What's the Cheapest Form of Media Entertainment?
Too_Many_Tools
Posts: 765
FYI...
http://news.msn.com/pop-culture/whats-the-cheapest-form-of-media-entertainment-1
Your thoughts...and favorites?
http://news.msn.com/pop-culture/whats-the-cheapest-form-of-media-entertainment-1
Your thoughts...and favorites?
Comments
Tutorials and webinars on Youtube.
Netfilx works for me if I need some TV.
MLB.COM for the wife - gives me a lot of hobby time! (Win/win)
I for myself really enjoy sitting on the porch and watching the Clearlake. The media here is just nature. It is different every day and looking at it is basically for free!
As far as you define media as TV/Movies, well - Isn't it just 'Chewing Gum for the Eyes (or Brain)?' http://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/11/30/tv-gum/
It is not that I do not enjoy some movies or music. But Media Entertainment? Really? Panem et circenses? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses
Like a lot of people here I spend a long time each day facing some monitors on my desk. For me entertainment is something NOT connected to looking in another screen for a while.
As for the costs - sometimes life is quite curious. I am born and raised in Germany. Moved to the US of A at age of 43(?) or so. Like here in the US with CSPAN and other PBS we have in Germany 'Oeffentlich rechtliches Fernsehen' sort of a Public Broadcasting Service but not financed by the Cable Company's or the States, its financed by the public.
If they want to or not. Brilliant System. You can not escape. Even if you do not OWN a television or radio or computer you have to pay it because you are - hmm - German? Got into the System? So I left Germany about 8 Years ago. Not able to receive German PBS at all in California. But I need to pay ~$18 each month. So they say. Funny isn't it?
Back to the article.
Like a lot of statistics it is nonsense.
For example: Once a week I run one of my cars thru a carwash for $13. Takes about 10 minutes. According to that Graph this entertainment ends up between HBO and Home Video.
Taking monthly services and checking them against on demand services in one statistic is just BS.
Mike
Reading the comics page in a discarded newspaper at Dunkin Donuts and then doing the Suduko. Getting to a public library might require bus fare.
*They probably still have the full price charges for all those VHS videos on their charge card and are still paying it off!
I also have "Free-to-Air" satellite TV. Hundred of free channels although many are infomercials. (I had fun installing it and aiming the satellite dishes, but would rather read books than watch TV.)
While this sounds more expensive than the tossed paper from Dunkin Donuts, it provides hours and hours of fun.
-Phil
In terms of time, Internet streaming of various kinds.
If you've got a badge.. as long as you want..
My Sheriff buddy in Florida says cops and donuts are indeed a thing. Traveled across the state of Florida with him one afternoon. Two Dunkin Donut's stops.
Used to be buying Fish'n'Chips in England. You could read the news paper it came wrapped up in.
Sadly now that is not allowed anymore and cod is now over fished and expensive.
I get all my "entertainment", outside of actually doing stuff for myself or with other people, from the internet. It costs 5 euro per month.
Who has time for anything else?
"a quiet place in the basement and an old stack of National Geographics."
*sorry if you have to be a certain age for that joke to make any sense.....darn kids!
Recently I discovered OTA (Over The Air) HDTV in San Jose.
I'm so happy with OTA HDTV that I'm ready to cut the cord (except for the internet ... hoping that can disappear as well soon LOL).
Once I realized Science Channel on cable degenerated into mostly a fountain of **** shows mostly not at all related to science (etc...), I stopped paying up for all the extra channels. The thing is, with cable I paid extra for things that were mildly interesting, I paid for the right to watch all the **** commercials too, and with the system I used which doesn't include most of the **** "cable company advertising" I had to pay extra for HDTV channels. That all changed with OTA HDTV.
The most expensive part of adopting OTA HDTV was finding a good antenna system. At first I had an indoor amplified antenna that looks like a small 14" square sheet with a connector and cable. That was Ok, but it is seriously directional; I felt pretty silly having that mounted on a music stand that I had to reposition often. The worst part of the indoor antenna was that someone walking around upstairs would interfere with reception. Now I use an outdoor antenna ... no problems.
The outdoor antenna costs more than the indoor sheet, but it is very satisfying. Now I get all the broadcast channels available on cable plus many of the ones that are not classified as broadcast on cable and cost extra. There are a bunch of channels that I'll never watch because of the language barrier, but I really like watching KPOP sometimes (Korean POP Music Videos). There are other "movie" channels I never heard of before that offer movies 24 hours a day without the incredible repetition rate served up by the premium cable channels. Then there are all the old retro channels which I really enjoy (and get that not a care in the world, secure feeling while watching them just as if I was a kid again). The best part is all the non commercial TV channels. PBS is great, but it's definitely commercial (and begging). The non commercial OTA HDTV channels are DW from Germany and France24 news which are all in English. Sometimes the Russian news is on, and it's interesting/entertaining seeing that viewpoint too.
Broadcast was once a dinosaur media, but it has been reinvented here at least (like birds?). Now OTA is like that fireball from the sky and cable is the direct target.
Yes ;-) That was pretty bad.
My current set up is not full of such problems.
...lucky dog!
Yes I am. You are welcome to visit anytime if you feel homesick...
Enjoy!
Mike
Pretty much most of the worlds population has no lake to look at. No trees. No nature. No open fires. Nothing.
Today the majority of the world lives in cities and urban conurbations. It is increasing all the time.
Those poor schmucks have nothing but to sit and look at the walls of the apartments they live in.
They have nothing stimulating if it is not TV or Video Games or drug abuse.
as @davejames stated I am lucky to live here.
Overpopulation may be part of the problem but I can assure you that here in Lake County - even with lake, trees and occasional fires - is no lack of TV, Video Games and drug abuse.
Enjoy!
Mike
Well, having lived in rural America on the Oregon coast where the average level of education was low, unemployment was high, and people seemed to either over-eat or drink excessively; I tend to seen nothing wrong with a dense urban jungle, such as Taiwan.
It is the boredom and lack of creativity that draw one to drug abuse or media dependency. Empower people to have a rewarding personal interest in learning more and they just will set aside self-destructive pursuits. One can survive well anywhere with a sound mind and a strong desire to continue to learn.
I enjoy the outdoors as much as anyone, but living in the backwoods and providing food, shelter, and warmth can be very demanding... even threatening to one's well-being. With all the chainsaws and all-terrain vehicles these days, I tend to want to leave the outdoors untouched and visit a library.
We haven't had cable in about 10 years, and we never miss it. Before streaming, we got a few channels free through an antenna, (before everything went digital), and had the DVD subscription from Netflix. Now we pay $7.99/month to stream all the Netflix shows and movies we can handle. There are quite a few inexpensive ways to stream and it seems like they're coming up with more every day!
And erco I have been known to shake a stick many times in self defense from critters...
The best I can say of some of the games available is that for a while and at increasing difficulty levels some of them can be an effective 'electronic drug'.
I could well be one of if not the oldest ones here that got to play serious games on the companies time. When I was with Control Data we had the world champion chess playing computer. What the world did not know was that CDC also had a butt kicking F-15 fighter combat program available around the clock for those with access to certain types and levels of equipment.
It is their ability to take you over to the level that the pain goes completely away for a while that also allows those trapped in heavy urban environments to also escape to a different 'reality' for a while.
I do use that drug for pain even though outside my walls in every direction are grass, trees and natural critters.
LOL..if one takes notice those that need a high speed connection never account for its actual cost in terms of their usage...streaming video, game playing, etc....or if you have a smartphone that monthly cell bill is never mentioned.
Nothing is free...and the business model of companies revel in the fact that consumers are blind to the real cost...high cost of their electronic toys.
In a earlier discussion, I mentioned a need for a enforced minimum speed requirement for web pages...many of the sites out there are unusable via dialup (56K).
One of our members pointed out (rightly so) that companies don't care for "minimum" casees....they want consumers to buy faster computers, smart phones, devices along with the faster bandwidth so they can shove more advertising down our throats.
The push back of more and more dropping their cable subscriptions because of cost is a result of this....the competition we now see in phone plans is another.