{"id":42069,"date":"2023-11-29T10:29:07","date_gmt":"2023-11-29T15:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/?p=42069"},"modified":"2023-11-29T10:30:58","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T15:30:58","slug":"christmas-disk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2023\/11\/29\/christmas-disk\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Disks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a title=\"Untitled\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/willceau\/53361369840\/in\/dateposted-public\/\" data-flickr-embed=\"true\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53361369840_0b0fb6c68d_z.jpg?resize=640%2C480&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Untitled\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>While I didn&#8217;t join the throngs throwing hard earned currency at cheaply made, overpriced goods, I did take advantage of some Black Friday deals on streaming channels. The prices seemed too good to be true, and that turned out to be the case as I signed into these services. In addition to the subscription fee, these channels are also supported by advertising &#8212; <em>lots<\/em> and <em>lots<\/em> of advertising. The streaming boxes were supposed to be the dream of cord cutters looking to rid themselves of the expense and less than stellar service of cable television. Having sampled some of my Black Friday bargain streaming services over the long weekend, I regret to report that streaming has metastasized into the thing it was meant to replace. It IS cable television only with a LOT more commercials! Even HBO which was the original sanctuary from irritating interruptions now runs them wall-to-wall. If I thought I was just going to bask in a filmed narrative crafted by top talents in Hollywood, I had another thing coming. I couldn&#8217;t do it without the constant ads for psoriasis medication and razors designed for the delicate areas of spectacularly unattractive people. It is grim.<\/p>\n<p>After being battered by a particularly brutal barrage of paid announcements while streaming <em>Planes, Trains and Automobiles <\/em>on PlutoTV, I decided to give the little Roku box a break. The family still had a yen for holiday favorites so I retreated to the respite of physical media. We broke out the Christmas DVDs along with the Christmas decorations! I have plenty on hand, and if I run out, I can always count on my buddy and fellow DVD hoarder Bill to lend me classics such as <em>It Happened on Fifth Avenue!<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"34813\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2020\/07\/11\/in-praise-of-physical-media\/cd-673227_640\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/cd-673227_640.jpg?fit=640%2C426&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"640,426\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-title=\"cd-673227_640\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/cd-673227_640.jpg?fit=640%2C426&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-34813\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/cd-673227_640.jpg?resize=640%2C426&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/cd-673227_640.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/cd-673227_640.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>No ads! No tracking! No bandwidth limitations! Long live DVDs!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I regret to report that streaming has metastasized into the thing it was meant to replace. It IS cable television only with a LOT more commercials! <a href=\"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2023\/11\/29\/christmas-disk\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3456,5084],"tags":[86,1044,645,5333,4098],"class_list":["post-42069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weird-world-of-the-roku","category-whats-on-tv","tag-christmas","tag-commercials","tag-dvd","tag-physical-media","tag-streaming"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1ed1x-aWx","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":39999,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2023\/02\/07\/the-wages-of-sin-on-tubi-tv\/","url_meta":{"origin":42069,"position":0},"title":"The Wages of Sin on Tubi TV","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"February 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Tammy Clarke in Girl in Trouble (1963) Tubi TV is the gift that keeps giving as far as streaming services are concerned. There are online channels I subscribe to and for which I pay a monthly fee, but I keep on drifting back to the free Tubi. Of course, Tubi\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Trash or Treasure&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Trash or Treasure","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/trash-or-treasure\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Tammy-Clarke.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Tammy-Clarke.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Tammy-Clarke.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Tammy-Clarke.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Tammy-Clarke.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38057,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2022\/07\/03\/the-fabulous-flea-market-of-streaming-channels\/","url_meta":{"origin":42069,"position":1},"title":"The Fabulous Flea Market of Streaming Channels","author":"Joe","date":"July 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"As I've said before, when I am sketching, I like to have noise in the background which is sometimes music but it's usually the TV tuned to something that doesn't require my strict attention. Trashy television shows and B movies tend to fit the bill, but on the ordinary streaming\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Stuff Joe Likes&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Stuff Joe Likes","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/stuff-joe-likes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/The-Flea-Market-of-Television.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/The-Flea-Market-of-Television.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/The-Flea-Market-of-Television.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20940,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2016\/08\/04\/pluto-tv\/","url_meta":{"origin":42069,"position":2},"title":"Pluto TV","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"August 4, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A post-Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, pre-Trog Joan Crawford in an episode of forgotten television series Route 66. I discovered this odd television guest appearance while surfing the channels on my Roku box. Yes, you can surf channels on the Roku just as you can on a cable TV subscription\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Weird World of the Roku&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Weird World of the Roku","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/weird-world-of-the-roku\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/plutotv.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/plutotv.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/plutotv.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44047,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2024\/11\/05\/is-it-over-yet\/","url_meta":{"origin":42069,"position":3},"title":"Is it over yet?","author":"Joe","date":"November 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"14 years ago when I purchased my first Roku box, the whole concept of streaming video was in its infancy and it was great! For a fraction of the cost of a cable television subscription I could watch what I wanted when I wanted. Sadly, the notion of streaming caught\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Weird World of the Roku&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Weird World of the Roku","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/weird-world-of-the-roku\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/REV-RCA_Indian_Head_test_pattern.jpg?fit=1152%2C864&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/REV-RCA_Indian_Head_test_pattern.jpg?fit=1152%2C864&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/REV-RCA_Indian_Head_test_pattern.jpg?fit=1152%2C864&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/REV-RCA_Indian_Head_test_pattern.jpg?fit=1152%2C864&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/REV-RCA_Indian_Head_test_pattern.jpg?fit=1152%2C864&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23951,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2018\/07\/03\/black-sunday\/","url_meta":{"origin":42069,"position":4},"title":"Black Sunday","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"July 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I've written before about the Wonderfully Weird Channels of the Roku and how the little device is a gift of modern technology for which I have always been thankful. Well, now I am afraid to report to you that I have to look this gift horse in the mouth. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Weird World of the Roku&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Weird World of the Roku","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/weird-world-of-the-roku\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/spraypaint.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/spraypaint.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/spraypaint.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23105,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2018\/01\/09\/more-thoughts-on-leaving-netflix\/","url_meta":{"origin":42069,"position":5},"title":"More Thoughts on Leaving Netflix","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"January 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I have a few more thoughts bouncing around my brain pan on cancelling my Netflix subscription\u00a0which I thought I would share with you. I have been a Netflix subscriber since the end of the 20th Century and practically all of the 21st Century with a short detour to a forgotten\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Weird World of the Roku&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Weird World of the Roku","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/weird-world-of-the-roku\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/netflix.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/netflix.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/netflix.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42069\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}