Well, less interesting, and more hugely annoying.
I counted about 15 channels I actually wanted, including... NBC, Fox, ABC, City TV, CTV, Space, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, A&E, Showcase, and BBC Canada all in HD. That is literally all I would ever watch on TV, and I wouldn't give a second thought to anything I might be missing. And yet, in order to get those channels, you not only pay for their non-HD equivalents (which is ridiculous... who would watch the non-HD version when you already have the HD version?), but you also pay for literally hundreds of other channels you don't want at all... stuff in languages you don't speak, sports channels you don't care about, fashion channels you wouldn't be caught dead watching, shopping channels, religious channels, popular music channels, channels that specialize in showing stupid Family Guy episodes basically all day long. And, if you have any semblance of a life, or any hobbies at all... you'll never, ever watch any of them!
What a load of shit. TV as we know it needs to change, or disappear altogether.
And, at the risk of sounding like a raving Apple lunatic... I think Apple has the power to do it. Namely, with iTunes.
I mean, I already download basically all the TV I actively want to watch anyway, generally through torrents. Literally all Apple needs to do is make a monthly TV subscription in iTunes, allowing me to download all the TV shows I want, for a flat monthly rate. I would happily pay that. I would stop using torrents, and however indirectly it is, actually support the show I'm watching. Since I'd basically be directly paying for the content itself (I'm sure Apple takes their share, much like for iTunes music), I wouldn't have to deal with commercials either. If they can do that, and update their TV shows quickly enough, they could completely replace TV for everyone but the technologically inept, and those without hobbies who like to turn their brains off and watch whatever stupid crap is on one of the thousands of shitty, useless channels they're paying for.
Hell, maybe if people lost the ability to lounge in front of a TV for hours on end, watching crap they don't really care about, they'd develop some actual hobbies and interests. Society could flourish, with all these people not wasting their free time getting fat and stupid.
So, Apple: The future of our civilization is in your hands. Free us from the oppression that is network TV!
I may have overdone it a bit...
For my satellite tv service on ShawDirect, I just have thier "HD Favourites" package, which is basically all you listed, except for Discovery and some pretty cool looking Military channel. I think it's only 55 bucks a month or something. Basically the non-hd channels are a bonus, presumably there for you to use if you have a second, non-hd tv.
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't think our internet infrastructure is at a point where online subscription to download shows would work. If Apple did introduce such a service, I wouldn't buy it because I don't want to have to leave my computer on to download all the shows I want to watch. It's just easier to have it live on tv.
A good point, about the internet infrastructure. Shaw seems to offer some decently quick internet, for Canada at least.
ReplyDeleteWith their 15mbit down service (which is about 55 a month), you could basically download any TV show in minutes. With torrents and the associated seeding issues, that might not happen. But, if you're downloading straight from Apple's servers, you should be able to download at about your maximum download rate. Don't get me wrong: 15mbit is pretty poor compared to a lot of the world, but it's still entirely sufficient for these purposes. Shaw offers up to 100mbit down, but they want ridiculous amounts of money for it.
Leaving my computer on wouldn't bother me. I mean, I watch like 3 shows a week, at the at the most. Right now... one. Even now, I can download that episode in about half an hour and watch it... and my internet absolutely sucks.
I like being able to throw on National Geographic when I'm bored, and find something interesting to watch. Case and point: today was a marathon of cool engineering achievements, hosted by Richard Hammond.
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm bored, I try to do basically anything but watch TV. Otherwise I'm just giving into my boredom, instead of finding something I actually want to do. Though, I'll admit, I'd watch an engineering show hosted by Hamster.
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't know what you mean when you say "giving into my boredom." Does that mean you just sit there and do nothing? My mind is way to active for me to sit still and do nothing. That's why I absolutely hate long distance driving, or flying. It always feels like I'm going crazy.
ReplyDeleteNot at all. I just try to find something to do until I'm satisfied. When I turn on the TV with nothing in particular in mind, I'm just turning my brain off. It's basically my default "bored" activity, and I hate that. I'd rather try to come up with something I actively want to do, instead of defaulting to something I'm indifferent to, just because it's easy.
ReplyDelete