*%$^@$!#@%@^$~^~%! And finally, on the TV guide channel, the program information has been pushed down to 1/3 of the screen while the 24hr commercials enjoy 2/3 of the top of the screen. Black hole sun, wont you come…

[Captain Jean-Luc Picard 1]

I watch the news, 4 shows, a comedy, and that's it. Therefore, I see no need to waist over $50 a month for over a hundred channels of tv that you're never gonna watch. I mean, really, why spend over $50 a month for over a hundred channels when you can just as easilly hook up an antenna for free?

 

Lucky me, I get all 4 of my shows on broadcast tv:

Enterprise

Stargate SG-1

Smallville

Everwood

[bevfanK 0]

We get cable and I like it(of course I don't have to pay for it) But its not like we have a ton of channels ours goes to 71.. If we didn't have cable I wouldn't be able to see TNG..

[A l t e r E g o 9]

I watch the news, 4 shows, a comedy, and that's it.  Therefore, I see no need to waist over $50 a month for over a hundred channels of tv that you're never gonna watch.  I mean, really, why spend over $50 a month for over a hundred channels when you can just as easilly hook up an antenna for free?

 

Lucky me, I get all 4 of my shows on broadcast tv:

Enterprise

Stargate SG-1

Smallville

Everwood

$50? Try $140. That’s two TV's with basic service, 1 TV with Digital service, (the home theater connection) 1 digital phone connection (local and long distance) and one DSL connection. Sound like a bargain? I like to think it is.

[Captain Jean-Luc Picard 1]

I watch the news, 4 shows, a comedy, and that's it.  Therefore, I see no need to waist over $50 a month for over a hundred channels of tv that you're never gonna watch.  I mean, really, why spend over $50 a month for over a hundred channels when you can just as easilly hook up an antenna for free?

 

Lucky me, I get all 4 of my shows on broadcast tv:

Enterprise

Stargate SG-1

Smallville

Everwood

$50? Try $140. That’s two TV's with basic service, 1 TV with Digital service, (the home theater connection) 1 digital phone connection (local and long distance) and one DSL connection. Sound like a bargain? I like to think it is.

We get tv for free via antenna, cable internet costs about $40 I think, and the phone bill is next to nothing.

[RikerChick 5]

Without cable we only get 3 fuzzy channels, even with an antenna, so it's well worth the money to me. We get the basic package, about 75 channels. $40 a month.

[Makurosu 0]

Without cable we only get 3 fuzzy channels, even with an antenna, so it's well worth the money to me. We get the basic package, about 75 channels. $40 a month.

About the same here reason here. Except I get 150 channels for $55 a month.

 

For me, the main channels I watch are only available on satellite/cable: TechTV, Cartoon Network, the various Discovery and History channels, and cable news. I do watch DS9 and Ent, which are on the local stations, but I have to use an antenna that we got with the satellite installation, to watch them.

[Captain Jean-Luc Picard 1]

But... why would ya wanna watch that much tv?

[Makurosu 0]

But...  why would ya wanna watch that much tv?

Well, I actually only watch about 4 or 5 hours a week, and that's when I feel more like being a couch potato. It's just that the channels I want are only available with the 150 channel plan. There are some other interest educational channels, like from universities or NASA TV, that I'll occasionally watch since I have it.

[Captain Jean-Luc Picard 1]

OIC, well, that makes sense. Lucky me, 3 of my shows are broadcast while the 4th is a cable show syndicated in my area.

[cassidy 0]

I HAVE FOXTEL AND IM LOVING IT!

[mrskirk 0]

I get both cable TV and cable internet access for free..employee perk.

[RikerChick 5]

I get both cable TV and cable internet access for free..employee perk.

Where do you work and do they have any openings? :(

[mrskirk 0]

:( Where do you work and do they have any openings?

I work for Time Warner Cable. As far as if there are any openings, I guess it depends on where you live. We're hiring like mad in the office I work in.

[Theunicornhunter 2]

I would have zero reception without cable - besides I couldn't live without the SciFi channel. Here's my strategy for commercials. I've got two VCR's hooked up to my TV so I can watch one tape while I tape another program and then I can fast forward through all the commercials. Enterprise I usually watch but a lot of things I tape to watch later. I've also been known to put a tape in the VCR and watch it when the program I'm watching goes to commercials. I truly hate commercials. I got the biggest kick out of hearning my little niece, who's not quite three, complaining about commercials.

[Tank 0]

Pay TV is without a doubt better, that's why it costs money. I can't afford to get cable or satilite myself but I do get cable at work which is nice. I wish I did have pay TV at home however because the only Trek I get now is Enterprise and Voyager at 3am and both come in a bit fuzzy. I just have a hard time justifing getting cable though because the only channels I really want are TNN, Cartoon Network, Sci-fi, and FX.

[starsinmyeyes 0]

The lure for Pay TV is that every week I can watch all versions of Trek with really good reception.

 

Our free to air TV reception is fair to poor and we only receive 3 channels. Pay TV is great but it gives you too many channels to choose from. It would be great if you could customise the packages they offer so you can cut down on the cost and get value for money. As it is you end up evolving into a part of the lounge chair and I know from experience!

 

Think of the positives of not having Pay...

You save - $45 (AD) per month = $540 a year

That means you can buy 2 1/2 DVD season sets of your favourite trek each year and have them forever or go on a holiday.

 

You get out and exercise- especially during the blitz of Reality TV on free to air TV.

 

You don't tape every show you like on Pay and end up filling your house with videos!

 

In my area I can get free to air TV through satellite- which means I have very clear reception and 5 channels to choose from. Lucky my employer paid for the satellite dish.

[Captain Jean-Luc Picard 1]

Well, I changed my tv viewing... News and educational programs aside:

 

Enterprise - UPN

Stargate SG-1 - Syndicated series on local UPN

Everwood - the WB

Star Trek: Voyager - Weekly reruns on local UPN

 

Star Trek, Stargate, and a drama, that's really all I'm interrested in watching these days.

 

Oh, forgot to add: Since SG-1's syndicated and all the other shows are broadcast, I've no interrest in getting pay TV. :o

[Klingonmike 0]

I'm all for pay TV! I pay about $45 a month for just over 100 channels and its worth it.I get the Sci-Fi channel,the History Channel (Which is great!),the Discovery Channel,the Food Network (I love watching "Iron Chef") the weather channel..Its great!!! I could not survive anymore on just 4 or 5 channels,I'm hooked on all the channels I have,I can always find something that intrest me on TV now.