Do you have a television set ?

[john.wigley]

We don't !

Recent discussion in these forums regarding the latest "Top Gear" programme has made me wonder how many there are who, like us, do not own a television set.

My parents bought their first in 1959, when I was 10, and I bought an early colour set for my mum in the early '70s after my dad died. When she herself died some years later, I was married and we sold the set as part of her flat clearance - could have sold it several times over, in fact!

We have never since felt the need of a set, but did however decide to keep Linda's mum's after she died in '13; not to use as a TV, but because it incorporated a DVD player, and we were watching our few DVDs on the computer!

We sometimes feel disadvantaged when the conversation turns to "Did you see 'xyz' last night?", but otherwise do not regret not having one. In case you're wondering, we do read a lot and also listen to the radio - mainly Radio 4.

Regards, John.

[DaveNP]

We do have one but I find myself watching it less, with all of the hundreds of channels available there's a lot of repeats and a lot of poor quality stuff seemingly just to fill up airtime.

[JRL]

Haven't had one for a good 10 years. Complete waste of time in my opinion. Having said that I do have a server full of old movies and tv series I ripped from dvd years ago and watch them on on my PC. And there is Youtube. Loads of interesting stuff on there, from car shows like Mighty Car Mods through to technical stuff like how to build your own server using a Raspberry PI etc.

And I watch as and when I want to.

[scorcher]

I'm guessing all you old boys have still got khazis in the back garden then?

[I-S]

I think you've titled this thread wrongly, because the convergence of devices means that a fair question to be asked is "what do you mean by television set?".

A number of responses so far that mention DVD and streaming (eg YouTube) sources as alternatives, yet isn't that "television"?

We have a 65" TV set on the wall in our living room, and we watch a bunch of stuff on it. Most of what we watch is streamed from Amazon, YouTube or sometimes from the on-demand apps of the broadcast networks.

Perhaps what you mean to ask is whether people view broadcast TV? In the past year the only broadcasts we have watched are the BTCC races on ITV4 and Top Gear on BBC.

I don't see that there's a difference between watching YouTube on my PC, tablet, phone or TV - I think it counts as television regardless. It has grown far beyond the simple "television set".

[Prufrock]

I know my family had a television as early as 1937 as they and many of their neighbours watched the coronation on it - no doubt it had a tiny screen. We have two TVs and the usual selection of devices, but I'l never regret not watching more material/tv sitting in front of a screen !

We live in an age of mediocrity in all things - sadly.

Jon.

[Harvey1512]

Very valid post from I-S. My cousins son is at university and does not own a tv. He does however watch tv through his laptop and phone. Times are a changing.

I was sat next to someone at a wedding back in the 90's who did not own a tv, when you could only watch programmes via tv. It was an interesting novelty, an ice breaker. He and his wife were also big radio 4 people, The Times as well I remember. They were not a bundle of laughs mind I was relieved when the meal was finished and I could move, ha ha.

I think something that anti tv people forget is that you choose what to watch, when you want to watch it. There are some great programmes on tv, not everything is reality or soaps. I don't watch any of those.

[m0bzy]

I do have a large TV with all the toys and a couple of hundred channels,so every evening I sit down with a glass of wine to watch the tv,I wake around 1am drink the wine switch the tv off and go to bed.Wonderful invention.

[volvoid]

I don't have one. I never watched a lot when I did have one, and never organised myself to set the video recorder days in advance for the occasional thing worth the effort. Nowadays I refuse to pay the licence fee. I am disgusted by the tone of the letters I receive, threatening me with fines or jail if I don't comply. If I sent letters like that to people who are not my customers I'd be locked up. Equally I will not acquiesce to the Beebs social-political agenda. I will not be told what to think while they drive the destruction of Britain into some universal foreign colony. No.
George Orwell was right. He wrote eloquently about these devices just after the war, before they had been invented. He wrote his most widely-read work as a warning, shame its being used as an instruction manual.

[Jammin]

We have two tv's and no tv license.