What do you like about TV on DVD?

I like being able to watch what I want, when I want, not having to worry about my DVR filling up, and not having shows cut or vandalized with network bugs so the network can sell me a product I neither need nor want or advertise some other show you couldn't pay me to watch.

I second Matthew's Opinion!

I also like the fact that after you finish watching a Show, YOU GET TO KEEP IT!!!

In addition to all the valid points made above, for me the biggest selling points are that I can watch the shows at a time and place of my choosing and crucially satisfy that "more" impulse when one episode is over rather than wait another week for the next one - remember when we all had to do that? You could argue that this was part of the social aspect of tv shows - the watercooler moments that you discussed with friends and the anticipation of waiting for your favourite show but I much prefer being able to watch the show without all the other guff that went along with that.

On an not entirely unrelated point, the BBC tried one of those on-screen trails for the next show during a recent Dr Who and there was a great deal of outcry about having the show ruined in such a crass way. Fingers crossed we don't adopt this trend - network bugs have already crept into the corners of our screens. I find tv in the USA unwatchable when I visit  even though you make some of the best shows around! All the commercials and other crap totally ruins the flow.

I don't mind the Network Logos (A.K.A. "Bugs") however the Pop-Ups and Scrolls are a whole other manner. Some of them are accompanied with Sound Effects and they come at the most inoppurtune of times. For Example you will be watching a Program with a Funersl Scene in it. The Preacher delivering the Eulogy will ask for a moment of silence in honor of the deceased. At this very moment a loud ROWWWWWMMMMMMMMMMM!!! wil pierce the silence, followed by a Banner with animated Race Cars urging you to watch the Race that will follow the Movie. Or you will be watching a Movie and someone will speak in a Foreign Language. What are they saying? According to the "Subtitle" they are discussing the latest News Headlines, and we are to tune into the 11:00 News for more Information.

It's the Commercials that got to me. In the 1960s an average show only had eight to ten minutes of Commercials per hour, today that number has more than doubled! I cannot figure out why, in the name of Heaven, do so many Advertisers believe that the best way to sell their Product is to present it in the most insulting manner possible. And some Advertisers don't care WHO is watching their Ads when they come on. I began collecting DVDs in 2006 after seeing an ad for an "Adult Product" aired during of all things A CHILDREN'S SHOW!

Bill Robertson said it right.  Besides, with so many channels and people watching so many different things - water cooler talks aren't the same these days aanyway.

I think the Internet is the new Watercooler

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Robertson 

I think the Internet is the new Watercooler

Well said   I know, for me, it's been that way since '04.  I check this forum daily and buy all of my TV/DVD's on the 'net.

No commercials and I can watch what i want when i want to

MatthewA summed up my reasons.  I'm in my early 50s and like most people in this forum probably watched way too much television growing up.  I would rearrange my life around the television schedule.  What freed me from the captivity of the tube was having to work nights while attending college and, finally, the video revolution of the early 80s.  I never needed to be home at a given hour to watch anything.  I simply set the timer.

But it was right around this time, in the early 80s, that the amount of commercials started growing (just as more cable options were becoming available -- hardly a coincidence).  So I turned to collecting films on laserdisc (and later DVD) and pretty much started ignoring weekly television.

Now, on the rare occasions that I watch one of the networks, I am aghast at what I see.  Never mind the ubiquitous bugs which could be forgiven, but the bold, blaring ads and promos within the shows, the loud and often offensive commercials and just the overall tackiness of everything offered just boggles my mind.  If it weren't for Turner Classic Movies, I would even own a satellite dish.

If it weren't for DVDs, I may have thrown my TV in the garbage years ago.  I have better things to do with my time than be offended by what's offered by the networks these days.  It's exhilarating to be able to watch what I want when I want, but there's a nostalgia too for the time when I could walk into work and talk about "The Maltese Falcon" with co-workers who also caught the local Channel Five movie (with only two commercial interruptions!) last night.  Forums like this one are a godsend in these culturally fractured times.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob_Ray 

MatthewA summed up my reasons.  I'm in my early 50s and like most people in this forum probably watched way too much television growing up.  I would rearrange my life around the television schedule.  What freed me from the captivity of the tube was having to work nights while attending college and, finally, the video revolution of the early 80s.  I never needed to be home at a given hour to watch anything.  I simply set the timer.

 

But it was right around this time, in the early 80s, that the amount of commercials started growing (just as more cable options were becoming available -- hardly a coincidence).  So I turned to collecting films on laserdisc (and later DVD) and pretty much started ignoring weekly television.

 

Now, on the rare occasions that I watch one of the networks, I am aghast at what I see.  Never mind the ubiquitous bugs which could be forgiven, but the bold, blaring ads and promos within the shows, the loud and often offensive commercials and just the overall tackiness of everything offered just boggles my mind.  If it weren't for Turner Classic Movies, I would even own a satellite dish.

 

If it weren't for DVDs, I may have thrown my TV in the garbage years ago.  I have better things to do with my time than be offended by what's offered by the networks these days.  It's exhilarating to be able to watch what I want when I want, but there's a nostalgia too for the time when I could walk into work and talk about "The Maltese Falcon" with co-workers who also caught the local Channel Five movie (with only two commercial interruptions!) last night.  Forums like this one are a godsend in these culturally fractured times.

Outstanding post & summary from a fellow 'baby boomer" :).  With the exception of 3 network series since the mid-90's, I haven't seen any other series on prime-time network TV.  most of my broadcast viewing is watching sports.  I collect DVD's for the same reason as you.

If I decide to check out something of a more recent series vintage, most shows are seeing DVD releases so that's an option that we don't have as much with the older shows due to the usual rights/clearance issues.

I'm paying for basic cable even though I rarely watch anything on it these days. With the tv show Lost off the air now I have even less to watch. Basically, I don't like to tie myself into a specific time slot or day of the week, so being able to watch something when it is convenient for me is what I like most. Also, there's something very alluring about being able to watch back-to-back episodes of a series, its almost like watching an epic film.

I really enjoy owning the older TV on DVDs (50's, 60's especially, and to lesser degree the 70's and 80's).  The shows bring back pleasant memories of my childhood, teen years, and early adulthood.  It is also fun to see some of today's TV and movie stars in their formative years, when they had not yet achieved celebrity.  It's fun to see William Shatner and Robert Redford in the Twilight Zone, or Leonard Nimoy in The Virginian, or Warren Beatty on Dobie Gillis, James Caan and Burt Reynolds in The FBI, or even Robert Duvall in The FBI, Route 66, and The Twilight Zone.  I get a real kick out of those things.

LIke many of you what I like is the ability to watch what I want, when I want, with no "commercial" interruptions.  Exactly the same reason I own a large CD and Record collection.

I've rediscovered many old favorites due to TVonDVD, many of which had too few episodes to warrant syndication runs.  I've discovered many new favorites because it was a British series that never got a run in my part of the country, and many I didn't watch originally because they were butchered by the original airing network (Fox - Firefly - nuff said, although there are many more).

I, too, am guilty of sitting in front of the TV for hours on end in my youth and once held the title of "the walking, talking, TV Guide" because when the Fall Season started I new *all* the schedules whether I watched it or not.  This was for all 3 networks... wow... now I frequently struggle to find 3 or 4 shows worth watching, much less an entire networks' output.

I horded, cherished, and drooled over the new TV Guide Fall Premier issue as well as the Saturday Cartoon Premier issue, often lamenting the fact that I could not watch a favorite or cool looking show because the local stations would pre-empt with wrestling, or talent shows, or quiz bowls, or other locally produced "junk".

While I watch 3 or 4 shows on a somewhat regular basis I no longer plan my life around them.  The few I *do* currently watch I tend to just pick up on DVD 'cause it's easier and there're no commercial interruptions.   I've gotten to where I'll sample a couple of episodes and if I like it I'll just buy it on DVD.  The networks have gotten out of control with the number and annoyance level of commercials.  Were it not for my wife wanting to keep the subscription I'd drop cable like a hot potato and use the money for more DVDs.  She doesn't watch DVDs... just "live" programming... Even for shows she claims to like she'd rather wait for it to come on somewhere than purchase and watch it on DVD.  I just don't understand that mentality...

I *do* *HATE* onscreen logos/bugs and complained loudly when the station I used to work for started putting them on programming (at first it was optional and under local control - even the network "bugs" - and they were only on for 5-15 seconds following every commercial break).

Wow... that was pretty long to just say "watch what I want, when I want", eh? :)

with nothing good on primetime tv today try to find something good from the past to watch
 

Back when I was a Kid, I was "King of the Couch Potatoes".  As soon as I got home from School, the TV Set came on. Even when doing Homework, I had the set on. When Cable TV arrived in my Hometown in the Summer of 1980, I was a Kid all over again, I felt like a Ten-Year-Old on Christmas Morning. For the next 20 years, life was good. Then about ten years ago I saw the overall quality of TV, Both Broadcast and Cable, begin to do decline. Returning home from work, I wnt to tune into a Favorate Series, only to discover it had been replaced by some cheesy Game Show.  One by one, other decent shows also dissapeared, to be replaced by some shoddily-produced Game or "Reality" Show. That wasn't the only thing I noticed. It was about this time the Commercial Breaks began getting longer, and withing four years it seemed the number of Commercials being pushed in front of me had nearly doubled. I got my first DVDs (Movies) in 2002, and I noticed entire TV shows were becoming available for purchase, but the prices were outragiously high! I began wishing I had enough money to purchase these sets. In 2006 I noticed the prices on many sets began dropping, Sets that retailed for over &50.00 a Season were now selling for less than $20.00 a Set. No sooner than that happened something else happened that set me on the path I'm currently on. During a Social Outing I spotted a Commercial for a Sex Product aired during a Children's Show!  That did it! I finally decided enough was enough. I went on Vacation the following week, and when I returned I had over $300.00 in unused Traveler's Checks. I Cashed them in and made a beeline for a Video Store. Locating a Bargain Bin full of DVD Box Sets, I purchased over a Dozen Complete TV Series on DVD. By the end of 2006 I had doubled my amount. I had enough Sets that I could spend my evenings watching nothing but DVDs! It was then I cancelled my Cable Subscription. Since then I have used the money formerly used to pay the Subscription Fee to purchase even more DVDs! How well have I done? Just look at my Signature!

If I didn't like auto racing like this weekend's upcoming Indianapolis 500, NASCAR's World 600 in Charlotte, and Formula One's Turkish Grand Prix, I'd have no need for it either and would stick to just home video.

Without racing, it would just be an expensive way to view my local forecast on the Weather Channel (A network that has itself seen some decline in quality in recent years like the rest of the airwaves).

And documentarys have also sufferred which have always been a favorite of mine. As recent as the early 90s there were always good programming on things like WWII (Back when A&E was nicknamed the Hitler Channel by some) and a wide variety of other subjects (Such as Floating Palaces, a 5 part A&E production on the history of trans-Atlantic liners, by far the best documentary I've ever seen on the subject).

And classic documentarys were also widely broadcast like Time Life's 1970's series titled GI Diary (Was a Discovery Channel staple during the first half of the 1990s), The World At War, Victory at Sea, etc.

Now it's all gone and replaced by extremely low budget programming that is repeated constantly. Your more likely to see something like some reality show junk on the Discovery Channel's Military Channel or a show about the sexual habits of American colonialist on the A&E's History Channel then anything worthwhile and enjoyable. I don't even know when the last time was that I turned on A&E and the Discovery Channel.

Both networks have a large library of extremely well done programming that sits unused in their vaults in favor of things like listening to a 50 year old woman "historian" lamenting that we don't know more about the sexual habits of teenagers in the 13 colonies during the 1700's (Not making that one up I hate to say).

Sadly, the decline seems to have pretty much universally affected every network and every genre of television broadcasting. It's hasn't just been prime time programming on CBS, ABC, and NBC that has gone to pot over the past 40 years.

My story is a bit odd.  In the mid-nineties, I moved from a decent sized media market (Dallas/Fort Worth) to a small town in the hills and hollers of West Virginia where the only station we could pick up clearly was the local PBS affiliate.  We were too poor for cable or satellite, so we survived off my library of tapes I had recorded off TV in Dallas.  I upgraded to DVD in 2001 and started acquiring things.  After nine years in Appalachia, we moved to a village outside Albuquerque.  The change in OTA broadcast television presentation was shocking - animated pop-ups (some incredibly huge and distracting) and in-program-pointers everywhere, some even with accompanying sound effects.  Extra-long commercial breaks or even situations where only 3-4 minutes of televised narrative occurred between commercial breaks.

The proliferation of cheap and tawdry reality shows, talent competitions, and game shows did not interest me at all.  We tried cable for a couple of years, but the trends above were even more exaggerated.  These days, I hardly watch broadcast TV, relying upon DVD releases of shows of which I've heard good word of mouth or vintage programs of which I already have an appreciation, but of which I never necessarily saw every episode.

I'm not quite in my mid-forties and, when it comes to TV,  I sound like a retiree yelling for the kids to get off his lawn.

I'm a child of the 80's, and I love discovering classics like Daniel Boone, The Virginian, Laramie Planet of the Apes and other 60's and 70's shows on dvd.  I'm a completist.  I love collecting entire runs of a series.  The Incredible Hulk, and Dukes of Hazzard are my most cherished pieces in my collection.They bring me back to watching CBS on Friday Nights way back in 1980.  Now, if only more Love Boat/Fantasy Island are released.

I rarely post here, but I agree with the sentiment that forums like this are a godsend to those of us who truly love classic TV. For a long time I thought I was the only weirdo who would recreate Nick at Nite lineups with DVDs, or buy a newly-released set and plan an evening around watching some of the shows. I love coming in here and sharing the enthusiasm of other fans who do the same types of things. I also think that many people who prefer staying home with an evening of classic TV to, say, going out to a club or a bar, may be loners by nature, so this is the only place that a bunch of couch potatoes can find fellowship.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeoAmes 

If I didn't like auto racing like this weekend's upcoming Indianapolis 500, NASCAR's World 600 in Charlotte, and Formula One's Turkish Grand Prix, I'd have no need for it either and would stick to just home video.

 

Without racing, it would just be an expensive way to view my local forecast on the Weather Channel (A network that has itself seen some decline in quality in recent years like the rest of the airwaves).

 

 

I've been a Racing Fan all my life, (My favorate Drivers are Earnheardt, Stewart and Kensith). Unfortunately I've had to give up watching the races. NASCAR calls themselves "Family Entertainment" and they schedule most of their races during the Afternoon or early Evening, when most Families can watch the races together. But this is where the Problem lies. Their Advertisers are anything BUT "Family Friendly" One cannot go 15 minutes without seeing at least one Commercial for an ED Pill or some other "Adult Product". The Advertisers don't care WHO is watching the TV when these kinds of ads are shown, and there is no indicator that they are about to be shown. Therefore I've had no choice but to stop watching their races. Each year I'd purchase Die-Cast Miniature Cars of those who won the Daytona 500, the Coke-Zero 400 and the Sprint Cup, which I'd donate to Children's Charities at Christmastime. This year the Kids will still get Presants, but it won't be NASCAR Toys.

The Weather Channel is a Joke. Three years ago I was in the Seattle area and I wanted to see what the weather forecast was for the area. The Local Forecast only reported currant conditions and the Radar only went out 50 miles. (There were scattered rain showers while I was there) I watched for an hour, wanting to know if the rain was going to pass, or should I be prepared for more wet weather. NOT ONCE did they show the National Map or even the Regional Forecasts. There was a Hurricane in the Caribbean Sea, and that's the only thing they would show. (It hit Mexico a day after I returned home.)
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveHof 

...I also think that many people who prefer staying home with an evening of classic TV to, say, going out to a club or a bar, may be loners by nature, so this is the only place that a bunch of couch potatoes can find fellowship.

Truer words have never been spoken!

My wife just doesn't understand my "addiction" or why I'd rather stay home and watch on old show on DVD than go somewhere.  I'd rather have a meal, no matter how simple, on the TV tray while watching a favorite show/movie than go out to eat.  My perfect vacation is a full week to watch TV and movie DVDs uninterrupted by chores, kids, grandkids, relatives, phone calls, or anything else that pulls time away from the viewing schedule.  I do this at least once a year and stress to her that I'll not be moved to babysit, work in the yard, go *anywhere* other than Big Lots a couple of times (feeds the cheap DVD addiction) and church.  It drives her crazy.
 

About the only time I now watch commercial TV is when I'm on the computer and even then it's typically The Travel Channel (for Andrew Zimmer and Anthony Bourdain primarily - although "Man vs. Food" is a guilty pleasure), Food Network, Discovery Channel, or History Channel.  Even then, those 4 have way too much dross compared to just a couple of years ago.

I hear what most of you are saying and agree 100%.I live in the UK but do not have cable just a system called Freeview which is composed of about 80-90 channels tv and radio.There is probably 5 channels i watch with any regularity but most are shopping channels or channels that repeat ad nausium the same rubbish day in day out,even the BBC is not much of an option.

I have recently retired early and watch tv shows most of my spare time.I collect complete runs of shows of almost any genre.

I usually watch two shows at once alternating a season at a time and am currently watching McLeods Daughter a great Australian series in 8 seasons(i have just finished season 5) and Farscape.

Farscape i am sticking at but finding it a bit heavy going but refusing to give up.

Next up i will be watching Will & Grace and Batwatch.

Of course living in the UK many many of the series are not released on R2 so i have a network of sellers that i purchase the R1 only releases from.

 What I like about it is being able to own several episodes of my favorite shows. I prefer season sets over "best of" sets, because it means I don't have to worry about my favorite episodes being ommitted (as long as they do end up releasing every season). I especially like season sets where they actually care about putting in special features (so the DVDs I frequently watch include The Muppet Show, Newhart, The Simpsons, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Greg the Bunny, and others).

 Of course "best of" sets can also have an advantage: It's fun to speculate what will or won't be included, and with full season sets we can really only speculate the special features. Of course the only kinds of "best of" releases I really enjoy are Sesame Street and Looney Tunes releases (I know, Looney Tunes wasn't originally a TV show).

 One downside to collectible season sets are that I think those are what's contriubuting to many of the best shows from before 2000 being shown on TV infrequently. Maybe I'm wrong, but when older shows have many episodes on DVD, then those with them don't really need to watch them on TV.