I Absolutely Refuse To...

[bideau]

I was planning on boycotting NFL Redzone last year and then found out it is part of the cable package we have and it didn't make sense to switch packages.

Watching football, even in the truncated Redzone way, without any commercials feels really strange.

It's like I really try to keep myself away from getting bombarded with ads in a variety of ways, with some success, but the product of football is so saturated with ads and promos that you almost become inured to it. It's the price you pay to watch, but I do feel conflicted.

I have season tickets this year for the first time in forever and one of the first thoughts I had when I found it was going to happen was: "Awesome. I don't have to watch commercials for home games." Then I realized that Kraft makes sure that you not only pay for a ticket, but he manages to pound as many ads as he can at you and you are largely back at square one. Training yourself to tune out every time you sense somebody trying to help you empty your wallet on their shit.

Where are your seats?

 

[Hawg73]

Where are your seats?

Lighthouse side right corner of the end zone. Section 138. About halfway up the lower bowl.

I went to the KC game in those seats. Not bad, but I don't remember the exact row and so forth. I don't own the seat and purchased it through a friend.

We also get to park in the Foxboro lot and use that entrance, so that is a plus. Easier to get in and out.

Where are you?

 

[Dwight Schrute]

...subject myself to any form of advertising that can possibly be avoided.

I have cut the cord with cable television. I watch only OTA (over-the-air) television, and only PBS (channels 2 & 44 here in the Boston area).

In my car, I listen to either NPR (WGBH and WBUR) or WCRB when I'm listening to radio. But I also will load up the CD changer and go with that.

The browsers I run (Firefox and Chrome) are equipped with Ad-Block Plus.

I do most of my shopping (other than food) at Amazon.

I get no newspapers; the only magazine I read is Consumer Reports (which is ad-free).

I'm still exposed to advertising of course, but I have reduced it to a level where I don't feel as if I'm burning lifespan on it.

There's a small cabin in Montana in your future. No running water, but the creek is real close. Just don't study bomb making and write your own manifesto.

 

[bideau]

Lighthouse side right corner of the end zone. Section 138. About halfway up the lower bowl.

I went to the KC game in those seats. Not bad, but I don't remember the exact row and so forth. I don't own the seat and purchased it through a friend.

We also get to park in the Foxboro lot and use that entrance, so that is a plus. Easier to get in and out.

Where are you?

I'm almost directly above you (236). We'll have to meet up at some point.

 

[bishbash]

Growing up, I was a TV junkie and wasted many kabillions of hours in front of the tube. Wife and I decided no cable TV for our house while son is growing up, just videos and eventually Netflix.

One take-away was that every year before Christmas, people would ask my son what he had on his wish list. While most other kids would have a ready list of the hot items, my son would say something like, "Oh, I don't care, Santa always brings me good stuff." No regrets on that choice.

 

[aloyouis]

i am with you, but for me its not just advertising its all media it all distorts your view of the world. added bonus the less advertising you watch the less junk you buy.

need to do more amazon but hate the way they change pricing based on search and purchase history

Why do I not know about this. Please elaborate.

Thank you.

 

[Number Cruncher]

Time for another "Planet Tailgate"...

 

[benhamean]

need to do more amazon but hate the way they change pricing based on search and purchase history

Why do I not know about this. Please elaborate.

Thank you.

I just learned from a friend buying airline tickets that the prices rose on him based on the amount of time that elapsed from him first looking at tickets. He checked one day- one price. He checked the next day- higher price, etc.

Turns out the sites use cookies to track you and have an algorithm to jack the cost up on you, based on your perceived interest.

My friend figured this out, logged on to the same site from a different (clean) computer, and got the INITIAL price for the tickets again.

Pro tip: search at work, buy from home or vice-versa.

 

[bmooney54]

I just learned from a friend buying airline tickets that the prices rose on him based on the amount of time that elapsed from him first looking at tickets. He checked one day- one price. He checked the next day- higher price, etc.

Turns out the sites use cookies to track you and have an algorithm to jack the cost up on you, based on your perceived interest.

My friend figured this out, logged on to the same site from a different (clean) computer, and got the INITIAL price for the tickets again.

Pro tip: search at work, buy from home or vice-versa.

Good to know. Regarding toe OP, I cut cable 6 0r 7 years ago. I only watch The Walking Dead and Patriots footfall. TWD is on Project Free TV, so no commercials and the Pats are streamed from Europe. Either the screen goes blank during commercials, or it is some Brittish blokes talking about the game. Online, I have ad blockers and Disconnect Me (which I started using based on a recommendation from someone here a while ago.

 

[patfan64]

I found out years ago how to reprogram one of the buttons on my Comcast remote to skip forward 30 seconds on the DVR.

Not fast forward, it jumps 30 seconds forward on the HD.

Those instructions are here

If you've got an X1 the instructions are here

I watch nothing live.

I DVR everything and jump past all the commercials.

I DVR the Pats game and wait 15 - 20 min before I start watching to build up a buffer. Also, with the slo-mo I do a coaches clicker on replays that I want to see, to extend that buffer.

If I'm watching live TV it means I've screwed up.

Totally agree but the problem arises when you are stuck watching a TV show on demand. Most networks make you watch the commercials.

 

[bishbash]

Nope people blaming refs for losing games . Sorry didn't read the first post. Just the headline .

So, um, how often do you post a comment from just reading the headline???

 

[O_P_T]

Totally agree but the problem arises when you are stuck watching a TV show on demand. Most networks make you watch the commercials.

That's why I DVR everything and don't use the "on demand" option.

The only exception are for some premium channels that don't have adds anyway.

Sometimes I don't DVR to save space.

 

[HSanders]

I just learned from a friend buying airline tickets that the prices rose on him based on the amount of time that elapsed from him first looking at tickets. He checked one day- one price. He checked the next day- higher price, etc.

Turns out the sites use cookies to track you and have an algorithm to jack the cost up on you, based on your perceived interest.

My friend figured this out, logged on to the same site from a different (clean) computer, and got the INITIAL price for the tickets again.

Pro tip: search at work, buy from home or vice-versa.

From this, it sounds like even if you delete your cookies, it still "remembers" based on your IP address. UGH.

 

[TipRoast]

There's a small cabin in Montana in your future. No running water, but the creek is real close. Just don't study bomb making and write your own manifesto.

/alec_guinness_voice



You're mistaken about the intent of my post.

I don't eschew the benefits of civilization.

A rejection of advertising should not be confused with the exhibition of misanthropic tendencies.

These aren't the droids you're looking for.







.

 

[Annihilus]

Not that I am a pitchman for Dish or anything, guess I took it for granted, but that is the default behavior for the skip forward on the remote.

You can also have it automatically skip commercials if you record Network programming a certain way.

The networks were not happy about that.

It is default for DirecTV as well (at least it has been for mine for the last several years). There is a skip button on the remote that skips ahead 30 seconds. I usually just press it 6 times at the beginning of the commercial break and that usually is pretty close to when the show picks back up. Three times for football games as the breaks are only 90 seconds (usually).

 

[king of kings]

So, um, how often do you post a comment from just reading the headline???

I'm sure Not the only one of this site. That ever done that .

 

[Annihilus]

There's a small cabin in Montana in your future. No running water, but the creek is real close. Just don't study bomb making and write your own manifesto.

A couple of interesting notes about said cabin:

1. I used to drive past it on my way to my summer job back in the early 80's (of course, we had no idea of what lie therein). It wasn't all that far out in the sticks from Lincoln, MT (but Lincoln is kind of out in the middle of nowhere).

2. The cabin is no longer in Montana, they moved the whole damn thing to a museum in Washington, D.C.

 

[king of kings]

It is default for DirecTV as well (at least it has been for mine for the last several years). There is a skip button on the remote that skips ahead 30 seconds. I usually just press it 6 times at the beginning of the commercial break and that usually is pretty close to when the show picks back up. Three times for football games as the breaks are only 90 seconds (usually).

Where is this button on the direct TV remote. I just use the DVR . Skip the commercials when I get home

 

[Annihilus]

Where is this button on the direct TV remote. I just use the DVR . Skip the commercials when I get home

That's what I was talking about (DVR). You obviously cannot skip through commercials on live TV unless you wait to start watching whatever it is like folks have explained above.

It's directly to the right of the 'stop' button on my remote and has an arrow pointing to the right with a straight line after it, similar to this: ->|

There is also a botton to the left of 'stop' that rewinds in 6 second intervals.

 

[Undertaker #59*]

Interesting that skip back for D* is 6 seconds and E* is 10 seconds. I should probably compare services at some point, but I am lazy and have had E* for 15 years. Watching less and less as I stream more and more anyway.

Wish I could at least drop ESPN, but because of stupid packages, I lose HD channels if I do.

Sent from my Enigma Device