So we have been stuck at home. The power is on, the A/C is working. Hopefully we have food and drink and now, people are just sitting around. Many people are tired and just watching TV. So what are you watching?
How do you watch?
There are so many different ways to watch TV these days. It is interesting that we even call it TV. Short for television, but that term in an of itself is a throwback to a time when shows were broadcasted over the air, hence the idea of the TV Show.
These devices in our homes and everywhere are all screens. They don’t really have receivers in them anymore. And now we watch on our phones, our tablets our computers, gas station pumps, the backs of airplane seats, and big flat screens in our homes.
There was a time that we recorded TV shows on personal video tape, (VHS). And we would save hours and hours of recordings. I’m sure people have lots of video tape sitting around that they will never look at again. We rented videos at stores like libraries, which eventually made way for the advent of the DVD, digital video disc, then the high resolution format of Blu-Ray.
Technology has gotten better and better and our ability to transmit data to everyone around the world at higher bandwidths continue to push the limits of providing digital entertainment to the world.
Now we have WiFi built in to our TV’s rather than over the air receivers. 1080P is the standard resolution and we look at everything in higher and higher resolutions, but even more than that, everything is in a wide format such as 16:9 letterbox, similar to a cinematic experience.
Providers of content have shown up with Apps and boxes, whether it is an AppleTV, Amazon Fire, or Roku, which are just some of the devices. Even the PlayStation offers streaming capabilities and apps.
BUT WHAT ARE WE WATCHING?
So does it matter where you get your content?
- Buy Movies
- Netflix
- Amazon Prime
- Hulu
- AppleTV
- Disney+
- HBO
- ShowTime
- Starz
The list goes on and on, and each service is needed to see that one thing that you want to see. There is no single place to find all the content. You have to pay a fee for each service and every month, so before you know it you are paying for cable and another $40 in steaming services that you can’t get on cable.
I’m watching or watched…
- The Mandalorian – Disney+
- Outlander – Starz
- Lucifer – Netflix
- Normal People – Hulu
- Discovery of Witches – Sundance
- Picard – CBS All Access
- Marvelous Mrs. Maisel = Amazon Prime
- 100 Humans – Netflix
- Lost in Space (New) – Hulu
- Brain Games – Disney+
- The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina – Netflix
- Stranger Things – Netflix
- Orange is the New Black – Netflix (if you missed it)
- The Outerlimits – Hulu
- 11.22.63 – Hulu (Original miniseries)
- Mrs. America – Hulu
- Hunters – Amazon Prime
- Good Omens – Amazon Prime
- The Tick – Amazon Prime
- The Banker (A film) – AppleTV
- Amazing Stories – AppleTV
- For All Mankind – AppleTV
There is a lot to be watching, if you are bored. Trust me this is a tiny tiny list. And this doesn’t even start to get into Movies for the most part, which you can buy online and have ready at a moments notice. While you can find many recent movies that go from sale to streaming. Older movies that you may want to watch start to fall off streaming services and quickly become unavailable other than to buy, which makes getting a $5 movie for streaming an attractive way to build a library, and in some cases you can find bundles of movies, 10 for $20 on sale here and there.
Screens are here to stay. The longer we find ourselves “Self quarantining” the more use our screens will get. I don’t think it is a bad thing, as long as we balance it with other activities throughout our day.