I fear that I have become my father.
It was the late 1980’s and everyone in America had a VCR. I don’t think we had one yet but my folks did. There was also this device called a “VCR Plus”, and dad had to have it.
15 years earlier they had finally purchased a color TV, a Sony. That was the year after I left home for school, wouldn’t you know it! (I got to take the old family black and white set that … a 60-pound big, black box, the 1958 version of what passed as a portable in 1958…away with me after my next visit.)
When VCRs came out Dad thought he’d get a Betamax, and keep it all in the Sony family of home entertainment. After much discussion (aka pleading) as to that initial decision put forth by other family members, he relented and went with VHS, as it became evident that it would win the Great Videotape War of the 1980’s to become the most common format.
So now he and mom could tape their favorite programs. But the old man never really got the hang of using the timer to program the machine to record his shows. I think dad was the source of the “Blinking VCR Timer 12 AM” meme. What he did was to simply pop in a cassette and push the record button at the start of the show. Then he could hit the hay, (aka falling asleep in front of the TV). In the morning, the show (and a bunch of extraneous stuff) would be taped, automatically rewound, and ready for viewing.
But then the VCR Plus thing came out. This would greatly enhance dad’s recording technique he thought, and so he asked to receive one for Christmas. So that became the family mission that Holiday season. Unfortunately, they sold out of every place within 50 miles. It was a hot item…apparently there were an awful lot of “dads” out there that year. Since we live in the city, it became my job to locate one, and I was able to pick one up at a local drug store that still had stock.
.
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Now all dad needed to do was to enter the 4-digit code that the TV Guide included for each program listing…and…and…you guessed it, he couldn’t get the hang of that devise either! So it was back to the blinking timer. The old man was a lot of things, but technically adept was not one of them. I think he took a little pride in that, truth be told.
Now it’s me who is trying to figure things out.
We’re still analog, CRT style, five of them as a matter of fact. Over the years we gathered TV sets for each of us in our 3-person household. Different tastes, right? Just before the transition to digital TV, we replaced four old sets as they died with the same Daewoo 13-inch model, $50 bucks each at Target…analog units being dumped. My wife spotted a deal the cable company offered, and we had them put cable outlets throughout the house.
We got a camcorder. Although late to the VCR, we made up for that and kept it smoking. Free HBO and Showtime weekends…we taped it all. We got a DVD player, as well as a VCR/DVD thing to transcribe our home videos. Everything is hooked up to a stereo tuner for a home entertainment system in the living room, with the “big” TV, a 21-incher…
…but we no longer hang out there any more. We watch TV in the kitchen, on one of those little Daewoos. The VCR is unplugged, because I got tired of spending 15 minutes with the manual trying to reset the clock whenever the power went out, or when Daylight Savings Time comes around…I have become my father.
We enjoy watching TV in the corner of the kitchen…close to snacks, right? We bought a DVD player to watch movies there. But it’s analog. Lo-res. Movie producers figure that you have a hi-def TV, and often the subtitles are simply unreadable, even a foot away...forget about trying to check balls and strikes during baseball games. Broadcasters also assume your screen is wide, and so the chyrons at the bottom of the screen get cut off at both sides for us.
We’ve been contemplating a change. Something in high definition for the kitchen, a TV that would allow us to use a Roku, or some other method of streaming. It would be great to see some of the series on Netflix. We may never do so, but that option would be nice to have. Do we get a big, flat screen for the living room? A smart boob tube? I can’t decide.
So I find myself ducking technology. The search for all the answers to this TV thing is getting to be too much, and after fifteen minutes of searching for information online, I end up watching cat YouTubes checking out Daily Kos. It’s just too much...I need professional help. I wonder what my son is doing this weekend…
How, and on what, do you watch TV?
What do you want to talk about today?
What: A Daily Kos meet up for DK members and interested parties
When: Saturday, May 19th, 2018 — Time: 12:00-? PM
Where: Highland Brewing, Asheville, NC
www.highlandbrewing.com
12 Old Charlotte Highway, Suite 200
Asheville, North Carolina 28803
828-299-3370
Directions via Google Maps
Why: Friends, tools and networking to win in November
Food: Food Trucks plus
Fun: Brewery Tour
RSVPS
1. randallt, organizer (kosmail him to connect)
2. Lamont Cranston
3. Joieau
4. Gordon20024
MAYBEES :
1. Otteray Scribe
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Netroots Nation 2018
Puerto Rico Kos !