I have a strange relationship with TV.

When I was a kid, my parents limited my TV time to 2 hours a day. Once I moved out, I was watching everything I could, like some crazed TV vampire. Then I quit cold turkey and went with over-the-air broadcasting, which at the time meant just watching CBS for 2 years. Then I met my wife, we got DirectV, and we’ve had an up and down relationship with them ever since.

There are reports now that Apple is trying out $.99 TV shows. The goal is to put the new pricing tiers in place for the release of the iPad, making what’s assumed to be a huge product for Apple even bigger. Apparently the iPad was the big game changer, and even though the subscription thing didn’t work out for Apple – yet – this might.

I pay $85 a month for DirectV, and I only have one special package – Showtime – and I only watch that for Dexter. I do watch a lot of television, but I bet that all tolled, I wouldn’t have more than $50 a month in shows via iTunes. I would MUCH rather go that route and cut down my cable bill, and I think that Apple sees a lot of potential with that. Plus, then I get to keep my shows, which is a lot more appealing to me anyways. I know the cable companies don’t like it, but if they cared about me they’d keep their appointments. “Be home between 8 am and 9 pm” they say, then they show up four days later, drunk, and apologizing.

Santa was good to the Whipps family this year. Although I didn’t get everything I wanted, the biggie was right there under the tree: A shiny, PS3 slim. I’m a bit of a console nut, and so is my wife. We have every Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony console ever built, and even a Sega Genesis for fun. A few months ago, we had a room dedicated to our gaming, which was not only cool, but kept everything nicely organized. But when my wife found out she was pregnant in July, we stripped down the room and made it the new spot for the baby. That meant we moved all of our consoles into the living room, next to our DVD player and AppleTV.

For a long time, the AppleTV was the only thing in the house setup on an HDMI cable, and that’s because our Samsung DLP TV only has one HDMI input. That wasn’t a big deal until we got the PS3, and next thing I knew, we needed to get an HDMI switcher, plus extra cables.

Ever been down the cable aisle in a Best Buy? It’s covered with landmines and all sorts of nasty stuff, including $100 gold-plated cables that promise a better signal, even though I know that no amount of plating is going to make the series of bits sent over the digital connection any clearer. Every cable is expensive there, and I knew there was another alternative. I just had to sign on.

It’s called Monoprice.com, and I had heard of them before because of their super-cheap Mac cables, plus their mini-display port to HDMI plug.  I had never ordered from them before, but an IT friend of mine spoke highly of their customer service, so I gave it a shot. Saturday the 26th, I ordered three HDMI cables in varying lengths, totaling just under $30.

Since the total weight was under 10 lbs, I was offered free overnight shipping. It was a Saturday, so I figured that come Tuesday, everything would be at the house, good to go. I ordered it with overnight shipping and went on my way.

The next morning, I get an e-mail from Monoprice saying that my order had shipped. “Whatever,” I think to myself. “Must be their automated system. It’s the Sunday after Christmas, no way they’ve been shipped out.”

Flash to Monday morning. It’s 7:45 a.m. and I’m on the couch in my boxers and a t-shirt eating breakfast while watching a DVR’d episode of Dirty Jobs, when the doorbell rings. I was obviously indisposed, so my wife answers the door to find a box sitting there, all nice and happy. Sure enough, three cables from Monoprice were inside, exactly what I had ordered. A few hours later, the cables were hooked to the AppleTV and everything was good to go.

Most of the time I write about new Mac apps, or cool things for the iPhone, but sometimes it’s important to note that there’s someone out there who has our back. Not only does Monoprice carry Mac adaptors for way cheaper than Apple, but they’re quick about it too. In my book, that means a lot.

I love Handbrake. Why? It’s a free DVD ripper for the Mac, that’s why. But more specifically, it can help turn your Mac into a media powerhouse.

For years, I’ve wanted to digitize my movie collection the same way my music was in iTunes. I remember spending hours burning my CDs to the hard drive, wondering when the pain would ever stop. Now that it’s done, I haven’t bought a physical CD in over 3 years. Why couldn’t I do the same thing with my music?

Turns out, I can, and Handbrake is the answer. I put in my DVD, and a few hours later it spits out a digital file in the format I’m looking for. Apple TV? Sure. iPhone? Got it. Whatever it is, I can download it to my hard drive easily and conveniently.

The only catch here comes with HD flicks. As of right now, no one makes a Blu-Ray player for the Mac, and until Apple decides to integrate it into the product line (hint, hint) there aren’t many other options. I could do it with a PC, sure, but that’s besides the point. For now, the only choice I have is to download HD movies from iTunes, and until their selection goes up, that’s what I’m left with.

In the meantime, I’m continuing to expand my collection via Handbrake. Want it? It’s free to all, so go get it.

Handbrake

With the “Discovery” App. for the iPhone, the television channel is available for free. Sift through the innumerable videos, as if screening for gold in a vast mine’s archive. There are innumerable videos of the shows “Deadliest Catch” and “MythBusters” as well as random things like “Destroyed in Seconds: Flaming Steeple Collapse” and they are updated daily.

Do you like to watch the show that pits “Man vs. Wild”? If you do, then look no further for on September 15, 2009 “Man vs. Wild: Tarantula Breakfast” was posted for the sheer sake of the education and entertainment of mobile viewers.

If a little downtime is a void needing filling then this great feature of the Discovery Channel could scratch the thinking person’s, non-thinking person’s, or pioneer person’s itch. There is no label needed; the Discovery Channel is now everyone’s.

Grade: A

Discovery Channel

In a very uncharacteristic move, Apple has posted an online survey asking you where you get your content, what you watch it on, and even what kind of remote you use with the device.

I’d love to take the survey, but as I write this – the thing is being hit with so much traffic that I can’t seem to get it to load.