Why TV is Broken

[beee]

Nice story:

I turn to that, Beatrix approves, and we watch. Then, a few minutes later, a commercial comes on. The volume difference is jarring to say the least. I would safely guess it is fifty percent louder than the show. I hurriedly reach for the remote and turn it down…

“Why did you turn the movie off, Daddy?”, Beatrix worriedly asks, as if she has done something wrong and is being punished by having her entertainment interrupted. She thinks that’s what I was doing by rushing for the remote.

“I didn’t turn it off, honey. This is just a commercial. I was turning the volume down because it was so loud. Shrek will come back on in a few minutes” I say.

“Did it break?”, she asks. It does sometimes happen at home that Flash or Silverlight implode, interrupt her show, and I have to fix it.

“No. It’s just a commercial.”

“What’s a commercial?”, she asks....

Continue reading:
http://minimalmac.com/post/18189678921/tv-is-broken

[greaper007]

Don't worry, the advertisers will find a new way to get to them.

[Quinn]

This seems to be a bigger problem in the US, the first time I watched tv at a friend's place I was surprised by the number and volume of the ads. I didn't see as many ads when I was living in the UK or asia. With netflix, I just see no reason to watch regular tv.

[Beridian]

I have used a DVR for years.  I record the shows I want to watch, watch them at my convenience, then I can just fast-forward through the commercials.  I can watch a one hour show in about 45 minutes or less.  I even do this for NFL footballs games, I just start watching the game about an hour and a half after it starts.  I can watch a normal NFL game in about an hour or so.

I went to a relatives house last thanksgiving.  We watched the NFL game live.  It was agony.  Three plays, 10 commercials, three plays, 10 commercials, three plays 10 commercials, I don't know how people stomach it.

I don't think I could even watch TV were it not for the DVR.

[RFAAOATB]

I have used a DVR for years.  I record the shows I want to watch, watch them at my convenience, then I can just fast-forward through the commercials.  I can watch a one hour show in about 45 minutes or less.  I even do this for NFL footballs games, I just start watching the game about an hour and a half after it starts.  I can watch a normal NFL game in about an hour or so.

I went to a relatives house last thanksgiving.  We watched the NFL game live.  It was agony.  Three plays, 10 commercials, three plays, 10 commercials, three plays 10 commercials, I don't know how people stomach it.

I don't think I could even watch TV were it not for the DVR.

When I started delaying wrestling or UFC shows to skip through the commercials I ended up fast forwarding through some of the show.  It turns out delayed viewing devalues the entire viewing experience.  As annoying as commercials are, they make you savor the entertainment value of the whole event more.  The end effect is devaluing most of the TV experience.  I discontinued cable service a couple months ago and only get a few channels on antenna.  Watching SNL without skipping commercials was not the worst experience in the world and made me appreciate the show slightly more.

[space]

Actually, this used to be a much bigger problem in the US - basically the equivalent of the loudness wars for music, except much worse since you can amplify voice and limited amounts of music to much higher volumes without clipping. These days, most networks have adopted the equivalent of ReplayGain for advertising volume, so this isn't as much of an issue anymore.

[Runge]

I have used a DVR for years.  I record the shows I want to watch, watch them at my convenience, then I can just fast-forward through the commercials.  I can watch a one hour show in about 45 minutes or less.  I even do this for NFL footballs games, I just start watching the game about an hour and a half after it starts.  I can watch a normal NFL game in about an hour or so.

I went to a relatives house last thanksgiving.  We watched the NFL game live.  It was agony.  Three plays, 10 commercials, three plays, 10 commercials, three plays 10 commercials, I don't know how people stomach it.

I don't think I could even watch TV were it not for the DVR.

This is always an interesting graphic to look at...
http://i.imgur.com/i3OtXsk.png

[MoneyCat]

The only reason I ever watch commercial-supported TV is for live sports and, yeah, sitting through commercials is agony.  That's why I got a DVR box for my OTA antenna, so I can time-shift everything and skip the commercials.  As a side-note, my spending dropped by about 40% overnight when I cut advertising out of my life.  I was shocked by how susceptible I was to advertising.

[deborah]

You don't actually need a TV (someone who hasn't had a TV for 35 years).

[Longwaytogo]

The only reason I ever watch commercial-supported TV is for live sports and, yeah, sitting through commercials is agony.  That's why I got a DVR box for my OTA antenna, so I can time-shift everything and skip the commercials.  As a side-note, my spending dropped by about 40% overnight when I cut advertising out of my life.  I was shocked by how susceptible I was to advertising.

We are dropping cable (verizon Fios) next week. DVR is what I will miss the most, what type have you found success with for OTA atenna?

[MoneyCat]

The only reason I ever watch commercial-supported TV is for live sports and, yeah, sitting through commercials is agony.  That's why I got a DVR box for my OTA antenna, so I can time-shift everything and skip the commercials.  As a side-note, my spending dropped by about 40% overnight when I cut advertising out of my life.  I was shocked by how susceptible I was to advertising.

We are dropping cable (verizon Fios) next week. DVR is what I will miss the most, what type have you found success with for OTA atenna?

I have an iView 3500stbii which was recommended to me by some other people on this forum.  It cost about $35 on Amazon.  It works as a digital converter box/tuner for OTA antennas and has built-in DVR function.  You just need to provide your own external hard drive for storage.  I had an old 250 GB external hard drive laying around that I could use.  It works like a charm.  I don't miss cable at all.

[alsoknownasDean]

The only reason I ever watch commercial-supported TV is for live sports and, yeah, sitting through commercials is agony.  That's why I got a DVR box for my OTA antenna, so I can time-shift everything and skip the commercials.  As a side-note, my spending dropped by about 40% overnight when I cut advertising out of my life.  I was shocked by how susceptible I was to advertising.

I've noticed that even skipping or ignoring the commercials, they'll often still find a way in.

For example, the TV network broadcasting the sports promoting one of their other shows.

Not watching much TV means I notice the ads more. It's bad enough for me to start to prefer listening to the sports on the radio.

[Bardo]

I have used a DVR for years.  I record the shows I want to watch, watch them at my convenience, then I can just fast-forward through the commercials.  I can watch a one hour show in about 45 minutes or less.  I even do this for NFL footballs games, I just start watching the game about an hour and a half after it starts.  I can watch a normal NFL game in about an hour or so.

I went to a relatives house last thanksgiving.  We watched the NFL game live.  It was agony.  Three plays, 10 commercials, three plays, 10 commercials, three plays 10 commercials, I don't know how people stomach it.

I don't think I could even watch TV were it not for the DVR.

And that 11 minutes, my friend, is why I won't sit through the Super Bowl. 

I use Netflix instead of broadcast television, and the broadcast radio stations I listen to are listener-supported, so I'm pretty much able to avoid any exposure at all to broadcast commercials. 

It's not like not having broadcast tv is any kind of sacrifice.  There is more content on Netflix than one could watch in a lifetime.




This is always an interesting graphic to look at...
http://i.imgur.com/i3OtXsk.png

[greaper007]

You don't actually need a TV (someone who hasn't had a TV for 35 years).

There's lots of things we have that we don't need.   I don't think tv still deserves the ire it seems to receive from the "Kill your tv" crowd.   Frankly the absolute best movies with great stories, realistic dialogue, that don't pander to an adolescent audience with gratuitous explosions and empty sex...are now TV shows.

Right now TV is where film was in the 70s and it's every bit as high minded as a Jane Austen novel.    I think it's fantastic that millions of people watched long, multiple seasons of Breaking Bad in a time when we're told that we don't have attention spans and don't want to contemplate weighty issues like morality.

[LadyStache]

This seems to be a bigger problem in the US, the first time I watched tv at a friend's place I was surprised by the number and volume of the ads. I didn't see as many ads when I was living in the UK or asia. With netflix, I just see no reason to watch regular tv.

This is so true. When I was abroad, we were watching American shows on TV. When we went to check the channel guide we noticed the shows that are an hour long in the US are only 45 minutes long in Europe. The difference? 15 minutes of extra commercials.

[Jack]

This seems to be a bigger problem in the US, the first time I watched tv at a friend's place I was surprised by the number and volume of the ads. I didn't see as many ads when I was living in the UK or asia. With netflix, I just see no reason to watch regular tv.

This is so true. When I was abroad, we were watching American shows on TV. When we went to check the channel guide we noticed the shows that are an hour long in the US are only 45 minutes long in Europe. The difference? 15 minutes of extra commercials.

Conversely, Top Gear is an hour and 15 minutes (or maybe an hour and 20; I'm not sure) when shown on BBC America even though it's only an hour long on the actual BBC.