Thanks to tv on dvd...... (1 Viewer)

[todd s]

For about 15 years I have been taping tv shows onto vhs. Then about 3 years ago I switched to recording shows onto dvd. At the most I was taping 10 different tv shows. It was a pain to make sure I set the machine or someother nonsense. Then something happened. Shows I wanted both past and present began to come out on dvd. So I stopped taping. Well, at least until tonight. I recorded the show Supernatural. I am sure if it is even remotely successfull. It will be released. But, in the chance it isn't and I like it. I want it.

 

[Malcolm R]

Hey, me too! "Supernatural" was actually the inaugural recording on my new DVD recorder. Pretty slick!

I also love TV on DVD and find myself not really caring if I watch the broadcast shows weekly anymore as I find I'd much rather be able to watch multiple episodes at once when I can get the DVD's.

 

[Lynda-Marie]

What I like about the idea of buying my favorite show on DVD is - no more inane commercials wasting my time, none of those stupid "bugs" and no credits squashed at the end!

I wish the networks would wake up to the fact that NO ONE - at least that I have ever heard of - ENJOYS having those "bugs" in every frame of every show. We, the audience, are not such a pack of morons as the networks seem to think, that we cannot tell WHICH channel we are watching.

The other grand annoyance I have with broadcasts of shows on regular TV is that they feel they must squash the ending credits to a small portion of the screen, to display what's on next and many times, to babble over the music or end skit about yet ANOTHER show.

Why are those credits there? Answer: to give credit to the cast and crew. That terrific performer in the small part of tonight's episode - what is his/her name, I want to watch out for him/her. Nope, you have to squint through the squashed credits, because the networks are advertising other shows.

 

[Josh_HI]

I've been wanting a dvd recorder for a while. How much do they usually cost? do they record on dvd-r's or what? Is it easy to figure out?

 

[LizH]

Consider it from the networks' point of view:

Ours is now a 500-channel universe. Without the "bugs", how are all the channel-surfing couch potatoes out there supposed to tell TNT from FOX, NBC from Oxygen, or The WB from Sci-Fi?



In THAT regard, they DO serve a practical function.

 

[WillG]

I was watching one of the nightly entertainment news shows the other day and the credits roll so ridiculously fast it is virtually impossible to read them. It was literally like the gags in the Simpsons where Kent Brockman was revealing who's gay in "Bart's Comet" or where "Rock Bottom" reveals their mistakes in "Homer Badman"

 

[Jesse Skeen]

Easy- I don't get half those channels since I don't have cable! But even if I did, how am I supposed to actually WATCH them with the bugs on the screen??? Nobody has ever answered THAT question! It seems they would want to encourage people to actually keep it on their channel instead of surfing around, but with that bug there I can't tolerate it for more than a minute.

I've had a DVD recorder for 2 years, but have never even hooked the antenna up to the tuner. I use it for copying laserdiscs and preserving old tapes recorded off TV from back when they actually cared about the shows.

The Simpsons had another gag where Bart gets a job on the Krusty show, and when his friends don't believe him he shows them the credits, which get squashed to half the screen for a news update so they can't read his name when it comes up. There's also the couch gag where the Fox bug comes up and Homer throws it on the floor and stomps on it. I don't know why the people behind that show have tolerated it for so long; if I were them I'd just pack it up and leave unless they run the show unmolested again.

 

[Malcolm R]

They're a whole range of costs depending on how much you want to spend. I got mine at Costco for $189.99 (Go Video's DVD-R & VCR combo). Probably not the greatest quality, but my VCR bit the dust so it gave me an excuse to upgrade. Seems to operate just like a VCR except with discs instead.

Lots of info in the hardware section of the Forum, I'd bet.

 

[MarkHarrison]

I'm not sure if you were being sarcastic or not so...



Perhaps I have different viewing habits, but when I'm trying to watch a show, I couldn't care less what channel it's tuned to. I just care that I get to watch my show. The only time I care about the channel is when I don't like what's currently on and want to find something different. Plus, I'd say 99% of the time, I know what channel I'm tuned to. If I don't and need to know, my remote has a button to push to give me that data.

Finally, as a proud DirecTiVo owner, I no longer understand the concept of "channel-surfing". That's so 19th century. Nor do I really care about channels, I only care about what's on my Now Playing list.

 

[LizH]

Not everyone has TiVo.

 

[Ryan Wishton]

Heres another example of why we don't need bugs. Many of us anyhow.

Many of those who have cable now have Electronic Programming Guides with listings. Everyone who has satellite (Directv/Dish) also does. So, we have the channel listings right on hand with the touch of a button.

Bugs are as annoying as syndicated programming and frequent commercial breaks to me. Thats why I tend to wait for DVD. Even that doesnt always work out with some of the shoddy releases.

With prices for premium cable upwards of $100 a month (Comcast is ripoff around here), I don't feel as if we should have to deal with bugs as well to distract. But, that's just my opinion.

Cable started off as a good option with minimal commercials (a good deal of channels had none), no bugs, and reasonable prices. Now, it is no different than watching regular tv (many commercials, bugs, etc) except we get to pay for it too. And pay dearly. I just don't think the price is worth it anymore.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

I got cable for FREE for awhile and wouldn't have paid one cent for it! I never found a single thing worth watching (a few channels looked like they might have been good if they didn't have the on-screen junk!)



That's REALLY depressing. They should be sending their money to me instead

 

[Jeffrey Nelson]

The only, ONLY channel worth watching to me is TCM, and perhaps a couple of the Encore movie channels (minimal bugs, uncut films, no commercials). Network television is largely garbage, cluttered up with "reality" shows and insipid shitcoms. And if you want to watch one of the few good shows on, HOW are you supposed to enjoy it with all the onscreen clutter? I haven't had cable in over a decade, and I haven't missed anything. If something comes on TCM that I gotta have, my mother is kind enough to record it for me from her satellite dish.

 

[TravisR]

Crazy as it sounds, I get caught up in a show and don't notice the junk onscreen.