Jan
06
Tell Us Your Video Woes
Posted by Elizabeth Bowie under Help Us Out!
Original image by Tim Pritlove
Here at Spark HQ, we often hear from people who are frustrated by the state of modern home entertainment systems. The promises? Crystal clear, high definition picture, the ability to watch internet programming on our TVs, and the ability to watch TV programs on our computers? Yet the reality is that many of us find getting the set-up we need bewildering.
On the next Spark, we’ll look at why getting what you want, where and when you want it, can be so frustrating, when it comes to TV. If you have complaints or questions, here’s the place to share them. Just click on “comments” below.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:33 am
The #1 issue for me with both audio and video is “DRM”. This is the use of encryption to deliberately make multimedia files incompatable with equipment and software that the creator of the file doesn’t want to be compatible. The unscientific claim is that this is being done to reduce copyright infringement and increase sales, but all evidence suggests that this abuse of technology eithor has no impact on infringement, or for a variety of reasons decreases sales.
With this abuse of technology it unnecessary increases complexity. With these deliberate incompatibility defects you don’t know if what you purchase today is going to work today, and you don’t know if what worked today will still work tomorrow. I don’t even bother considering HD equipment given HDCP (deliberate defects) is built into the HDMI and other high definition interfaces between devices.
In my case I’m not going to risk purchasing anything offline (physical media) or online unless I have adequate assurances that the contents of the file are unencrypted. Even if I have a player today that is one of the “chosen” brands, I’m not going to pay for something when I’m held hostage to that brand.
I only purchased an “authorized” DVD player this Xmas season. The DVD encryption is so seriously broken that it is trivial to circumvent. I’m borrowing and not buying DVDs as I don’t want to be offering money to people who have deliberately made such a purchase less valuable.
I would love to get rid of my legacy Cable service. I’d be willing to pay a subscription fee to access the few television shows I actually watch. I will not be willing to pay at all if the files are infected with DRM.
January 7th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
I do not want to continue paying for sattelite / cable service & HD programing when I don’t have control over what & when a show is available to watch. I currently use a PVR (HD) sattelite receiver and I am continually frustrated when viewing programming. Episodes are not properly labled so you don’t know if it is a repeat, episodes are stopped mid season to accommodate other network programing. If I wish to follow a particular show during the season I am completely dependent my service provider. In addition this is the only industry that gets to charge me a monthly fee & not provide new programing for months at a time.
I want to be able to access the itunes store ( U.S. content on the Canadian store is limited {I don’t know why} ), Amazon on Demand (U.S.) or Netflix streaming (U.S.). With my own equipment: computer, iTV, DVR or Roku player I could download or stream programming in accordance with my needs & schedule.
Not to be held hostage to a service provider is real freedom.
January 10th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Back in April/May of 2006, my wife and I decided to cancel our cable subscription – it wasn’t worth the money or time we were putting into it. Paying for 50 channels when we only watched a handful just seemed wrong.
This summer, when our television died, we decided not to buy a new one because we now get all of our entertainment online (or by DVD).
We subscribe to a large number of podcasts (audio and video), occasionally rent movies from iTunes (the 99ยข ones), and even sometimes watch stuff streamed off CTV.ca.
What I think people are starting to realize that if you just drop the TV, and watch your content on the computer, it makes things and order of magnitude easier.
True, the largest monitor I have is 24″, and certainly doesn’t compare to a 50″. But… what’s the point of a huge TV if the HD signal you get is so compressed that it looks mildly better than VHS? I know that isn’t always the case – the BBC’s Planet Earth comes up often, but it’s in the minority, unfortunately.
DRM can be an issue – I’m very pleased that Apple is dropping DRM for the audio portion of it’s online store.
One of the easiest things you can do is when you purchase (and do purchase it) a video and it won’t play on XYZ, call up the company and complain.
DRM is a burden for users *and* the seller – but not the record/movie industry – it’s not their problem – just just want us to use it.
If it doesn’t work, call, complain, ask for money back, etc. Doesn’t always work, but you know that some bean counter will eventually see the cost of supporting DRM products continuing to climb. Climbing costs usually make businesses do things.
January 12th, 2009 at 9:16 am
I agree, reckon I’ve got around 400 channels watch 6/7 regularly. I’ve started streaming alot more in the last few months and I honestly reckon the SKY could be on it’s bike in the near future.
January 16th, 2009 at 9:21 am
My girlfriend and I got a new, very nice computer back in the fall. The best part of the computer is its entertainment capabilities, complete with a Blu-Ray DVD player. I hooked the computer up to our tv via an HDMI cable, and eventually figured out how to watch movies, among other things, on our flat-screen LCD HD tv.
Now, we only have the basic, analogue cable from the place we are renting, but that’s enough for both of us, especially the only channel I seem to watch is CBCNW (but now I heard that Gian has his QTV in hight quality now, I might have to check that out). We don’t watch that much tv, and are perfectly happy to rent our favourite shows on DVD, or buy/rent movies from iTune, which doesn’t compare to Blu-Ray, but does the trick for us.
I recently noticed that more Canadian broadcasting companies are putting shows on the web for viewers to stream, which I am pretty sure wasn’t available even just last summer. Sure the picture quality isn’t that great, and we have to endure the buffering message from time to time, but hey, it’s something.
I personally have confidence in telecom groups to break under consumer pressure and start putting out HD contents on the web for us to stream. I am a patient man, so I’ll just leave the pressuring to other more… er… capable men. I am sure in no time (well, about two years after U.S. has done so, by Canadian standards) we’ll be able to stream HD quality shows on our HD tv, and forget about cable and satellites altogther.
Ah, the internet, what a wonderful thing you are.
Speaking of which, why is SkypeIn still not available in Canada!!??