I love TV.

I hate the inefficiency, expense and frustration that comes with a cable service. Hence why we’ve cancelled our cable and become a Netflix / Hulu Plus household! Huzzah!

 
How TV actually works:
 
– Sign a two-year agreement to pay an awesome rate for six months. Cry, bleed, scream and throw things upon looking at every subsequent bill. Perhaps sell priceless antique engagement ring on left hand to afford stupid contract.
– Get a finicky DVR box installed by a stranger and an uber complicated remote (sans instructions). Cry, bleed, scream and throw things trying to figure out how to use it.
– Turn on the TV to find 50 gajillion channels, 99% of which I will never watch. Cry, scream, bleed and throw things trying to find Dexter. 

Do I look like I want to watch reruns of “The Simple Life?”

 
How TV should work:

– Live stream the show you want from your TV (via a wireless connection). Control it with your iPad or smartphone. No remote or annoying box required. Smart TVs already exist (like this cool Samsung), so this is a perfectly reasonable request.
– Pay per network on a monthly basis with no contract. I’ll have the power to change what networks I have access to at the start of every month. When Project Runway ends, I don’t have to pay for Lifetime anymore. That does mean that my bill will be more complicated. I’ll have to manage my own networks. But if I don’t want to change anything, there’s no added complication.
– Mobile integration. If I’m out, I can still watch live TV. On my iPad. Really, that should be a no-brainer by now.
 
I know this probably won’t happen because of deals with networks and other logistical mumbo jumbo. But I wish it would.
 
How do you feel about your cable service? Have you found one you liked?

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