Cable TV at Home

[cthulhubryan]

We have DirecTV mainly for football for me and Disney for the kids.
DirecTV lets you set up a new default program list and I did this so that the bad channels cannot be selected, they do not even show up as an option.

We used to have Dish Network but gave up on it after one of our foster kids got caught by a social worker (and my then 80 year old father-in-law) on porn sites (This was a 14 yo girl) because she had been watching BET and went to their website and got lost in the pop-ups.

If it wasn’t for football, kids shows and those awful home decorating shows that DW loves I’d give it up.

 

[msugeotech]

We are in a very rural area. We don’t have cable, but we do have satellite. We can lock any channel we don’t want accessible. We love satellite because it’s how we get news, weather, sports, and EWTN.

We’re the same way. We almost have to have sunshine pumped to our house. We have DirecTV, but don’t watch a whole lot of television, but we do use the DVR to record Sesame Street everyday for our little one. I wish one of the companies would come up with a plan where you could just pick the channels you want and pay like a dollar for each one, that would be great!

 

[Nanny_PK]

Since I don’t have children, I don’t have to be worried about them turning on the TV and seeing something they shouldn’t – unless the nieces or nephews or over but that’s a very rare occasion – I usually go to them

But there’s also lots of great programs as opposed to the junk that you can CHOOSE! I was channel surfing last night and found a great documentary on the Battle of Bunker Hill. Very interesting and educational. I also am addicted to “reality” shows – not Survivor but things like the cold case files, The First 48, et cetera where they follow detectives trying to solve cases. Some might consider that junk I guess.

So I guess my point is that, yes, absolutely, there is a bunch of junk; but there’s also a whole host of good programming out there.

But if you do not watch a lot of TV and want to get rid of it, go for it:thumbsup: That’s the great thing about living in America. We all have choices.

 

[BamaRider]

I can’t image my house without cable. I don’t watch the movies, but I love sports, news and documentaries, EWTN, and even a few shows on local stations.

I have about 20 moive channels but I seldom watch them, (Netflix) but they come with the pacakge. We enjoy all the music channels as they play through the surround system.

I grew up watching TV on a 19 inch B and W tv, that got 3 channels you had to get up to change, I ain’t going back to them days.

I’m active kinda of guy traveling the country on my motorcycles, I get ideas for trips watching Discovery, I love football, and I can’t get the Monday Night Game without cable, cable supports a lot of my hobbies, (ok so I’m retired and I got time to do stuff) and heck, sometimes I just like to watch Grissom solve crimes.

Lots of bad stuff on cable no doubt about it, but that don’t mean you gotta watch it, on the internet to, so you gonna yank the internet out also? Might as well be consistent if you’re gonna get on a roll.

 

[CatholicSam]

Lots of bad stuff on cable no doubt about it, but that don’t mean you gotta watch it, on the internet to, so you gonna yank the internet out also? Might as well be consistent if you’re gonna get on a roll.

:yup: Considered doing this, or at least downgrading to dial-up. But hubby works from home over the internet some days and needs the fast connection. I know what you mean about getting ideas from the TV. I do that a lot with the internet. My problem is that I end up spending all my time getting the ideas with not much time to actually **do **any of them! I try to keep the computer off entirely several days a week. Now that I’ve been thrown off my routine with morning sickness, though, it’s not as scheduled as it was before. I’ll just turn the computer off on Monday and find that it doesn’t get turned back on till DH logs on to work on Friday. But the next week I might be on every day but the weekends. I do find that all in all I have better days when the computer is turned off.

To be honest, if we didn’t have children at home with us, we probably would still have our cable hooked up. But now that it’s gone, we haven’t looked back once!

 

[BamaRider]

SeekerJan gets cable so she can do this-

love the Weather Channel (don’t laugh),

I’m tryin not to but…

C’MON MAAAAAAAN, its the same old stuff over and over.

 

[lizaanne]

We have cable, but don’t use it. DH hated it when I hooked it up in the livingroom, he prefers what comes free through the digital converter box.

I would totally get rid of it, but then my broadband internet costs would go up!! Go figure.

~Liza

 

[barb_finnegan]

I have the ‘regular TV’-no cable. Too expensive…

But if I did have it, I’d have EWTN, AnimalPlanet, History Channel, some of the news channels, and ESPN (yeah, I like sports ).

Wish there was some way to get ‘a la carte’ programming, so we can get the channels we want to watch, and avoid the trash that’s out there.

The only time I look at cable is when I travel-but I’m selective in channel choices!

 

[SeekerJen]

SeekerJan gets cable so she can do this-

I’m tryin not to but…

C’MON MAAAAAAAN, its the same old stuff over and over.

I know…but I still love it. It’s comforting. And I like Doppler radar images.

 

[angeris]

No Spongebob??? I love to watch Spongebob with my teen boys! Yeah, he is a bit out there, but we like it!

We have cable. Mostly we watch Discovery, History channel, Food Network, Tru Tv, animal planet, ESPN, and Fox sports. Only rarely do we watch network TV - morning news, the Office, Simpsons and FAmily Guy.

Family Guy? I am a teacher and I had a 13 year old sixth grader asking other kids if they were prostitutes. He said he learned what is was while watching family guy with his Dad!

 

[Rach620]

On the other hand - there’s a LOT of garbage on regular network TV also… so actually paying for cable is worth it to us to have more options for clean TV!

SO true! Network TV is awful, simply awful. DH and I don’t have cable (we have that snazzy new digital converter box–SO great, for those of you who are cable-less). So often I would forego lame, bad new tv dramas for Food Network if I could, but I can’t. I would say that with kids, it would probably be better to go without TV entirely than to go without cable. Just having the options and the ability to find appropriate programming is really important with kids.

I still use rabbit ears.

A friend of my daughter asked what they (indoor antena) was. I told her that that little device saves me over $50 a month. With wide eyes and a bright smile, she turned to her mother and said, “Mommy, we should get one.”

Have you gotten the digital converter box? We LOVE ours. Our signal was spotty before, and now it’s crystal clear picture and sound 99% of the time, even in bad weather. With the digital box you actually get sub-channels, too. So we have 2 NBC stations (one is widescreen, one is full screen), 3 CBS (one is local weather 24-7, one is regular CBS programming, one plays the same shows on about a 4 hour delay), the CW, Fox, and another local UPN-type station. Plus, you won’t be able to get a signal at all after mid-February…

 

[Catholic90]

Family Guy? I am a teacher and I had a 13 year old sixth grader asking other kids if they were prostitutes. He said he learned what is was while watching family guy with his Dad!

A 13 year old 6th grader??? Perhaps this boy should spend more time studying and less time watching TV if he is that far behind…

If he learned what a prostitute was, he would not be asking his fellow students that question…(unless they were perhaps dressed inappropriately…)

or unless it was to rile them up. Teenage boys say the darndest things. You should hear some of the conversations at our dinner table with 3 teenage boys and a dad who sometimes acts like a teenage boy.

We love Family Guy and Simpsons -

 

[CatholicSam]

A 13 year old 6th grader??? Perhaps this boy should spend more time studying and less time watching TV if he is that far behind…

13 is not far behind for 6th grade. Especially for a summer birthday.

 

[jwashu]

Personally I don’t get to watch much TV. Once we get home, have dinner, bathe the kids, homework etc… there is little time. As I’m often working from home at night, there is even less.

However when I do have an hour to watch TV or a couple of hours like on Sat or Sun I want to watch something decent.

That is often the History Channel, History International or a Movie. I watch some EWTN but usually DVR them because I’m able to watch when they come on and tend to read whenever possible.

However I there is a lot of good information about America, the World and what is going on in some of those other channels.

I keep hearing people say, I don’t want to see that filth. Well what do you consider filth? Me personally I want to know what other people think and believe. It helps me be a better Christian.

I’m not talking about the stuff on skinamax at night I’m talking about multiple news channels - CNN for balance and some MSNBC and Fox thrown in for the biased news from the left and right. I want to see the Metallica - Behind the Music on VH1 to better understand how the lead singer’s ultra fundamentalist father caused him to turn away from his upbringing. I want to see edgy shows that deal with real life issues and situations we don’t like to talk about, sometimes I want decorating ideas from HGTV, and last week I wanted to watch a speical on Norwegian Death Metal and how some of those guys actually worship Satan and have burned down Churches (BTW I blessed the TV afterwards ) this is why I have cable. To learn about things that I don’t know and I probably won’t buy a book about. To continually remind myself that there is world out there which is greater and more diverse than my little world view of things. And to gain knowledge so that as my boys get older I feel confident in my decision when I set limits.

I grew up in the late 70s and 80s in a Southern Baptist Church. Most Sundays by 7th grade I found my self arguing theology and against unfounded baptist rhetoric against rock music, my Catholic friends, alcohol consumption in moderation etc… and I WON almost all those debates against the adults who were always ill prepared to defend their “thoughts”

I have very smart kids. My kindergartner and I watched a special on Judas the other night and he offered some very compelling and interesting ideas… and had similar insight regarding an archeological program on Salomon - I expect they will question and learn. When they do go to confirmation I want them to truly understand what it means to be a Christian, to be Catholic. To not be the kid that is left in tears when a well educated atheist attempts to rip their faith apart.

I want to do my best to stay on top of culture and knowledge about multiple areas so that I’m not one of those “old foggies” who can’t defend themselves and can teach them why I believe what I believe is correct vs those other things.

My point is that there is a lot of good stuff on cable (I have DishNetwork everything) AND there is a lot of trash… but sometimes watching some of the trash can be beneficial as well.

Joe

 

[Em_in_FL]

When they do go to confirmation I want them to truly understand what it means to be a Christian, to be Catholic. To not be the kid that is left in tears when a well educated atheist attempts to rip their faith apart.

I could not agree more!!!

Exposing our children to the world is not a bad thing!.. It’s our job as parents to TEACH them about the world and guide them to the truth!

 

[dontknow]

No paid TV in our house. If I could buy it by the station, I might consider it just to get better reception. I might pay for 3-4 non-local channels if it were possible.

That being said, the TV is on approximately 8-10 hours per week in the winter (live in the north east so outside activities become a little more limited). During the nice weather, it might not even be turned on for 5 hours/week. When it is on, it’s mainly PBS and news.

We had to unfortunately get the HD converters which - even after the coupon - had to spend more money than I wanted to.

 

[kage_ar]

Hurricane IKE made the decision for us - dropped a tree in the DishTV device. We have never gotten around to turning it back on. Teen DS said “I like it better not having that stuff”.

 

[CatholicSam]

I keep hearing people say, I don’t want to see that filth. Well what do you consider filth? Me personally I want to know what other people think and believe.

Hearing God’s Most Holy Name in vain every minute or two, for starters. The things on TV are usually far from reality. If you want to know what people think and believe, talking to people in real life and online would be much closer to reality, IMHO. Watching TV will show you what the TV bigwigs think will bring in high ratings, not necessarily what your average person thinks.

I’m talking about multiple news channels - CNN for balance and some MSNBC and Fox thrown in for the biased news from the left and right.

I get all that from the radio and internet. Even watched the presidential and VP debates online.

I want to see the Metallica - Behind the Music on VH1 to better understand how the lead singer’s ultra fundamentalist father caused him to turn away from his upbringing.

I bet you could find that information in a more thorough and concise presentation online too! It’s been my experience to watch something like this, and the topic I was watching it for ended up getting maybe 3-4 sentences out of the program.

I want to see edgy shows that deal with real life issues and situations we don’t like to talk about, sometimes I want decorating ideas from HGTV, and last week I wanted to watch a speical on Norwegian Death Metal and how some of those guys actually worship Satan and have burned down Churches

Can you get this on the internet? :yup: Plus it’s available any time of day, and you can zoom into the exact topic you’re interested in. Searching the HGTV or DIY website for “dining room curtains” if that’s what you’re trying to get ideas on will probably be a lot more productive than just watching whatever topic happens to be on the TV show when you’re available to watch.

And did you know there is a whole genre of music known as un-black/un-death metal? It’s the same sort of sound as what you saw, but with Christian lyrics! Some Christian musicians (many converts) felt this would be a good way to reach out to those who are attracted to the sound of the Satanic-type music you learned about. I didn’t need TV to learn about either of these styles of music. I find that many programs are very limited in the depth of their discussion, anyway.

this is why I have cable. To learn about things that I don’t know and I probably won’t buy a book about. To continually remind myself that there is world out there which is greater and more diverse than my little world view of things. And to gain knowledge so that as my boys get older I feel confident in my decision when I set limits.

And TV can indeed be a wonderful tool. It sounds like you are definitely using it the “right” way (not that there is only one way to use it, but you know ).

I have very smart kids. My kindergartner and I watched a special on Judas the other night and he offered some very compelling and interesting ideas… and had similar insight regarding an archeological program on Salomon - I expect they will question and learn.

I love the huge selection of documentaries on all kinds of topics at our local library Especially since we are future homeschoolers! And the online movie rental places also carry a wide variety of documentaries and TV series, which we thorougly enjoyed (and we didn’t have to wait all month for it to air!)

When they do go to confirmation I want them to truly understand what it means to be a Christian, to be Catholic. To not be the kid that is left in tears when a well educated atheist attempts to rip their faith apart.

Absolutely! Although I would rank TV really, really low on the totem pole of faith formation (except EWTN, also available online and on the radio in many areas!). This is an area definitely worth buying good Catholic books on. Our children aren’t going to learn how to debunk atheists’ arguments from watching the pro-atheist programming on secular television. Family discussion and study of the different religions and beliefs, and how they square up to Catholic teaching would be FAR superior in helping children know their Faith at confirmation.

I want to do my best to stay on top of culture and knowledge about multiple areas so that I’m not one of those “old foggies” who can’t defend themselves and can teach them why I believe what I believe is correct vs those other things.

You don’t *need *the TV for that either It could help you stay current, but definitely not necessary unless you are cut off from all other communication with the outside world.

My point is that there is a lot of good stuff on cable (I have DishNetwork everything) AND there is a lot of trash… but sometimes watching some of the trash can be beneficial as well.

Joe

I guess it depends on what you think is “trash”. In general, I find it wastes my time. Although if I see something icky enough (like a certain episode of Oprah that I still remember–where the entire audience cheered wildly during an adultery scene from Grey’s Anatomy), it does inspire me to turn it off and get out my Rosary beads! But then I figured out if I just keep it off and stay diligent with my prayers, I don’t need that motivation either.

I hope this doesn’t come across as judgemental of TV users (our family is far from TV-free, watching something or another at least 3 days a week or so). I just wanted to help explain how you don’t really have to “do without” when you pull the cable/dish plug. TV sure can be used for many good things and has many good points. But nothing major that can’t be compensated for in some other form.

 

[kristacecilia]

We just cancelled our satellite for good. Mostly it was because we can’t afford it anymore- we really need to cut back on the extras. If we’re not careful, next out the door is the stinky dial-up internet we have.

However, we both really feel that not having the satellite will be good for the family. The kids can still watch DVDs or whatever we get with the antenna (Canada isn’t goin’ digital until 2011 or something, apparently). We can still watch House and LOST. Anything more than a couple hours a week is just wasted time staring at a screen for me. Just think of all the sewing and reading I could be doing!

 

[jwashu]

Hearing God’s Most Holy Name in vain every minute or two, for starters. The things on TV are usually far from reality. If you want to know what people think and believe, talking to people in real life and online would be much closer to reality, IMHO. Watching TV will show you what the TV bigwigs think will bring in high ratings, not necessarily what your average person thinks.

I get all that from the radio and internet. Even watched the presidential and VP debates online.

I bet you could find that information in a more thorough and concise presentation online too! It’s been my experience to watch something like this, and the topic I was watching it for ended up getting maybe 3-4 sentences out of the program.

Can you get this on the internet? :yup: Plus it’s available any time of day, and you can zoom into the exact topic you’re interested in. Searching the HGTV or DIY website for “dining room curtains” if that’s what you’re trying to get ideas on will probably be a lot more productive than just watching whatever topic happens to be on the TV show when you’re available to watch.

And did you know there is a whole genre of music known as un-black/un-death metal? It’s the same sort of sound as what you saw, but with Christian lyrics! Some Christian musicians (many converts) felt this would be a good way to reach out to those who are attracted to the sound of the Satanic-type music you learned about. I didn’t need TV to learn about either of these styles of music. I find that many programs are very limited in the depth of their discussion, anyway.

And TV can indeed be a wonderful tool. It sounds like you are definitely using it the “right” way (not that there is only one way to use it, but you know ).

I love the huge selection of documentaries on all kinds of topics at our local library Especially since we are future homeschoolers! And the online movie rental places also carry a wide variety of documentaries and TV series, which we thorougly enjoyed (and we didn’t have to wait all month for it to air!)

Absolutely! Although I would rank TV really, really low on the totem pole of faith formation (except EWTN, also available online and on the radio in many areas!). This is an area definitely worth buying good Catholic books on. Our children aren’t going to learn how to debunk atheists’ arguments from watching the pro-atheist programming on secular television. Family discussion and study of the different religions and beliefs, and how they square up to Catholic teaching would be FAR superior in helping children know their Faith at confirmation.

You don’t *need *the TV for that either It could help you stay current, but definitely not necessary unless you are cut off from all other communication with the outside world.

I guess it depends on what you think is “trash”. In general, I find it wastes my time. Although if I see something icky enough (like a certain episode of Oprah that I still remember–where the entire audience cheered wildly during an adultery scene from Grey’s Anatomy), it does inspire me to turn it off and get out my Rosary beads! But then I figured out if I just keep it off and stay diligent with my prayers, I don’t need that motivation either.

I hope this doesn’t come across as judgemental of TV users (our family is far from TV-free, watching something or another at least 3 days a week or so). I just wanted to help explain how you don’t really have to “do without” when you pull the cable/dish plug. TV sure can be used for many good things and has many good points. But nothing major that can’t be compensated for in some other form.

I help run a start up ISP in the early 90 then designed one of the large cellular companies Nationwide Internet network so yea I use the internet for a lot of things

I want to agree on the GD stuff, I can take just about any language and overlook most of it… and truly I’m not sure that is what the Bible means when it says “take the Lord’s name in vain” but nonetheless, I just can’t stand that word.

You make some very good points. While I love the documentaries and watch much of that, I tend to read my theology books so that I can go back an reference them. Yet I still do a lot of research online. I have found many sites, especially CA to be an invaluable resource!

Joe