I watched a movie on my 7" tablet the other day. No, really, I did. I never thought I would ever, EVER, be a person that would actually look at a small screen for two hours. I am forever a cable person. Or so I thought. I am now victim to a residence that has Direct TV, with no outlet to my room. Mind you, the living room sports a 55" (or something that size, I didn’t take measurements) Samsung television, so I am not necessarily complaining here. But the sudden forced withdrawal from watching my Dodgers play baseball on television made me look at alternatives to cable or satellite feeds.
I had been experimenting with the various streaming sources trying to see what was offered to me live, even as a paid subscriber (thanks to a few friends who generously offered their passwords to their accounts). The pickings were slim for direct streaming offered from companies such as TWC and Direct TV and their apps. But it was a chance viewing of “
Aliens” on my tablet as I was checking out what was streaming live that
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| Who wouldn't continue watching? |
captured my interest, and resulted in my watching the entire movie on the tablet. Like most people, I have seen the Alien movies countless times, so much so that even though I know the basic premise and endings, I was surprised while watching the movie how much of the little details I forgot. Watching it on the tablet alleviated the need for my glasses, and the pictures and details were fascinating to see. I did not intend to watch the whole movie, but with no commercials, I could not stop watching. There were only a few buffering issues and a few “you do not have enough bandwith” notices which interrupted the flow for a few seconds. I have enough bandwith, damn it, 100 Mbps. Although, for some reason, my tablet, laptop and cell phone only register 72 when connected to my TWC Internet connection. Ultimately, the experience was a pleasurable one, though, and it has sparked my interest to the possibility of foregoing cable for my television experience. I could switch to streaming and just pay for a good high speed connection, and purchase a television that will act as both a viewing screen for my devices and for streaming my television favorites and movies. I have already hooked up my little laptop/notebook computer to my 32" television in my room, and I can now watch MLB baseball, with the exception again, of my Dodgers.
The announcement recently that Showtime will offer an app for purchase of their programming, coupled with HBO’s release of their app for $14.99 a month, is reason to rethink this. I am liking the concept of ditching my cable habits. I do not have the time at this point in life to sit mindlessly in front of my television, scrolling through 500 channels just for something to watch. Pairing down to a monthly subscription of programming will definitely be cheaper than what was assembled for my viewing with cable, which at times, was over $220 per month (although, that did include high speed Internet and $20 for a land line telephone, but still!).
