Need TV Watching Advice (Please offer a comment)

So how much TV do you watch?  How much are you willing to pay for it?  Do you watch it live?  Do you record and catch up? Do you stream?

This is how we were feeling.  We have always felt very attached to our shows.  We thought it was a must.  TV is an essential, right?  I know that sounds silly but we thought so.  The idea of letting go never crossed our minds.  We are not one of "those" families that hates all things of the world.  I do not believe that TV is evil.  Our family has bonded over our love of certain shows.   J and I have found it to be a crucial part of our parenting.  We have watched TV with our kids.  When things come up in the show we talk.  We have always had a world full of lessons on had as we start our evening family time.

There have been a couple of things that happened lately within the shows that we love that pushed me into cutting the cord.  I see it as a new adventure and the rest of the family sees it as a punishment.  I really am not sure if we will make it.  I do admit that calling and canceling our service was fun. Our budget will enjoy the changes I am sure.  I am embarrassed to say that we have been spending about $130 a month for the convenience of turning on the TV and having a show there all ready.

I am writing this after one day of switching.  Dad was out of town last night and texted me about a cool show he watched from his hotel room last night. Ouch, we don't how to use this new thing yet and he was rubbing it in.

Roku, we went this method but I am not sure why. I am beginning to wonder if a disk player with the streaming options would have worked just as well.  This is where you come in.  Do you stream? How do you do it?  What channels or apps do you think it is important to pay for?  Give me a list of great shows that you have enjoyed as a family. 

This little box (about the size of two hockey pucks stacked) has a lot ridding on it. (It was a great deal for the one time purchase of $79 so I am still ahead for the first month if we can make this work!)  So this might be the right decision.  We might still be able to have TV without the high costs and crazy shows that we don't want to support but we are not opposed to TV?  Where does that leave us?

 

I was lost last night trying to decide what to watch and how to watch it.  We have Netflicks ($7.95 a month) and have enjoyed that for years, it is wonderful for older shows and movies.  We are also Amazon Prime ($79 yearly) members so that gave us more options.  Honestly we joined Prime because of the free shipping for Amazon.  I was amazed at all the shows that does open up to us.

 

BUT, neither are great for the latest TV shows and we discovered that many of the channels are subscription only.  So what do you watch, how do you watch it?  We love all kinds of shows from SciFi to Period Pieces to the latest Disney.  So I need recommendations to search out.  I would also love to know what channels or apps you subscribe to.  (Is Hulu Plus worth the minimal costs?)

 

This picture might show all that is possible but to win my family over I am going to need some help.  I don't want to be so old that I refuse to learn new ways of doing things, but help!  I feel lost when it comes to TV.  How do you watch sports?  How do you catch up on the news? I know this is all possible, but I am lost.

After you stop laughing at me - go ahead I deserve it - please leave me a comment and help me out or at least recommend your favorite movies or shows!