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What is your background TV solution?
I've been exploring the world of having the TV on in the background. In the world of FAST streaming, (Free Ad Supported Television) I'm a fan of Midnight Pulp, a live feed of weird, macabre, and strange programming that would fit well in a late night block. Is there a recommendation you have for something to put on when you have to have something on, but not want to pay attention?
I don't know if this is ridiculous or genius. I often scroll though plex endlessly weighing options, but I also hate coming in half way through a movie. I've never used plex dvr so not entirely sure how this would look from a ui perspective. Is there a menu akin to cable TV? Either way I've bookmarked this for interest. Thanks for sharing @trebory6
This just sounds like THE coolest invention I’ve ever heard.
When do you start your subscription service??? Just sayin, it is really impressive that you’ve created something so complete and well thought out.
I completely understand. Hypothetical only. It would be incredible to teach how to set something like that up though. It really is impressive to read just how much work you’ve put into said system. Thanks for giving hope for something so nostalgic and complete.
This is honestly awesome, is there a tutorial on how to set this sort of thing up? Or is it pretty straightforward?
That sounds awesome! It sounds like a nice mix of nostalgia and helps eliminate that feel of "what do I watch".
Does it take much processing power to run so many channels?
Not the original commenter, but the way these IPTV concepts typically work is that they run the schedule, but they don't actually play the media unless someone tunes in to the channel, so that way it's not constantly streaming a bunch of media to no one.
That would make sense, thank you for clarifying that. It's my first time hearing of this and it sounds pretty cool. Hopefully, I'll be able to set up a homelab again at some point to fiddle with this kind of stuff.
This is such a phenomenal idea! I will definitely be setting this up with my Plex server
Just a few shows I’ve found to be good background TV:
Some of these streams are available on FAST channels like the Roku Channel, but another option are putting up Twitch streams of musicians (or if you’re lucky an artist that also plays music).
There’s also a whole related genre of Slow TV that is very pleasant background TV if you’re doing things around the house and not particularly on the couch watching TV.
I couldn't be able to do MST3k or Futurama because I'd just end up watching it because of how much I love those shows.
Oh hello other me.
Bobs burgers and futurama are basically my main shoes for background. I justify my Disney subscription just for those two shows alone.
I've found Seinfeld to be pretty good. Also, torrents are your friend.
Currently it's Suits. Formulaic plots and the main characters are generally good guys. Diverse elements of law, business, romance, comedy, etc.
Historically it's been:
And if you're into YouTube then:
Back when it was on Netflix, my goto was Star Trek TNG. 7 seasons of 34 minute episodes, I've seen them all a number of times so I can pop back into the shows at any point and not be lost. It's not overly distracting either.
For the longest time, I had Star Trek playing as my background noise show. Basically anything from The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager.
I don't find Enterprise comforting enough to have it as a background show. And the Original Series has very jarring 70s background music and effect sounds that just makes it more stressful to listen to.
Other than that, I've had Futurama and Psych as my background shows from time to time too.
Sounds like a lot of folks here have the same core memories that I do, of watching ‘90s Nickelodeon, classic reruns on Nick at Nite / TV Land, TNG-era Star Trek, etc. That stuff is great comfort food.
But you know what you really need? Two things.
GAME SHOWS. Not the cerebral kind, the wacky kind. Find some old episodes of Let’s Make a Deal, Press Your Luck, Gong Show, Supermarket Sweep, The Price Is Right, Win Lose or Draw, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Family Double Dare, What’s My Line, To Tell The Truth, Deal or No Deal, Family Feud, and so on. This is great low-stakes background junk food TV.
SKETCH COMEDY. Everybody’s tastes differ but for this purpose I’d avoid edgy/shocking stuff like Mr. Show, Key & Peele, etc. Think more along the lines of Fry and Laurie, Mitchell & Webb, Saturday Night Live, MADtv, In Living Color, Monty Python, heck I’d throw in some improv stuff like Whose Line Is It Anyway and some older vintage stuff like Abbott & Costello, Laurel & Hardy, The Three Stooges too.
The Office US
Parks and Rec
Arrested Development
Archer
Friends
Lucifer
The Good Place
Depends on the time of day and the vibe I'm feeling. I do a lot of torrenting and have a whole section for what I call 2000s Sunday Morning Cartoon/Adult Swim/Toonami that I run in the background a lot late at night. I also found a directory that had like hundreds of their old bumps (the random messages and music that'd play with black background and white text), which I intersperse between the episodes, and a few just like lofi jazzy/hip hoppy music videos in for good measure.
Non-Exhaustive list of shows in the rotation DBZ, Inu Yasha, Yu Yu Hakusho, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Megas XLR, American Dad, Family Guy (early seasons), Space Ghost, Venture Bros, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Regular Show, Adventure Time, Cat Dog, Tom and Jerry, the Smurfs, The Boondocks, Superjail
For me, it's old British sitcoms, such as:
The Good Life
To the Manor Born
Are You Being Served?
'Allo, 'Allo
The Goodies
And, a couple of American sitcoms:
Bewitched
The Brady Bunch
I Dream of Jeannie
The Addams Family
They're light, fluffy, and easy to drop in and out of, because the plots aren't complicated. Also, these shows were on TV (usually as re-runs) when I was a child and a teenager, so they have nostalgic appeal.
And, for some reason, I find British accents more comfortable than American accents.
I find it fascinating that you find British accents more comfortable than American accents, considering how ubiquitous American accents are on TV. I assume you're from neither the UK nor the US?
I am from the UK and also enjoy a selection of what you listed under old British Sitcoms, but my preferences are:
I also rewatch The Inbetweeners every couple of years or so (All episodes + Movies), which I think is one of the most entertaining programs every released. I do wonder if it's as funny for people who didn't grow up in the UK though, as a lot of the joy I took from it was from my own similar experiences growing up in the British state school system.
You assume correctly. I am an out and proud Aussie. Yes, we get a lot of American content on our television screens, but we also get a lot of British content. And the British accents are generally closer to the Australian accent than American accents are. That makes British accents more familiar. To my ear, American accents and voices are slightly harsher than their British equivalents. These factors combine to mean that British shows are usually more comforting to me than American shows, in terms of tone, and are therefore the sort of shows I would want to have on in the background while doing other things.
I never got into 'Fools and Horses' or 'Porridge'. On the other hand, 'Blackadder' and 'Fawlty Towers' are definitely not background viewing (as per the OP's request); they're shows that I want to actively watch.
When I need something that I can be sure won't distract me, I pick Star Trek: The Next Generation. Now, that specific option may not be helpful to you, but I pick that specifically because I grew up during its original run on TV, an bought the DVDs when they became available. I have watched TNG so many times that I can run through an entire episode in my head in seconds when I see the title. I know it extremely well. So if I want something that I don't have to pay attention to, I know I can safely put on TNG, because I can either walk away from it, or completely ignore it, and know I'm not missing anything at all.
My go tos are:
Cooking competition shows. Tubi and Pluto both have all but the most recent seasons of Masterchef Australia and USA, along with many other series. Low stakes and I don't miss much if I zone out.
Dimension 20 has been a pretty solid background show for me. I don't get as into it as some other people seem to, but I like it enough to have it on while doing other things.
That's exactly how I consume Dimension 20 too. I like it but I can't seem to stand just watching it on its own without doing something else.
I do usually watch the first episode with full attention first though. Just to understand the world, general plot, and characters.
The next episodes are then delegated to something I listen to while I do something else.
None, due to ecological reasons. Every information sent via Internet costs energy. Streaming video costs way more than e.g. streaming music. So I prefer background music instead of videos.
If we can't find or are too tired to look for something to watch, Law & Order: SVU is great background... The unmistakable "dun-dun" sound in between scenes is reassuring for some reason. Familiar characters and new ones across 20+ seasons. One of our cats' name is even Detective Tutuola. :)
I have a weakness for slow TV. I like a lot of different types, but the original Norwegian ones are great. I particularly like the Bergen to Oslo train ride (7 hours of relaxing train journey!) and Nasjonal strikkekveld (National Knitting night) where they do a sheep to sweater attempt and discuss how they learned their stranded knitting techniques. Super cozy. If I just need something on in th background, I will put on Camping With Steve and pick one of my favorites (stealth camping in a roundabout is great). If I'm going to be looking up and watching occasionally, I'll throw on a restoration video from a few channels I like on YouTube.
I have ADHD, so I'll put on a video where someone else is doing the thing I need to do to give me motivation to do my task and we can "both do it together" and I'm sure some of my favorites above reflect something of that so ymmv!
For me it's the first 7 seasons of Trailer Park Boys.
My brother introduced me to the show right as I was finishing high school before it became popular/got on Netflix. After I went to college and it got on Netflix I would often just play it on repeat in my room at my fraternity since there were so many people who hadn't seen it before and would pop in for an episode or two or I'd leave it on while I fell asleep.
Nowadays I mainly listen to podcasts instead to pass the time but every now and then when I need something to take the edge off of work I'll throw an episode in the background while I work.
If you like weird, late-night style programming; there's a whole section of YouTube I call the Spooky Club. People like Wedigoon, Nexpo, Night Mind, ReignBot and a ton of others that have hours of commentary that just live in the background for me. I've also got about 2500 videos in my Watch Later list that I slog through at work.
I don't normally watch traditional TV in the background but I do have a media server with old Discovery shows, long running Sci-fi like Star Trek, Battlestar and Stargate; and a lot of anime dubs like DBZ, One Piece and Pokémon.
Yu-Gi-Oh is my background show of choice.
Community
Veep
Futurama
HIMYM
Malcolm in the middle
Early simpsons
A Spanish sitcom called aquí no hay quien viva
Their history channel is my go-to. Those classic tv documentaries are presented in a way that makes me want to fall asleep, not that they're boring and uninteresting.