So there was a lady on the bus, I assumed my age or older. I asked if she had cable TV and she said it cost to much. I showed her all the English TV stations I get using an antenna, then showed her Maverick on COZI. I told her I only have an antenna and I get all these. She asked what antenna and I told her. Of course I also mentioned Tablo DVR.
Usually when I discuss OTA with people, I mention DVRs available for OTA (specifically Tablo). That piques their interest much more than simply OTA. Most people prefer to watch recorded programs on their own time and schedule rather than live so the DVR aspect of OTA raises the interest level.
When I show them my Tablo app functioning from home on my cellphone through the remote connection, the interest rises considerably!
She didn’t know antennas still worked.
My wife told me that the one huge gap within OTA was the lack of a DVR in our home as far as she was concerned. She was enjoying TV less and less (OTA) until we got a Tablo. Now she’s just as satisfied as if we had cable. Of course Internet streaming supplements OTA for us but the Tablo was a very significant addition for us.
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I got stopped outside Home Depot the other day by man curious about my Tablo shirt (hint: sell these!!).
Now, in his case he is already a cordcutter, he is a Tivo user… but still… it was interesting…
Could be set up at cafepress. I would like CIT to be somewhere that has size 5xl. Might have to design my own Tablo shirt, or a shirt listing over the air channels in Austin, TX.
I was telling my coworkers about OTA and Tablo and one of them didn’t even know you could get TV free over the air. To him TV was something you always had to pay for. I was surprised, but I grew up without cable, but for some people paying for cable is all they’ve ever known.
Depending on when you grew up, you always had cable or sattlelight. Those of us who grew up in the 60s remember over the air tv and being the remote control.
I grew up on OTA through the 60s and 70s. No cable until 1980 after I graduated from college. We had a big Yagi on a pole on the roof, with a rotator. Only got 3 or 4 channels anyway.
The earliest I remember cable is 1977. I lived in Japan Nov 1972-1977 with NO ENGLISH TV. I’ve heard old radio shows people my age don’t know unless they are also Military Brats. CBS Radio Mystery Theater, Green Hornet, The Great Gilmer Sleve, Life of Railey to name a few.
There was a time in the good ole USA, where if you lived in a location with just one channel, you either got free or greatly subsidized cable (almost free). And then the providers went nuts and wanted a gabillion subscribers plus exorbitant fees. And yet, we still have commercials?
It’s funny to hear them all crying about subscriber loss now. When you treat the customer like dirt year after year after year… eventually they will rebel against you and the end result might not be pretty.
I do like showing Tablo running off my phone in remote locations. Of course, nowadays it could be confused with standard Internet streaming, it’s when I’m watching (usually) sports live, that’s when they start scratching their heads… or when they wonder how ______ team is doing in the tournament (team that is playing live) and I can pull it up.
Anyway, Tablo is a blessing for me… though I do want to upgrade/augment to a 4 tuner I think. Of course, there’s my secret project… which will have 4+ tuners, fast channel changing, streaming, etc. Almost to demo phase.