I'm Not Very Enthusiastic About Free On-Demand Material On Cable

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by audiomixer, Aug 4, 2015.

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  1. audiomixer

    audiomixer As Bald As The Beatles Thread Starter

    I see & hear the ads: "Thousands of hours of free On-Demand programming."

    I have Time Warner Cable and decided to peruse their tedious list of free VOD selections.

    First, I'd like to discuss "quality". Many are not in HD, many not in DD 5.1 & many are letterboxed like DVDs from another era; i.e. black bars all around...a square or rectangular picture in the middle of the screen.
    (Please remind me what year this is?!?)
    And many are shown via their sponsored network; FX, for example, showing a movie or show broadcast on their network, with commercials. However, in many cases, fast-forward & rewind features on the DVR have been disabled for VOD purposes. (Trust me, I get it...)

    So let me see if I have this correct: Many here are dumping DVDs and/or Blu-Rays in favor for this type of VOD experience? I'm not talking about newer VOD movies that require a fee & are shown in HD & DD 5.1. I'm referring to older films & other program material that had been available via DVD and, mostly, in a much preferred presentation. Wouldn't it be smarter to just keep this older physical media since it's a consumer's market anyway?

    I am very aware that this thread will be bombarded by opinions from both sides. In the meantime, I will continue cataloging my collection. :D

    Let the "discussions" (?) begin...
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2015
    chilinvilin, black sheriff and Vidiot like this.
  2. Peter_R

    Peter_R Maple Syrple Gort Staff

    Location:
    Montreal, Canada
    I think it's nuts as well, but I guess for many the appeal is having less clutter, less boxes to move, and being able to watch almost anything they want anywhere.

    More & more people also think it's perfectly normal to watch a film on their phones; that should tell you a lot about where we're headed.
     
  3. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    People will do whatever is right for them. I'm not sure what you mean by a 'buyer's market', but it's certainly a consumer's market with lots of choices (like never before).
     
  4. audiomixer

    audiomixer As Bald As The Beatles Thread Starter

    Thanks. I edited my wording. ( I meant that buyers are getting a much better deal than sellers.)
     
  5. DreadPikathulhu

    DreadPikathulhu Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    But are there people who exclusively watch films on their phones? I know I've done it on an airplane or in a hotel, but at home I prefer to be able to sit in a decent chair and watch on the TV. I think VOD is fine for rentals or second-tier movies, but if it is someting I really like I'll seek out the disc.
     
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  6. Peter_R

    Peter_R Maple Syrple Gort Staff

    Location:
    Montreal, Canada
    I don't know. But there are likely people out there who watch things only on iPads & phones.
     
  7. DreadPikathulhu

    DreadPikathulhu Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Probably, but the biggest issue with that is that you quickly eat up your available bandwidth if you stream video over the phone network and then you have to pay overage charges. If you're really serious about a show you need to be near a wi-fi hotspot and if you're going to spend the money to get it at home you might as well spend another $500 to get a decent smallish TV.

    I used to sit in the parking lot at work during lunch watching TV on my iPad and catching up on The Walking Dead until they locked us out of the wifi network due to the massive number of people streaming audio and video.
     
  8. inperson

    inperson Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    Even on airplane flights to China I couldn't watch movies and such on my smart phone or pad. I'd rather take sleeping pills and zonk out. Life's too short not to get in a good long nap.
     
    agentalbert likes this.
  9. balzac

    balzac Senior Member

    The “anything they want anywhere” part of the equation is the main thing that confuses me. This demonstrably not the case, with any type of content, whether we’re talking about new TV shows, old TV shows, new movies, old movies, cable content, network content, etc.

    Last year, there were four or five new shows I was interested in watching that were not yet out on BD/DVD. Of those, one was on Amazon Prime, one was on Netflix, one was on Hulu, one was only available via $1.99-per-episode purchase, and I think one was still just fully unavailable.

    “On Demand” cable services are not only annoying for all the reasons listed above (fast forward disabled, rewind disabled for no good reason, etc.), but episodes of shows are only available for a limited window of time. By the time you get to the latter portion of a new season of a TV shows, the early episodes have rolled off. They usually aren’t already available on Amazon or Netflix or Hulu (and if they are, those services require a subscription of course). There’s a gap of time after originally airing where you can’t get episodes unless you pay $2 per episode. Don’t get me wrong, this is still more access than decades ago, obviously. But it’s not a “anything you want” situation exactly.

    The “anything you want” thing is more like “a large amount of what you want might be available if you carry a cable subscription along with subscriptions to Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Hulu, and are at times willing to pay for digital download purchases and/or purchase full seasons on BD or DVD.”
     
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  10. ky658

    ky658 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ft Myers, Florida
    Keep in mind there are a lot of people out there who just want the simplicity of ordering content on demand from their easy-chairs (or what have you). Quality is meaningless to them...
     
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  11. Hot Ptah

    Hot Ptah Forum Resident In Memoriam

    Location:
    Kansas City, MO
    I love cable On Demand material. It is a great way to watch the back episodes of a TV show that I have just discovered. For example, I started watching The Profit on CNBC, a business reality show. I wanted to go back and see the earlier episodes, and they they were, on demand. So easy!

    Watching episodes of The Profit, I am not that concerned about the quality of the presentation. It is not like watching a film masterpiece.

    I think that anyone who uses On Demand for more than five minutes realizes that not all of the shows are available, and that some shows are only available for a certain time period, and that you are not getting state of the art quality. So what? It's just watching TV for fun. It is such a great era that we are living in, that some older episodes of a TV show, and some films, are available right there on your TV as part of your cable package. That is more than I would have expected.
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2015
  12. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    The entire cable experience began sucking here a few years ago. Right after I retired in October 2013, I decided it was ridiculous for me to be getting annoyed every time I turned on the Idiot Box ( cable box ), so I stopped. Completely.
    I went to DVDs and Blu rays exclusively.
    This past Saturday, waiting in the Nissan dealership maintenance waiting area, I had to laugh. Up on their wall-mounted screen was standard definition Comcast, all zoomed in, with the words running off both sides of the screen ( Comcast's punishment for not paying extra for HD every month ), crappy content, crappy picture, asinine commercials every 5 minutes. And so you don't think I veered off topic...crappy On Demand.
    .
     
    Dan Kennedy likes this.
  13. Peter_R

    Peter_R Maple Syrple Gort Staff

    Location:
    Montreal, Canada
    I hear ya. Browse Netflix Canada. Prepared to be very disappointed.
     
  14. Damien DiAngelo

    Damien DiAngelo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan, USA
    I gotta agree with this statement.
    Saw an ad for FX Anywhere. It is an app/web site that allows you to watch shows from FX at any time. They even said in the ad that if your cable system carries FX, then you can use the app...NOPE! I tried it out once, and it said my cable system (U-verse) didn't qualify, even though we get FX.
     
  15. audiomixer

    audiomixer As Bald As The Beatles Thread Starter

    Too many roadblocks!!!
     
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  16. Some of the lesser qualities I can get past but the disabled fast forward burns my biscuits.
    I get angry when I am "on-demand" yet can not get past the rassin frassin commercials, even on quite old shows.
     
  17. audiomixer

    audiomixer As Bald As The Beatles Thread Starter

    ...and they're saying: "GOTCHA"!
     
  18. progrocker71

    progrocker71 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime generally have excellent quality copies of the films they present (caveat - they stream whatever the studio provides them, so if the quality is bad it's the studios fault, not the streaming service) and I'm happy with their service. Haven't had cable TV in 5 years so unsure what the free VOD content looks like at this point.

    Issues like "old episodes expire over time" is not the fault of the cable provider, that is mandated by the content provider. Much like on Hulu where current run shows often only allow 5 episodes to stream at a time and whenever a new one is added the oldest drops off. That's just the hoops the networks and movie studios want us to jump through evidently.
     
    Lost In The Flood likes this.
  19. forthlin

    forthlin Member Chris & Vickie Cyber Support Team

    I agree audiomixer. Between the quality issues, and the content selection, I don't even check the on-demand choices any longer. I think we watched some kiddie programming when our granddaughters were here a few times. I think even they'd prefer to watch a Disney dvd or bluray.
     
  20. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    I agree, it's very screwed up. Even as far back as 2000, I've seen some terrible trainwrecks in terms of original aspect ratio vs. delivered aspect ratio. Many, many bad decisions continue to be made by non-technical people who are in charge of cable and VOD operations.

    If I had standard-def content, I'd make it very simple: only send it out via standard-def. If I had HD content, I'd only send it out via HD. I know of some channels (particularly several Disney Channels, HDNet, and AXS) that demand 16x9 material no matter what the original aspect ratio was. If it's scope, you get 16x9 pan/scan. If it's 1.85, you get a slight blow-up.

    Nothing makes me crazier than to see a 16x9 frame surrounded by black in the middle of my 16x9 TV set. You know for a fact they could've blown it up or sourced it from the right material.

    Like I said: bad decisions are being made. All customers can do is complain and complain until the problem is fixed.

    I have occasionally watched current on-demand shows (like programs from AMC and TNT), and while they're heavily compressed, the relative picture quality is acceptable on a certain level and the framing is correct. But they do generally lock out the FF/RW controls, which is asinine... particularly on shows that have no commercials but instead just drop in an occasional :30 second promo for another show on that channel.
     
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  21. Scope J

    Scope J Senior Member

    Location:
    Michigan
    I have Brighthouse & the OD
    content is meh at best
     
  22. black sheriff

    black sheriff Magic City

    They play HD at the Lexus dealership.
     
    Myke likes this.
  23. Verizon's VOD service has terrible picture quality and frequently glitches during playback. It is often more trouble than it is worth. I really wonder how many people actually use it, or if it is just another marketing bulletin point added to advertising.
     
  24. minerwerks

    minerwerks Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA, USA
    I'm betting for the average person, the ability to select from a wide range of content provided by whichever vendor they choose is enough. They can find something "good enough" instead of chasing a bunch of specific titles. I still make an effort to go to the theater, buy Blu-rays, or occasionally buy a digital download, but I still let plenty of things I'm interested in just go unwatched because I'm not subscribing to all the different services. Even caring about it at this level, I'm still in a minority, I think.
     
  25. As I've said before, I'll say it again--not everything will be available all the time or at all. Just the popular stuff thst will bring viewers in.

    We're in for a world of hurt when it comes to seeing some terrific little known movies and TV shows. Stuff in B&W, shows that have been largely forgotten by the General public, etc. will have limited play.
     
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