Cable/Satellite TV

Estreeter · August 11th, 2011, 04:28 PM

How many of you subscribe to it ?
If so, what channels do you watch?

I've had it since it was in it's early days here, 1995 I think it was. The point of my asking is that my signal just went out and I go nuts when that happens, yet half the time I wonder why on earth I have it, I can't live without it but it angers me also

I've got Foxtel, all channels, yet only watch about a dozen of the 60 + of them

Am I weird or are others of ya the same ?

**Davemetalhead** · August 11th, 2011, 05:28 PM

I share a house with a married couple, and we have two Sky boxes, although one's a Sky Plus one (means they can record stuff on it). I rarely watch TV to be honest, sometimes it's on in the background, and I'll tend to have it on when eating meals. They watch it all the time, especially the bloke, but he's partially disabled so it's difficult for him to do much else at home.

I couldn't watch that much TV, it would drive me bonkers. There is just so much utter shite out there. We subscribe to pretty much all the major channels - sport, educational (hah! you gotta be kidding calling it that when most of it is sensationalist claptrap), movies.

To be honest it's a waste of money for me to have it, but I guess they get their money's worth.

**Greenman** · August 11th, 2011, 06:03 PM

My Dad has just upgraded to SKY+HD but the package we had before carries on which includes the films and sky sports channels but not ESPN-he had Setanta once but then they went belly-up two years ago. A lot of the channels are a waste of time but I personally watch DAVE a lot and G.O.L.D when they show old comedy shows like 'The Young Ones' , 'Blackadder' and 'Game On'-sport some football, mostly Liverpool games and some England games-Sky Premiere when they have films worth recording to watch another time(SKY+ allows you to record series so once it's set up it will record the same day, same time etc and you can go back and forth like a video recorder). The biggest plus of SKY+ is being able to pause live television-when the phone goes or someone turns up, and then you can catch up by rewinding and watching-clever stuff.

**tygrkhat40** · August 11th, 2011, 06:11 PM

I have DirecTV and have over 100 channels but I only watch maybe 20 of them on a regular basis. And about the only things I watch from broadcast TV is football and Family Guy.

penfold007 · August 11th, 2011, 06:26 PM

I have Sky and I also subscribe to Premier sports so I can watch the NASCAR sprint cup races without having to find a kind American streaming it (still have to do that for the Nationwide and trucks as no-one broadcasts them in the UK)

The signal only goes out in heavy rain I find. I do watch it quite a bit, also enjoy the cricket and speedway plus a variety of other motor racing.

**Mal Hombre** · August 11th, 2011, 06:26 PM

We have a Sky+ box,I mainly watch Sky 1and 2 for The Simpsons and Futurama,Occasionally a movie on one of the movie channels,Some of the documentary channels and odd things that crop on the minor channels.I also watch FX for Family Guy and The Walking Dead. My wife watches US crime dramas on Living, Alibi and Five US.

Estreeter · August 11th, 2011, 06:40 PM

I remember when I 1st got satellite TV, I took long service leave and watched the TV for 3 weeks straight, only left the house to buy food, snacks, beer and smokes which were kind of essential for the new found addiction.

After a while, I became selective of what I watch, back then we only had 17 channels, but now with Christ knows how many, I'm down to these channels

The History Channel
National Geographic
Discovery Channel
The Comedy Channel
Fox News
BBC World
Sky News
TV1........which is old classic TV shows
CNN
BBC Knowledge
The Weather Channel

And apart from the odd movie and sporting event, the rest of the stuff is useless

Oh, dont mind the music channels in the background once in a while, Music Max and Country Music

**tabler** · August 11th, 2011, 06:54 PM

I pity the fool (yeah I was actually doing the Mr T voice then) that pays for SkyTV now. Channels full of shite repeats etc etc, for £45 per month.

Digital is bad enough, but Sky is a joke now.

**Office Boy** · August 11th, 2011, 07:55 PM

I actually have sky tv on my system, and I have it mainly for the sport. I like to watch the speedway, bike racing, rugby league, union big games and the football, especially the super sunday derbies and so forth.
I prefer to watch the news because it is uninterrupted on bbc. I like some of the music channels, but they've gone down the pan lately. And some of the documentary channels put out a decent program from time to time.
The other channels are just full of adverts and repeats with only one decent program per week on sky one worth watching. (Spartacus, blood and sand and gods of the arena.) The majority of it is garbage, and it should be renamed repeat tv.
However, I hope that when the second round of switch off takes place, I don't get break up on my screen which, as I've had my system checked, is apparently down to this weather and the heavy thunderstorms. While I understand it can have an effect on a transmission, especially a live one, I also become extemely annoyed when I lose the picture temporararily.
I don't like having to ring sky up as they usually tell me there is nothing they can do and the signal is ok. So I start to rant and tell them I'm paying for something I can't even look at sometimes.
I remember staying at a friends house, he lived in the Hague in Holland. And he didn't get sky, but all the channels he could get on his satellite was what people normally got in that part of the world. It was a mix of Dutch, German and English (bbc) channels. I asked him if he paid for any of these channels, he said no. I asked him do you pay a licence of any kind? He said no. That just about puts everything into perspective over here.

**blueballsdc** · August 11th, 2011, 08:45 PM

I have cable tv for which I pay about $90.00 per month. I have what they call an "extended" package which gives me the basic cable, a group of additional channels, and the ability to buy a "sports" package (which I do). The basic package gives me my local stations without having to use an antenna along with the standard channels (ESPN, Disney, TNT, TBS, etc,...). the extended package gives me the Military Channel, BBC News, CNN International, and quite a few others. The sports package gives me about a dozen sports channels, mostly ESPN based, along with Fox Soccer Channel, and GolTV. The last two get quite a bit of viewing along with the basic ESPN and ESPN2 which come with basic cable.

I have 200 or so channels (I haven't counted them) but watch very few of them. the main reason I have them is because I have no other choice. I don't watch MTV, VH1, Disney, Nick, and a host of others. In the mornings and before I go to bed at night I watch my local news. Mainly for traffic, weather, and such. At other times I will usually catch CNN International or BBC News. Other than this and football matchs, I watch about 10 hours a week unless there is something special running.

One good thing my cable does offer me is bunch of music channels. These aren't video music channels, but just CD quality music being broadcast over the cable. I can pick from a lot of different music and I can route it through my stereo for good quality sound. I tend to have this on whenever I am cooking, reading, or working at home.

August 11th, 2011, 04:28 PM	#1
Estreeter *Administrator* Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: The 19th hole Posts: 58,189 Thanks: 450,165 Thanked 897,591 Times in 60,391 Posts	Cable/Satellite TV How many of you subscribe to it ? If so, what channels do you watch? I've had it since it was in it's early days here, 1995 I think it was. The point of my asking is that my signal just went out and I go nuts when that happens, yet half the time I wonder why on earth I have it, I can't live without it but it angers me also I've got Foxtel, all channels, yet only watch about a dozen of the 60 + of them Am I weird or are others of ya the same ? __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

August 11th, 2011, 05:28 PM	#2
Davemetalhead Vintage Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Near Oxford, UK Posts: 528 Thanks: 3,930 Thanked 5,047 Times in 522 Posts	I share a house with a married couple, and we have two Sky boxes, although one's a Sky Plus one (means they can record stuff on it). I rarely watch TV to be honest, sometimes it's on in the background, and I'll tend to have it on when eating meals. They watch it all the time, especially the bloke, but he's partially disabled so it's difficult for him to do much else at home. I couldn't watch that much TV, it would drive me bonkers. There is just so much utter shite out there. We subscribe to pretty much all the major channels - sport, educational (hah! you gotta be kidding calling it that when most of it is sensationalist claptrap), movies. To be honest it's a waste of money for me to have it, but I guess they get their money's worth. __________________ The resident lurker of the GD&N forum.

August 11th, 2011, 06:03 PM	#3
Greenman Live Legend of VEF Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Underground lair somewhere in the world Posts: 20,353 Thanks: 30,936 Thanked 383,585 Times in 19,356 Posts	My Dad has just upgraded to SKY+HD but the package we had before carries on which includes the films and sky sports channels but not ESPN-he had Setanta once but then they went belly-up two years ago. A lot of the channels are a waste of time but I personally watch DAVE a lot and G.O.L.D when they show old comedy shows like 'The Young Ones' , 'Blackadder' and 'Game On'-sport some football, mostly Liverpool games and some England games-Sky Premiere when they have films worth recording to watch another time(SKY+ allows you to record series so once it's set up it will record the same day, same time etc and you can go back and forth like a video recorder). The biggest plus of SKY+ is being able to pause live television-when the phone goes or someone turns up, and then you can catch up by rewinding and watching-clever stuff. __________________ There was only ONE Greenman, and you accepted no substitutes! To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Rest in peace MaxJoker-you will be sorely missed. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. 20,000: Milestone reached!

August 11th, 2011, 06:11 PM	#4
tygrkhat40 Long Suffering Bills Fan Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: The City of Good Neighbors Posts: 9,669 Thanks: 304,243 Thanked 153,135 Times in 9,629 Posts	I have DirecTV and have over 100 channels but I only watch maybe 20 of them on a regular basis. And about the only things I watch from broadcast TV is football and Family Guy. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

August 11th, 2011, 06:26 PM	#6
Mal Hombre El Super Moderador Join Date: May 2009 Location: Adoptive Monkey Hanger Posts: 58,184 Thanks: 773,226 Thanked 856,377 Times in 57,614 Posts	We have a Sky+ box,I mainly watch Sky 1and 2 for The Simpsons and Futurama,Occasionally a movie on one of the movie channels,Some of the documentary channels and odd things that crop on the minor channels.I also watch FX for Family Guy and The Walking Dead. My wife watches US crime dramas on Living, Alibi and Five US. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. If in doubt, Just ask Yourself What Would Max Do ? It is a porn site,But its a Classy porn site. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

August 11th, 2011, 06:26 PM	#5
penfold007 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 329 Thanks: 909 Thanked 2,854 Times in 327 Posts	I have Sky and I also subscribe to Premier sports so I can watch the NASCAR sprint cup races without having to find a kind American streaming it (still have to do that for the Nationwide and trucks as no-one broadcasts them in the UK) The signal only goes out in heavy rain I find. I do watch it quite a bit, also enjoy the cricket and speedway plus a variety of other motor racing.

August 11th, 2011, 06:40 PM	#7
Estreeter *Administrator* Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: The 19th hole Posts: 58,189 Thanks: 450,165 Thanked 897,591 Times in 60,391 Posts	I remember when I 1st got satellite TV, I took long service leave and watched the TV for 3 weeks straight, only left the house to buy food, snacks, beer and smokes which were kind of essential for the new found addiction. After a while, I became selective of what I watch, back then we only had 17 channels, but now with Christ knows how many, I'm down to these channels The History Channel National Geographic Discovery Channel The Comedy Channel Fox News BBC World Sky News TV1........which is old classic TV shows CNN BBC Knowledge The Weather Channel And apart from the odd movie and sporting event, the rest of the stuff is useless Oh, dont mind the music channels in the background once in a while, Music Max and Country Music __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

August 11th, 2011, 06:54 PM	#8
tabler Comfortably Numb Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: St James Park Posts: 7,030 Thanks: 112,545 Thanked 146,058 Times in 8,009 Posts	I pity the fool (yeah I was actually doing the Mr T voice then) that pays for SkyTV now. Channels full of shite repeats etc etc, for £45 per month. Digital is bad enough, but Sky is a joke now. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. *Velcome to zee Forum. You must obey zee rules!*

August 11th, 2011, 07:55 PM	#9
Office Boy Former Staff Join Date: May 2008 Location: in the office upstairs Posts: 1,415 Thanks: 6,048 Thanked 40,273 Times in 1,357 Posts	I actually have sky tv on my system, and I have it mainly for the sport. I like to watch the speedway, bike racing, rugby league, union big games and the football, especially the super sunday derbies and so forth. I prefer to watch the news because it is uninterrupted on bbc. I like some of the music channels, but they've gone down the pan lately. And some of the documentary channels put out a decent program from time to time. The other channels are just full of adverts and repeats with only one decent program per week on sky one worth watching. (Spartacus, blood and sand and gods of the arena.) The majority of it is garbage, and it should be renamed repeat tv. However, I hope that when the second round of switch off takes place, I don't get break up on my screen which, as I've had my system checked, is apparently down to this weather and the heavy thunderstorms. While I understand it can have an effect on a transmission, especially a live one, I also become extemely annoyed when I lose the picture temporararily. I don't like having to ring sky up as they usually tell me there is nothing they can do and the signal is ok. So I start to rant and tell them I'm paying for something I can't even look at sometimes. I remember staying at a friends house, he lived in the Hague in Holland. And he didn't get sky, but all the channels he could get on his satellite was what people normally got in that part of the world. It was a mix of Dutch, German and English (bbc) channels. I asked him if he paid for any of these channels, he said no. I asked him do you pay a licence of any kind? He said no. That just about puts everything into perspective over here. __________________ DON'T TREAD ON ME.

August 11th, 2011, 08:45 PM	#10
blueballsdc Vintage Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 1,721 Thanks: 112,645 Thanked 21,428 Times in 1,713 Posts	I have cable tv for which I pay about $90.00 per month. I have what they call an "extended" package which gives me the basic cable, a group of additional channels, and the ability to buy a "sports" package (which I do). The basic package gives me my local stations without having to use an antenna along with the standard channels (ESPN, Disney, TNT, TBS, etc,...). the extended package gives me the Military Channel, BBC News, CNN International, and quite a few others. The sports package gives me about a dozen sports channels, mostly ESPN based, along with Fox Soccer Channel, and GolTV. The last two get quite a bit of viewing along with the basic ESPN and ESPN2 which come with basic cable. I have 200 or so channels (I haven't counted them) but watch very few of them. the main reason I have them is because I have no other choice. I don't watch MTV, VH1, Disney, Nick, and a host of others. In the mornings and before I go to bed at night I watch my local news. Mainly for traffic, weather, and such. At other times I will usually catch CNN International or BBC News. Other than this and football matchs, I watch about 10 hours a week unless there is something special running. One good thing my cable does offer me is bunch of music channels. These aren't video music channels, but just CD quality music being broadcast over the cable. I can pick from a lot of different music and I can route it through my stereo for good quality sound. I tend to have this on whenever I am cooking, reading, or working at home.