STREAMING.....the next big thing


It all began for me in about 1983. Our block on Russell, St Louis, was wired for Cable and we got HBO. It was like a vision of the future. Movies on the TV without commercials. We loved it. Over time we added other "Cable Stations" and became full time Cable only users in the 90s. We had everything possible on Cable.

Then we began to lose interest. There were over 200 channels and "nothing good to watch." So, we rented new movies before they came to cable. This began the Blockbuster Era. I remember waiting for DVDs to be returned so we could rent the latest video. But that too faded over time and by 2000 we hardly watched TV at all. The news was always worth watching but 95% of other programing was boring.

Then around 2008 we began to stream NetFlix. It was much better with more to watch and better programing. This led to Amazon Prime and then Apple TV. For a short while we had Disney Plus but it just was not that interesting. The Star Wars clone shows were written for 10 year olds. Recently due to shows we wanted to watch we began to use Hulu. It is very good also.

Today, we recently returned three cable boxes due to lack of use. We only watch news and Dodger baseball on Cable. Everything else we watch through Apple TV. It connects to Netflix, Amazon, Disney and Hulu. Like everything made by Apple it is easy and flawless.

Streaming has become home entertainment and Apple TV is our easy link to all the streaming channels. We went to the Movie Theatre to see James Bond and Dune but I think we are finished with going to a big dark room to sit with strangers, eat crap, and watch a show. Video killed the radio star and Apple TV has killed the Movie Theatre.

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