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I get suspicious looks from people when they find out I don't own a television. What's wrong with me? Isn't it un-American not to own a TV? I live in an extremely liberal part of town now too, so my location in addition to my lack of TV ownership makes some people suspect that I'm a communist (I'm not a communist, incidentally, just a bleeding heart liberal).
Much as I would like to say I am not lulling myself into complacency in front of the corporate-sponsored opiate of the masses (nope, still not a communist), I'm not depriving myself of video input. I own a computer, which is virtually the same thing as owning a TV these days, except my laptop is more compact. Yesterday afternoon, I watched the season premiere of "Grey's Anatomy" online using the ABC Episode Viewer. True, the resolution could have been better. Streaming video is not crystal clear, and occasionally the picture hangs as my cable connection strives to catch up. But, on the other hand, I didn't watch anywhere near the number of commercials as those riveted to their televisions, and I could start and stop playback as I pleased without that fancy Tivo equipment. Best of all: it was free. Thank you, ABC. Last year, FOX tried to get people to pay for episodes through iTunes, on the order of $2 an episode, which, personally, I find appalling. Apparently, I wasn't alone in this outrage. This year, they have a free viewer in beta. Of course, not all shows are available, and not all episodes are available all the time. Like regular television, there is a hit-or-miss aspect to what you can find online.
Truly dedicated fans still buy the DVDs. I may start renting, but there are drawbacks there. I could (if I had an account), order my favorites or just about anything at all through NetFlix, the online/through the mail movie rental. But I've held off on getting an account because of the monthly fee. The idea of NetFlix and its various competitors is that the monthly fee covers as many movies as you can watch and return in that time period. But if you have one movie lying around the house for a month, or longer, that movie becomes increasingly expensive. Depending on the movie, you could have purchased it for much less, and would never have to send it back. The moral of the story is choose your package wisely.
There are, of course, also (legal) online movie downloads, like Vongo and movielink.com. Vongo lures you in with all-you-can-watch list of 1,000 movies for a single fee (a la Netflix price format), but then there is a pay-per-view section that has everything you would actually want to watch. Movielink is a pay-per-movie download, more like the old video shop motif of paying per movie rather than per month. The advantage of all of these download approaches is that you never have to find your wallet, car keys, membership card, or drive anywhere (so you don't lose your favorite parking space near your front door). The disadvantage, of course, is that you have to pay.
The bottom line is that it galls me to have to pay for television. But then, I'm a borderline freegan, with a tendency to furnish my apartment with various discarded end tables and file cabinets and other furniture that I find on the street. My inherent cheapness is one of the many reasons I've never ordered cable television (another being that I might no longer leave the house if I had that many stations).
I suspect that the free online television will not remain as blissfully uncomplicated as it is right now. Already, there are mini-commercials ("brought to you with limited interruptions courtesy of Acme Coyote-Rid"). Presumably, commercials will multiply as other cheapskates like me start to tune in. Because computers are more interactive than traditional television, advertising could mutate. Soon, we might have to provide feedback on the ad before we get to watch the next chapter ("Do you have a coyote problem? Click yes or no."). Perhaps, in order to see the climactic conclusion of your favorite series and find out whether the ever-troubled couple break-up or stay together, I might first have to type in the motto of Acme Coyote-Rid ("Wile E. doesn't live here anymore") or answer other pop-quiz trivia about the advertisers.
If that comes to pass, I'll get an old-fashioned television. Maybe one that has a few miles on it. Perhaps an old relic that someone might leave on the curb, for free, when they upgrade to a big fancy flat screen.
After all, free is good. Freedom too. (See, still not a communist).
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