Need Help Choosing Amplifier

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When I moved here I decided that I was tired of paying for infomercials and extensive repeat programming, not to mention all the commercials. Instead I bought a Roku box and subscribed to Netflix for $9 a month. I couldn't be happier. Tons of shows to watch on-demand without any commercials. I watch what I want when I want as many times as I want. Plus the Roku box has a lot of other programming that's free. Agreed that I have to have Internet service to it get but I would want Internet regardless.

However I don't get any local news & weather. And I like some of the OTA programming as long as I don't have to pay for it even if it has commercials as long as it's free. Back when I was growing up and there was only 2 TV stations, cable was just an idea. It was first proposed that you pay for it but you won't get any commercials. Well not only has that not happened but over time the actual minutes of programming has decreased significantly. I use to be able to watch a TV show that had one sponsor announcement in the beginning 15 second, one in the middle 10 seconds and one at the end. Fast forward to 2011 and a 30 minute program might have 18 or 20 minutes of show and the rest is commercials. The greed of the broadcasting industry just keeps increasing with less value delivered.

Yes you get 150 or more channels but how many do you actually watch and how often are they replayed and repeated during the course of a month. That just rubs me the wrong way for the price they want you to pay for it. They can do it because there wasn't any other choices until Netflix came along. The bigger cable companies see Netflix as a major threat to their offer and would put it out of business if they could. They're trying everything they can to prevent Netflix from getting more of their market share. As of this post they have already lost a significant portion of their subscribers to Netflix and they're not at all happy about it.

I realize that a significant impact on their pricing that they don't have much control over is due to what they have to pay to get the programming. If I had anything to suggest to them I would say don't fight Netflix, join them. Offer more on-demand programming and put pressure on Hollywood and other programming providers to be more competitive. Traditional TV advertising is almost dead anyway. Look what the DVR has done to it. They need to change their business model if they want to survive or they'll become another Eastman Kodak who once had over 60,000 employees and now less than 6,000 world wide. The digital photography market has all but put the film industry out of business. The Internet could do the same thing to the cable Industry.

[eliwhitney]

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I certainly appreciate you taking so much care in explaining your "how come?"

You have really done a magnificent job of fully "exploring" the available options - - FAR better than have I, for certain!

I have a coupe of different TVs {split-level house} ... each one with a 500Gb Cisco dual tuner 8642HD set top box, "rented" from COX, of course! ... I haven't viewed Live TV in so long that I have no concept of actual show content verses real time .... 100% is recorded & "played back" commercial-free.

MOST weirdly {even I realize that!}, I also thoroughly-enjoy "recording & listening" to those ~ 40 Music Choice Channels, in 5.1 Dolby.

Thanks for your Interest in sharing!!!

Good luck w/ "Orlando" too ..... hopefully, Richard may "read" our exchanges before you even have a chance to Email him ??

eli