A TV Collector's Catch 22 (rant)

[Electronic M]

They make NON-subscription DVRs and DVD-recorders that work just like VCRs (from an end user standpoint). I ditched tape timeshifting when it became more expensive, and analog sources dried up. I've been trying to achieve HDDVR capability, but Scrotum cable encrypts EVERY non-OTA channel (which includes every channel I care to record) they offer..So I can only tune it with one of their boxes which only have HDMI out for HD rez....I got an HDMI splitter that removes HDCP and a HDMI capture card, and while I was able to get it to work a couple of times I think the PCI bus of my media PC is dying...Since I can't get the card to work in it. That computer has had it's second recap, and barely came (mostly) back to life after the second. Eventually I'll be time-shifting and archiving in HD to bring my new show viewing habbits into the HD age.

The stuff I prefer to watch (anime) is not available OTA so I've got to go with some subscription (cable in my case), or the internet (which I can feed to my old and new sets via my media PC using it's S-Video/DVI/VGA video card).

There is enough on cable to keep me entertained, and while I used to be more tolerant of commercials my patience is rapidly dropping....What is driving me up a wall the most is that seemingly EVERY station (even local radio) has, in the last year or three, started synchronizing commercial breaks....Start time stop time and even the actual commercials in some cases....It feels like I'm in the Twilight Zone or hell when a commercial I especially hate comes on and I try to change channels (to something I want to watch/hear) only to not escape the commercials, and worse still sometimes to even have the same one I absolutely don't want to witness again be also playing on the channel I change to....If the person that decided it'd be a good idea to sync commercials between stations ever bumps into me and brags about it, I'll make them regret it something fierce. :

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

They make NON-subscription DVRs and DVD-recorders that work just like VCRs (from an end user standpoint).

Yep I have 2 Dish DTVPal OTA only DVRs in service and 2 more spares (4 total) for when those will eventually bite the dust. Hard to even watch the local news and weather without the DVR. If there's something I want to watch I make sure one is tuned to that station and I start watching the buffered program delayed enough to be able to fast forward through the commercials. (Or, just record it on the internal HDD and play it later.) The continuous buffering is something VCRs never did or were capable of. The 300X FF-REV makes those pesky commercials go by quickly too.

[walterbeers]

I gave up on Direct TV and cable years ago. Nothing on there but commercials and junk that no one watches. I get a quite a few off the air digital channels including antenna TV, ME TV, Laugh TV, Comet, all the educational channels and more. I also subscribe to streaming Netflix, and there are a lot of free movies I can stream on You Tube. Also I have a collection of bunches of VHS tapes, and quite a few DVDs. I can also go to a thrift store and find tapes and DVDs usually for somewhere between $1 to $3. I'm not hurting for things to watch, just don't have enough time to watch all of them. I think the only reason to have paid cable or satellite is for some of the live sports that would be on ESPN or pay per view. Obviously I'm not a sports fan.

[Adam]

I've found several new digital sub channels lately. I would actually go as far as to say there is more on over the air tv now that I like to watch than there has ever been. On 10.2 I get this channel now called H&I that shows 1 episode from each Star Trek series every night. And I get other subchannels that show old shows as well: METV (47.2 and 64.2), Antenna TV (10.3), and Retro TV (64.3). And VHS tapes are cheap - I probably have 3-400 of them now. The last time I went to a thrift store there was a sale on tapes and I bought 7 VHS tapes for $1.42.

[Kamakiri]

Case in point: I like to watch Star Trek. I'm not a trekkie.

If you like to watch MLP, nothing wrong with that. You didn't indicate your "level of participation" here, so don't take immediate offense to people who don't immediately "get" the full blown "brony" lifestyle, because I admit that I don't either.

Watching Star Trek, for example, is one thing.....devoting your life to the pursuit of Kolinahr is freaking weird. That wouldn't gain currency here either. For devotees of Seinfeld, for example, I will publically state that I think Festivus poles are stupid

Remember the general demographic of the participants here; we're older guys by and large that in our teens listened to Led Zeppelin or 80s pop....we don't understand millennial trends any more than our parents understood ours....so if you're expecting acceptance of a full blown "brony" lifestyle right out of the box, you're in the wrong crowd.

If you like to watch it that's cool It's one thing to love a TV show, it's another to live it.....whether it's Seinfeld, Star Trek, or MLP.

I did a little Googling on it, and it labeled "bronyism" as a "millenial escape". All I had was cheap beer

[Ed in Tx]

Originally Posted by Kamakiri

...

Remember the general demographic of the participants here; we're older guys by and large that in our teens listened to Led Zeppelin or 80s pop... It's one thing to love a TV show, it's another to live it...

Or in my case, '60s Mission Impossible, Man From UNCLE... drove the neighbors nuts and got me and my buddy living out those TV shows in trouble more than once or twice.

[MadMan]

Originally Posted by Kamakiri

Remember the general demographic of the participants here; we're older guys by and large that in our teens listened to Led Zeppelin or 80s pop....we don't understand millennial trends any more than our parents understood ours....so if you're expecting acceptance of a full blown "brony" lifestyle right out of the box, you're in the wrong crowd.

Exactly, for a bunch of older guys, I did not expect understanding or acceptance, I expected some decency and respect. And not to be called 'disgusting' by one of your moderators. >_>

Besides, I like Zeppelin too. (And I'm not a millennial.)

[Kamakiri]

You never said to what level your bronyism is. You go from "it's just a TV show I like" to expecting decency and respect over someone being what the internet calls a full blown "brony". In any event, doesn't really matter and I don't really care.

It's not a gender identity, it's not a faith, and it's not even a lifestyle choice. It's a damn hobby. And this is a TV collector's forum. Wrong crowd. Thread closed.