Category Archives: Cable TV

The No Cable Saga

Posted in Cable TV, CEO Princeple by

Those following me already know that I’ve abandoned cable service. It was because I couldn’t arrange a service call but they were about to raise ridiculous fees significantly. Being as we live totally on Social Security, being as the costs of living living were skyrocketing, we would have had to unplug anyway.

I also disconnected internet, same outfit, same reason. It just so happened T-mobile started providing internet for 50 a month. So I traded a cable/internet bill of almost 300 for an internet bill of 50.

Naturally, I don’t get near the selection from the antenna, but it really isn’t all that bad. Oddly, what I missed was the DVR. I had no way to record programs or pause programs when I got a phone call.

So, I went to Best Buy and asked if they had a solution for me. When I foud out they sell DVRs for $50, I bought 2. One I installed on the 30″ living room TV. The other went on the 23″ in the bedroom. The bedroom TV is not digital capable so, in that case, it restored the use of the the older flat-screen.

So, now if I can just figure out what to do so I can get channel 5, NBC. Shame. They do have a few decent shows.

The DVR doesn’t come with a disk, but a 10 dollar 32 GB USB thumb drive took care of that. (Or, if you prefer, you can attach an actual hard drive)

As my aside, it’s a real shame. Some outfit could come up with cable service for strictly local stations. Maybe they could charge fifty a month and still make money. It just might encourage the big outfits to drop their rates and provide better support. Let me revise that. Provide some support.

Something New… For Me

Posted in Advertising, Cable TV, Compromise, TV Advertisements by

I was under the wrong assumption that all TV stations transmitted 1080 video on all channels. It’s simply not so. Most of the main channels are 1080, or at least 720. However most of the others are, at most 720 and even 480.

On my little 30 inch screen it’s difficult to see the difference. Naturally, old reruns, especially b&w don’t fill the screen. There is generally a few inches of blank space on each side of the image.

Apparently, the stations transmit the information and my TV displays it at the bottom of the screen 4 or 5 seconds after changing channels. On the other hand, the cable hid it from me all these years.

So, near as I can tell, I should have saved the money and bought a 720 TV. As I said, can’t tell the difference. More over, I don’t have it on 1080 channels that much. Most of the time I’m looking at 720. Right now, I’m on 480 and it looks just fine.

By the way, does anyone know where I can buy a copy of that image of the valley they show to sell that noise for sleeping. Don’t have any use for noise but I’d really like a copy of that winter evening scene of snow covered mountains with the road going between them. Wonder what they might charge me for a 1080i copy.

Who knows? Maybe, perhaps, conceivably others would like a copy or two of that image.

Hint for Others Using TV Antennas

Posted in Cable TV by

After giving up cable because of unrealistic prices, I made many adjustments to my antenna. Currently, I usually get good solid reception. From time-to-time, it still gets very unreliable and intermittent.

I had trouble figuring it out till last night. A windy, rainy storm came through and I started seeing the proverbial pixelating on the screen. Then I finally figured it out. UHF radio waves are impeded by heavy rain. Considering the weak signal to start with, it doesn’t take a lot destroy the TV picture.

Incidentally, it is the same reason satellite TV reception has problems. Satellite uses microwave, which is affected by rain even more. Think it over. It’s why weather radar works. The rain reflects the radio waves.

Just wish cable was not so unreasonably expensive.

Something I’d Like

Posted in Cable TV, Computers by

Are you always looking for your remote. Do you lose remotes for things you rarely use, like those battery powered candles. Sometimes the things just become unusable, as when the dog eats it or when you drop it in the water.

What if all these things can be controlled from one device? I like the idea. I have a couple remotes that advertise they control everything and I can’t get them to control anything.

I have an idea that, when fully implemented, will resolve all the above problems at very little cost.

Overall, the best long-term solution is Bluetooth built into the TV and apps downloaded into smart phones and computers. As long as you know where your phone is, you can control your

TV, cable…or whatever else the phone is paired with. Moreover, when you are in the kitchen when that annoying commercial comes on, you can just pull out your phone and silence the irritant.

Mostly, the same thing can be done with wifi but I suspect not as easily. Not all homes have wifi.

There are many advantages that are not readily apparent. For instance, upgrading would be possible and easy. New devices could be added and removed easily. Stealing such a TV would be of no benefit as the pairing could be password protected.

The only temporary solution I foresee until TVS are equipped, is to build a temporary box, an interface equipped with IR for the TV, or whatever, and Bluetooth for the phone. Eventually, the IR would no longer be needed.

I have no means to further this idea beyond those of you who read my posts. Maybe, if you agree, you can pass my idea onto others. Maybe, hopefully, 1 or 2 of you are in a position to get it going. Maybe you can just suggest it to your phone carriers. I don’t care if others get the money but it would be nice if I could get a little credit for the idea.

To be sure, there is an alternate approach. Smart phones can be equipped with IR and the aps could be downloaded for specific devices. This could be done more quickly but I think Bluetooth is better long-term. Perhaps a combination is plausible.

Finally, if you like the idea, make a comment. If I get enough responses, maybe I can get the right person to listen to me.

8.7% COLA

Posted in Abuse of Power, Biden, Cable TV, Controllers, Deceit, Elections, FOC, Going Green, Lawyers and Representation, Price of Oil, Retirement by

Just received a message that the Social Security Cost Of Living Adjustment will be almost 9%. I don’t know if that’s a record but it’s the biggest in recent history.

Still, it doesn’t truly represent the real increase of living. Consider my grocery cost rarely went more than $125 per visit to the store. Nowadays, it’s over 200. My gas bill has doubled and the only reason my TV watching hasn’t gone through the roof is tha I no longer have cable.

When Biden keeps driving the up costs faster than he drives up Social Security payments, he’s not helping anyone relying on Social Security for a living. Even more, the cost goes up day by day. The COLAs go up once a year. As such, even if the COLAs were accurate, they would always be a year behind.

Then why should he care? I doubt he is concerned about the price of a gallon of milk or a gallon of gas. He likely could care less about how much bread it costs for a loaf of bread. His last concern is how much change it costs us for the changes he’s made.

Of course he does care about our votes, but only just before election days. On the other hand, should he lose any more of his mental facilities, it will all be over for him anyway. The dems can only conceal so much.

Ironically, No Ch. 5

Posted in Advertising, Cable TV, CEO Princeple by

The 1st time I arrived in Memphis, actually NAS Memphis located in in the city of Millington just north of Memphis, the only TV station I could receive on my little 5 in. portable TV was ch. 5.

Now I can receive all the major channels but 5. I have no idea why. I’ve tried auto-scanning the channels dozens of times. Depending on the position of the amplified GE antenna, I get some channels some times and other channels other times. However, since removing cable, I have yet to see NBC or any of the other substations on ch 5.

My first thought was that it was some kind of conspiracy but how. Certainly, those who own the station want me to be able to watch their advertising. I mean, they don’t make money off the programs but rather the ads.

It brings to mind my CEO theory again. Has the CEO ever tried to receive ch 5 on an antenna? Does he, or she even care about us mass of poor people who don’t have cable. Maybe we have been written off, so to speak, because we have such little purchasing power.

It does somewhat make me wonder what they are trying to sell on ch 5. For that matter, what kind programming do they have.

The main point of this post however, is point out the problem with the TV. I can delete channels after a scan but I cannot add any. Try as I may, I have tried and tried. It would appear the designers of my TV have assumed two things that aren’t true. First, they believed that their work of wonder will find all channels. Second, they assumed that all transmitters are the same direction from my living room.

Nothing is further from the truth. I need to adjust the direction of the antenna for each channel for best reception. That means that no one scan will pick up all the stations.

In this case, no ch. 5 at all.

I wonder if the CEO of ch. 5 knows, or cares.

An afterthought: Channel 10, PBS came in crystal clear, no matter where I point the antenna. Most of the shopping networks come in good. I wonder about that. It means every time I do a scan, I need to manually delete all the garbage.

Decisions, Decisions

Posted in Cable TV by

Now that I’ve had Uverse disconnected, I’ve been faced with decisions. I won’t mention the ones I’ve discarded. At this point, it’s pointless.

I decided on the T-mobil approach. I picked up the little box and a few hours later, I had a network. With the knowledge I have now, it would take 20 minutes.

I now have a phone, 3 Kendles, desktop computer and Android pad running off of it. The most difficult part to adding devices is entering passwords by pseudo-button keyboards. I have big fingers that make it a little more challenging.

Response on all the devices is good though I currently use but one device at a time.

Now, instead of 226 for cable and internet, it’s 55 for internet. I have not yet tried to hook up my smart TV nor do I know if it’s possible. If not, I’m still a long way ahead.

I do have one hint for anyone else going this route. On the gateway is a label with many useful words. It would be a good idea to jot down the default info. You will need it later and it might not be as easy to read.

I placed my gateway on the front window sill and I am receiving a strong signal from T-mobile. I suppose if I put it higher, but it is somewhat academic. I might or might not get 5 bars instead of the steady 4.

As for my desktop, I get 5 bars instead of the 3 I had from the Uverse gateway. This is in spite of the now greater distance.

So far, every comparison comes out in favor of T-mobil. I wish I made the decision much sooner. Not only would have saved a bundle of money, but the performance would have been better too.

History of TV Reception

Posted in Advertising, Cable TV, Crazy Nuts, experience by

When TVs first came out, the TV antenna soon followed. After just a short time, a person could pan the rooftops and see the antennas sticking up from most of the houses.

Some had to settle for rabit ears. Some, me included had broken antennas and settled for wire clothes hangers. My clothes hanger worked very well. I wish I could say it was because of my great knowledge of electronics but, in my case, I had a good picture without having to alter the hanger at all.

On the other hand, some needed 40, 50, or even 70 foot masts to receive signals from a 100 or more miles away. To complicate matters, some received signals from 2 or 3 different directions. To do this, they had what they called rotors and they worked well. It was a tad on the pricey side though. Not only did one need the equipment, but it also had to be installed.

I don’t know who first thought of the idea of cable, but I noticed it being installed in rural areas in the late 50s and early 60s. It was good for the stations and sponsors as it increased those receiving their programming and ads. There is no need to say it was good for those receiving cable. That’s obvious.

Over the years, those selling cable found more customers and types of customers. People in apartments and folks who hated ugly antennas sticking up all over the neighborhood. Also, the reception quality improved.

Perhaps one of the main reasons the cable idea spread so rapidly was the increase in channels available. People in San Diego watched L.A. channels, for example. In addition, what I call pseudo-stations started popping up.

Then, to improve reception and increase features, they went to digital. I never liked that much in the past, even less now. What started out to be a way to receive a good picture for 15 or 20 a month has turned into a huge conglomerate (if I may misuse the word) of sations, most of which are mental wastelands that I spent 226 a month. That is a big bite from my social security.

I just had my cable disconnected and I am now aware of why I don’t like digital TV. If a person buys an expensive antenna, after spending hours adjusting it and fussing with it, it almost works, almost doesn’t. Mostly, gone are the days of using a hanger. Now we must use 39.95 antennas that I can’t even receive all the local channels I received just fine in the old analogs. Moreover, I keep losing the picture into wild pixelations.

I guess the FCC had us in mind as they made the decision to digitize broadcasts, or at least I hope so. Then again, maybe it would help if the 39.95 antenna worked better than a clothes hanger.

(Does anyone know where I can get a metal clothes hanger? )

Pulling the Plug on U-Verse

Posted in Cable TV by

Reasons:

Biggest, cost. I was paying 150 for TV and internet. I am living totally on Social Security and that is a big bite of my income. With inflation, I simply need to make cuts somewhere.

Frustrating: The signal becoming less reliable. In addition, I have to restart what they call a receiver just about daily.

Final straw: They refused to look at my line when it went down Friday and I didn’t know my 4 digit number. They said it was for my security as if I’m going to tell U-Verse when a neighbor`s service. (How wound I know? )

So tomorrow I take it all down, get antenna and go to McDonald’s when i want to get on line. And, oh yes, save a bunch of money. I would say 150 but I hear inflation has hit them too. Rumor is they are raising their rates.

Perhaps it is all for the good, anyway. I suspect they are wanting to shut the service down in favor of using satellite.

Too bad. For quite a while, they were the best in cable.

Cutting Costs

Posted in Abuse of Power, AOC, Being woke, Biden, Cable TV, Climate Change, Communist Takover, Deceit, FOC, Going Green, Immigration, Liberals, Politcal Opinion, Retirement, Socialists by

Joe says it’s not his fault. He says that there’s nothing he can do about it. Yet since he occupied the Oval Office, things have been going up, fast…gas, milk, cars, rent, cable, dining out, etc, etc.

I’m retired now so I thought I was immune somewhat from the increase in gas costs. Wow! Was I wrong! I mean I only fill my 13 gallon tank every other week but it over costs twice as much to. Every time I go into the grocery store, it costs me $130 or more to get out…and we visit the local restaurants quite often.

The realization has hit me. It’s time to cut costs or our bank accounts will start shrinking. So I’ve started preparing a list of things we won’t need.

1st. Cable and internet. They are really nice but we don’t need them. Dropping them will say more $150 a month. I’ll have to rely on the old antenna for entertainment. Oddly, I’ll miss the DVR more than the stations. Other than a few news stations, I watch very little. Though I must admit I will miss watching Hannity, I can still listen to him 3 hours on the radio. Besides all this, they raise their costs every now and without my permission.

2nd. Cell phones. This one is painful for a number of reasons. Mostly I, it is a matter of emergencies. For instance, if I need to call a tow truck or I have an accident. The alternative to T-mobile is going with the cheapest company I can find.

3rd. We will need to eat at home more. I don’t mind cooking. I just don’t like the clean up. Besides, with just the two of us, we end up wasting a lot. I hate that. It rubs me the wrong way. Well, the going green folks would like it. It would cut back on my fuel usage. On the other hand, those at the local eateries wouldn’t like losing my business. On the other hand the cable company will not miss me. In Indeed, they sort of act like they want to get rid of me.

Beyond that, I guess I will have to go back to work. I’ve already considered that option. I’d already be punching time clock but my wife panics when she’s left alone. I guess if Joe keeps running things, I’ll have to figure out something.