Should I get rid of my TV?

[The Grand Wazoo]

Yes I saw that and applauded it - it's been bugging me for some time too.

[Tim]

So, my question to Tim and the assembled is, how could you go without the following in HD with great sound:

- Game of Thrones
- The Borgias
- Suits
- Person of Interest
- Revolution
- Continuum
- Wallander (and several other Scandinavian dramas)

Well, honest answer I can do without all of the above and if there is anything I really want to watch, catch up on demand on-line. I don't have SKY and never would, I can't watch F1 anymore because Suzi Perry does my head in and that's on the iPlayer anyway.

I will put my movie collection on my NAS and with all the Synology apps, I can stream anything to my tablet. I sat on the sofa last night and held up my tablet against my 42" TV - same size visually believe it or not, only good for 1 viewer though, but then its only me. Plug a pair of good headphones in and that's good enough for my use.

I cancelled my Radio Times subscription this morning and my TV licence expires on 31.7.13 - I will be listing it for sale in 3 weeks time and I'm feeling like a weight is about to come off my shoulders. But lets face it, if I do miss it I can always buy another one

[Tim]

There is of course one fundamental element here which hasn't been discussed yet, as I guess we are all frightened of mentioning it . . . . . . but you guys do realise that they are inside your TV watching you, don't you?

[MartinT]

Well, honest answer I can do without all of the above

Which is why I said "you can substitute your own". Perhaps instead of thinking of a TV as that, think of it as a big screen. If you are a film or drama lover, why would you want rid of the device that is closest to giving you a cinematic experience? Using a tablet up close with earphones is not a substitute!

[Werner Berghofer]

Tim,

Ok, so I've just named my favourites, but you can substitute your own.

that’s what I hereby like to do (in deliberate sequence, if possible watched in the original language version):

• The Wire
• Treme
• Breaking bad
• The Sopranos
• Six feet under
• Mad men
• Borgen
• Dexter
• Homeland

Purchased on DVD or Blu-Ray and ripped. Look and sound just wonderful on my 27 inch iMac, Schiit DAC/headamp stack, Rokit 2.1 active speakers. For news I prefer radio and print and the occasional visit to some of my favourite newspaper’s websites. My partner has a huge flat-screen TV above in the living room, but most of the programme viewed upstairs comes from an attached WD media player. The moment live TV is being switched on I flee downstairs to my office :-)

There’s a quote dealing with TV. Unfortunately I don’t know it’s source and I only know it in German, so I’ll have to translate it on the fly: “TV works pretty much like the neutron bomb. It beams your brain away, but leaves the rest of the body functional.”

Werner.

[MartinT]

• Mad men

I forgot that from my list, Werner, but agreed it's an excellent series and a really insightful look into the chauvinistic world of the 1960s.

[Marco]

There is of course one fundamental element here which hasn't been discussed yet, as I guess we are all frightened of mentioning it . . . . . . but you guys do realise that they are inside your TV watching you, don't you?

Tell me about it - the buggers are everywhere... One of them even found our long-lost bunny.





The tinfoil heads are WATCHING YOU!

[Mark Grant]

. Having just watched the end of the Glasto broadcast from last night (the Stones were just brilliant, as always),

The picture quality in HD was fantastic on freeview HD ( free apart from the licence fee) on my Humax T2, you dont get that picture quality on the radio or iplayer

[Tim]

• The Wire
• Treme
• Breaking bad
• The Sopranos
• Six feet under
• Mad men
• Borgen
• Dexter
• Homeland

That's a half decent list Werner, apart from Breaking Bad and Dexter I have watched all those and really like them. I need to get Breaking Bad as my best mate tells me its my kind of series. I would add The West Wing, The Bridge and The Hour to that

I am just about to buy an ASUS 27" screen and with my Mini-T, HRT DAC, Celestion setup in the dining room, that will keep me happy. I have started weaning myself off TV this week, I haven't recorded anything and only watched Luther on my 24" Samsung on catchup - perfect for my needs I want my listening room to be uncluttered and calming . . . groaning Hi-Fi racks and a huge TV just don't do it for me . . . . anyway, I need to get my tin foil hat back on, I think there are watching me again . . .

The tinfoil heads are WATCHING YOU!

[MartinT]

Hope it works for you, Tim. At least big screen TVs have come so far down in price that it would be easy to reacquire one if you need.