Friday, November 16, 2012

Television Programming - Laura and I enjoy some television commercials—in particular, the Gieco and Orkin commercials. They are wonderfully entertaining. These commercials are diametrically opposed to the norm, however, and we generally find television commercials to be vile time vampires and undue distractions. Few things in this world rival the foulness of an advertisement interrupting the action at a dramatic point. In particular, this break halts the built-up tension and expectancy, and it is difficult (if not impossible) for one to return to the mood created by the drama prior to the advertisement—especially since there is never just one ad!

We generally watch only commercial-free television programmingmovies and television shows via Netflix, Amazon, and other resources using Roku devices. The Roku devices allow access to thousands of channels via the Internet. Additionally, we enjoy access to Netflix, Amazon, Ustream, and other resources via our various Android devices.

I enjoy watching television series from beginning to end. Without commercials, 30-minute programs become approximately 24 minutes, and 60-minute shows become approximately 48 minutes. Not only does the lack of advertisements allow the story to unfold without distraction, one needs not wait a week to watch the next episode! Most of the shows I am watching or have recently watched are not currently in production, but some are. Laura and I intend to watch the second season of "The Walking Dead" this weekend. We waited until Season Two was available on Netflix.

In addition to television and movies, Roku provides access to several thousand channels of programming. Some of this programming is live. One of my favorite live channels is "Emma's Nest." This is available on Ustream—via Roku or the Ustream Android app. "Emma's Nest" is more formally known as "The World of Hummingbirds" and is a live Web-cam view of hummingbirds feeding in a beautiful back yard in Laguna Beach, CA.

With the exception of Netflix and few similar pay services, the programming on Roku is FREE!

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