We had Direct TV in 2002, because my younger son was annoying me about not having access to "real news," and the town we lived in did not have cable until 2003. Every time the wind blew, or it rained, the signal went out. We got cable as soon as it became available.
About 3 years ago, DH went on a rant about paying for the basic cable we had and dropped it. We got a digital antenna, which gets a very good signal, but of course, only local stations. I missed CNN, and most of all HGTV. So then we got an Apple TV device for our kitchen and bedroom TVs. Of course, you have to know how to use it with the I Pad and I just never can remember how to do this. I got increasingly pissed about this, because the only shows we could watch from the Apple TV were old or crappy ones. Yes, we have occasionally streamed stuff from Amazon, but I don't care that much about movies. So, then we upgraded to get cable, so we could watch current shows through Apple TV. Just last month, I convinced DH to break down and get an HD cable box for our family room TV. And voila, I am actually watching some newer, current series on HBO. However, I mostly am watching HGTV and looking forward to not having to watch the Tour on my computer. I still wish we would get cable boxes for the other 2 TVs, because even though we now have complete access to cable shows throught he Apple TV, the damn thing never seems to work correctly, so I just ignore the thought of trying to learn how to use it.