# Tell me the Cons of ditching my TV **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 9, 2014, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155 "2014-11-09T15:52:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155/1 "2014-11-09T15:52:41Z")
I have a small TV purchased in 2004 (regular old style tube) [similar to this one](http://www.governmentauctions.org/uploaded_images/TV4-717224.JPG) I have not watched it since 12/2008 when I disconnected cable (I do not have an antenna.) I watch DVD’s, Netflix, Hulu etc on my computer. I really want to discard/donate (whatever) my TV. I could use the shelf for something else. Please tell me the reasons why I should keep it. ---
**Author:** ![Frapp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@Frapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frapp)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155/2 "2014-11-09T16:00:02Z")
Do you have or plan to play any vintage video games? Most older consoles don’t play nice with HDTV. If you are planning on donating it, check to see if there are any Tecmo Super Bowl groups. They love getting their hands on tube TVs to play the games on original NES. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155/3 "2014-11-09T16:04:54Z")
If you haven’t turn it on in 6 years and you want the shelf space back AND you want a reason to keep it, here’s my suggestion: Get rid of it (however you see fit), then go out and buy a 30" or so (about the same size, right?) flat panel TV. Find one on sale, get a decent brand, look for it to be $250ish and mount it on the wall. That’ll give you your shelf space back. If you put a ChromeCast in it (make sure it has HDMI and USB ports) you’ll be able to stream your videos to it. OTOH, you could just get rid of it and move on. It’s pretty much useless at this point anyways. I’m not even sure you could use it if you wanted to. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155/4 "2014-11-09T16:26:47Z")
> [@CT\_Damsel](#): > > Please tell me the reasons why I should keep it. A tube TV that you haven’t used in six years? There is no reason why you should keep it. Dump it now (odds are, goodwill won’t even take it). For one, it won’t work anymore unless you get a converter box. And for two, after six years, it possibly won’t even work if you did want to use it. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155/5 "2014-11-09T16:32:51Z")
> [@CT\_Damsel](#): > > Please tell me the reasons why I should keep it. Reason #1: So you don’t turn into one of those people who feels the need to inform anyone in earshot that you DON’T EVEN OWN A TELEVISION. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155/6 "2014-11-09T17:04:43Z")
As someone who doesn’t watch TV, I can tell you that sometimes I’m caught blindsided by major weather events, especially ones that happen on the weekends. I listen to public radio on a regular basis, but it’s still possible to miss out on important notices and warnings. But since you don’t watch TV anyway, I’m not sure keeping a useless one around is going to help any. ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155/7 "2014-11-09T17:21:02Z")
Thank you everyone! It is outta here! ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155/8 "2014-11-09T17:41:02Z")
Suppose there is a major weather or other catastrophe in your area and the internet is down, but the TV is still broadcasting. Most people would use the TV to keep up with what is happening. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155/9 "2014-11-09T18:04:00Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Suppose there is a major weather or other catastrophe in your area and the internet is down, but the TV is still broadcasting. Most people would use the TV to keep up with what is happening. This seems… unlikely. Odds are, the only way the Internet would be down is if the power is out. Which would also knock out the TV. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155/10 "2014-11-09T18:22:50Z")
I had a little Sanyo B&W TV I got when I was about 12. Kept it and even occasionally watched it for well over 25 years. It had a cigarette burn on the top bezel (not mine, I grew up in a household of smokers) and had a fault where the screen would black out until I tapped it in just the right spot. It went in the discard pile of the Great Move of 1998. I still miss the damn thing. ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155/11 "2014-11-09T18:30:55Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Suppose there is a major weather or other catastrophe in your area and the internet is down, but the TV is still broadcasting. Most people would use the TV to keep up with what is happening. The TV does not get reception since I have neither cable nor an antenna. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155/12 "2014-11-09T19:34:57Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Suppose there is a major weather or other catastrophe in your area and the internet is down, but the TV is still broadcasting. Most people would use the TV to keep up with what is happening. Most people would keep a portable radio around that runs on batteries. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155/13 "2014-11-09T20:15:53Z")
You’re not really getting rid of something useful that can’t be replaced fairly cheaply with something that is much better. If you get rid of this you get rid of a big space hog, that doesn’t even work. Even if you had an antenna you’d still need to get a converter box to make it all work. If you get rid of it and at some point in your life you decide you need a tv, you can go to Wal Mart any hour of the day and get a nice small one with a built-in converter and a $20 antenna. Or you can get a bigger one which will still be lighter and take up less space and have the converter built in. There’s no reason to keep it. Which, you have figured out already 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155/14 "2014-11-10T00:21:27Z")
you should have a tv with an antenna to get local weather and news. if you have a good signal then a loop or bowtie antenna would work. i made a 4 bowtie antenna that could get some stations some of the time at 70 miles. go to [http://www.tvfool.com/](http://www.tvfool.com/) click on “Check Your Address for Free TV” enter zip code or address. it will show you what you can get with what type of antenna. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155/15 "2014-11-10T00:33:16Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > Reason #1: So you don’t turn into one of those people who feels the need to inform anyone in earshot that you DON’T EVEN OWN A TELEVISION. Or the reverse. Every time you mention in passing that you don’t have a television people won’t act like you have something wrong with you, or think you’re one of THOSE people. I haven’t had one in a few years. At first the only time I cared was when I couldn’t watch anything online. Now when the weather is sketchy the local news will stream on their site and even if the lights go out we still have the tablet for a while. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155/16 "2014-11-10T04:57:34Z")
It is disconcerting to know that you have bought and paid for a device that you have no use for. So you keep watching it, trying to redeem some latent value from it. The local weather is accessible on the internet. It used to be on the radio, and in some markets, it might still be. Why would anybody want or need to know the local news? ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155/17 "2014-11-10T06:23:21Z")
Someday you’ll want to get cable again so you can watch a good TV show every now and then. If not, then get rid of it. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155/18 "2014-11-10T12:46:36Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > It is disconcerting to know that you have bought and paid for a device that you have no use for. So you keep watching it, trying to redeem some latent value from it. > > The local weather is accessible on the internet. It used to be on the radio, and in some markets, it might still be. Why would anybody want or need to know the local news? Did you read the OP? She doesn’t watch it, that’s why she’s getting rid of it. And why wouldn’t someone want to know about local news? ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155/19 "2014-11-10T14:07:57Z")
We’re no longer using our 20+ year old TV thanks to the housemates. They ditched cable years before moving up there and can’t believe we still have it. They reconfigured our cable box to their flat screen (which actually is a desktop monitor – it’s probably between a 36" and a 40") and added external speakers. We got Chromecast. They have Netflix. We’ve spent the last couple of weekends catching up on the X number of Doctor Who seasons we’d missed since cutting back to basic cable 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155/20 "2014-11-10T17:09:57Z")
> [@CT\_Damsel](#): > > Thank you everyone! It is outta here! Can I just mention that a tube TV is more or less hazardous waste (it’s full of lead), and shouldn’t be dumped in the regular trash. Most towns will take them one way or another, but you might have to take it to the dump yourself or something (my town will pick them up with the trash; you just have to call them ahead of time to let them know). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-the-cons-of-ditching-my-tv/704155.md?page=2)