Kristin’s Korner
If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. That’s how I feel about most things. This includes the TV from the late 1980’s that we used to have in our family room. It worked just fine even though it had a large cathode ray tube instead of a sleek, 60 inch screen. The rest of my family was eyeing those flat-screen TVs every time we walked by them in the store. I held off as long as I could but the colors started to go in the old TV last fall. We broke down and got a snazzy new flat screen TV with high definition and at least 5 remote controls. I’m not kidding about the 5 remote controls. It’s stunning. Years ago we used to have to get up to change the channel on the TV. Now it’s so much simpler. We can sit on the couch to change the channel – that is, after we go through 3 of the wrong remotes before we find the right one and the correct button to press.
Ok, so we have the new TV and we’re ready to watch all the cool things you can see in high definition and with an internet connection. We called our satellite service to find out what we need to do to get the picture in high definition. They carefully explained a series of fabulous discounts we would get with a new high definition box when we sign up for a 2 year plan that essentially costs $50 more per month than we’re currently paying. That wasn’t very enticing so we called other providers (cable, FIOS) and found out that is the going price give or take a few dollars. Either our wallet is going to get a much larger hole in it or we’re going to watch a very big screen in low definition.
Now I understand the idea behind “cutting the cord”. This is where you stop getting your TV from the traditional providers but just get it by internet and antennae. You pay a lot less per month (I think the highest cost of streaming Netflix is under $20 and a good antennae in the attic is a one-time $100) but lose access to a few options. A wide variety of sports is one of those options. This may change soon, however. I recently heard that ESPN is testing a streaming sports channel.
So where does this leave a person who wants to watch TV in the 21st Century but not pay an arm and a leg for it? It all gets down to what you and your family like to watch. There are a lot of good things to watch on both traditional and new streaming services. You can save a lot of money if you cut the cord but it’s only worth it if you like what you get. If you think you’re paying too much for TV now, it’s worth investigating your options. Just watch the multiplication of the remote controls. No one has offered to fix that problem yet.
Kristin Rodriguez