WHY is it so fucking impossible to watch TV?

[BlackAmericanoNoSugar]

I've been watching TV for decades, but now it's so hard to do that it's not really worth trying. DH and the DC have gone away for a few days and so it's an ideal time to watch something that I recorded at the weekend. But I CAN'T some fucker has done something to it, and even tracing the right cable for the digibox and swapping it for whatever cable was in the TV hasn't made it work. So I also can't watch regular TV. Instead I thought I would watch Netflix through the Xbox from the comfort of the armchair instead of watching it on my computer like I usually do. But the Xbox is refusing to cooperate and is scrolling through all the options so quickly that I can't see what they are, never mind choose one.

And it's not just me, my 75 yr old mother, who doesn't have kids in the house to fuck stuff up for her, is also regularly unable to make the TV work and my brother has to go up and reset it for her. She has also been watching TV with ease for decades up until the last 10 years or so.

Why is it so fucking difficult? It's the easiest concept of all the entertainment things, all the TV has to do is receive a signal. Most technology has been getting easier and more intuitive through time, what fucker thought it would be a good idea to make TVs completely illogical and temperamental.

Printers! I set up our printer, on the wifi, and organised everyone's phones and laptops so that they could all print on it. You would think they would be more grateful and make the tv work for me!

Since we got a Roku TV it's all been much easier.

Still have about 24 cables hanging out of the back of the TV though.

Hate it all! My poor mum. She has two TVs, one up one down. The up is a replacement for her old upstairs one. So three TVs that all work differently, plus the ones in my dad's hospital rooms. She hasn't got a hope.

All different all co plicated. Smart my foot!

I can’t work TVs either. I thought it was just me being thick . I’m generally okay with technology, but TVs defeat me. There are so many buttons on the remotes and you need 2-3 different remotes to work each box and then the screen.

We don’t have a TV at home now as there’s nothing much worth watching and we’re not interested, but I really struggle at work. I try to put the TV on for the residents or adjust the programme or volume, but never seem to manage then I have to call someone to do it. It’s embarrassing. I have an above average iq and can work computers, phones, tablets etc.

They’re far too complicated now. I’m glad to hear it’s not just me.

This happens to me too,and it drives me nuts. If I tell DH that there's a problem with the tv he takes bugger all notice until there's something he wants to watch. Then it's a different story! Oh yes, all the stops come out to make sure that it's working for the football!

We have so many bolt on, we have three remotes which is two too many imo.

You have my sympathy OP.

IMO it's mostly blokes who design these things, and IMO blokes LOVE making things complicated.

We recently got a new TV after the old one packed up, and it's just not as simple as the old one - it doesn't just come straight on when you switch on. We don't have Sky or anything, just Freeview, but this TV does have Netflix and catch-up etc. Dh just loves fiddling with it....

I bloody hate dd's TV - they have Virgin Media or something, and when alone with Gdcs and they are clamouring for Fireman Sam/Masha and the Bear, I can never remember what to do when it's saying 'no signal' etc. I have asked them time and again to leave me WRITTEN instructions, but they just think it's funny that poor old mum/Granny is so quaintly and cluelessly old fashioned!

There's a market opportunity here!

"they just think it's funny that poor old mum/Granny is so quaintly and cluelessly old fashioned!" That's rude of them! Remind them you taught THEM how to use a spoon and a toilet!!

Yes! To marketing opp

Most people just want a telly you can turn on, switch to a channel or easily stream on. Technically that's not hard.

Yes also to it must be men designing, frankly I think men especially tech men DON'T consider user friendliness but just want to add bells and whistles to show off!

Our telly doesn't even have an on switch which I find baffling. And the built in Netflix app only turns on about 50% of the time without having to reboot.
The telly takes 6 million years to connect to the WiFi.
And I bought a fire stick which I can't seem to actually do anything with!

Now we have the roku TV we have one small remote that controls the TV, netflix, cable TV, and antenna TV.

We don't have a DVD player - if we did, that would be one more remote.

I really recommend it.