• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

TV ownership drops for 1st time in 20 years

A "television," as defined in 2011, is a computer monitor that contains a VHF/UHF tuner that can decode analog or digital transmissions. For all intents and purposes, a TV and a monitor are one and the same. The old definition of a TV went away with the cathode-ray tube since CRT-based computer monitors didn't contain tuners.

Whether a given show is watched on a large-screen monitor using its built-in tuner connected to an antenna, via a cable/satellite box connected to said monitor, or via a PC or Roku box connected to that same monitor doesn't matter anymore. As long as the show is watched and the producers & advertisers can count the number of viewers, who cares what device is connected to the monitor that allows it to be viewed?
 
Not owning a TV set is becoming increasingly common among young tech-savvy single people in the UK who watch telly on their laptops instead- a similar trend to in the US

But there is one key difference. In the UK watching recorded TV via a laptop exempts you from our 240 bucks a year TV licence- providing you don't watch live streams of the broadcast channels.

The digital switch is another factor- faced with another couple of hundred bucks for a new aerial people are simply not bothering.

This is still a small minority, by the way, and families still prefer the shared experience of the family set.
 
I still prefer a TV to a computer. Yes, I CAN watch whatever I want on my computer, but I prefer the much less active task of sitting on the couch, in an easy chair, etc while watching the big screen. That, and I like being on my computer while I'm watching TV.

I also like having people over and watching TV together, something you can't do on a computer yet. 20 inches is too small of a screen to sit around watching. and 46" is way too big for a computer monitor.
 
mnradiofan said:
I still prefer a TV to a computer. Yes, I CAN watch whatever I want on my computer, but I prefer the much less active task of sitting on the couch, in an easy chair, etc while watching the big screen. That, and I like being on my computer while I'm watching TV.

I also like having people over and watching TV together, something you can't do on a computer yet. 20 inches is too small of a screen to sit around watching. and 46" is way too big for a computer monitor.
Click to expand...

That's why I have a nettop PC connected to my 32" HDTV. It has a wireless keyboard and mouse, and the only "PC" aspects of it are the requirement to start the software, which is either Boxee or Firefox, and updating Ubuntu as needed.

And I have my laptop sitting on my coffee table for real computing. ;D
 
Television is the over-air thing when the device is connected to an antenna.
Cable is when there's no over-the-air thing involved..
Satellite is when there's a satellite.
DVD is when it's on a disc.
Video on a computer is NOT television any more than fast food is fine dining.

Do not confuse content with delivery method.
The content providers love it when all the above get called TV, but they're not.

I watched some television yesterday.. :eek:
 
mnradiofan said:
I also like having people over and watching TV together, something you can't do on a computer yet. 20 inches is too small of a screen to sit around watching. and 46" is way too big for a computer monitor.
Click to expand...

Funny how our standards change over the years. Today, you're right that a group wouldn't want to sit around a 20" screen, which is considered a small set that might be used in a kitchen or bedroom. But not much more than 30 years ago, the most popular screen size was 19" -- and having a whole family or group of friends gathered around that 19" screen seemed perfectly normal and reasonable.
 
BMR said:
This is still a small minority, by the way, and families still prefer the shared experience of the family set.
Click to expand...

True they are still a small minority its just that those who say "I don't watch TV" or even "I don't listen to the radio" nowadays tend to brag and make such a BIG deal about going tv/radio-less such as those who post on sites such as the forums on www.city-data.com for example.
 
mleach said:
BMR said:
This is still a small minority, by the way, and families still prefer the shared experience of the family set.
Click to expand...

True they are still a small minority its just that those who say "I don't watch TV" or even "I don't listen to the radio" nowadays tend to brag and make such a BIG deal about going tv/radio-less such as those who post on sites such as the forums on www.city-data.com for example.
Click to expand...

These people who are probably the snobbish anti-TV types who claim they don't watch TV, except maybe PBS. People are probably watching less TV in general even when they have all the channel packages
 
nomadcowatbk said:
mleach said:
BMR said:
This is still a small minority, by the way, and families still prefer the shared experience of the family set.
Click to expand...

True they are still a small minority its just that those who say "I don't watch TV" or even "I don't listen to the radio" nowadays tend to brag and make such a BIG deal about going tv/radio-less such as those who post on sites such as the forums on www.city-data.com for example.
Click to expand...

These people who are probably the snobbish anti-TV types who claim they don't watch TV, except maybe PBS. People are probably watching less TV in general even when they have all the channel packages
Click to expand...


I've no problem with anyone not wanting to watch TV- it's a free country after all. What I can't stand is those who don't watch TV and who think they are morally superior as a result.
 
BMR said:
I've no problem with anyone not wanting to watch TV- it's a free country after all. What I can't stand is those who don't watch TV and who think they are morally superior as a result.
Click to expand...

Such as singer Madonna not allowing her children to watch TV, listen to the radio, access the internet, no listening to rock & country music, no amusement parks..etc..etc..as Madonna believes such things can retard one's brain and called people who do enjoy such things as "trash". Guy Ritchie pretty much spilled the beans on this when he split from the Material Girl a few years ago.

Of course where would Madonna be today without all that "trash" such as TV and radio announcers? Perhaps she will still be at Dunkin Donuts.
 
My family has fewer TVs now than a few years back. We got an HDTV about 2 years ago and have added Netflix through our Wii, and not replaced two older sets that stopped working. Plus we have gone to watching most TV in the living room and not in other rooms, so we have fewer sets, but they weren't being used much anyway. No TV snobbery, just a change in our viewing habits.
 
BMR said:
But there is one key difference. In the UK watching recorded TV via a laptop exempts you from our 240 bucks a year TV licence- providing you don't watch live streams of the broadcast channels.
Click to expand...

hmmmm.....bet the politicians are lying awake at night trying to think of a way to get
their fingers into THAT pie! ::)
 
FreddyE1977 said:
BMR said:
But there is one key difference. In the UK watching recorded TV via a laptop exempts you from our 240 bucks a year TV licence- providing you don't watch live streams of the broadcast channels.
Click to expand...

hmmmm.....bet the politicians are lying awake at night trying to think of a way to get
their fingers into THAT pie! ::)
Click to expand...

Maybe. The evidence so far is 'THAT pie' isn't especially big. According to this piece http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/keyfacts/stories/licencefee2.shtml around 3% of the population don't have a TV, and not all of that 3% will own a computer.

More than 97% of households currently have a TV and so the vast majority of people watching on computers or mobiles at home will be covered by the TV licence they already have.

In addition, since 2004 TV ownership has grown by over a million sets (2004 – 25.2 million; 2010 – 26.8 million). This does not indicate a future where viewers are only consuming TV on a laptop or mobile.

We want to offer our audience more choice around where and how they access our range of services but we fully expect this to supplement, rather than replace, viewing via traditional television.
Click to expand...


Generally (and I'm stereotyping) people who only view on a laptop tend to be tennants who live in urban bedsits- single room establishments with a combined bedroom and sitting room and maybe a separate kitchen. Once people get a house (or even a decent sized flat) with a separate lounge they tend to get a TV for the lounge and hence become liable for the TV licence. If you can afford the UKs insane house prices then you can generally afford a couple of hundred dollars a year for a TV licence.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom