Less TV

So we've been thinking that, for as little as we watch TV, the cable bill is rather high. However, we want HD (but now there's significantly more free HD available), and we need a DVR. I might miss some of the cable channels if I'm sick and at home, but that doesn't happen often enough to plan for it. I think we could watch over-the-air with a side of Netflix and be perfectly happy. However, I'll have to roll a DVR replacement because the children expect their shows now, with fast forward and rewind. (Bill Cosby said parents don't want justice, they want quiet, and we've learned how right he is! If we want to eat breakfast without children climbing all over us, that episode of Super Why or Imagination Movers or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse sounds pretty tempting. If they don't talk to the TV, we turn it off as soon as we inhale our food. Usually, however, they interact with the show and we're not disappointed with the educational opportunity while we eat in peace and quiet.) Super Why is on PBS so we can watch it over-the-air, and Disney has episodes online and seasons on Netflix. It will take some juggling, but I think we can go without cable. I'm planning a gentle, gradual, slow transition, though.

So that means the first piece of hardware is something to send HD signals to a home-grown DVR. I thought this would be very confusing, a wide field of choices, blah blah blah. Well, it isn't. After reading bronzefinger, there's only one choice: the Hauppauge HD PVR. The usual dithering of checking online reviews and trying to imagine which feature set I want is unnecessary without choices. Newegg had the best price, and a rebate that ended that weekend (2 weekends ago), so I just ordered it. We're still getting the hang of using this box, but so far this glacial move away from the glassy medusa has been surprisingly, disturbingly (as in, why didn't we do this sooner?) easy.