Play audio:
Matthew Cashmore is a producer with BBC’s new media division: Future Media & Technology. At this year’s Edinburgh TV Un-Festival, Matthew chaired a panel discussion called Is TV Dead?
Nora interviewed Matthew for our upcoming “I Want What I Want When I Want It” episode. It will air on November 21 & 24. But right now you can listen to the full interview above, or download the MP3.
What do you think? Have your television viewing habits changed as a result of on-demand technology like PVRs, Bittorrent, or DVD box sets?
Post your comments and we’ll work them into the show.
Within the last 2 years my viewing of TV "as it happens" has been decreased a lot because of bittorrent. Within the last 5 months it's down to almost none because I now have a Media Centre PC which I have schedule all my shows and save them for me for when I want to watch. Some TV series I have recorded back 5-6 episodes now and some Sunday I'll sit down and watch them all in a row.
I agree totally.
I find that all media compete for my time, and as I increase one it has to come at the cost of some other.
There was a small amount of time between 2000 and 2006 where I listened to less music, and watched more television. I had boycott the major labels and anyone who was promoting or using DRM. I then started to find more independents who were opposing DRM, and also became a subscriber to eMusic, so my music purchasing/listening increased.
My mind currently has more hours in the week where it is being kept busy by audio than by television. Great shows like Spark and SearchEngine have been added to Netcasts from TWiT.tv , 2600.com , craphound.com , web5.uottawa.ca/techlaw/en/podcasts/ and others. (Any other recommendations for someone who likes technology-policy, technology-law , politics, etc?)
The fact that I sit in front of a screen most of the time for my work has meant that I want to get away from screens for my entertainment. I find it much more relaxing to be listening to something or reading a book.
I have a TV tuner card in an old PC, and with some open source software, I have a very inexpensive smart recorder, which can always catch my shows. I watch them when I want, and more importantly, when I have time to do so.
I listen to a little live radio, but I also record the radio from my cable feed, or listen to podcasts. Technology has been very good to me.
Quite simply, there's just no reason to watch t.v. anymore.
With all the technological solutions available permitting us to watch whatever show we want, in whatever format we want, at whatever time we want, you almost feel like a sucker when you have to sit in one place for an hour and watch something on the network's timetable. Not to mention they throw commercials in, too.
Kind of a sad state of affairs for t.v. networks, especially since television programming is probably at an all-time high, quality-wise.
The trick is, they have to stop fighting it. If the broadcasters would just work with the technology instead of throwing their arms up in alarm about it, it wouldn't be the death of anything.
Subcription based television programming, similar to podcast feeds, would be a great way for television corporations to track their viewership, and I'm sure they could find ways to cake it front-to-back with unskippable advertising if they really wanted to (which they obviously do).
@Carolyn–That is so cool! Once you get used to 'on demand' it's very very hard to go back. There are lots of TV shows I watch, but I don't even know what the TV schedule is any more. It's totally out of my frame of reference. I think back to a friend of mine who, as a child, used to have the entire ABC prime time TV lineup memorized! (Of course, this was during the Fantasy Island/Charlie's Angels years, so who can blame him!)
I solved the TV problem by not watching any TV. Instead, I spend some of my entertainment dollars on film rental. I am fortunate to live in a town which stocks 6000+ foreign film and adds new ones monthly.
We definitely live in an on-demand household. Uur younger children don't really understand live TV. On a recent vacation they were wondering what these mini shows with toys were in the middle of their cartoons, commercials were totally foreign to them! We started with a PVR, but are now strictly using bittorrents. As for radio, of course I still listen to CBC, but if it's something that may not be of interest, on goes my iPod with my favourite Podcasts. Being a Podcaster myself, I have encouraged many of my friends and family onto them! There's really something out there for everyone of all ages!
Can we (in Ontario) do what residents in the UK are doing with what they call Freeview (a Digital TV service that allows you to watch extra channels via your TV aerial. You don't need a dish, and there's no subscription – all you need is a Freeview set-top box)? See link: <a href="http://http://www.radioandtelly.co.uk/freeview.html“target=”_blank”><a href="http://<a href="http://www.radioandtelly.co.uk/freeview.html“” target=”_blank”>www.radioandtelly.co.uk/freeview.html“target=”_blank”>http://<a href="http://www.radioandtelly.co.uk/fr…” target=”_blank”>www.radioandtelly.co.uk/freeview.html
Do the USB products work here in Canada? Has anyone been using the Hauppauge or similar products with success here in Ontario? I donated my TV to a charity sale awhile back and now just watch DVDs or streamed shows on my PC. I can't go back to watching commercials and scheduled programs.
I will be adding a larger widescreen monitor to my system to make this a bit more TV-esque; ahem right Santa? I'd also like to try Hauppauge or some such setup. Anyone successfully doing that? See link:
<a href="http://http://www.radioandtelly.co.uk/onyourpc.html“target=”_blank”><a href="http://<a href="http://www.radioandtelly.co.uk/onyourpc.html“” target=”_blank”>www.radioandtelly.co.uk/onyourpc.html“target=”_blank”>http://<a href="http://www.radioandtelly.co.uk/on…” target=”_blank”>www.radioandtelly.co.uk/onyourpc.html
Why is Little Britain so far ahead of Little Canada. (I had to get in a plug for that hilarious program that I stream commercial free now that I gave my old technology away for a good cause.)
Tim,
I believe that Freeview is based on a different standard, but in some large Canadian cities, you can pick up free over-the-air digital (sometimes HDTV) television.
On my Mac, I use an EyeTV and a regular UHF loop to pick up signals. I've written a bit more about this on my personal blog: <a href="http://http://www.danmisener.com/archives/236“target=”_blank”><a href="http://<a href="http://www.danmisener.com/archives/236“” target=”_blank”>www.danmisener.com/archives/236“target=”_blank”>http://www.danmisener.com/archives/236
On my holistic soapbox again, this relates to the "how much power do your gadgets consume?" topic.
Bittorrent, and other peer-to-peer sharing networks need your clients to be running so they can use your bandwith to dowload for other people. This link basically says to keep it running when you go to bed at night
<a href="http://http://www.slackware.com/getslack/torrents.php“target=”_blank”><a href="http://<a href="http://www.slackware.com/getslack/torrents.php“” target=”_blank”>www.slackware.com/getslack/torrents.php“target=”_blank”>http://<a href="http://www.slackware.com/getslack…” target=”_blank”>www.slackware.com/getslack/torrents.php
How much power does your machine use if you leave it on 24/7?
I have started watching things on demand. CFL football from TSN and CBC.ca, etc. One problem, though, is that you can't do this from an American (or UK) site – they state "this is only for people in the US (or UK)." If we're ever allowed to get past a barrier like this (and CBC gets 22 minutes online), I may never have to watch my TV again.
This is kind of embarrassing but I'm glad I'm not the only one dealing with this phenomenon: I own a lot of DVD's (mostly old movies and fave TV shows) — I bought a set of Seinfeld DVD's and really looked forward to watching my favourite episodes whenever I wanted to (that level of control is the whole point of owning). I was very surprised to discover two things: I felt this vague sense of loneliness as I watched the episodes and I sort of missed the commercials!?!?! Explanations are in order: I think the loneliness thing is that when you watch a program on TV you have a subconscious sense of sharing the experience with millions of others — didn't know I cared but I guess I must?
Missing the commercials I think is actually an effect born of habit — I would sit through the irritating commercials and then feel that extra little peak of enjoyment when the program finally came back on the screen — who knew how significant that element was! I discovered also that "binge viewing" doesn't work: sure you can watch your favourite episode 43 times in one day but turns out that's just not a good idea — the old adage "too much of a good thing" is very true. To conclude: having full control of your viewing habit changes a dynamic I didn't realize was there in the first place. And just to help you with a context for my views: I'm a 53 year old female IT business analyst supporting government clients — I'm in a long-term relationship and have friends and family — I am a tad eccentric but I'm a pretty average person in many ways…..if you can explain my pitiful behaviour re DVD vs. TV more clearly, it would be much appreciated 
I have a TV tuner card in an old PC, and with some open source software, I have a very inexpensive smart recorder, which can always catch my shows. I watch them when I want, and more importantly, when I have time to do so.
I listen to a little live radio, but I also record the radio from my cable feed, or listen to podcasts. Technology has been very good to me.