Things To Consider When Signing Up For Cable Or Satellite

It is hard to believe that less than three decades ago most people had access to only a half dozen television stations. Thanks to cable and satellite TV, there is now almost more access to info and entertainment than it's possible to keep track of. There are also so many entertainment offers floating around that it can be hard to tell from all the ads, circulars and mailings what the best cable and satellite packages are. To help you figure it all out, here are some basic things you should consider:

Do Your Research

Instead of waiting for the deals to come to you, go out on your own and do a little research. If you are intrigued by an ad for the latest Time Warner cable deals, check out a website that can help you to find out the details for yourself. The best offers don't necessarily tap you on the shoulder when you want them to, so research the market on your own.

Narrow the Choices

Once you have a general idea of what sort of deals are out there, then you must decide which type of package is best for your specific needs. What is there in your price range? What extras do you want? When you know in advance what you're looking for, it is much easier to negotiate the kind of deal you want

Make Contact

Once you know exactly what you want and what you're willing to pay, now is the time to contact by telephone or online the companies that carry the kind of cable/satellite coverage you want. Don't be afraid to ask for discounts, free channels or any other promotional offers that may be available.

After Signing-up

Most cable/satellite deals come with a promo period after which you can re-negotiate your deal. If there are things you are not happy with, that is the time to suggest changes. You will be surprised what companies will sometimes do to keep your business! Don't overlook this opportunity to pocket even more savings.

Full Access

We live in a wonderful age of electronic entertainment, but not all cable-satellite deals are created equal. By doing your research, narrowing your choices, contacting the provider and pursuing every chance to save, you will find you have access to everything you want at an affordable price.

Home Theater Watch

The Home Theater Watch is designed to give you the experience of a home theater with the functionality of a watch. This means that you can tell time and watch your favorite movie right from your very own wrist. Complete strangers will be in awe as they stand in line with complete boredom at the Department of Motor Vehicles and you are watching the latest releases on your wrist.

Now, as every word travels from this article into your mind, you can experience a universe of your favorite entertainment at the ready in any circumstance. With 2GB of built-in storage, you will be able to store a full-length feature film on your watch. In addition to being a video viewer, the Home Theater Watch plays MP1, MP2, or MP3 and WMA audio files, and allows you to view JPEG images. The screen is a stunningly LARGE 1.5 inches and features a brilliant 260K color display capability. Your videos and images will look just like they do on your PC.

Connecting the Home Theater Watch to your PC is as simple as connecting any USB device.

MORE INFO

New service by TiVo - bridges Internet to the TV

Reports that TiVo today plans to announce a new set of Internet-based services that will allow users to download movies and music to their video recorder's hard drive. "We're fully committed to developing an entertainment experience you can't get over normal broadcast television. This is what we think the future of television is," said Michael Ramsay, chairman and CEO of TiVo. According to the article, the move may be intended to insulate TiVo from potential competition from DirectTV, which may move to develop its own video recorder. Netflix, RealNetworks and Blockbuster are looking into Internet video distribution as well, says the article. Also, phone companies are looking for ways move video and television programming via D.S.L.

YouTube on your Apple Tv

Starting this month, Apple TV users will be able to select "YouTube" as an option from the device's main menu and view thousands of the most viewed and most popular videos on the site.

Apple TV is designed to connect a wide-screen television with content purchased or downloaded over the Internet by a Mac or PC. Until now, however, Apple TV users looking for content were mostly dependent on television programs or movies they had purchased through the iTunes Store. There's no browser inside the interface that would let users access other Internet videos, though they could move their home videos to Apple TV.

Now, Apple has designed a hook into YouTube that will let Apple TV owners access the most popular videos that have been converted into the h.264 standard, said David Moody, vice president for Mac hardware marketing at Apple. The full catalog of YouTube videos will be available later in the year, as YouTube converts the rest, Moody said.