I dumped cable TV, and still have loads to watch

Let's argue about how bad soda is now.

That came off really bitter, sorry. I realized no one will know I'm joking about the soda thing.

I think arguing about ads on hulu is like arguing about religion or the benefits of Dan Ryckert: You just find what works for you and go.

oilypenguin wrote:

Let's argue about how bad soda is now.

You mean pop?

ClockworkHouse wrote:
oilypenguin wrote:

Let's argue about how bad soda is now.

You mean pop?

I'm in Ohio, so yes, I do.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
oilypenguin wrote:

Let's argue about how bad soda is now.

You mean pop?

No, he's talking about a drink, not a style of music

Tanglebones wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
oilypenguin wrote:

Let's argue about how bad soda is now.

You mean pop?

No, he's talking about a drink, not a style of music

Take it back.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
Tanglebones wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
oilypenguin wrote:

Let's argue about how bad soda is now.

You mean pop?

No, he's talking about a drink, not a style of music

Take it back.

At least we can all agree that those beknighted fools who call every soda/pop 'coke' are wrong, right?

Tanglebones wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
Tanglebones wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
oilypenguin wrote:

Let's argue about how bad soda is now.

You mean pop?

No, he's talking about a drink, not a style of music

Take it back.

At least we can all agree that those beknighted fools who call every soda/pop 'coke' are wrong, right?

Right. I can't wash down my grinder with a coke.

You're all nuts. Even Mt Dew is "coke". Everything is "coke".

OK soda drinkers, hear me out. We're outnumbered but we've got 'em surrounded. Between that and having our secret agents in Missouri and Illinois plus the sleeper cells up North I think we can eradicate or at least annex these pop and coke drinkers once and for all.

Who's with me?

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/duKX4IU.png)

edit: Alaska you are on your own.

WTF are those green "others"? Soft drinks or something stranger?

Gila, Greenlee and Santa Cruz Counties needs to secede from Arizona. They do not belong.

Stele wrote:

WTF are those green "others"? Soft drinks or something stranger?

Cola, perhaps?

gore wrote:
Stele wrote:

WTF are those green "others"? Soft drinks or something stranger?

Cola, perhaps?

Like RC?

Probably more than anyone wants to know, but I would expect Hulu and such to be carrying more ads in the future. Local and national revenue for television stations has been dropping regularly for about seven years, and a lot of it is moving to "digital". Agencies who are used to buying ad time on a local affiliate are spending chunks of those same dollars on Hulu and other online providers.

Hell, some of our stations have started running local promo ads on Hulu channels, and the returns have been promising.

EDIT: Also -- pop, you philistines!

You have my sword, axe and Boylan's Root Beer!

It's Coke.

It's home is in Atlanta, GA, so every other answer is wrong.

So Xbox Live is down, but somehow I can still watch Netflix? And not Amazon?

Sometimes I miss cable.

I've gone to using my Tivo Roamio for all of our Netflix and Amazon Prime viewing. Tivo has built in exactly the kind of features I would have expected Microsoft to do. When I search a show, it shows me all of the places I can obtain it. When I click on an episode, it opens the appropriate app and takes me to that episode directly.

Plus, I can still use voice commands via Kinect, or use my Tivo remote. You can get a cheap OTA-only Roamio for $50, although there is still a monthly subscription. I bought the OTA/Cable-Ready version for $100. The more expensive versions do not have OTA capabilities, and I expect to pull the plug again at some point.

But having cable again has been nice. Charter doesn't do contracts, so I can drop out any time. But right now, I feel like I'm getting my bang for the buck. We went two years without, so it really helped clarify what we are spending our money for, as well as how much we spent even after cutting the cord. I worry less now about what channels I get that I don't care about, and more about what I do watch and how to balance convenience and cost. Right now, cable is coming out ahead.

We may reassess again after a year of not having our daughter home with us. We do watch a lot of network TV, and go to Tivo for other stuff.

I made the mistake of listening to a Comcast rep on the phone when I got my new gateway activated. They had a deal that offered internet + TV for $10/mo less than what I was paying for just internet. I told them I had no use for the TV and would not hook it up, but they said that didn't matter.

So here's the catch: they sent me a TV self-install kit (which I said I did not want), charged me $15 for it, AND the added broadcast and other fees for the TV part of the package mean that it costs more than what I was previously paying.

They will be getting an FCC complaint from me, oh yes.

Yeah I've got several things from TWC in the mail, offering to upgrade my internet-only to TV and/or phone. But the fine print always talks about having to rent equipment to get the price and other nonsense. I bought my own cable modem, which will pay for itself in 6 months, and all they are ever getting from me is monthly internet fee.

I was just told that Fios is going to start charging a mandatory "local sports" fee for $5 a month. Way to pass the buck Verizon.

In other news: My new Chromecast comes tomorrow. Yayyyy

BadKen wrote:

I made the mistake of listening to a Comcast rep on the phone when I got my new gateway activated. They had a deal that offered internet + TV for $10/mo less than what I was paying for just internet. I told them I had no use for the TV and would not hook it up, but they said that didn't matter.

I remember having one of those conversations with a Comcast rep. I told him that I wanted the internet-only option, at the fastest speed they offered. Shortly thereafter, he started pushing a lot of package options at me, saying that I could get the same internet speed PLUS TV!!! at the same price.

I told him that I wasn't interested. Just the internet please! But he kept pushing it while he was setting up the account. Somehow this guy couldn't wrap his head around why I wouldn't want FREE TV along with my internet package for 12 MONTHS! I didn't want it for the reasons elucidated above in BadKen's post, plus the fact that I only watch streaming content.

Things are always changing out there, but I can't conceive of any reason that I would need to ever have cable TV again.

LilCodger wrote:

Probably more than anyone wants to know, but I would expect Hulu and such to be carrying more ads in the future. Local and national revenue for television stations has been dropping regularly for about seven years, and a lot of it is moving to "digital". Agencies who are used to buying ad time on a local affiliate are spending chunks of those same dollars on Hulu and other online providers.

Hell, some of our stations have started running local promo ads on Hulu channels, and the returns have been promising.

EDIT: Also -- pop, you philistines!

Well if the rate for semi ad free is $4 that will go up as ad agencies start throwing buckets of money at Hulu etc to start showing adds.

Remember once when you could make money on the internet clicking banner ads? It will boil down to that in reverse kind of. How much are you willing to pay for an absolute 100% ad free experience.

I fall in the middle. I don't mind ads that much (I apparently don't value my own time) but don't beat me over the head with them. If Netflix wasn't already so cheap and shareable I'd probably pay for a Netflix account with limited commercials if it was even cheaper or had even more content.

I found it comical how bad certain providers were with ads online at the outset. I use to watch things like the Daily Show day after from the TV provider who had the rights. There would be 1-2 commercials at the start and about 2 during 2 breaks. Thing is it would be the same bundle of commercials that sometimes it would just play the same one back2back. I now know your commercial but do I ever loathe your company/product.

jowner wrote:

I found it comical how bad certain providers were with ads online at the outset. I use to watch things like the Daily Show day after from the TV provider who had the rights. There would be 1-2 commercials at the start and about 2 during 2 breaks. Thing is it would be the same bundle of commercials that sometimes it would just play the same one back2back. I now know your commercial but do I ever loathe your company/product.

Watch it in Chrome, with AdBlock Plus, and there are no commercials. Just 22 minutes of show.

Stele wrote:
jowner wrote:

I found it comical how bad certain providers were with ads online at the outset. I use to watch things like the Daily Show day after from the TV provider who had the rights. There would be 1-2 commercials at the start and about 2 during 2 breaks. Thing is it would be the same bundle of commercials that sometimes it would just play the same one back2back. I now know your commercial but do I ever loathe your company/product.

Watch it in Chrome, with AdBlock Plus, and there are no commercials. Just 22 minutes of show.

Well that kinda defeats the purpose. I'm fine admitting to the reality that content needs $$$.

I'm willing to trade my time for free content by watching ads. Its just that certain TV companies going from cable delivery to internet are so shoddy at it. So shoddy at delivery sometimes that I would go to streaming sites because their own sites were so choppy or the built in video players were extremely chunky.

I say this while I stream a HD feed of the NFL game where everytime it cuts to commercial a commercial does start but stops. I guess whoever is streaming it has a NFL pass so it just cuts to a dead air banner. Which makes no sense to me for sports passes but I bet has to do with regional rights etc. Some loop around where the the leagues can sell direct to the consumer as long as they don't run their own separate set of adds.

ESPN3 will have "this program will return shortly" for a lot of games instead of commercials. Or sometimes one commercial and then that message. Even sometimes for games on the main networks (ESPN/2/U). Makes you wonder if they charge advertisers to show on both cable and online and some take the cheaper rate to avoid online.

Of course that's if you watch a game live. If you watch a game on replay there's never any commercials, and you can skip forward through them anyway.

When I was a child, I had to ask for cable for Christmas. My parents thought it was a waste of money. Five bucks a month for AD free television.

They started showing ADs every half hour.
Then ADs every fifteen minutes.
Then it became just as bad and in some cases worse then broadcast TV.

It is amusing to see history repeat itself with the internet.

Stele wrote:

Makes you wonder if they charge advertisers to show on both cable and online and some take the cheaper rate to avoid online.

Obviously I can't speak for everyone, but air and online are two different sales buckets for everyone I know. The pitch will frequently be a package deal, but they are two distinct purchases.

The sales folks absolutely don't want anyone getting air or digital that they didn't pay for. They would rather show a slate if necessary.

I don't remember cable TV ever being ad free outside of HBO and other premium movie channels.

It's the people who grew up on the internet that have this weird compulsion to eliminate the very revenue that makes the content they enjoy possible. Hopefully we are seeing an end to that mindset.