What is Digg?331 Comments
- meatstack, on 10/12/2007, -8/+118Maybe make some decent commericals, and I won't FF right on by them. For recent examples, please see GE's one second theater, and the Sprite Sublymonal series.
Jackasses. - DBCubix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+87How about having my DVR disable ABC? I would much rather have that feature.
- gronne, on 10/12/2007, -4/+55Big Businesses are the most technophobic entities in the world. Like someone else said, they just need to make better advertising like KFC or Sprite and not rely on people being forced into watching. It's not like there aren't other good ways to avoid commercials out there (e.g. peeing, watching two shows at once, picture-in-picture, iTunes, Bittorrent, etc...)
- pierre, on 10/12/2007, -16/+63I HATE the Sprite Sublymonal advertisement. SO annoying.
- ElectricKetchup, on 10/12/2007, -5/+47"... make better advertising like KFC ..."
KFC commercials really offend me... half of the time, it offends me so much, I have to change the channel. One good thing about DVRs is if a commercial offends me, I can just fast forward through it. If ABC doesn't want us to be able to fast forward through their commercials, more people are going to just download the torrents that have the commercials pre-cut.
I'm sure their goal in the future is to have it so that the TV has built in retinal scanners and if it sees your eyes disapear (move away from the screen, go to sleep, etc) then it will pause the commercial until you start watching again, and then won't let you fast forward. - KyleRayner, on 10/12/2007, -0/+41"I'm not so sure that the whole issue really is one of commercial avoidance," Shaw said.
This guy really has his head up his arse. The second biggest reason to own a DVR is to skip commercials. Everybody hates ads, and there are way too many of them these days.
I have a question, if they were so concerned about people fast-forwarding their ads, why not make some ads that when fast forwarded, are viewed at regular speed? See what Im saying? Slo-mo ads. No sound, but your product gets seen for fifteen seconds.
The KFC thing was cool, where if you slo-mo'd it, youd get a code for a free sammitch. Its time for advertisers to get inventive, because theyre getting outsmarted by technology. - HoboMaster, on 10/12/2007, -7/+47I agree with Pierre. Also, has anyone else realized that the only time Lime is written as Lyme (as in the commercials) is when you're talking about the disease?
- laurentlasalle, on 10/12/2007, -1/+39You have seen the first half of Lost and missed the last part but recorded it on your DVR? Sorry, you're gonna need to wait another half hour before catching on...
- benitojuarez, on 10/12/2007, -14/+51KFC commercials offend me too, you NEVER see a black guy in em, Same with Taco Bell, no mexicans.
- stealthboy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+35Dear ABC:
No.
Sincerely,
Normal people - cybortrip, on 10/12/2007, -3/+35these guys are real idiots. GET WITH THE TIMES. technology will continue to advance regardless of what these moronic business executives do. rather than stop these new innovative advances, EMBRACE them. what ever happened to the discussion of "in-program" advertising? that way there really is no way at all to avoid the commercials and everyone is HAPPY like happy gilmore in his happy place. good times!
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+35if you guys are offended by KFC and Taco Bell commercials, the internet is probably not the best place for you- you can seriously get your feelings hurt >_>
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+32@HoboMaster
The fact that you're talking about how to spell lymon/limon shows that the advertisement has already worked on you; you're advertising for them. - NinjAlt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+28This just in, ABC wants to pass a law saying you're not allowed to use the bathroom during commercial breaks.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -10/+38I was about to get really mad about this, and then I realized that there isn't a single good television show on ABC...so they can go ***** themselves.
- tinktanker, on 10/12/2007, -2/+30Okay, they disable the FF on my DVR and I'll just wait a few hours and bit torrent it. Screw them.
- XStatic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+28"Shaw also threw cold water on the idea that neutering the fast-forward option would result in a consumer backlash. He suggested that consumers prefer DVRs for their ability to facilitate on-demand viewing and not ad-zapping--and consumers might warm to the idea that anytime viewing brings with it a tradeoff in the form of unavoidable commercial viewing. "
Tell that to my 7 year old and 3 year old that have been watching TiVo all their life.
The 7 year old can now skip them on his own but the three year old and he used to yell out "TiVo Daddy TiVo" to get me to skip over the commercials for them. - GopherGod, on 10/12/2007, -3/+30How about evolve?
They have to answer to the consumers demands, and they cannot dictate how they will watch their shows.
This is so stupid... a bunch of 40-65 year olds in a room that are so stupid they cannot relate to the next generation of consumers. - britkev1, on 10/12/2007, -2/+28They just don't get it! People do not want to be subjected to traditional advertising. I personally though ABC did it right when they put episodes of LOST and ALIAS online with 20-30 second commercials (and a lot less of them than on TV). This is what we want if we must put up with traditional advertising.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -4/+29There's no point in watching ABC. They have _ONE_ show that's even worth watching and that's "LOST". And guess what -- I can get that on bit torrent without commercials so that I can fast forward to my ***** heart's fancy. Screw them and their outmoded model.
- SanityInAnarchy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+24Also: No commercial is worth watching more than once. I've stopped watching TV, mostly for that reason.
Ever notice how, when watching most anime, you get ONE commercial break? I do not need to see the same ad twice per commercial break, where a commercial break happens every five minutes.
I will start watching TV again when:
- Commercial breaks are gone, or are at most twice per show -- once before the show starts, and once right in the middle. If I have to MythTV it, so be it.
- Sliders are gone. You already have the commercial breaks, do NOT take up 25% of the screen space of my show to give me an ad. EVER. The little translucent ABC logo in the lower right is bad enough.
- Product placement is at least only noticeable if you look for it. NO Truman Show antics.
Otherwise, sorry, but I'll rent the DVD set once, then be done with it. Or I'll get my entertainment from somewhere else. You know, take a walk, ride a bike, read a book, have sex...
Remember, a happy person is the enemy of the advertising and entertainment industries. - n00854180t, on 10/12/2007, -2/+25Freevo/MythTV for the win.
- e03179, on 10/12/2007, -1/+23I disagree.
I rarely watch live TV. I watch TV off the DVR. When I'm watching TV, I'm watching it because there's something I want to see on there. Commercials aren't something I want to see. Better and more interesting commercials won't prevent me from skipping through the commercials. I don't care how good or bad the commercials are, I just want to watch my LOST, 24, Office, etc. - Otto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+22I thought that ABC's attempt was interesting, and I watched one episode that way, but ultimately, I went back to torrenting it. Why? Few reasons:
- No commercials > some commercials
- The torrents were higher quality video (pure digital tv, 720p most of the time, occassionally a 1080p one)
- I could fullscreen the torrent, ABC's crap player software didn't seem to work properly doing that
- I could stop and fastforward to any point I wanted at any time, without having it bitch at me for trying to go past a commercial block.
It's nice that they're trying to move forward, but it's too little too late, IMO. 90% of my TV watching is done via the internet now, and anything less useful than what I already have is really not going to draw me into it. - syberghost, on 10/12/2007, -0/+21ABC isn't just your local ABC affiliate station. They're ESPN and Disney too. There's a whole lot of channels that would be affected by this.
- echeese, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20HeadOn: Apply Directly to the Forehead!
- ShadeRF, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16That's funny, if I am watching the show for free what's this cable television bill I'm getting every month...?
- zinnate, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16They can pry my fast forward from my cold, dead hands.
- gameboyhippo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16You know, I like to "buffer" my shows. I'll start a 1 hour show a half hour later so that I could skip past commercials. I usually end up ending the show at the same time as a live show.
- JacobR, on 10/12/2007, -4/+20"But are you willing to PAY for that? Because ABC has to profit or it can't provide you with those shows," says the guy with a Coca-Cola brand Digg icon.
- oGMo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17Yeah, good luck trying to disable fastforward on my MythBox.
Think MythTV doesn't have a big enough audience to matter? Well, since it already scores well enough in the usability ratings, if everyone else disables or cripples FF, someone could pretty easily build and sell mythboxes to the general public for a reasonable price, and probably make a load of cash. Competition makes the market go 'round. - pype, on 10/12/2007, -3/+18Allow me to correct your first line:
They just don't get it! People do not want to be subjected to advertising.
There. That's better :) - spahn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13Boy this guy has his thumb on the pulse of the DVR owners .
I tend to start watching the shows I like 15-20 minutes late for the sole purpose of skipping the commercials. And don't give me that crap about "free broadcasts" are enabled by the commercials. Last time I checked, my cable bill topped $100/month. - golgo13, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15Wait, do you really think Microsoft is on your side? I mean, I would think they'd be the first to fold. Get your self a MythTV and forget about being tethered to anything or anyone. As long as the "analog hole" exists you'll be untouchable.
- stealthboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13The problem is that model is already broken by Cable and Sat. In the days when Cable was introduced, there were no commercials. Makes sense, right? You're now paying to watch the content. So of course the old form of payment (watching commercials) should not be used. Now they want both. You pay through the nose for Cable/Sat, and STILL watch commercials.
So, no, in fact that's no longer the "deal". - ABadInAlbany, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13fawk ABC and any other nazis who try to take away my fastforward. sure, view-on-demand is half the reason I have a DVR ... the other half is avoiding those damn commercials.
- critic, on 10/12/2007, -14/+26Lost - Slowest moving series on TV...First 15 minutes recap the last show....Next 45 minutes characters stop...poignantly stare at each other between weird things happening...Every other week run a recap "special" of the last 10 episodes.
Give me a freakin break. - Dhalgren, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13You probably would have been modded up instead of down if you'd added "shiny, metal" in there somewhere
- rideagain, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11Typical. They want to make their service even less attractive. All that's going to achieve is that people will spend less time watching TV.
- Dhalgren, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12MythTV FTW
I love MythTV, you don't fast forward through commercials, you skip them. After you record a program the server goes through the video file and flags the beginning and end of each commercial so you can skip right over them. It's not always perfect, but for the most part it works awesome. - elroy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14***** that noise. i like the oldschool replay TV that auto-skipped the commercial breaks.
- theblooms, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11God forbid you adapt your 1920's business model to the 21st century. Just quash the innovation. That's easier than thinking up original ideas.
- Pimpalicious316, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9in other news: major corporations seek new means of destroying technology.
seems like a great way to force people into homebrew style dvr's. keep on keepin' on ABC. - kolop1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9 I agree. I have a tivo, and sometimes I will let it record a show. Then I will watch it to skip the commercials. If tivo eliminate this, I'll eliminate them.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9@strangers
In America, televisions shows are 60 minutes or 30 minutes.
30 minute shows usually contain no more than 21 minutes of show (including intro, theme song, credits rolling) and at least 9 minutes of advertising.
60 minute shows typically contain no more than 40 minutes of show (including intro, theme, credits) with at least 20 minutes of commercials.
And unlike some places in the world, you can't just get up and walk away for the block of commercials. Each segment of the show is usually between 4 and 9 minutes with a 2 to 4 minute (sometimes even longer) commercial break in between each segment.
This is why Americans love tivo so much and would rather download content over bit torrent than watch it on a free over-the-air television network like ABC. Then you can watch your show straight through without having constant lengthy interruptions.
Some cable channels are even worse. It is not unusual for a 90 minute movie on some networks to take up 150 minutes of air time. This is especially true on TNT, USA and SPIKE.
And yes, cable television in America includes commercials... even though you may be spending $120/mo for cable television... - tnvwboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9This is the same tactic the music industry took early on. Rather than evolve they want to complain about how their way of doing business changing. Guess what Mr. Shaw, change is inevitable. You better come up with a consumer friendly way of offsetting your ad dollars or you'll be finding yourself in the unemployment line.
- stealthboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Interesting that you should mention Galactica, because that's the one show that made it so clear that commercials are beyond just annoying; they actually can destroy the aesthetic of the show. For one episode this past season I watched it live (I usually delay on my PVR). It was *shocking* how abrupt the commercials were. The break in mood was jolting. It made the viewing experience horrible.
I can't wait until this old advertising business model is just completely broken and done away with. There's this advertising industry that has become so large, but nobody wants them anymore. I would rather pay $40 for the DVD set of the shows than put up with commercials. I find commercials insulting, annoying, and destructive to some very artful shows. - stealthboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Myth user since 2003. Boy, I really feel like I'm missing out when my coworkers talk about some new commercial they've all seen.
EDIT: ElectricKetchup: Yes. You just need a way to change channels. Most people use IR transmitters or direct serial hookups. - prax, on 10/12/2007, -6/+14But are you willing to PAY for that? Because ABC has to profit or it can't provide you with those shows.
- sethdfowler, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8So if Shaw is saying consumers are NOT buying DVR's to skip commercials, then why does he feel a need to take FF away? Seems he is talking in circles around his arse hole.
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