6 Years after "Cutting The Cord" from cable and satellite. (opinion)

[Overmind One]

cause YOU bring them up you dumbass


Do you think I am stupid??
Syfy creates nothing, it finances ALOT however. Do you think that SGA, or Defiance, or Helix, Or W13, or Eureka could be paid for just by their respective little studio's getting a dollar a hit for permanent access to a show?? Even at 2 million hits, they will be behind, let alone the loss of the entire DVD/B-R field (why by the dvd, I have it on my PC!!)

I hope you know I am only agreeing with the second paragraph, bro! I did not bring the FDIC nonsense into this thread, or any of the "what if" scenarios. Syfy may finance a lot, but Netflix is also doing it and they are doing it and airing original content with NO COMMERCIALS. How is that being done? The subscription model DOES work as long as there is value in it for the subscribers. Why isn't Amazon Prime doing as well? Because they charge for the "good stuff" beyond the annual fee. I chose to cancel mine because I don't think it is worth it.

 

[Overmind One]

Then they need to look at COST, not the model itself. My total Telco bill for Landline, net, and cable is 134 bucks a month, and I get EVERY DAMN CHANNEL.
Now, you could say "GF ditch the landline" but I have no mobile phone, and I stay home, so I am someone who wants one, Ditch the cable? It's around 50 bucks for everything, so that's ok, and the net, well it's speed capped at 50 GB for 4G, but it is RARE for us to break that cap for another 50 bucks.
Quite frankly. you guys in the US should be paying about half that for your services, 80 bucks a month, for all your services, would you pay that?

$134.00 for that? Okay...how many channels do you watch of those channels? You have what is known as a "bundle". I have a MagicJack ($19.00/year unlimited calling, no monthly phone bill), and I have TWC Extreme Internet ($54.00/mo). Even if you throw in my total cellphone bill (with unlimited internet) and Netflix, I still come in under what you are paying.

Fine, that's entirely fine, but you will loose stuff along the way, that's just obvious.

That is the point isnt it? I do want to lose stuff. I want the studios to become way WAY more picky with who they get to write stuff. I want market testing to come back. Funny how smaller companies still test products before making general releases. I want the dumb shit to fail faster. I want studios to give us fresh talent, and I want the actors unions to be busted. These things are going to happen one way or another and I think that is a cool thing. Will we lose some content? Sure we will. Will we miss all of it? Doubtful.

Hang on, you want advertisers to pay for shit, but not see it??
ROTFLMFAO!!!!

Um, yeah. Netflix manages it. Product placement sometimes works for companies but if they were producing their shows (or paying somebody), it might be doable. Knight Rider (including the new one) was made to sell cars and it has done so. The Transformers was created to sell toys and that they have (in the multi millions worldwide). Marvel's movies are selling comic books and action figures galore. I dont see what you are laughing at!

NO-ONE goes "Direct to DVD" anymore, there is no value in it. Netflix picks up series that "just fall off the value wagon" and don't kid yourself otherwise.

Perhaps not direct to DVD since DVD is basically obsolete today...but direct to Netflix or Cable with no theatrical release. The things on Netflix which have "fallen off the value wagon" dont come anywhere near the tons of utter garbage on all those cable channels you dont watch. Filler movies in foreign languages with no subtitles, foreign language soaps and dumb homemade movies hoping for a Blair Witch moment. Just LOL! Remember, I am a cord cutter...I have already been there and done that with cable AND satellite as well.

But your beef is with advertisers, isn't it? If you spend your time avoiding ads, then WHY would they try to "enable" you?

I dont have to spend any time eliminating ads...they just dont live in my matter stream. Netflix does not have them, and the internet does not force them upon me.. It is the advertising industry and their inane, intrusive business model which made me cut the cable in the first place. I thank them from the bottom of my heart for that.

There is more money in ads, than anything else. you cut them out, you loose the revenue stream.

Correction...THEY lose THEIR revenue stream. Entertainment goes on...people move on.

Don't get me wrong her OM, I am no fan of ads, I do not support their agenda, I would rather have no ads, but I cannot blind myself to what they bring to the table here.
It's not "cognative dissonance" it's "here things are, and there is a cost to cutting it out, and don't bitch when the shit goes downhill from your decision"
Ya get me dude??

Until you have experienced the world without cable, you dont really know what it is like...you could simulate it. Perhaps that serving plate with platypus balls, and that bowl of octopus suckers shouldn't be on the table. Perhaps you should not be paying for unlimited servings of whale piss...even at only $154.00/mo.

The hybrid model that cable companies need to move to is already being field tested...it's called Hulu+ (). They still have commercials, and they also collect a subscriber fee. Hulu+ may eventually put Nielsen out of business.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/merrill...viewership-is-definitely-being-tracked-wrong/

 

[Overmind One]

This from 2010. Interesting comments! Especially liked this one:

This is true of "older" people too if they are tech savvy. Does it really make sense to have a cellphone AND a landline? With this ($69.95): http://www.amazon.com/TL92271-Cordless-Connect-Silver-Handsets/dp/B004QF6E3C/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&qid=1389642374&sr=8-22&keywords=AT&T bluetooth dect5 phone

As soon as your cellphone is within range, it connects to this phone system (mine has two satellites not just one), and when calls come in you can answer them on any extension phone or make calls on them (through the cellphone). It even displays your contacts list from the cellphone! The only difference between when a call comes in on the cellphone or on the MagicJack is the ringtone (choosable). I dont really need the MagicJack. With a free program called MightyText (ask Bluce about this too ), you get your text messages on your computers AND you can send them too. The program displays your cellphone battery charge, missed calls and can play your voicemails too.

There are lots of other systems out there, but I can speak about this one because I have it myself.

This is the 21st Century!

 

[Gatefan1976]

$134.00 for that? Okay...how many channels do you watch of those channels? You have what is known as a "bundle". I have a MagicJack ($19.00/year unlimited calling, no monthly phone bill), and I have TWC Extreme Internet ($54.00/mo). Even if you throw in my total cellphone bill (with unlimited internet) and Netflix, I still come in under what you are paying.

I should hope so, services in the US are cheaper than they are here. You also have to bear in mind here dude that for unlimited downloads with no speed cap would cost at the very cheapest 75 bucks a month, up to 130, and that is just for home internet.
We are not competing on a level playing field here OM.

That is the point isnt it? I do want to lose stuff. I want the studios to become way WAY more picky with who they get to write stuff. I want market testing to come back. Funny how smaller companies still test products before making general releases. I want the dumb shit to fail faster. I want studios to give us fresh talent, and I want the actors unions to be busted. These things are going to happen one way or another and I think that is a cool thing. Will we lose some content? Sure we will. Will we miss all of it? Doubtful.

Sure, I agree with this sentiment for the most part.

Um, yeah. Netflix manages it. Product placement sometimes works for companies but if they were producing their shows (or paying somebody), it might be doable. Knight Rider (including the new one) was made to sell cars and it has done so. The Transformers was created to sell toys and that they have (in the multi millions worldwide). Marvel's movies are selling comic books and action figures galore. I dont see what you are laughing at!

Right, you are talking product placement here (sponsorship advertising), I was talking about normal "30 second spots". Product placement is growing in popularity, and for some shows it will work well, some however it will not. Question though, how many movies and shows are you going to be inclined to watch that feel like a 2 hour ad?

Perhaps not direct to DVD since DVD is basically obsolete today...but direct to Netflix or Cable with no theatrical release. The things on Netflix which have "fallen off the value wagon" dont come anywhere near the tons of utter garbage on all those cable channels you dont watch. Filler movies in foreign languages with no subtitles, foreign language soaps and dumb homemade movies hoping for a Blair Witch moment. Just LOL! Remember, I am a cord cutter...I have already been there and done that with cable AND satellite as well.

You are going to need ALOT of viewers to make a D-t-I movie of decent production values OR you are going to have to raise the cost of the service.

I dont have to spend any time eliminating ads...they just dont live in my matter stream. Netflix does not have them, and the internet does not force them upon me.. It is the advertising industry and their inane, intrusive business model which made me cut the cable in the first place. I thank them from the bottom of my heart for that.

Not what I meant. I did not me you the personal, but you the generic.

Correction...THEY lose THEIR revenue stream. Entertainment goes on...people move on.

No, companies close, entertainment is not made. surviving companies retreat further into doing "what they know works"

Until you have experienced the world without cable, you dont really know what it is like...you could simulate it. Perhaps that serving plate with platypus balls, and that bowl of octopus suckers shouldn't be on the table. Perhaps you should not be paying for unlimited servings of whale piss...even at only $154.00/mo.

sigh, just cause it is on the table, does not mean I have to eat it.

The hybrid model that cable companies need to move to is already being field tested...it's called Hulu+ (). They still have commercials, and they also collect a subscriber fee.

How much does it cost per month?

 

[Overmind One]

I should hope so, services in the US are cheaper than they are here. You also have to bear in mind here dude that for unlimited downloads with no speed cap would cost at the very cheapest 75 bucks a month, up to 130, and that is just for home internet.
We are not competing on a level playing field here OM.

Okay, Ill give you that. It is a big difference.

Sure, I agree with this sentiment for the most part.

Right, you are talking product placement here (sponsorship advertising), I was talking about normal "30 second spots". Product placement is growing in popularity, and for some shows it will work well, some however it will not. Question though, how many movies and shows are you going to be inclined to watch that feel like a 2 hour ad?

Those 30 second ads will kill an internet viewer. better make it more like 5 or 10 seconds at most. And there better not be more ads 5 minutes later. The internet has raised the bar and lowered the tolerance for advertising. YouTube is counting the "Skip Ad" clicks, and I am certain the metrics are backing this up. On some media outlets, you cant skip the ad. I bet that is not working out too well.

You are going to need ALOT of viewers to make a D-t-I movie of decent production values OR you are going to have to raise the cost of the service.

What exactly does that mean anyway? You can have an excellent show and not have million dollar sets. Brad Wright's SGU spent huge amounts of money on sets which were probably not needed, and he hired Robert Carlyle who he considered "premium", along with Ming Na, and that added to the bottom line. Did we get good production values? Hell yeah...but the show was shit (IMO). Tell the right stories and have the right premise, and the show will be a success.

No, companies close, entertainment is not made. surviving companies retreat further into doing "what they know works"

Here is where I take a different take than you...sure, companies are going to close. The top heavy, entrenched production companies who have gotten fat enough to count on a certain amount of advantage over the smaller companies (because of connections and golf games), are going to find themselves waiting on hold longer. They are going to have to qualify their value to buyers. Some will fold and others will change. Yet others will rise.

sigh, just cause it is on the table, does not mean I have to eat it.


How much does it cost per month?

Hmmm...so, if one of your cats decides to leave one of his "gifts" on the dinner table whilst you eat your dinner, that is okay? I didnt think so. Before cutting the cord, I tried to just mute the commercials or blank them out by shutting off the screen for a few seconds, but it was too much work and I was still aware that I was paying for the commercials and the inconvenience. Hulu+ is 10.00/month and you still get commercials. I think it sucks and do not have it.

 

[Gatefan1976]

Okay, Ill give you that. It is a big difference.

cheers

Those 30 second ads will kill an internet viewer. better make it more like 5 or 10 seconds at most. And there better not be more ads 5 minutes later. The internet has raised the bar and lowered the tolerance for advertising. YouTube is counting the "Skip Ad" clicks, and I am certain the metrics are backing this up. On some media outlets, you cant skip the ad. I bet that is not working out too well.

I ask again, will you watch shows that feel like 2 hour ads because they have gotten rid of all ads and replaced it with product placement?

What exactly does that mean anyway? You can have an excellent show and not have million dollar sets. Brad Wright's SGU spent huge amounts of money on sets which were probably not needed, and he hired Robery Carlyle who he considered "premium", along with Ming Na, and that added to the bottom line. Did we get good production values? Hell yeah...but the show was shit (IMO). Tell the right stories and have the right premise, and the show will be a success.

You have to make it "look good" as well, we expect things to look good and make sense, if they don't you are better off reading a book.

Here is where I take a different take than you...sure, companies are going to close. The top heavy, entrenched production companies who have gotten fat enough to count on a certain amount of advantage over the smaller companies (because of connections and golf games), are going to find themselves waiting on hold longer. They are going to have to qualify their value to buyers. Some will fold and others will change. Yet others will rise.

And what will these new players make?

Hmmm...so, if one of your cats decides to leave one of his "gifts" on the dinner table whilst you eat your dinner, that is okay? I didnt think so.

Physically? I would get rid of it, digitally, I would get a new table with no shit on it.

Before cutting the cord, I tried to just mute the commercials or blank them out by shutting off the screen for a few seconds, but it was too much work and I was still aware that I was paying for the commercials and the inconvenience. Hulu+ is 10.00/month and you still get commercials. I think it sucks and do not have it.

And how much "hulu only" content is on? What is their library of content like?

 

[Overmind One]

cheers

I ask again, will you watch shows that feel like 2 hour ads because they have gotten rid of all ads and replaced it with product placement?

No. But who knows? I am surprised nobody has come up with a talking iPhone as a character yet. Advertising is going to have to go back into the streets in the real world. It will have to sponsor entertainment events, conventions, seminars, and it may even have to build studios.

You have to make it "look good" as well, we expect things to look good and make sense, if they don't you are better off reading a book.

I look at OMNI's stuff, and picture him at home on his rig creating it. Most impressive, and to me his renderings look better than much of what I am seeing on TV already (Falling Skies is an example). If he can do that at home by himself, what do you think can be done in a small office full of top notch machines and artists like him?

And what will these new players make?

That depends.

Physically? I would get rid of it, digitally, I would get a new table with no shit on it.

That is exactly what cutting the cord is doing.

And how much "hulu only" content is on? What is their library of content like?

They are a clearing house of sorts. You can see pretty much everything that is on cable the next day on Hulu. This is regular Hulu which is free. Hulu+ gives you like...80% of what you see on Hulu free, and you still get commercials! So, if you are not a schedule freak, then you can catch the same shows you watch on cable for free on Hulu the next day. Not a lot of "Hulu only" material.

 

[YJ02]

The day the FDIC fails, the dollar will have collapsed or the government will have collapsed or something. Why would you or GateFan76 waste a single minute thinking about these doomsday scenarios? I am not going to prepare for the collapse of the FDIC, a pot bust, an asteroid impact, a revolution, a worldwide plague, an alien invasion, Nibiru or an ape uprising (no offense, Shavedape!). Fear is a tool of control. Get people afraid of things and you can sell them protection (usually in the form of "insurance"). I think it is sad for people that fear the future.

I like to ponder about the future for the same reasons that I enjoy reading about the past. I like to be able to think of stuff based on current events, trends and the possibility of "history repeating itself" in the future and how those possibilities may impact life as we know it.

Again I AM NOT SAYING that any of these particular things WILL HAPPEN just that IF THEY did what would be the impacts? The Romans never envisioned being overrun and replaced by clothed in fur Germanic, Goths or Huns, but it happened anyhow. If they would have they may have considered making changes to fight back more effectively, changes they made far too late, like adapting the riding lance, the stirrup and the longsword to counter Barbarian cavalry.

Thinking about possibilities is another reason I like to watch sci fi and future fiction. Some watch for the "science" while I only see the science as a plot tool.

As to original programming-the comments by some of you about why should we have to pay for service that then leads to funding programming or that no ads should be needed to fund programming ,etc-are very reminiscent of similar type comments that I and many many others were making at sffy forums after CAPRICA and SGU were cancelled- others referenced older shows as well. Needles to say, the majority of the others and the mods trounced all of us-callled us everything from free riders to thieves for our comments

Not saying it as bad nor good-just saying. I agree that I would love to see my "cable"/non big 4 broadcast station make shows without regard to ads and the money they bring in. We are already paying to have these stations to begin with-they don't come over the air for free-I see the presence of ads on cable networks as pure greed-though I am sure they can justify it when needed.

 

[Overmind One]

I like to ponder about the future for the same reasons that I enjoy reading about the past. I like to be able to think of stuff based on current events, trends and the possibility of "history repeating itself" in the future and how those possibilities may impact life as we know it.

Nothing wrong with that.

Again I AM NOT SAYING that any of these particular things WILL HAPPEN just that IF THEY did what would be the impacts? The Romans never envisioned being overrun and replaced by clothed in fur Germanic, Goths or Huns, but it happened anyhow. If they would have they may have considered making changes to fight back more effectively, changes they made far too late, like adapting the riding lance, the stirrup and the longsword to counter Barbarian cavalry.

I see huge changes too. They are just not the changes you and GateFan76 seem to be envisioning. Any scenario which has the conservatives somehow gaining control of the government and implementing draconian laws is pure fantasy to me. Like a dragon coming to life or something. Social conservatism American style (right wing evangelical Christian) is past the point of no return. Those types are dying off. There is no growth in right wing social conservatism. The numbers are dwindling, as is the demographic it is rooted in. Better "what ifs" would be the possibility of a global pandemic, or the collapse of the US dollar. I have a hard time envisioning a scenario where the FDIC would fail. Everything would have to have collapsed for that to happen. For pot to suddenly become criminalized, more than half the population of the US would have to die off.

Thinking about possibilities is another reason I like to watch sci fi and future fiction. Some watch for the "science" while I only see the science as a plot tool.

Agreed! But for me, the sort of possibilities presented have to be plausible. The reason I hated Red Dawn was because they had North Korea taking over the United States (with Russia's help or not). Using a stargate to travel BILLIONS of light years, and communications stones to swap consciousness in real time just goes beyond my parameters of suspension of belief.

As to original programming-the comments by some of you about why should we have to pay for service that then leads to funding programming or that no ads should be needed to fund programming ,etc-are very reminiscent of similar type comments that I and many many others were making at sffy forums after CAPRICA and SGU were cancelled- others referenced older shows as well. Needles to say, the majority of the others and the mods trounced all of us-callled us everything from free riders to thieves for our comments

Yes, that is how they see us.

Not saying it as bad nor good-just saying. I agree that I would love to see my "cable"/non big 4 broadcast station make shows without regard to ads and the money they bring in. We are already paying to have these stations to begin with-they don't come over the air for free-I see the presence of ads on cable networks as pure greed-though I am sure they can justify it when needed.

If they simply made the channels a la carte, that would be a HUGE improvement.

 

[Gatefan1976]

No. But who knows? I am surprised nobody has come up with a talking iPhone as a character yet.

Watch some kids shows

Advertising is going to have to go back into the streets in the real world. It will have to sponsor entertainment events, conventions, seminars, and it may even have to build studios.

How do you think it started dude

I look at OMNI's stuff, and picture him at home on his rig creating it. Most impressive, and to me his renderings look better than much of what I am seeing on TV already (Falling Skies is an example). If he can do that at home by himself, what do you think can be done in a small office full of top notch machines and artists like him?

Most FX companies are relatively small dude, ALL the FX for Stargate came out of a relatively small digital studio. Ask OMNI how long it would take to render 30 mins of FX -from scratch, no base material- by himself.

That depends.

On? demand? Who's demand?

That is exactly what cutting the cord is doing.

I just change the channel.

They are a clearing house of sorts. You can see pretty much everything that is on cable the next day on Hulu. This is regular Hulu which is free. Hulu+ gives you like...80% of what you see on Hulu free, and you still get commercials! So, if you are not a schedule freak, then you can catch the same shows you watch on cable for free on Hulu the next day. Not a lot of "Hulu only" material.

Everything? so they have thousands of shows available to view on demand? 50 movies a month?
As for being a schedule freak, geez man, we watch hardly anything live, we just DVR it and watch when we want to.
I won't argue with you that most of what is on cable is dross, it is. HOWEVER, even if I paid a dollar per month for the channels I DO use, that's still around 40-60 channels, and I get a better deal just buying the package.

 

[Gatefan1976]

Side note:
OM, what kind of dystopian future scenario's do you think I ascribe to??
I seriously do not live in fear of any of these types of scenario's. I may *entertain them* on say a "what if" level, but I really am not afraid of them coming to pass.

 

[Backstep]

I fear the coming of Cthulhu.

 

[Gatefan1976]

I fear the coming of Cthulhu.

 

[Overmind One]

Side note:
OM, what kind of dystopian future scenario's do you think I ascribe to??
I seriously do not live in fear of any of these types of scenario's. I may *entertain them* on say a "what if" level, but I really am not afraid of them coming to pass.

I dont want to speculate...lets start a new thread and why dont we just spell it out?

 

[Gatefan1976]

I dont want to speculate...lets start a new thread and why dont we just spell it out?

No point bro, I don't fear any of these futures, I would have nothing to say.

 

[Overmind One]

No point bro, I don't fear any of these futures, I would have nothing to say.

I could argue that...

 

[Red Mage]

I still have satellite TV in my home but I don't think I've actually used it in over a year (I'm not the one who pays for it). If I was paying for it, I'd probably drop it. I almost exclusively watch shows on DVD/Amazon download or watch 'indie' programming on YouTube. I'm a pay to download guy and not a big fan of streaming TV shows. Too many times, I've been watching only to have the video buffer or the stream drop in video quality at important scenes. Maybe when the US gets up to speed with its internet services, I'll be a bigger fan. Still too unreliable in my area for my preferences.

I usually just download an episode or two from Amazon, if I like it I'll pay to download the episodes individually as they come out or wait for the DVD release (even buying episodes ala cart on Amazon or iTunes is STILL cheaper than paying monthly TV bills and waiting for the DVD release is usually even cheaper than that). Then I can watch any episode of any show I want to watch commercial free at anytime and I'm not paying 8-10x extra for other channels and content I wasn't going to watch anyways.

 

[Overmind One]

I still have satellite TV in my home but I don't think I've actually used it in over a year (I'm not the one who pays for it). If I was paying for it, I'd probably drop it. I almost exclusively watch shows on DVD/Amazon download or watch 'indie' programming on YouTube. I'm a pay to download guy and not a big fan of streaming TV shows. Too many times, I've been watching only to have the video buffer or the stream drop in video quality at important scenes. Maybe when the US gets up to speed with its internet services, I'll be a bigger fan. Still too unreliable in my area for my preferences.

I usually just download an episode or two from Amazon, if I like it I'll pay to download the episodes individually as they come out or wait for the DVD release (even buying episodes ala cart on Amazon or iTunes is STILL cheaper than paying monthly TV bills and waiting for the DVD release is usually even cheaper than that). Then I can watch any episode of any show I want to watch commercial free at anytime and I'm not paying 8-10x extra for other channels and content I wasn't going to watch anyways.

iTunes is actually a pretty good deal for video content. I have a Mac now and I use it on there for music downloads. But I see they have all the TV shows too. The prices are better than what I see on Amazon Prime. If you want to download YouTube videos to get around the buffer problem, you can use the Free YouTube Downloader. I use it to grab long YouTube videos so I can watch them on my computer later. Play the downloads with VLC, or you can specify the output format you want: http://download.cnet.com/Free-YouTube-Downloader/3000-2071_4-75219434.html

Dont worry, it is both legal and free.

 

[Backstep]

I am not clear on what any of that means. Can anyone clarify?

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

That ISP's can throttle back the speed of say Netflix, to dial-up speed?

 

[Overmind One]

That ISP's can throttle back the speed of say Netflix, to dial-up speed?

LOL, lets see how that works out for them. I think that is a recipe for mass exodus from whomever decides to do that.