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TV has come a long way since its inception. However, there is something to be said about the simplicity of the past. In the early days
of television, there were only a few channels to choose from, and programming was limited to certain hours of the day. This made watching TV a more communal
experience, as families would gather around the set to watch their favorite shows together.
Today, I’m an octogenarian who earned a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering. But these days, I can’t figure out many of my
television options. What does streaming mean? What good is Netflix? Should I consider switching from cable to satellite reception? Why can’t I get any reception
where I live with an old-fashioned TV antenna? Why doesn’t a booster get me on-air reception where I live? Why are there so many TV channels these days and why
are most of them duplicates of each other? Why are there so many repeat programs? Am I the only person with all these questions or is everyone just as dumb and
confused as I am?
TV has certainly become more complex in recent years due to a variety of factors. This rise of complex TV can be attributed to major
shifts in the television industry, new forms of television technology, and the growth of active, engaged viewing communities.
It’s worth noting that while some viewers may find the complexity of modern TV shows overwhelming – I certainly do - others may find
it refreshing and engaging.
There are several ways technology has changed television viewing, particularly in recent years. Here are some of the ways: High-Definition
Television (HDTV) has transformed the way we watch TV by providing a much higher quality picture than standard definition TV. Streaming services like Netflix,
Hulu, and Amazon Prime have made it possible to watch TV shows and movies on-demand, without having to wait for them to air on traditional TV channels. Smart
TVs have added internet connectivity and can access streaming services, browse the web, and run apps. Oh, and by the way – what apps should I consider using?
It’s clear that technology has had a profound impact on the way we watch TV. It’s also clear that the new technologies have proven confusing to some older viewers
like me.
At one time, channel surfing was a simple matter: one switched between a few – perhaps half dozen – channels to see what might be
broadcast. Today, the possible channels available to me number in the thousands. I could spend 30-minutes clicking my remote control to find what was playing on
all these sites. On some channels, there come the message that they are third party sites not covered by my cable provider and they require special actions and
possibly added charges.
Back when, once the TV set was paid for, watching TV was free – except for the cost of the electricity to operate the TV set. Now, I pay
a monthly fee to watch television – the cost of my cable TV service. In my case, my TV service is bundled with my internet service and my telephone service, so I
accept the added costs without much complaint.
Even the TV remote control has become complicated. I still haven’t figured out what the A, B, C, and D buttons on my remote are for. The
first remote control I used had just three simple buttons – Power On/Off, Channel Up/Down, Volume Up/Down. The remote control I now use has more than thirty
buttons on it.
The first remote control I had was so simple that even our dog, Fideo, could operate it – this is a true story. Just before the year 1970,
we had three new arrivals in our new home – our first daughter, a dog, and a television set in our bedroom with a remote control. Shortly after their coming, I was
awakened one night in the early morning hours when the TV set turned on by itself. A few nights later, this happened again. After a little investigating, I
discovered that our dog had turned on the television when he came into our bedroom. It turned out that the TV remote control operated acoustically, rather than
optically as today’s remote controls all do. When Fideo came into our bedroom, his dog tags jingled and the sound was at the proper frequency to activate the
television set. Removing Fideo’s dog tags solved the problem of being awakened in the middle of the night by the TV turning on by itself.
Back in 2016, journalist Walt Mossberg wrote that TV’s were too complicated. In his column, he stated that TVs, their User Interface,
execution, underlying technologies, and remote were too complicated. He shared the experience of buying a new TV, setting it up, and the first few days of getting
through all this. The modern set, Smart TV for most, comes with a plethora of proprietary and standard features. But only a handful of people actually knew what
these features were -- and what the differences were between the models offered by the same company. Mossberg said folks at Best Buy were of little use when
explaining these features, but they did a good job making false claims such as “you have to buy a sound bar because the TV doesn't have good speakers” even when
that wasn't necessarily the case. Mossberg, having pioneered tech journalism as it was known, knew a thing or two about TVs, but for a general consumer, it was an
unnecessary thing that could spoil the experience, and make a bigger dent in their TV budget than it should have. But buying the TV wasn't the worst part.
Learning to use the TV was a whole other story. The assistive cartoon feature setup process was pretty straightforward, but it got you
going just enough to start watching something. Tweaking all of the TV's many features, including common ones like picture tones and uncommon ones like zooming in
on a part of the picture or using a built-in web browser, took hours. You had to wade through menus containing scores of choices. And some controversial features
common to then-modern TVs were buried deep in these menus. For instance, while Mossberg liked motion smoothing, others strongly disliked it -- it's sometimes known
as the "soap opera effect." If you didn't like it, the LG's interface didn't make it at all easy to understand what was happening to your picture or what setting
to adjust to turn it off. It's wasn’t even called motion smoothing in the menus -- LG called it "TruMotion." The user interface was also somewhat confusing. There
were at least three ways, for instance, to change inputs and at least two to bring up quick settings. The menu for launching apps like Netflix, inputs, and more
appeared to have a million icons in it and marched for what seemed like miles across the bottom of the screen. So, you had to edit it, which took a lot of
time.
Mossberg also found issues with the way the remote was designed to execute. For instance, it was supposed to become a "universal" remote,
controlling all your connected set-top boxes, but he could only get it to control some, but not all, of the basic features of his cable box, a TiVo Bolt. And its
voice search was pathetic. 2016.[1]
As far as I’m concerned, here in 2024, nothing has improved since Mossberg wrote his column back in 2016. If anything, television
viewing has gotten still more complicated and confusing for this long-time TV watcher.
Here is an example of the increasing confusion and complexity of today’s television – something called streaming video.
Streaming service HBO Max, replaced HBO Now, which replaced HBO Go, is coming back to Amazon Prime —
which of course has its own streaming service called Amazon Prime Video. This means you will once again be able to subscribe to this one streaming
service (HBO’s) through another (Amazon’s.) – Good luck understanding all this!
These streaming partnerships are pretty common, but oh so hard to untangle. Like, do you even know all the services you pay for?
One TV viewer has been on a multiyear quest to finish watching “Murder, She Wrote.”
“It’s kind of like a scavenger hunt where we have to go seeking out piece by piece to find our content,” she said.
First it was on Netflix. Then it disappeared and eventually popped up on Amazon Prime Video. This TV viewer actually researches broadcast
distribution at Auburn University. She said that even for her, it’s becoming more difficult to figure out where to find shows and movies.
“We are in the middle of a great reset of how programming gets paid for and delivered to consumers,” said a media analyst at The Vertere
Group.
Having a hit show that simply gets people to subscribe and cancel when they’re done binging was never enough. So streaming platforms are
experimenting with different subscription models, advertising strategies, and these partnerships with competitors.
“Especially the leaders are transitioning from trying to build the most market share and the biggest customer base they can to more of a
focus on profitability,” said a VP of research at Parks Associates.
She said niche content companies like Britbox or Crunchyroll might have an easier time turning a profit. But most of the bigger platforms
are having trouble. Netflix recently claimed it’s the only large-scale streaming company making money.
“So I do think that you’re going to see more acquisitions,” said the VP “You know those who aren’t able to kinda show that they can turn a
profit maybe being eaten up by some of the larger services.” Until then you’ll have to figure out your own method to the madness. Something like watching “The
White Lotus” via HBO Max via Amazon Prime via Roku via your TV.[2]
Oh, and by the way, give me back the TV of yesteryear when there were fewer and shorter commercials. In 2018 Forbes reported that the
amount of commercials shown per hour on television was approaching all-time highs across a slew of broadcast and cable networks. The trend has continued. It’s
linked to decreased ratings.[3]
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References:
- TVs Are Still Too Complicated, and It's Not Your Fault , Slashdot, 3 August 2016.
- Why is streaming video still so messy?, Kristin Schwab, MARKETPLACE, 6 December 2022.
- Yes, You Are Seeing More Commercials Than Ever Before, Toni Fitzgerald, Forbes, 11 December 2018.
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