The answer to this question changes every decade or so. First, the answer was at somebody else’s house. Then, “with the family”, until eventually families could afford more than one set. The question took on a new meaning when cable television started to emerge.

At the turn of the century the choices seemed endless between cable, satellite and DVDs. But, you had to have a TV to get your shows. Now, in 2008, there exist other options. Some don’t subscribe to cable or satellite. Others don’t even have a television at all.

DVR
In the 80s, if you wanted to watch Cheers you had to be in front of the TV at 9:00PM on Thursday. Though the VCR gave us time shifting possibilities, they didn’t mature until the DVR became popular. Less and less people watch programming when the networks want them to. Some (like me) can pile up a few weeks of a series at a time. Not to mention the skip functions. Boring commercial, skip. Bad SNL sketch, skip. Watch American Idol in 15 minutes! Skip, skip, skip.

Download Service
Did you forget to set the DVR? Are you going on a trip and can’t wait to see last nights episode? We now have services like iTunes, Amazon UnBox and Xbox Live. Though overpriced, DRM-laden, and sometimes difficult to use, these services give us unprecedented access to our shows. Remember the days when if you missed this weeks Greatest American Hero you had to hope they replayed the episode during hiatus? Now, for $1.99, you don’t have to wait or worry.

Steaming
If you don’t have a TV, or don’t mind watching TV on your computer, there are some great streaming services out there. Joost, Hulu, ABC.com, CBS Innertube and others provide TV shows, old and new, for free. The quality is good, and sometimes even in HD. The combination of these services is a nearly complete replacement for “normal” television.

DVDs
More and more people aren’t watching shows via broadcast at all. They are waiting for the DVD box set to come out to watch at their own leisure. Being able to have an entire season available can be a powerful thing. No waiting for hiatus to complete, no reruns, just one new show after another.

Other
The “other” I am referring to are the more questionable ways of obtaining your television. It’s known by names such as P2P, bittorrent, YouTube, or simply “downloading”. Personally, I always reserve this method for those shows I don’t have available to me any other way (i.e. Torchwood).

These are the many ways I watch TV shows. Did I include yours? What are some of the methods you use?

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 15th, 2008 at 6:58 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.