# Do you have a TV? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 25, 2008, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791 "2008-04-25T03:20:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791/61 "2008-04-27T17:46:28Z")
Entirely too many TVs. We have three TVs - one in the bedroom, a small one in the kitchen, and one in the family/games room. But almost none of them are ever on - I’ve also got a dedicated home theater with an HD projector and 102" screen, and any TV that gets watched is watched in there. It’s soundproofed so we can watch movies at THX volume levels any time of day or night. For all that, I’d say we only watch maybe an hour or two a day of TV at most - but we also use the theater for gaming and watching movies, so I’m in there 2-4 hours a night on average. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791/62 "2008-04-28T00:58:22Z")
No TV, unless the one that’s only hooked up to the DVD player count? (no broadcast or cable reception in other words?) This is my girlfriend’s apartment; she was hospitalized for a couple weeks in the mid 1990s and TV service was expensive so she said “fuck it” and did without. Having gone without for 2 weeks she decided she could do without altogether. Me, I’ve been _sans_ television since 1983, the last year I lived with any relatives before finally successfully shoving off on my own for good. I just didn’t care for it: more commercials every year, really _lousy_ scriptwriting, and being a self-described radical anarchist I was inclined to think of it as brain pablum. EDIT: USA, New York ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791/63 "2008-04-28T19:38:52Z")
4 TVs: Living Room: 27-inch CRT, standard definition, TiVo Series2 dual-tuner, DVD player, and Wii Bedroom #1: 20-inch CRT, standard definition Bedroom #2: 15-inch LCD, standard definition, TiVo Series2, DVD player, surround sound Bedroom #3: 37-inch LCD, high definition, TiVoHD, DVD player, surround sound, and Wii #3 is mine and I love her. I watch a lot of TV and the room is set up so that the TV is in my line of sight when I’m looking at my PC monitor. We have standard cable on every TV except for #3, which has digital through the TiVo. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791/64 "2008-04-28T20:21:08Z")
Any PC with a fast internet connection is potentially a “TV” with sites like [nbc.com](http://nbc.com), [pbs.org](http://pbs.org), [hulu.com](http://hulu.com), and [joost.com](http://joost.com) I’ve been watching Simon and Simon on Hulu, it holds up pretty well 25 years later. ---
**Author:** ![puppygod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@puppygod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puppygod)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791/65 "2008-04-28T20:26:44Z")
[QUOTE=GingerOfTheNorth] Well, do you? I admit I am always surprised when someone mentions that they haven’t got one. Please mention where you live. And, if you haven’t got one, please tell me why. We have tvs, and we use DirecTV (satellite) and TiVo. We live in the US. [/QUOTE] No TV. I kinda gradually phased out watching TV when I left home to study in another city. I already was bored by dumb commercials, ridiculously long and convoluted series about lives of fictional people that I don’t cared about and sport news that I cared even less. Over time I grew to appreciate it as a one of the best decisions in my life. I have a lot more time for doing interesting things and occasional glimpse at TV during visits to my family proves me right. I just can’t see any reason to watch TV. Nowadays online news are as fast - and often faster - than TV. I can watch movies of my choice on my computer whenever I feel like it - and without breaks for commercials. I don’t understand watching sport at all - doing sport is fun, but watching other people doing sports? Boring. That’s my choice and if anybody think that I’m driven by my feeling of superiority - well, that’s theirs problem. One of my computers have TV tuner card, but solely for use by my mother, when she come to visit me. She has some TV series that she watch regularly. I never turned it on for myself. Not interested. I live in Poland. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791/66 "2008-04-28T20:31:24Z")
I don’t have one, sorta. I mean, I own the box but it’s got nothing running into it, and I never even turn it on. Between the SDMB, video games, wikipedia, and collegehumor, who needs a TV? I watch everything I need to watch on [nbc.com](http://nbc.com) or occasionally [fox.com](http://fox.com) The only time it comes up is when there’s a popular movie coming out. That advertising is mostly limited to TV, so I haven’t heard of any movies unless someone tells me about them. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791/67 "2008-04-28T20:33:18Z")
I have one 15 inch TV with basic cable and a DVD player. I don’t watch much TV, but I think I’d watch more if I got more channels (I’m lookin’ at you, Bravo), which is why I don’t. Same with having a small screen: I’m not actually looking to improve my viewing experience because I don’t want to _want_ to watch more TV. My nieces and nephew come to visit and are aghast at my puny set-up, coming as they do from homes with more TVs, and bigger TVs. They seem to think a 15 incher with basic cable is one step up from a victrola. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791/68 "2008-04-28T20:47:40Z")
Mr. Neville and I have three. One is in the living room, one in the dining room (we’re too tired for intelligent conversation at dinner, so we watch TV), and one in our bedroom. We have DirecTV (but no pay channels), and the living room and dining room TVs have Tivo. The one upstairs mostly gets used for watching DVDs, since it doesn’t have Tivo. Mr. Neville sometimes likes to watch something on DVD just before bed (left to my own devices, I probably wouldn’t have a TV in the bedroom). Mostly when we’re watching together we watch food shows, Mythbusters, King of the Hill (Hank Hill reminds me _so_ much of my dad sometimes), and the Simpsons. He watches the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, various anime shows, and old movies. I watch stuff from Discovery, History, or Science channel (especially disaster-type shows) plus the occasional nanny show. I don’t normally watch TV except while I’m eating dinner, though. I’d rather be playing computer games. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791/69 "2008-04-28T21:08:51Z")
We have 1 TV at the apartment and 1 at our cottage. We had a few years when we didn’t have any TV. For a while after college, I had a roommate who 1. liked TV to begin with, and 2. worked in marketing and we had THREE TVs in a row, next to each other, and we would watch one, play games on the second, and flip around on the third to watch ad placement. After that, I felt I had enough TV for a while, and in my next apartment, didn’t have one at all for about … 4 years I think. I didn’t miss it, but I would also note those were the same years when I was young and employed and liked nothing better than going out every night to a different hot club. Now that I am old and cranky, I would probably _die_ if I went out every night. I think I would miss a TV a lot more now. I probably wouldn’t have cable, but I’m in NYC and you almost need cable even if you are going to watch network TV because reception is so poor. ---
**Author:** ![liberty3701](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@liberty3701](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liberty3701)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791/70 "2008-04-29T02:48:44Z")
We have one TV, but it’s not hooked up to cable or anything, just the DVD player/VCR. Though the DVD player just broke. ☹ I would never ever get anything done ever if I had access to TV; I’d just sit, slackjawed in front of it. It’s bad enough I have internet access. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791/71 "2008-04-29T03:02:56Z")
[QUOTE=puppygod] I live in Poland. [/QUOTE] I can only assume that Polish television programming is as putrid as Thailand’s. But we did watch Krzysztof Kieslowski’s series _The Decalogue_ (_Dekalog_?) on DVD and were thoroughly impressed. I assume most Polish TV is not like that, though. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791/72 "2008-04-29T11:30:39Z")
When I was in college, there was a period when I had no TV and really didn’t miss it. We’ve got 3 in the house right now - family room, bedroom (it’s our alarm clock) and basement - but those are mostly used by my spousal unit. He finds TV to be relaxing. I mostly find it annoying, except for Jon Stewart and occasional shows on HGTV. And maybe Mike Rowe. But if ours disappeared, I don’t think I’d go thru any kind of withdrawal. My husband, on the other hand, might need to be medicated… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791/73 "2008-04-29T12:00:35Z")
I bought a 55 inch TV last football season. Although I do have it on occasionally the rest of the year, I might not have one if I didn’t watch american football. I don’t get enough from it the rest of the year to care one way or another. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Mood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@Blue\_Mood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Mood)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791/74 "2008-04-29T14:28:25Z")
No TV. When my husband and I first got married we had one, but spent way too much time in front of it. We waste enough time on other things as it is. Also, now there’s never any arguing between the kids about which show to watch. And when they go visit someone, watching television is a treat. For people who think we TV-less people enjoy saying it and feel superior: the opposite is true. There may be people who feel that they would not stoop to watch and thus have a superior attitude, but as said the problem is we would watch too much. It’s like having an alcohol-free house. ---
**Author:** ![Arabella\_Flynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@Arabella\_Flynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arabella_Flynn)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791/75 "2008-04-29T23:44:27Z")
I got tired of moving the actual TV years ago. I had a desktop computer with a TV tuner until recently. I just got a laptop; I’ll be getting a USB or PCMIA tuner for it shortly. Primarily I bought the first and will be buying the second because I cannot run the output of a PS2 directly into the computer. 🙂 On the other hand, I have a massive collection of DVDs, and frequent a lot of internet sites that offer streaming episodes of TV shows I like, like _House M.D._, _Bones_ and _Penn & Teller: Bullshit!_. So it’s not that I wouldn’t watch TV if I had one; it’s more that I’m not interested in a lot of the prime time stuff that other people watch, so it would be off a lot of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Kalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/df705f/32.png) [@Kalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalypso)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791/76 "2008-04-30T00:12:15Z")
We have two televisions, but they’re only used for DVD viewing. I got tired of spending $60 a month for cable that I never watched, so I got rid of it. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791/77 "2008-04-30T00:25:09Z")
1 recently purchased 42" LCD HDTV using the Comcast DVR and digital cable. Watching TV is what happens after all the rest of the stuff is done for the day. Mrs. Jockey and I kept the one she brought with her when we moved in together some 12 years ago (I didn’t have one before that though) and just this year donated it to the local humane society resale shop (in working condition, just time for an upgrade). I love the new TV, the new picture, and especially love watching my beloved Cubbies in HD. Oh it’s like being there I tell you. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791/78 "2008-04-30T07:17:03Z")
We have four televisions, for two people, in our house. A 42" plasma in the living room we usually watch together. An older 27" in the bedroom I use to watch before I sleep, and also use as an “alarm” to wake me up. A 36" in the family room (used to be the one in the living room) for guests when they come to visit and want to watch while we are asleep. A 24" in the guest bedroom for, uh, guests. We have cable for all of them (comes with the package) but only have DVR and HD on the plasma in the living room. The others all have DVD’s attached. Live in Las Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![puppygod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@puppygod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puppygod)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791/79 "2008-04-30T09:26:29Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] I can only assume that Polish television programming is as putrid as Thailand’s. But we did watch Krzysztof Kieslowski’s series _The Decalogue_ (_Dekalog_?) on DVD and were thoroughly impressed. I assume most Polish TV is not like that, though. [/QUOTE] Well, I was visiting my mom two weeks ago and experienced some of the present-time TV. Unfortunately, Kieślowski or other good stuff gave field to “reality” shows, game shows with artificial suspense and shows with three-digit episode numbers. But I can watch DVD on my computer, so I’m cool with that. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791/80 "2008-04-30T09:30:27Z")
Three televisions, but rarely watch any. I waste enough time on the computer. I do watch shows I record from say the History Channel but no “entertainment”. I do watch my old movies (including silents) when I have the time which seems rarely. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-tv/446791.md?page=5)