For Christmas this year my family bought me an upgrade to my current television box which is used for streaming any tv program, film ever produced or sporting event anywhere in the world and this is kind of magic. The problem is the new tv box was faulty and had to wait for a replacement which arrived a few days ago and is pictured below.
A bit late for the Winter Olympics which was not available on South African television due to the broadcasters saying this is a niche interest and not enough mass appeal. If I had this new tv box the chances are I may still have struggled as the television is a good 6 or 7 years old and knowing how SA works that means this tv set is about 9 years old when comparing to what is on offer around the world.
When I was importing televisions back in the early 2000's the no name Samsung TV's were 2 years ahead of the local televisions and this information was given to me by the electronics company handling my service and warranty for my customers. They were at the the time blown away by the difference in tech to what televisions we were offering compared to the local Samsung's. Not only that but the tv's were landing at roughly 25% of the price and why I say mark ups on electronic goods are 70% and if you want to know the real landed cost divide by 3.
Taking that into consideration that the tv is old I ordered a new one and it is quite remarkable how the prices have tumbled over the last 20 years. Considering everything else has risen with inflation a tv is one item that has gone against the trend and is roughly 60% cheaper today than when I was involved.
I actually do not watch a lot of television but when I do I do not want to see repeats which is what the local cable company offers. The live sport is great even though limited, but the shows and films are generally 3 or 4 years old besides one or two exceptions. My son started watching a tv series and they only had season 1 only to find out the rest of the world was on season 5 so it just goes to show you are not limited if you have the tech that is available.
We as a family stopped our cable subscriptions about 10 years ago and have been using tv boxes ever since as once you see what is available you will not look back. The crazy thing is I can get all the local cable channels using this box plus using various apps that are available tune into a library of films dating back to the 1950's to present day all categorized under their specific genres. When I say every film ever made is listed I am not joking and are all available.
I am no technical person so I will have to wait for the family to set my new toys up and will take notice so if there are any questions I can at least answer them. Tech changes so quickly it is hard to keep up and for some reason my family keeps me out the loop. They already have this set up around the house in various rooms and my mancave ie the lounge has been neglected.
The programs that are aired today in the US and other countries around the world are available within 24 hours and you are told via the continually updating app what is new. Very rarely do I watch any type of series, but at least now I can spread my wings and locate possible programs I might be interested in. This is mainly going to be used for sporting purposes with the occasional film that is released on the circuit and is ready to watch. This is possibly a good enough reason to avoid the cinema as this tv box has the very latest films as well.
I will take some photos once it is up and running so everyone can get an idea of what is available as it will blow your socks off. My thoughts are why settle when you can have this set up at home and from my understanding the only tv we pay for is Netflix which when using a VPN opens up other shows not currently available wherever you might be in the world.