Why I Don't Like HD VOD
The Departed has been a HD VOD offering.Ther has been a lot of talk in the last few months about the availability -- or lack thereof -- of HD-VOD on the systems of various cable companies and telcos and the two DBS providers. In fact, Comcast recently touted themselves as the HD leader despite the fact that they have less than half the available HD channels that DIRECTV does -- all on the basis of their HD Video On Demand offerings.
In light of that announcement, I thought now was as good as time as any to blather on about why I don?t care about HD VOD, or VOD for that matter.
Quite simply, I have no interest in HD VOD for the simple reason that I have a DVR. I use that to record the programming I want to watch, creating my own HD VOD so to speak.
I record programming on the DVR for several reasons. The first is to time shift a program I can't be home to watch. The second is when two shows I want to watch are on at the same time. I record the second to watch at a later time. The third, and the reason I am increasingly using the DVR, is to be able to zap the commercials. I just hate commercials and find that it is much more enjoyable to watch a show from the DVR as I am able to use the 30 second skip function on the remote to zap away the commercials.
Not only does this get rid of the annoying commercials, it reduces the length of the program. Rather than spending a half an hour or an hour to watch a show, zapping the commercials reduces the viewing time to 22 and 44 minutes, depending on the length of the show as 8 minutes of each half hour of TV programming is taken up by commercials. This frees up more time to watch other content, or even better, spend more quality time with my lovely wife or go out with family and friends. In fact, as far as scripted television shows are concerned, I rarely watch them live anymore. My live viewing of TV is now mostly limited to news broadcasts and sports. Live viewing of scripted TV is mostly limited to channels and shows with very limited commercials, such as HDNet for Torchwood (which is getting better and better BTW) and also Enterprise.
I record programming on the DVR for several reasons. The first is to time shift a program I can't be home to watch. The second is when two shows I want to watch are on at the same time. I record the second to watch at a later time. The third, and the reason I am increasingly using the DVR, is to be able to zap the commercials. I just hate commercials and find that it is much more enjoyable to watch a show from the DVR as I am able to use the 30 second skip function on the remote to zap away the commercials.
Not only does this get rid of the annoying commercials, it reduces the length of the program. Rather than spending a half an hour or an hour to watch a show, zapping the commercials reduces the viewing time to 22 and 44 minutes, depending on the length of the show as 8 minutes of each half hour of TV programming is taken up by commercials. This frees up more time to watch other content, or even better, spend more quality time with my lovely wife or go out with family and friends. In fact, as far as scripted television shows are concerned, I rarely watch them live anymore. My live viewing of TV is now mostly limited to news broadcasts and sports. Live viewing of scripted TV is mostly limited to channels and shows with very limited commercials, such as HDNet for Torchwood (which is getting better and better BTW) and also Enterprise.
What really irks me about HD VOD is that it is used to cover up for a provider's inability to provide more HD channels. The cable industry, due to their lack of bandwidth, have used HD VOD as a smoke screen, hiding their lack of real HD content. No, we don't carry CNN-HD or TBS-HD or all of the other many HD channels now available but we do offer old movies that you really have no interest in in HD but without multichannel audio.
What is worse is that some of the HD VOD offerings of new programming don't permit the zapping of commercials, forcing you to sit through the commercials. How lame is that? I know it is to reduce the cost of the VOD offering but it is soooooo 20th Century. I can record it for free on the DVR and zap the commercials anyway. Why bother with VOD?
What is worse is that some of the HD VOD offerings of new programming don't permit the zapping of commercials, forcing you to sit through the commercials. How lame is that? I know it is to reduce the cost of the VOD offering but it is soooooo 20th Century. I can record it for free on the DVR and zap the commercials anyway. Why bother with VOD?
Personally, I want less HD VOD and more and more live HD channels. I will use the DVR to record the programming I want to watch. I just wish that the cable companies and telcos (yes, that is you, Verizon), would stop touting their VOD and HD VOD offering and get more and more HD channels on their systems. The future is more HD channels, not VOD. Get ahead of the curve, just like DIRECTV or you will be buried by an avalanche of HD offerings.
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17 Comments:
Nicely stated Swanii...
This is actually Joe Whip's blog, powered by TVPredictions.com
COMCAST SUCKS
comcast is a joke
TOTALLY agree Joe! And another thing that irks me about VOD - the fact that you can not fast forward as fast as you can on DVR recorded program. It's like fast forward is only allowed to be slow-forward with VOD.
I actually thought it was a good idea at first. So I changed my scheduled programs to free up space on my DVR and watch the non-HD stuff on VOD. Nope, still use the DVR for it anyway since VOD takes so darn long to update also.
I think this article should be re-titled. It seems more of a "Why I like my DVR". I agree with the entire article, but I was hoping to see more details about the shortcomings of HD VOD. For example, you could include more specific details regarding the limited content (what % is old vs new releases), audio problems (no multichannel, lip syncing, etc.) and video quality. Thanks for your post.
ill 2nd the one thing i dont like is that you can only fastforward in 2x instead of 4x. Until they start adding all of the discovery channel stuff and leaving it on demand as well as movies, it sucks. At one point they had all of the star wars, all of the planet earths available. Now you cant find either of them. bah
you need a really fast internet connection to use the directv vod. it really sucks
My problem with HD VOD is that the picture and/or sound often are not functioning properly -- particularly if you pause, rewind or fast forward.
On the plus side, I love watching AMC's Mad Men. I watch it in HD on VOD even though AMC is not offered in HD. Other than this program, I don't think I'd watch much AMC even if it were offered in HD.
So, in my opinion, this decision by Comcast is a wise saving of bandwidth.
This is rediculous... You have a DVR so you hate VOD!?! I have a Sling Box but that doesn't make me a hater of TV!!! VOD is the next generation of advertising and content distribution. As soon as people wise up and see the power tool they are standing or in this case sitting in front of it's going to blow your hair back. I don't think everything in the VOD folders is rock star yet but it will be and in the meantime watch a movie for Christ sake and use your DVR too along with your sling box... It's about you but don't hate it's not all Comcast anyway... what about Time Warner and Cox and Cablevision and Charter and Brighthouse...???? Do you know what they're doing? What's in the can...? What's live? Where it's all heading? Some yeah but don't you come down on VOD it's the beggining to all things you love. And you don't even know it yet!!!
The reason Video On Demand is such a failure is that they never will be able to offer everybody what we really demand: everything on TV that each of us watches!!! I like this network show, but you may like that network show and she may like another show, etc., etc. Just because VOD offers some network shows, or some movies, doesn't mean I want to see the movies or shows they offer! Until cable offers EVERYTHING on Demand, I, too, will continue to use and love my DVR and DEMAND (pun intended) that the Cable companies give us more HDTV channels!!!!!
For the poster of comment #10, please read my article. YOu are certainly entitled to your opinion but for me, I prefer to record with the DVR for the reasons I stated. I also object to the fact that Comcast and yes, other cable companies, use HD VOD as a way of trying to counter all the new HD channels offered by Directv and Dish. That is lame. I want as many HD channels as possible to pick and chose what I want to watch and record. If they want to offr all the same HD channels as well as well as HD-VOD, fine but that it what they aren't doing. Please edit out the commercials or let us zap them. Add better HD quality as well as multichannel audio. As fpr HD movies, they look and sound better on HD-DVD and Blu-Ray and I would rather watch them that way. Sorry. I guess you are the only one who is entitled to have an opinion. I guess I am not enetitled to decide on my own for my own personal reasons? Thank you.
Whip, I'm with you 100%. Keep their feet to the fire!
I understand your argument, that HD VOD is a "lower form of life" than an HD-DVR. But by those standards, the lowest form of life is DirecTV/Dish running the same movie back to back for PPV and calling it an HD "channel". I'd take HD VOD over that any day.
Secondly, we all (too painfully)know that having one or two pieces of HD content does not a channel make (despite some programmers' best attempts to call it such). HD VOD is the perfect place to offer such "orphan" programming, which won't be available to record on your DVR.
As far as a world of "everything on demand", do a internet search on "Mystro", Time Warner's "proof of concept" where channels would go away, and you'd have all the content from each programmer you subscribed to, available 24x7 on demand. No need to record anything, or even have storage at your house. Everything would have been recorded in the headend. But the programmers put the legal kibosh on it because they couldn't understand the business model, and thus wouldn't release the content rights. Cool concept though.
I have DirecTV and my father has Comcast. We both have HD. Everytime my father is watching at my house he comments how much better the HD selection and picture is at my house. We both have Samsung plasma TVs. I don't think there is any doubt that satellite is far better for HD than cable, in both picture quality and netwrok selection. They just added the NHL Network HD today. I love my DirecTV HD!
For those that care, my take on the futire of TV is posted on my blog. I am sure swanni will post it here soon!
I think you left out the three biggest reasons for HD VOD:
1. There are plenty of shows I hear about after they have aired. Usually at work around the water cooler somebody will say did you see that documentary on Discovery HD last night. My DVR doesn't help me here because I already missed the show. VOD does help me because I can still get it.
2. DVRs only have so much space. I can't possibly store all the HD movies that I want to have at my finger tips. But Sat or Cable providers certainly can. HD VOD opens up tons of possibilities to have them store this for us.
3. Sometimes I just don't know what I want to watch until I sit down to watch TV. It would be very nice to have every movie or TV show ever made at my finger tips.
I realize I am talking about theoretical VOD and not what is actually offered these days. But this is still why we need to push these companies for more HD VOD!!!
- ImmerTech
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