and the first post of the new year is about ... TV.
having finally taken the plunge on cable (and HD) around the end of summer last year, i figured the costs would still be affordable. my bro-in-law handed down his first HDTV to us, allowing me to hold off buying one for some time. plus, i was finally able to reap the benefits of my longtime PS3, in terms of gaming, media streaming and finally being able to watch Blu-Ray discs for real. and as a Time Warner customer for 5 years (Road Runner only, plus some public cable channels), didn't make sense to go somewhere else - i locked myself in for two years at a lower rate, then took their basic HDTV lineup. i really didn't need HBO or any other movie channels. just give me my basic channels, ESPN, NatGeo, Discovery, Travel, History, and for my wife: Food Network, HGTV, TLC, and all in HD - am good. the other channels are part and parcel of the lineup and nothing can be done about this, for now.
too bad they don't have real a la carte, where you can just pay only for the channels you really want, not package deals. no one in the cable industry and TV networks has the balls to do this. because all that matters is the bottom line. they've become fat and lazy, because with the customer having the power to choose which channel to really watch, they'll be forced to produce really quality shows that would be worthy of the customer's dollars. and i guess that's too much work for them.
and the entry of online streaming, as an alternative to traditional TV, should only serve to make them wise up, instead of trying to maintain the status quo and gouge existing customers for more. with the Comcast deal with NBC Universal, and Fox holding Time Warner hostage for more fees, you have to wonder how much the impact is for the average subscriber, especially in terms of money coming out of their wallets. Hulu may be the business model for the coming times, but free content can only last or may be sufficient for so long. either way, you have to pay, regardless of the method you want to get your entertainment. eventually, you'll be watching your shows online on your current HDTVs or wireless TVs hooked to the router. the traditional hardwired cable connections won't go away, but that's dependent whether our home internet can eventually handle the bandwidth required for full cable programming.
the game changers has been High Def and content. i doubt if anybody wants to go back to their old TVs after getting a taste of HD (especially for movies and sports. reality TV and porn? ehhhh.). i know i can't. am not sure if 3DTV is up my alley yet, but that's where things are headed as well. oh crap, does that mean Blu-Ray will be obsolete in two years?
i only hope at this point that the new TW/Fox deal doesn't mean they're going to change my locked-in rate. there's gonna be war if that happens. maybe at some point i'll need to wean myself off the dependence on cable - or maybe not.
having finally taken the plunge on cable (and HD) around the end of summer last year, i figured the costs would still be affordable. my bro-in-law handed down his first HDTV to us, allowing me to hold off buying one for some time. plus, i was finally able to reap the benefits of my longtime PS3, in terms of gaming, media streaming and finally being able to watch Blu-Ray discs for real. and as a Time Warner customer for 5 years (Road Runner only, plus some public cable channels), didn't make sense to go somewhere else - i locked myself in for two years at a lower rate, then took their basic HDTV lineup. i really didn't need HBO or any other movie channels. just give me my basic channels, ESPN, NatGeo, Discovery, Travel, History, and for my wife: Food Network, HGTV, TLC, and all in HD - am good. the other channels are part and parcel of the lineup and nothing can be done about this, for now.
too bad they don't have real a la carte, where you can just pay only for the channels you really want, not package deals. no one in the cable industry and TV networks has the balls to do this. because all that matters is the bottom line. they've become fat and lazy, because with the customer having the power to choose which channel to really watch, they'll be forced to produce really quality shows that would be worthy of the customer's dollars. and i guess that's too much work for them.
and the entry of online streaming, as an alternative to traditional TV, should only serve to make them wise up, instead of trying to maintain the status quo and gouge existing customers for more. with the Comcast deal with NBC Universal, and Fox holding Time Warner hostage for more fees, you have to wonder how much the impact is for the average subscriber, especially in terms of money coming out of their wallets. Hulu may be the business model for the coming times, but free content can only last or may be sufficient for so long. either way, you have to pay, regardless of the method you want to get your entertainment. eventually, you'll be watching your shows online on your current HDTVs or wireless TVs hooked to the router. the traditional hardwired cable connections won't go away, but that's dependent whether our home internet can eventually handle the bandwidth required for full cable programming.
the game changers has been High Def and content. i doubt if anybody wants to go back to their old TVs after getting a taste of HD (especially for movies and sports. reality TV and porn? ehhhh.). i know i can't. am not sure if 3DTV is up my alley yet, but that's where things are headed as well. oh crap, does that mean Blu-Ray will be obsolete in two years?
i only hope at this point that the new TW/Fox deal doesn't mean they're going to change my locked-in rate. there's gonna be war if that happens. maybe at some point i'll need to wean myself off the dependence on cable - or maybe not.
