Showing posts with label satellite. Show all posts
Showing posts with label satellite. Show all posts

Monday, April 7, 2014

"Binge-watching", Game of Thrones, and watching television

"Binge watching", on cable and satellite, is effective.  For the audience, due to current lifestyles, it's a way for them to try a show they haven't been exposed to.  For broadcasters and channels, it might be a way to get people consider a show.  HBO had a marathon showing of Game of Thrones over the weekend.

I never understood why people watched the show.  I never wanted to.  For me, it was like The Sopranos.  Or American Idol.  A television show that seemed to be more in fashion than anything else:  people were watching it because others were.  I assume it has a cult following (this from a self-confessed "Trekkie").  And, Game of Thrones is not in the genre I have been interested in.  I like few productions with medieval themes.  The movie "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" and the television show "When Things Were Rotten", both produced by Mel Brooks.  And the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".

Unless I have a fondness for a television program, I channel-surf.  When I did not see a program I wanted to commit to...out of curiosity, I tuned to Game of Thrones.  I did not focus any attention to it, and was involved in other activities.  I did watch on and off throughout the entire weekend.  But I cannot say I will be watching future episodes.

The characters of Osha and Ygritte reminded me of (the types of) women I had dated, and would...that's a different subject completely.  Tyrion Lannister and Bronn questioning Podrick Payne as to why he didn't pay prostitutes was very entertaining.  The storylines are intricate...I would prefer to follow them by reading books so I can understand how everything relates.

When the channel BBC America had a Doctor Who marathon, I did the same.  I never had any interest in the show...but, it was available, and it was easy for me to become accustomed to it.

Binge-watching appears to have been successful for Netflix with their show "House of Cards".  I have no interest in that particular show, as well as paying to watch any programs.  As it is I have not had free time to follow shows on over-the-air television I favor, which are available for streaming for free via the internet:  The Big Bang Theory, The Blacklist, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Almost Human, and many more.

Crackle, Hulu, and others provide free content for when I have time.  The economy has been rough on many households and people.  It's bound to cause (more) changes in how consumers get their content, including the content they choose to partake of.

Monday, July 26, 2010

DirecTV NASCAR "HotPass"

I noticed there was a new message in the "Caller ID & Messages" area of the DirecTV service about "HotPass".  Yesterday, I caught the end of it...a good idea, but not a great experience.

On the HotPass channels you can watch the race from cameras installed in some of the NASCAR vehicles.

The channels are free...from what I have read, they were not in 2007 and 2008.

Yesterday, I watched from the cars of:
Jeff Gordon - #24 (channel 795)
Juan Pablo Montoya - #42 (channel 796)
Jimmie Johnson - #48 (channel 797)
and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - #88 (798)

I did not like watching it on a television that had a 19-inch screen:  it was too small for me to comfortably enjoy the views.

And changing the channel from one to another was unsatisfying:  it took too long...there were a couple of seconds of pause, and dark/blank screens, to get from one to the other.

For people who have large screen televisions, there should be a "HotPass Mix" channel where all four of the views from the cars can be seen on one channel.

http://twitter.com/nascar_hotpass

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

lots of John Hughes on Encore

From the press release at http://starz.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=1000

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...the World Television premiere of Don’t You Forget About Me, a poignant search for Director John Hughes (shot a year before his untimely death) by a group of young filmmakers. The engaging documentary includes appearances by Kevin Smith, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Andrew McCarthy, Alan Ruck, Kelly LeBrock, Justin Henry, Roger Ebert, Jason Reitman, and Richard Roeper. Don’t You Forget About Me premieres December 25 at 6:40 p.m. and repeats on December 26 at 3:00 p.m.

Big ‘80s Weekend: A totally awesome marathon of ‘80s movies beginning 12/25 at 8:00 p.m.

* · The Breakfast Club
* · Sixteen Candles
* · Weird Science
* · Fletch
* · Back to the Future
* · Lost in America
* · Weekend at Bernie’s
* · Real Genius
* · Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise
* · Parenthood
* · The Legend of Billie Jean
* · Don’t You Forget About Me
* · The Goonies
* · Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure
* · Fast Times at Ridgemont High
* · Porky’s
* · Scarface
* · Creepshow
* · Girls Just Want To Have Fun
* · Vision Quest
* · The Outsiders
* · Wildcats
* · All the Right Moves
* · One Crazy Summer
* · The Blues Brothers
* · Purple Rain

Friday, December 5, 2008

Live newscast mishap upsets producer

(I've worked for jerks like this in radio, and have prayed they get caught as well...)

News channel producer goes nuts when his audio to another reporter isn't working.

read more | digg story