I can't stand Television today.

[oldlib]

Any channel or program that I watch is only, at best, in five minute segments, interrupted by commercials. This includes even Kieth Olberman, whom I like to watch for news. I try to have a backup channel, like History, to go to during commercials but I found that I will only see another commercial. Football is no different, as they find the least break in the action, to go to a commercial. I am looking for an alternative to this madness.

[elocs]

1. Try Netflix streaming. Thousands of commercial free movies, tv series,

and documentaries. You can check it out right away with a free trial, but unless you have a way to watch it on your tv you would have to use your computer.

Check out our DU Netflix Streaming Videos & DVDs Group: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=441

[oldlib]

4. Thank you.

This is the positive response that I was looking for.

[elocs]

9. Check out this thread about what is used to stream Netflix:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=441x7

The Roku box is one of the most commonly used to stream Netflix to your tv, but there are also Blu-ray players and other devices.

It's hard to beat the variety of things to watch simply with Netflix streaming videos or its low cost. Many of us have no need to pay $50 or more a month for cable tv since we've gotten Netflix streaming and can watch on our big screen tvs.

[swilton]

32. +1

Watching NETFLIX on my laptop is good enough for me.

Their range of foreign films with substance and content beats the range of films (The Godfather sagas/television sitcoms ad nauseam) offered by cable TV any day. American public is being dumbed down by the cable TV form of opium.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. This is why we own a DVR. I rarely watch live TV anymore. And I agree with

the Netflix suggestion too. We have that and enjoy it as well. :)

[GoCubsGo]

3. Watch PBS.

No commercials. And, if you unplug the cable, and go broadcast, you'll have three PBS channels to chose from. Six if you live near your state's border. You'll get your neighboring state's PBS, as well. Or, you can pay extra for the movie channels... No commercials on HBO, either.

I hear you can screen out the commercials with Tivo.

[Arkansas Granny]

10. I totally agree with you on PBS. Not only are there no commercials,

you get a variety of programming that not only entertains, but stimulates the mind and makes you think. Not to mention that the documentaries on PBS are some of the best I've ever seen.

[GoCubsGo]

26. Mine carries foreign news, too.

One of the subchannels carries the Deutsche Welle TV English feed during the daytime, except when the state legislature is in session. Then they are the South Carolina version of CSPAN, which is also a great thing. They also run the BBC World News several times a day. One learns MUCH more about world events than all of the US networks (broadcast and cable) combined with BBC. And, the PBS news is pretty good, too.

[earth mom]

45. Only problem with PBS is that the rethugs took it over when Shrub was in office

and it has way more rethuglican programming than it used to.

No more liberal news programs-they got rid of Bill Moyers and David Brancaccio. :argh:

[GoCubsGo]

48. They didn't get rid of Bill Moyers

He retired. He's pushing 77 years old.

[earth mom]

50. I'd bet money they pushed him out. nt

[DrDan]

5. seems like TCM has commercial-free movies

[stuntcat]

13. I lovvvve TCM

it's years ago I stopped watching tv except a couple hours of PBS. TCM's almost the only other thing I turn on the tv for, it's great! :headbang:

[DrDan]

14. agree - some great movies there - and I love the discussions prior

the movies - a little inside info as it were.

[stuntcat]

16. oh right on, the talks!

they get serious props from me!

[Statistical]

Get a TIVO. Never watch commercials and spend less time watching TV.

3 "30 minute" shows are less than an a hour when you strip all the commercials.

TIVO has an "undocumented" feature that lets you skip exactly 30 seconds ahead instantly.

[FLPanhandle]

20. +1

Makes watching anything much easier.

[unblock]

39. what's this?

mrs. unblock is the remote hog in the family, so she might already know this, but i thought she just pressed fast forward and then play when she saw program. it backs up just a little when you do this so we see the last 2 seconds of the last commercial in the block.

[RichGirl]

6. Not just commercials.

It's amazing how much of TV is crime based. The most popular dramas, a lot of real life crime, MSNBC lockup, Snapped...on and on. Even the Lifetime Movie Network...99% of the movies are crime and violence. Just flick through the channels or check the listings...crime, crime and more crime.

[fascisthunter]

15. how many shows are there based on crime fighting?

no surprising seeing we have the largest prison population on the planet.

[oldlib]

23. I agree.

Watching MSNBC on weekends is a waste of time. Lockup is the majority of what they show and it is crime based.

[Donnachaidh]

34. Crime based, and gorging on food

How many shows are out there, of people traveling around to places where people literally pig out on huge amounts of food? It's stunning how people will shovel steaming pounds of stuff down their throats! :wow:

[Bluenorthwest]

7. Many great suggestions on this thread...

But also, by chance this last Friday I was needing to make a quick run to the car at the top of Countdown, and noted that the first segment was over 14 minutes. Actually noted the time. For commercial TV, that is a long intro stretch indeed. Most nights we'd dvr it and ff through the ads. So usually, we see zero commercials. No reason to see them, really.

[oldlib]

49. I timed Kieth tonight on Countdown

and, as you posted, the first segment of the program went for almost 15 minutes. The rest was again hopeless until his Special Comment. The Special Comment was outstanding, and although I didn't time it, it was for a considerable period of time. I should also add that on the Rachel Maddow show that followed, Rachel opened with an opening segment that exceeded 15 minutes.

[Fumesucker]

8. Home Theater PC..

It's like a DVR on steroids and it really doesn't take much of a PC to do it any more, three and four year old PCs are perfectly adequate to be a HTPC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_theater_PC

[EFerrari]

11. Free Speech TV is on DishNet and DirectTV and has no commercials.

Link TV is on DirectTV and has no commercials.

[fascisthunter]

12. It's Something I Have a Hard Time with TV Too

the amount of commercials...

[LeftinOH]

17. My set is for DVDs only- I have no idea what shows are on anymore. Don't care, either. n/t

[SoCalDem]

18. DVR is your answer..; record your favorites, then whiz through the ads

:)

[MineralMan]

19. The answer:

[dynasaw]

21. Haven't Watched TV Since the Late 1980's

Sensed the downslide into mediocrity in the 1970's. Network TV got worse in the80's.
On the rare occasion I catch something on TV (in public waiting rooms, airports etc.) I am appalled by the inanity
of what's on.

Thank goodness there's the internet.

[elias49]

29. Yeah! No inanity on the intertubes!

:toast:

[liberal N proud]

22. We record any show we want to watch that skip through commercials

[oldlib]

24. Reply to all!

The suggestions are really helpful. It will take some time for me to act on them and I believe that it will be fruitful.

[Statistical]

27. If you are willing to just watch the network channels...

OTA antenna (real one) in the attic or on roof + TIVO + lifetime subscription = Flawless HD quality with no commercials or cable bill ever again.

[Codeine]

25. I never grow tired of Marquee Moon.

Oh, not THAT Television? Sorry. ;)

[Upton]

28. Watch soccer..

once the game starts there are no commercials...except at HT.

[Codeine]

30. I can't deal with other televised sports anymore for that exact reason. nt

[Codeine]

31. I have a DVR. I don't even remember what a commercial looks like. nt

[Pacifist Patriot]

37. +1

[LWolf]

33. There's an easy solution: turn it off. nt

[RufusTFirefly]

35. Remember when TV was "free" and there were significantly fewer commercials?

These days even public (sic) TV has commercials. Ah. Progress!

[Donnachaidh]

36. yeah -- and cable was hyped as the place to go for NO commercials?

Boy were we suckered on THAT too.

[barbtries]

38. internet!

hulu's commercials are rarer and only 30 seconds or less. netflix, no commercials. you can watch many programs in their entirety on the PBS page.

i gave up television years ago and don't miss the bills or the commercials. or the talking heads that drive me apeshit.

by the way rachel maddow and keith as well as the daily show both have full episodes on their websites. i'm hoping that msnbc will soon add lawrence o'donnell's show as well. Democracy now! you can watch episodes in full going back i don't know how long.

the internet is a wondrous place.

[WestSeattle2]

40. Sell the TV, buy a Kindle

[RufusTFirefly]

41. And when you want to loan one of your new "books" to a friend...?

Kindle is to books as Monsanto's Roundup Ready is to seeds.
People have been sharing books and saving seeds for centuries. Soon they'll no longer be able to do so.

[Tuvok Obama]

42. Kindle owners can and do loan ebooks to each other

I haven't done it, because I have no friends. ;)

But it's not even limited to personal friends. Whole online communities have been set up for these types of exchanges.

The book is inaccessible on the loaner's device for the period that the borrower has it, just like a regular book is out of the physical possession of the loaner when someone is borrowing it.

[RufusTFirefly]

46. Two weeks. Only once. And not all books are lendable. Many aren't.

Plus, you have to do all the lending through Amazon's site.

Thanks, but I'll stick to actual books for now.

[Tuvok Obama]

47. Something I don't get about the Kindle vs. paper books debate...

...is why it has to be either/or. I still have two large bookshelves of physical books, and a Kindle loaded with ebooks. I kept some physical books that I couldn't bear to part with, even after adding those titles to my Kindle. But many of the books on my shelf were not available as ebooks (or in many cases, the ebook samples showed way too many typos and formatting errors).

So I don't see why I seem to be in the minority in thinking that both types have their merits. So many Kindle owners seem to want to dispose of their entire collection of physical books. It seems to me that a person who likes to read can keep both types of collections, and enjoy a more enriched reading experience than those who approach the subject in terms of either/or.

(I didn't know that about the limits to ebook lending, by the way, so I appreciate that information. I just hadn't cared enough to research it.)

[WestSeattle2]

44. You can loan e-books to friends for up to two weeks.

[upi402]

43. History channel is crap now

99% duff and fluff. I turn to Free Speech TV on public access.