Who would have imagined that a broken TIVO box would catapult us into reconsidering all kinds of lifestyle choices. It's been a long time since we considered our Internet access and television connection choices. We were happy with what we had and didn't take the time to reconsider our options until we couldn't access a few of our favorite nightly channels. I thought the consideration would be simple, but that's not true in this age of endless personal choices when it comes to media and how you use it. So, I reached out on Facebook for starters to get some ideas from friends, and then I read a large number of articles that were confusing at first as I haven't considered technology for a while. I had to learn many new terms to understand the articles. After that I needed to think about how we use media and what we need to continue to use media in ways that we like and ways that help us with our daily work and living. That took some time, but at last, I think I've come to some positive conclusions.
Media usage
At home, we usually use media to learn the news, research, connect with friends, and for entertainment. As of now, we don't game, but I am curious about that, and we watch a few channels and regular shows, not that many. So we need consistent, steady Internet service and access to a few channels as well as a few apps and streaming services. That realization demonstrated that we are paying way too much for Internet service--way too much!!!!! So it's time to make some changes.
Antenna plus Internet Service
We'll likely go with the advice of a couple of tech savvy friends I have and get a combination of an antenna plus a reliable Internet service. I'm researching those options now. We'll start with less and add more later if we need it. As for streaming, we continue to like Netflix and PBS which we subscribe to, and we may add another if we can't access the channels we like best. Yet, it seems like the antenna as well as screensharing from our computers and smartphones will take care of that.
Lots to learn
I even hesitate to write about this as there's a lot I don't know, and that lack of knowledge led us to pay too many dollars for media services we don't even use. This realization will move us to reconsider many other lifestyle choices as our lives have changed a lot in the past few years, yet we haven't made changes to many of services we regularly pay for.
Reflect, review, revise
In our ever changing world, we continually have to reflect, review, and revise accordingly. As we do this, it's good to hold on to the best of the old, retire that which doesn't serve us anymore, and add new resources that fit our current needs and lifestyle.
It is a quickly changing world which requires steady attention. Onward.