ᐅ Is a "Free TV" Connection Still Worth It?

You could just smile, or dismiss it as a generational shift, or whatever. And sure, whether the third-rate soap opera is on Netflix or ZDF makes no real difference. But where does Generation Internet get its information? I don’t think they have subscriptions to FAZ or Spiegel. They don’t watch news channels, magazines, Phönix, or Arte. So they probably spend time on YouTube channels of questionable nature. Where the main theme is a black man having sex with blond women after grabbing them, or a Muslim raping a 25-year-old, or an Afghan stealing from pensioners and selling drugs, and so on. What’s really happening in the world—Trump upsetting Erdogan in NATO, Draghi about to raise interest rates, Merkel being praised by Schröder but not Nahles—is not learned from these YouTube channels or infotainment channels like N24, which prefer to report on the largest excavator in the world. The result is a dumbed-down, albeit highly educated, Excel-savvy but otherwise uninformed generation.
So, get satellite TV. And read. Karsten

@Nordlys

Sorry for the blunt correction, but it’s actually the other way around: Only by choosing the range of different online sources myself do I get information that later proves to be accurate and important to ME (instead of the trendsetters in newspapers and TV).

There is a consensus on certain topics that established media have been spreading for decades. The internet offers a way out of this large filter bubble.

The time when professional journalists provided analyses of a quality that was otherwise unavailable to the average person has been over for more than a decade.

Nothing more to add. Television is—now more than ever—a medium for entertainment.

Nordlys schrieb:
You could smile about it, or dismiss it as a generational shift, or whatever. And sure, whether the third-rate soap opera is on Netflix or ZDF doesn’t really matter. But where does the internet generation get their information? I don’t think they subscribe to newspapers like FAZ or Der Spiegel. They don’t watch news channels, magazines, Phönix, or Arte. So they probably hang out on rather dubious YouTube channels. Where the main themes are a black man having sex with blondes and groping them beforehand. Or a Muslim raping a 25-year-old. Or an Afghan stealing from pensioners and selling drugs. And so on. What’s really going on in the world — like Trump upsetting Erdogan in NATO, Draghi soon raising interest rates, Merkel being praised by Schröder while Nahles isn’t — you don’t get that from YouTube channels or infotainment channels like N24 that’d rather report on the biggest excavator in the world. The result is a dumber generation, well educated and skilled in Excel, but dumb otherwise.
So take satellite TV. And read. Karsten

That’s what you have your smartphone for when you go to the bathroom!

M4rvin schrieb:
Yes, it’s the same for me. That’s why I’m asking—maybe I can swap the satellite (SAT) outlets for LAN ports. I only have two LAN ports in some rooms, but they want to charge an extra 80€ per outlet.

How do you watch free TV then? Like through Entertain or one of the many other providers?

Personally, I would still install satellite, especially since the cost factor is relatively low. Just make sure the coaxial cable also goes into the conduit and that any necessary pull boxes are included; otherwise, you won’t be able to swap them later.

Regarding the network: what do you mean by two outlets? One double outlet or two double outlets? For the TV and office areas, I wouldn’t skimp on LAN connections. Don’t forget a LAN outlet for central Wi-Fi access points.

If the rain is too heavy and the satellite signal drops out, I sometimes switch to the broadcasters’ media libraries or services like Zattoo. The downside is with live sports—your neighbor with satellite will celebrate the goal while you see it 30 seconds later.

I did it this way and, just to be safe, had the coaxial cables installed. I skipped the satellite dish and related equipment like splitters. Instead, I installed network outlets everywhere so the kids can choose how they want to watch their video content.

Independent of Wi-Fi, there is a network connection for devices where an IPTV set-top box can be connected. This is definitely cheaper than having to subscribe to an HD+ package for multiple TVs. With my IPTV service, I save a significant amount compared to that.

After almost 8 years of IPTV through Entertain (in my previous apartment), I’ve never really experienced a service outage... whereas the original satellite receiver that was there at the time eventually broke down. The Entertain set-top boxes (rented devices with a lower rental fee every year) are easy to replace without hassle.