Not owning a television: c or d?

Oh yeah cheap LCD tellys are rubbish. I'd rather a decent CRT any day myself. much better blacks.

me im just cheap lol. i actually 'ordered' a lcd on 'black friday' only to find it 'backordered', took it as a sign. instant relief for buyer's remorse. im a much better black for it :)

I got a Samsung 32" LCD for about £300 a few weeks ago. I've got to say the blacks are pretty good actually, I've certainly had some CRTs in the past which glowed more. It's quite funny the most common comment about modern TVs is the quality of the black, rather than about the colour.

Plasma's weirdness is this odd motion blur. I'm not sure if it's only noticable on older imagery - I watch a lot of 90s NTSC DVDs on it and we're PAL here - but you get this strange blurring effect on rapid motion if its a low light scene. Distracting, but not horrible.

About that article, I guess I'm mostly in the "Shrugger" category, with a bit of "Professor". I do like to watch some shows (mostly sitcoms and sci-fi/fantasy series) when I'm visiting friends (at the moment, whenever I'm staying at my gf's, we end up watching "Frasier" because we both love it), but a most of the stuff on the telly I'm either indifferent to (sports, game shows, talks shows with celebrities, police and crime series, soap opera) or find it intolerable (reality tv, talks shows where people's social prolems are made into a spectacle). However, I do understand why others might like those kind of programs, they're just not my thing.

Not owning a TV set doesn't really feel like such a "thing" as it did 10 years ago, though. With the Internet I don't feel like I'm missing out on stuff anymore; I can get the news anytime I want, if I really want to watch some show I can probably find it online, and if I'm curious about some weird catchphrase I hear people repeating, I can just search it on Youtube and most likely find a clip that explains it.

I am turned off by most programming nowadays, especially fictional television....however, I can't live without it.

i managed to survive the last six months with no tv. i didnt miss it. internet on the other hand....

People who have a thing about why other people don't own a television are always talking about this, really not sure why they are so sensitive about it

WHAT ARE YOU, SOME KIND OF WEIRD HIPPIE

PLUG INTO CULTURE OR BE SHUNNED, YOU BURLAP-WEARING HERMIT

Trayce, I could be wrong but that sounds like it could be some kind of motion-interpolation processing going on, does it make films look like a 'soap opera', or sped-up?. There's a wikipedia entry which lists the different names manufacturers give it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_interpolation.

Whenever I see a television with this on it, I find it so distracting.

I find the attitudes expressed in that article really quite mystifying.

I often find that the attitudes projected onto people who "don't own a television" are exactly that - complete projection, the negativity speaking more about the insecurities of the television owner rather than the "refusnik". (Quite similar to the projections attributed to those who choose not to partake in meat or alcohol or whatever else.)

Dude is right, no one ever asks "do you have a television?" but it's so present, the cultural assumption (at least in the west) that you must automatically have one. People *dont* ask "do you have a television" but they're perfectly happy to babble on at you, at great length, in an office or a social occasion, about whatever it was on television last night. I find this automatic assumption that you either have one, or you're some strange Othered weird type just... I dunno. *That* assumption seems way more arrogant and smug and loaded-with-assumptions-about-superiority to me than just saying "actually, I don't have a telly..." to cut off someone before they launch into a two hour monologue of their "mind-blowing" theories about The Wire or The Office or whatever.

At what point did television become such the dominant medium that it become odd *not* to have one? Has "the internet" reached that point of ubiquity, whereby there will be an assumption of deliberate and obstinate weirdness, rather than mere backwardness to refuse to have a Facebook page or whatever?

I mean, when I moved into my current flat, there was nothing - no phone, no television, no internet. I lasted about two years without internet access because I had an office job, but I haven't actually missed television enough to get one (not having the internet was a much more noticable lack, in terms of missing cultural awareness.)

But seriously. I almost always think that when people are "OMG, people who don't X are so snobby and arrogant and smug and think they're better than me!" it's mostly just subconscious self expression.

Has "the internet" reached that point of ubiquity, whereby there will be an assumption of deliberate and obstinate weirdness, rather than mere backwardness to refuse to have a Facebook page or whatever?

totally. it has different implications, though. when i quit facebook some of my friends reacted sort of angrily, like "that's where i put my vacation photos, and talk about my life, so you must not be interested in me" sort of thing. but the funny thing is, most of those people didn't even realize i'd quit until i told them. sometimes months later. confirming my belief that facebook "communication" is usually pretty one-way and there is far less actual engagement there than it seems.

Actually, I thought the article was a lot less about 'people who don't have TVs are arrogant and smug' than such things usually are. I mean, at least two, maybe three of those categories were not particularly condemning. I don't think I've ever really met an 'I don't have a TV' evangelist, either.

they're perfectly happy to babble on at you, at great length, in an office or a social occasion, about whatever it was on television last night

Thing is, this says more about the sort of people you get in office environments than it does about the ubiquity of television. There are way too many channels available now for anyone who isn't a self-obsessed twat to be able to just launch into a monologue about a programme and assume that you know what they're talking about.

At what point did television become such the dominant medium that it become odd *not* to have one?

At least 20 years ago.

Has "the internet" reached that point of ubiquity, whereby there will be an assumption of deliberate and obstinate weirdness, rather than mere backwardness to refuse to have a Facebook page or whatever?

Pretty much, yep.

people think you are mental if you dont have sky let alone a tv

i've had people explain facebook to me as if the reason i'm not on there is that i don't understand how to get on the internet.

Everyone I know that doesnt have a tv (probably around 10% of my friends but I think this might gradually be rising because of internet) have rooms that are way nicer due to not being dominated by a tv in the corner

A projector is a nice way of seeing stuff, and is unobtrusive when not in use

You know, I signed up for Facebook just to see the fate of my high school classmates. I loled and then deleted the account, Facebook is boring.

I've never met an 'I don't have a TV' evangelist, either, but there's this kind of persistent thread that they *exist* and we should condemn them, or maybe feel guilty if they're around? I dunno.

It's just this idea that people without televisions are odd and weird enough to be categorisable. I quite resent that. (Maybe that's because I don't fall neatly into any of his "categories" - I'm not entirely a "shrugger" or an "effeciency expert" - I mean, effeciency? Me? Ha! However I was initially really impressed by how much more *stuff* I got done when I moved to a house without one. Because when I have a television, I'm really compulsive about it, and find it difficult to stop watching, so it's just an easier choice not to have one around, the way I don't keep chocolate biscuits in my cupboards for exactly the same reason.)

I get that offices are a weird, forced environment, and people are often kind of grasping at straws for human conversation. It's viewed as a de facto conversation starter, kinda like "OMG did you see this o_0 Guardian article" is on the bits of twitter I hang out on.

I think that maybe internet refusnik positions might be slightly different as there has been a tribal tendency to move from one network to the next. That you can counter "OMG you don't have Facebook" with "OMG, you're *still* using Facebook? Get google+, loser")

Everyone I know that doesnt have a tv (probably around 10% of my friends but I think this might gradually be rising because of internet) have rooms that are way nicer due to not being dominated by a tv in the corner

this CAN be true but i find that living rooms can lack focus and feel weird without a TV in them. the focus of the room once was the fireplace, then the radio, then TV - take ALL those away and yes it can be nice but you have to put some thought into it or it's sorta awkward.

This is the answer: http://www.rhythmism.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43694

We don't have a TV* but we do have a desktop computer in the living room - we both work in IT and the desk doesn't fit anywhere else in our small flat - and I do feel a bit ashamed of that being the focal point of the living room

(also I hate actually using the computer in that position because the monitor's set up so we can put DVDs etc on* and watch them from the sofa, and if I'm programming or making music I hate feeling that I could be watched, because for me both are a process of repeating stupid mistakes and assembling clichés in the hope that the final product will somehow be greater than whatever tiny idea is in my head at the start of the process)

* yes, we don't have a TV but we watch stuff on the computer. one of the things I find, ahem, lovably asshattish about the other half is that sometimes he announces "we don't have a TV" but in fact spends approx 80% of his evenings watching TV shows on the computer. whereas I read ILX for most of my waking time, which is, uh

At what point did television become such the dominant medium that it become odd *not* to have one?

At least 20 40 years ago.

http://www.tvhistory.tv/Annual_TV_Households_50-78.JPG

Hi Phil D, you may not be aware of this, but many of the people in the discussion on this thread do not live in America, and the cultural penetration of television may have occured at a different rate in other countries.

I can certainly remember that when I left the UK for the first time, in 1979, it was not *that* odd for kids not to have a television in the house. There were several in my year at school. In the States, it was unheardof.

I'm trying to find the figures for the UK but the TV Licensing website is surprisingly unhelpful.

I was answering based on the culture within which I am based, Karen. No need to be patronizing.

Here is a table detailing television ownership in UK households from 1956-2011, in raw numbers, without percentages.

i didn't have one forever, then a few years ago a friend was moving and i got a nice 42 inch for like 200 bucks. i could have said no, but i was watching so many movies and dvd's of the sopranos and whatnot on my computer monitor it jsut seemed to make sense (also i wanted to get a ps3)

i don't really play games much now that i've finished gta4, but i watch WAY more tv than i used to. it's kinda sad, but tuth is if it wasn't tv it'd be ilx and facebook anyway. plus, what with game of thrones, deadwood, dexter, breaking bad, etc etc i feel like there at least is stuff on that's worth watching these days - last time around i had a tv there wasn't much on besides threes company reruns and cheers.

anyway i tried not to be too obnoxious about not owning a tv when i didn't have one, but people do natter on about that shit, it's kinda annoying when you just don't have one! frankly i'd rather hear about who's getting married cause they're pregnant or whatever!

we're making a communal living space where i live and housemate wants a tv, the rest of us are v much against the idea. i hate having a tv in the house and haven't had one for years. still, i feel a bit guilty for denying him his tv rights.

as for this better than you because i don't have a tv attitude. it annoys me about the same as people who say "i don't drink" or "i don't do drugs" or "i don't eat meat". i.e it doesn't annoy me at all, i just think, good for you, hope that's working out.

You know, I signed up for Facebook just to see the fate of my high school classmates. I loled and then deleted the account, Facebook is boring.

― Breezy Summer Jam (MintIce), Tuesday, 12 July 2011 12:56 (3 hours ago) Bookmark

Unlike TV, the "Facebook is boring" dismissal often reads to me like "my friends are boring" (nothing personal, I'm sure your friends are just lovely). Facebook's an interface - a shell - you don't plug it in and wait to be entertained. There are dozens of reasons to avoid Facebook, but "it's boring" doesn't sound like one to me. I saw this old fat git watching nature documentaries on a laptop before a gig (Madness at the Royal Festival Hall - yes, that's right). His t-shirt read "NO I AM NOT ON F*%&ING FACEBOOK!" If he wanted to project himself to the world as an uppity misanthrope (as I suspect he did), then this was the cherry on the icing on the cake.

As for television, ours is an ancient widescreen as heavy as a ten year old child. It makes a supersonic squealing noise when we switch it on. I only really watch DVDs and BBC News on it these days. The missus has it on quite a lot though - Eastenders, Desperate Housewives etc. - which I end up having to tolerate, which is fair enough since I subject her to loud music a lot of the time. That said, the day it packs in I won't be rushing down to Currys to buy a new one. Will however miss watching movies and series of Game Of Thrones on a decent screen, however.

I think TV units as we know them are likely to die out, to be replaced with a home interface linked to a computers around the house.

There have been a lot of rumblings lately about the possibility of cable television perhaps having reached its final peak in the US, as more people "cut the cord" to save money and because so much entertainment is available via the internet and DVDs. I think this would happen even faster if the US had better internet access -- ironically, the reason we don't is because of cable television (the same cables bring in our internet and television service, and the cable providers still choose to use the bulk of their bandwidth for traditional television programming since they make more money from it). I've seen articles suggesting cable tv subscriptions may be leveling off or dropping slightly.

I haven't had cable for years myself, and at least in the beginning it was sort of an ideological thing although now I'm just used to it. But I've talked to a bunch of people who are a bit younger than me (early to mid 20s) who have absolutely no ideological reason not to have television, but have chosen not to have cable anyway because it's expensive and they can save money by just using a boxee box or whatever.

a year ago in the USA the average cost of cable TV was $75 a month. that is just... crazy

http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/06/news/companies/cable_bill_cost_increase/index.htm

i own a very small tv set that has been in my storage closet since, i don't know, hockey playoffs a couple of years ago? (when you couldn't watch hockey online anywhere). i've never had cable in my own home in my entire adult life! whoa! which explains why when i go over to a friend's house and there is cable, i flip channels for an hour like it's going out of style. which is does in an hour.

i would pay for certain shows and even access to whole cable channels if such a thing were available via internet in canada - like, we just got freakin netflix a few months ago and it's remarkably lacking compared to US netflix - TV and internet regulations in this country are pretty o_O at the moment (e.g., corporate monopolies on phone lines and cable, bandwidth choking in full effect, etc.)
i think the screen on my macbookpro is pretty damn good anyway. i guess if i played these new-fangled video games i would think differently.

I don't find the "I don't own a TV" people to be weird, but of the four people I've known that don't own one, three of them take every single opportunity to remind me that they don't own one and are "so much better off" without it.

I haven't had cable for years myself, and at least in the beginning it was sort of an ideological thing although now I'm just used to it. But I've talked to a bunch of people who are a bit younger than me (early to mid 20s) who have absolutely no ideological reason not to have television, but have chosen not to have cable anyway because it's expensive and they can save money by just using a boxee box or whatever.

― relentlessly googling hipster (Hurting 2), Tuesday, July 12, 2011 11:30 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

I'm probably about in this group. we had tv at our last place cause our roommates had cable and I only really watched sports + the daily show. I'm not ideologically opposed to tv and if I had infinite money I would probably have a set and cable and watch once in a while. but being that I can get most things I want to watch on my computer anyway, no way I'm gonna bother.

the girl likes the food network a lot, though.

I don't think I have ever told someone "I don't haveeee a tv" even in periods of my life when I didn't have one. it's not an important thing to me either way. it makes it easier to watch sports, that's about it.

like, I don't think it's a conversation people my age would have with our people our age. not having the internet / a computer / cell phone is a 'thing'. not having a tv is like not having a radio, who cares.

err minus one 'our'

I think there are fewer big omnipresent tv-related cultural things these days - there's no show that *everyone you know* watches. and if there is it's some easy-to-watch on dvd/online show like mad men.

I do know a couple of people who refuse to watch "tv shows" and I find this kind of obtuse. Like, the fact that something is broadcast rather than shown in a theater doesn't affect its quality -- I mean ok it means it's serialized, but so was Dickens.

yeah, i don't get that. except that some people are snobs, of course!

or have no interest in the long-form/serialized drama

if I'm curious about some weird catchphrase I hear people repeating, I can just search it on Youtube and most likely find a clip that explains it.

― Tuomas, Tuesday, July 12, 2011 3:02 AM (8 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

That explains why we haven't heard from him as much lately.

A child's view:

http://minimalmac.com/post/18189678921/tv-is-broken

(more on commercial/broadcast/cable television than on television, I guess)

people who hate on people who don't have tvs are the worst most self-satisfied clowns

One of the weird things I find in lunchroom conversations is that people who have cable (and btw, more people than I would think do not have it) tend to talk extensively about shows they don't even like that much. TV in a non-on-demand format is so much about just having something to watch/talk about. It's like you never break out of Saturday morning cartoons mode (oh, Gummi Bears is on, I don't like it that much but this cereal is really good).

That piece should have been titled "Stupid Child Doesn't Know What Advertising Is, and Stupid Parent is Too Stupid To Explain."

The child btw at least has the excuse of being four years old.

There are also commercials on Hulu.