finally broke down...

chime

catefrances wrote:

WHAT??!! you have to pay a fee for the privilege of watching crap television?

No we pay a fee for the BBC (tv, internet and radio) ... so mostly good television eg Planet Earth ... but our payment means they don't have to get outside revenue through advertising so no adverts on either the TV or the radio ... definitely worth it to me

dunkman

decides2dream wrote:

you pay for it all too....just yours is taken from your taxes, not of your choosing. not saying our system is 'better'...not at all....just a little clarity b/c there ARE many americans who prefer the CHOICE. who will provide what services, what costs, etc....and not the government. and that's what MANY consider 'being free' living here. just sayin'. i am sure know1 and farfromglorified for starters


btw - our education, K-12 anyway...is 'free'...just like your 'free'...from our taxes, unless we want to send our kids elsewhere....then it still is out of your taxes, + whatever you spend. or like me, childless....but i pay to send others' kids to school too. i am cool with it overall, but i digress.....

your higher education isn't free... and evidently they never teach the meaning of a 'joke'

if i left school at 16 and never once had a job therefore paying NO taxes... i'd still get 'free' healthcare, free education for my kids, free tv, etc. but 'in the laaaaaannnnd of the freeeeeee' ... i'd be living in a cardboard box dying of some treatable illness.

catefrances

Chime wrote:

No we pay a fee for the BBC (tv, internet and radio) ... so mostly good television eg Planet Earth ... but our payment means they don't have to get outside revenue through advertising so no adverts on either the TV or the radio ... definitely worth it to me

hmm well... our equivalent, known as the ABC is free. there are no adverts on either the tv or the associated radio stations. in fact the youth station tripleJ is the best radio station in the country. cant imagine aussies ever paying a fee for 'free to air' television.

chime

catefrances wrote:

hmm well... our equivalent, known as the ABC is free. there are no adverts on either the tv or the associated radio stations. in fact the youth station tripleJ is the best radio station in the country. cant imagine aussies ever paying a fee for 'free to air' television.

well in that case I guess dreamin was right yours is funded by taxes

catefrances

Chime wrote:

well in that case I guess dreamin was right yours is funded by taxes

i believe the term is government funded.

Steve Dunne

get cinemax for the late night entertainment.

passion cove!!!

decides2dream

dunkman wrote:

your higher education isn't free... and evidently they never teach the meaning of a 'joke'

if i left school at 16 and never once had a job therefore paying NO taxes... i'd still get 'free' healthcare, free education for my kids, free tv, etc. but 'in the laaaaaannnnd of the freeeeeee' ... i'd be living in a cardboard box dying of some treatable illness.

and apparently you weren't taught to read for content.
thus why i specified our education K-12...is free. yes, we pay for higher education. but face it, nothing is FREE. you either pay out in taxes, or you pay out of pocket. sure....while you don't work it's completely 'free'...but that's b/c someone else's taxes are covering your arse. same here really, we do have medicare and the like for the destitute.


anyhoo...i just know how you so enjoy belittling a place you've never even visited...even in jest ...so i was merely clarifying. i like where i live. it's far from perfect...but i am happy. you like where you live. it's all good. i just don't find the constant need/desire to insult, oh i mean *joke*..other places. c'est la vie! this thread is about cable TV!



and chime, i DO remember that about the UK, the yearly fee for a TV. like many things from ANy country and living/visiting elsewhere, many ideas and practices do indeed seem 'foreign.'


as of right now, ANYone with a TV, and there is no annual fee to have one.....if you have an arial on your roof(an antenna)...you have free access to about 7 channels....no cost. just like radio is free in that sense, but there is also pay satellite radio. one does NOT HAVE to get cable tv, it's a choice.


mr. dream mostly wants it for the hi-def TV to utilize our new TV/system to the fullest. access to more movies, shows, etc.....all good too i guess.

The Champ

We still don't have cable but some how get a few channels for free ..congrats..

Lizard

Woo-Hoo.

I would think you might like HGTV!

chiquimonkey

very nice! there are some good shows out there, especially on PBS i live next to a hill so without cable i would only get 1 fuzzy channel, so i'm left with no choice. i wish i could pro-rate it somehow, i only watch maybe 4-5 channels with a show or two on each

decides2dream

Lizard wrote:

Woo-Hoo.

I would think you might like HGTV!

i know i will!
i have heard about many shows over the years that sound of interest...but you can't miss what you never had. i'll enjoy discovering many of em....

chiquimonkey wrote:

very nice! there are some good shows out there, especially on PBS i live next to a hill so without cable i would only get 1 fuzzy channel, so i'm left with no choice. i wish i could pro-rate it somehow, i only watch maybe 4-5 channels with a show or two on each

hahaha. agreed. that's what i said, wtf am i going to do with 200+ channels? hubby will probably utilize it more, but even so. as i said tho, it's only an additional $25 a month more than our phone/internet package now...so seemed worth it to finally go for the plunge. hubby is salivating at the thought of hi-def TV all the time.

chiquimonkey

decides2dream wrote:

hahaha. agreed. that's what i said, wtf am i going to do with 200+ channels? hubby will probably utilize it more, but even so. as i said tho, it's only an additional $25 a month more than our phone/internet package now...so seemed worth it to finally go for the plunge. hubby is salivating at the thought of hi-def TV all the time.

yeah there are channels i've never even watched, it'd be awesome to just pick and choose!

i'll eventually get a new tv and go the hi-def route, for now i'm holding with the tv i got. hi-def is amazing though, my friends got it and it looks beautiful.

rent 'planet earth' and watch it hi-def....WOW!! :eek:

decides2dream

chiquimonkey wrote:

yeah there are channels i've never even watched, it'd be awesome to just pick and choose!

i'll eventually get a new tv and go the hi-def route, for now i'm holding with the tv i got. hi-def is amazing though, my friends got it and it looks beautiful.

rent 'planet earth' and watch it hi-def....WOW!! :eek:

we have a plethora of DVD that i am SURE will look amazing in hi-def! i'll mkae note of that one for sure though. yea, we had our last TV for 12 years i think, close to it...got it around the time we moved in the house. hubby has been clamoring for a flat-screen, etc...for a long while. got a great deal, so went with it. got a 52" flat screen, upgraded our enitre surround system...so this is the final touch i guess. all the DVDs already look fantastic, so the added clarity of hi-def i am sure will be :eek:...WOW! it should be all hooked up by now...hubby called earlier while the installers were at home.

eyedclaar

chiquimonkey wrote:

yeah there are channels i've never even watched, it'd be awesome to just pick and choose!

i'll eventually get a new tv and go the hi-def route, for now i'm holding with the tv i got. hi-def is amazing though, my friends got it and it looks beautiful.

rent 'planet earth' and watch it hi-def....WOW!! :eek:

That Planet Earth dvd is fuckin' awesome!

smithnic

You should start a journal/blog of your "new world" into 200 channels. I would love to hear about how someone who just got cable experiences the magic that is 200+ channels of nothing on.

iluvcats

decides2dream wrote:

we have a plethora of DVD that i am SURE will look amazing in hi-def! i'll mkae note of that one for sure though. yea, we had our last TV for 12 years i think, close to it...got it around the time we moved in the house. hubby has been clamoring for a flat-screen, etc...for a long while. got a great deal, so went with it. got a 52" flat screen, upgraded our enitre surround system...so this is the final touch i guess. all the DVDs already look fantastic, so the added clarity of hi-def i am sure will be :eek:...WOW! it should be all hooked up by now...hubby called earlier while the installers were at home.

52"???? gosh!

decides2dream

smithnic wrote:

You should start a journal/blog of your "new world" into 200 channels. I would love to hear about how someone who just got cable experiences the magic that is 200+ channels of nothing on.

hahahaha...i am far, far, faaarrrr too lazy for such things. i will be too busy watching my 200+ channels to do so. if i had that kind of initiative..i would've written a dissertation on board dynamics already. i think that would be FAR more interesting.


and there always is DVD.
:cool:



yes cats....52"....it is beeeaaaauuuuutttiiiiiiFULL!!!
hubby and i are huge film aficionados*. our previous TV was 35". this being flatscreen actually takes up FAR less space and we love it. our LR isn't huge...but it's not tiny....it's about 15X18 if i remember correctly. it really suits the space well...and our viewing habits.


*edited for proper spelling thanks to dunk and his infinite wisdom.

chiquimonkey

decides2dream wrote:

we have a plethora of DVD that i am SURE will look amazing in hi-def! i'll mkae note of that one for sure though. yea, we had our last TV for 12 years i think, close to it...got it around the time we moved in the house. hubby has been clamoring for a flat-screen, etc...for a long while. got a great deal, so went with it. got a 52" flat screen, upgraded our enitre surround system...so this is the final touch i guess. all the DVDs already look fantastic, so the added clarity of hi-def i am sure will be :eek:...WOW! it should be all hooked up by now...hubby called earlier while the installers were at home.

yeah especially if you guys dig the nature shows, it's a must! also if you like the LOTR trilogy, that looks freaking CRAZY on hi-def on a big screen, yum!

enjoy the exploration!

decides2dream

chiquimonkey wrote:

yeah especially if you guys dig the nature shows, it's a must! also if you like the LOTR trilogy, that looks freaking CRAZY on hi-def on a big screen, yum!

enjoy the exploration!

yes...both LOVE em....and yes, LOTR is good, but we're more matrix types. i am SURE that'll get another spin once the hig-def is kickin'. :cool:


exploration is fun!

dunkman

decides2dream wrote:

hubby and i are huge film affectionados.

aficionados?

is affectionados a word?

p.s. not trying to trip you up... just never heard of it in this way... ergo it must be wrong