HDMI and Our TV

    The HDMI cable has saved our TV viewing experience. It's a bold statement, I know, but it's true.

 

     You already know we don't watch a lot of TV. In fact we don't have a cable subscription at all. It was one of the very first thing that was cut from our budget, years ago, when I started re-evaluating our spending and living. The girls have gotten used to watching movies or episodes from TV shows that we deem appropriate and have on DVD.

 

     Don't get me wrong, I love TV. Some of it is so trashy I can't help but watch. It can be a great unwind kind of release at the end of the day- so mindless. Also, for the kids I think having a general knowledge of the culture you are in is important. Whether we like it or not, TV is part of our culture. If the girls hear about a show they want to watch (like from a friend) I will sit and watch the first episode with them to make sure it is age appropriate. From there they are able to watch it online, if available.

 

     I save a ton of money here because we don't pay for the cable subscriptions which average over $100 a month like most people do. To watch TV shows I pay $7.99 a month to subscribe to Hulu Plus (Hulu is free but doesn't always off the shows I want). A friend of mine pays $8 for the Netflix subscription and we share. Shhh, don't tell. It has been a great solution. It has help limit the amount of "screen time" here in the house and saved some serious bucks. BUT...sometimes we get a little tired of watching TV on the laptop. It's not the biggest screen and we never seem to have a good place to set it up.

 

     To rectify the situation we found a simple solution and purchased an HDMI cable. Oddly enough, it also cost $8. We are able to hook it up directly from the computer to the back of our TV. Now, as long as our television is an HDMI mode, everything that's on the computer can also be seen on the television. We do have a "newer" style TV that was a house warming gift but it is not a "smart TV" by any means. Most current TVs should have this setting.

 

     Now we stream Netflix, Hulu Plus, and even Amazon Prime directly to the TV without paying for costly cable/Dish subscriptions or state-of-the-art TVs. It's even allowed me to splurge and purchase whole current seasons of shows my hubby and I really enjoy watching. I don't mind spending $30-ish once in a while on a season we really like and want to own digitally. It's waaaay better than a cable subscription any day.

 

 

Happy viewing!

 

Simple City Sam