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TV is broken

minimalmac.com

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Re: TV is broken

#2
I've had almost identical conversations with my child in the past, which is not surprising since we do not have cable or an antenna. Who would easily accept the broadcast model who was not brought up with it?

Perhaps more interesting is my older brother (approaching retirement age), who doesn't stream content but consumes through cable. Even when watching currently playing shows he records to DVR and delays watching long enough that he can skip commercials.

It seems to me that the old broadcast model was always awful, but it used to be the only thing going. The first hints of its eventual demise really first appeared with easy access to movie rentals and home video recorders.

Re: TV is broken

#3
post #2

I've had almost identical conversations with my child in the past, which is not surprising since we do not have cable or an antenna. Who would easily accept the broadcast model who was not brought up with it? Perhaps more interesting is my older brother (approaching retirement age), who doesn't stream content but consumes through cable. Even when watching currently playing shows he records to DVR and delays watching…

The behaviour of your brother is one I see amongst my friends & I. We routinely watch sports on tape-delay (particularly NFL which has an amazing ability to take commercials right when things are getting exciting) just so we can skip through commercials.

Re: TV is broken

#4
Broken as if the internet has no commercials? TV exists cause it's simple: streams of stories at the press of a button. No hours of effort to find good content among the trash. I don't think the commercials are the issue.

Re: TV is broken

#5

Broken as if the internet has no commercials? TV exists cause it's simple: streams of stories at the press of a button. No hours of effort to find good content among the trash. I don't think the commercials are the issue.

> No hours of effort to find good content among the trash. I don't think the commercials are the issue.

I'm not sure what TV you're watching, but good content is significantly harder for me to find on traditional TV than the internet.

Re: TV is broken

#6
Perhaps a better title would be "advertising on TV is broken".

No one pays any attention to it anymore. And most people I know, like me, don't even have broadcast TV. Or cable.

I watch shows, yes, on DVD -- and largely on my own terms. No adverts.

Re: TV is broken

#7
It's not really TV, it's TV networks that are broken. Hulu (and other online archives) may be even more irritating than broadcast TV. It's difficult to find what you want; you are hit by download limits in the middle of a program; there are still commercials, and it's the same ones over and over and over, and the repetition can drive you nuts; browser crash means starting over sometimes, or if you can go to where you left off, you have to endure skipped commercials.

I have an expensive cable package. But I am also a frequent Bittorrent user because the process of finding and watching is far preferable to the online services, and sometimes the cable on-demand service. As a result, I often "steal" via Bittorrent, content I've already paid for. Not sure whether I'll keep that expensive cable package much longer.

My kids are older and know what commercials are, but they are growing up knowing that TV networks (via cable or online) are just not usable. They have now, and will expect in the future, a large selection of content, and instant delivery with no interruptions.

Re: TV is broken

#8

Broken as if the internet has no commercials? TV exists cause it's simple: streams of stories at the press of a button. No hours of effort to find good content among the trash. I don't think the commercials are the issue.

Adblock.

Re: TV is broken

#9

Broken as if the internet has no commercials? TV exists cause it's simple: streams of stories at the press of a button. No hours of effort to find good content among the trash. I don't think the commercials are the issue.

> No hours of effort to find good content among the trash.

Yes, because there's rarely any good content on in the first place. You're just forced to settle for something mediocre, or not watch TV.

Re: TV is broken

#10

Broken as if the internet has no commercials? TV exists cause it's simple: streams of stories at the press of a button. No hours of effort to find good content among the trash. I don't think the commercials are the issue.

It doesn't take hours to find stuff on line that is worth watching.

Just use Google: http://www.google.dk/search?aq=f&ix=hca&sourceid=chr...

Or some similar search engine.

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