News Discovery isn't on TV because no-one would watch it

[jaime]

Like I said, a lot of it is "if ain't broke, don't fix it." If my twenty-year-old box TV is still working, and I can still watch SHARKNADO on it, why upgrade? I honestly didn't intend to replace said TV, which was still working, but then our ancient DVD player died and when I tried to replace it (and the VCR) with a Blu-Ray player, I discovered that that our old TV--with its one coaxial cable jack--just wasn't compatible with the new Blu-Ray player . . . .sigh, back to the the electronics store.

And this stuff isn't always as user-friendly as you make out, especially if you don't know all the jargon. ("What the heck is an HDMI cable?") And sometimes you plug everything in, just the way the manual says, and . . . why don't I have sound? Why isn't my computer "recognizing" the new printer? Why am I suddenly getting subtitles in French?

And when I call the tech support, the nice people on the other end of the line are often speaking in tongues:

"Oh, you just have to re-fragmentize the central directory and download an updated app extension via the wireless infranet link . . . ."

"Come again?"

Lol. You just have bad luck.
HDMI is the one which says hdmi on the box or the cable, and plugs in the only two holes it fits in on the two things you connect. Basically....it's just a different name for he olde co axial cable as far as VHS vs Blu Ray tech is concerned. That's what I mean about learning the stuff...it's always sounds more complicated that it is, and usually you have two new things doing the same job as the old things, and from our end user perspective only the shape and name has changed.
I know what you mean in those outlier circumstances...sometimes manufacturers are sods, and their menu designers speak another language three removed along the translation matrix. Computers in particular used to suffer badly. These days...not so much. Unless you use Linux. (And the Linux faithful will come to say to me a similar thing to me here about TVs. Except they are lying half Borg......)
Didn't your box TV have a video input? Little yellow thing...you probably could have cludged something. Or bought an older player.
I miss the old tech most of the time. It had something the modern tech doesn't, and I am not sure there is actually that much improvement for the average user at home....but, we live in the world we do, and unless we are gonna use our old TV sets to hold open a giant set of doors while someone flies a flatscreen under it to freedom, we should probably just learn as fast as we can.
Or try to watch all our TV on iPads...because then it's still 4:3 and we can lean it on a box for the right feeling. And apple design stuff for easy use. Read. Poke. Read. Poke. Charge battery.
It doesn't quite have the nice rounded bubble to it mind you...but you can marvel at wiggling your fingers a centimetre behind Janeways head while she's talking and marvel at what your younger self may not have imagined.
That's what I do. Waggle waggle. 'Take her our Mister Paris' Waggle waggle.

 

[Greg Cox]

I always tell the tech support people not to worry about talking down to me.

"Great silver bird flies in sky" is about my comfort zone when it comes to technobabble.

 

[Apparition B5]

Do people still watch broadcast TV?

I have not watched live TV in almost two years (except through YouTube). I stream everything on my laptop. Having this show on steaming services is a progressive step in my view. Even the BBC are now doing Dr Who spin offs that are only available to view online.

Personally, I haven't watched live television since 2012. IMO, there's absolutely no reason to watch live television unless you're into sports. I mostly stream to my television via PlayStation.

Is CBS All Access available on On Demand, or must people use a computer or mobile device?

I love that you can really only get All Access via Smart TV or computer; if you own a blu-ray player that would normally have Netflix and Hulu or Amazon Prime, you're screwed.
Like me.

CBS All Access is available on desktop and notebook computers, Google Chromecast, Roku devices, PlayStation 4, XBox One, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, most Android TV devices, some smart TVs, and mobile devices. It's available on quite a few more devices than just computers, smart TVs, or mobile devices. A Chromecast, Roku, or Amazon stick will cost you about $50.

 

[jaime]

Personally, I haven't watched live television since 2012. IMO, there's absolutely no reason to watch live television unless you're into sports. I mostly stream to my television via PlayStation.





CBS All Access is available on desktop and notebook computers, Google Chromecast, Roku devices, PlayStation 4, XBox One, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, most Android TV devices, some smart TVs, and mobile devices. It's available on quite a few more devices than just computers, smart TVs, or mobile devices. A Chromecast, Roku, or Amazon stick will cost you about $50.

To be fair, if they going from crt or older LCDs, VHS and an old mac plugged into the wall for internet, there may be a few expenses and issues to incur (wifi for the chromecast or similar, etc) but I am not quite sure it will be quite the problem people expect. Odds are if you are reading this, there's a way, somehow, to watch Trek. I am in the U.K. So I will be watching it on Netflix, and I have a feeling a lot of people will just use a foreign VPN to do the same from the US. Which probably makes a change. Usually it's us hoisting the jolly rogers and the the false flags to get things on our screens in a timely fashion. (I go through hoops to watch face off on syfy...because it's not available here at all. Not to buy, not the watch on syfy here...and that's just a reality TV show.)

 

[The Overlord]

Like I said, a lot of it is "if ain't broke, don't fix it." If my twenty-year-old box TV is still working, and I can still watch SHARKNADO on it, why upgrade? I honestly didn't intend to replace said TV, which was still working, but then our ancient DVD player died and when I tried to replace it (and the VCR) with a Blu-Ray player, I discovered that that our old TV--with its one coaxial cable jack--just wasn't compatible with the new Blu-Ray player . . . .sigh, back to the the electronics store.

And this stuff isn't always as user-friendly as you make out, especially if you don't know all the jargon. ("What the heck is an HDMI cable?") And sometimes you plug everything in, just the way the manual says, and . . . why don't I have sound? Why isn't my computer "recognizing" the new printer? Why am I suddenly getting subtitles in French?

And when I call the tech support, the nice people on the other end of the line are often speaking in tongues:

"Oh, you just have to re-fragmentize the central directory and download an updated app extension via the wireless infranet link . . . ."

"Come again?"

Well there is a certain amount of planned obsolesce in media devices, its why there is a new video game platform every 5 to 8 years.

I also think you don't really know if you like something or not, till you tried it. I didn't have a smart phone till 2012, now I find its a very useful tool and I don't think Netflix is hard to use at all.

 

[BillJ]

...and I don't think Netflix is hard to use as it.

Depends on how one is using it. Through a PC with an already set up internet connection, it is a breeze. Hooking you Smart TV/disc player/video game console/streaming device can be more of a challenge for the tech novice. Especially if they don't already have wi-fi set up in their home.

 

[The Overlord]

Depends on how one is using it. Through a PC with an already set up internet connection, it is a breeze. Hooking you Smart TV/disc player/video game console/streaming device can be more of a challenge for the tech novice. Especially if they don't already have wi-fi set up in their home.

That is a fair assessment.

 

[jaime]

Depends on how one is using it. Through a PC with an already set up internet connection, it is a breeze. Hooking you Smart TV/disc player/video game console/streaming device can be more of a challenge for the tech novice. Especially if they don't already have wi-fi set up in their home.

PS3 is probably easiest way...you can use the old PlayStation av connector plug that into an old crt TV....Netflix on a crt. Sorted. Even plays blu rays. And it's lan connection as well as wifi.

 

[Greg Cox]

Well there is a certain amount of planned obsolesce in media devices, its why there is a new video game platform every 5 to 8 years.

I also think you don't really know if you like something or not, till you tried it. I didn't have a smart phone till 2012, now I find its a very useful tool and I don't think Netflix is hard to use as it.

Oh, I'm sure that once I get over the (sometimes steep) learning curve, I'll wonder how I ever got by without it. That's how it usually works. I hated Track Changes the first few times I was forced to use it, but I've made my peace with it and have come to see its advantages, as apposed to editing with red pencils and Post-It notes. And for those us who were never good at reading maps, GPS devices are a gift from God . . .. .

And I'm not a total Luddite. I remember when typewriters were still the industry standard; I'm in no hurry to return to the days of White-Out and correction tape. Nor do I miss having to ship bulky manuscripts back and forth by mail instead of by email. And I think it's very cool that I can write for British publishers and magazines without ever stirring from my home in Amish country. (Insert horse-and-buggie joke here.)

But, yeah, the planned obsolescence thing still galls me sometimes. They really expect us to replace perfectly good gadgets--and learn new programs--every few years? That doesn't seem either economical or a good use of our time.

And sometimes the "upgrades" just seem to be about lots of new bells and whistles that only make simple tasks more complicated. I swear, my TV remote has at least thirty buttons, but I only use about six of them: Start, Stop, Pause, Rewind . . . .

Ditto for word-processing programs. I don't need to know how to insert "hyperlinks" or "metadata." I just want to be able to change the line spacing or print something in italics, that's all. And heaven help you if your fingers slip on the keyboard and suddenly all the formatting changes and you don't know what command you hit by mistake. Thank God for the "Undo" button, although that doesn't always work . . ..

(He rants, channeling his inner curmudgeon.)

 

[fireproof78]

Can @Greg Cox do a stand up routine about technology and just rant and rave for 50 minutes? I would watch that on whatever format he chose to release it in-especially on vinyl or VHS just for the completing the joke

 

[Greg Cox]

Can @Greg Cox do a stand up routine about technology and just rant and rave for 50 minutes? I would watch that on whatever format he chose to release it in-especially on vinyl or VHS just for the completing the joke

I admit I'm having too much fun here, when I really need to be writing.

On a laptop, for the record, which is only four years old.

But even that I was forced into getting when I found out that Warner Bros. wouldn't allow me to take a copy of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES script off the studio lot, thereby compelling me to get something portable I could write on in Burbank . . . .

Before that I was making do with my old Dell PC, which had replaced my trusty old Compaq computer many years earlier . ...

It usually takes something urgent--like a new STAR TREK tv series--to get me to upgrade.

(See how I deftly brought us back On-Topic?)

 

[KelisThePoet]

I actually think broadcast TV is thing that will be phased out in 30 years. These streaming sites are far better, because you choose when you watch something, rather then having the TV schedule telling you when you should watch something, you set the schedule, rather then the TV. I also think Netflix is easy to use, you can set it up with an hour of effort and well not perfect, I prefer Netflix to broadcast TV. We don't have to worry about ratings or whether something is niche on a streaming site, Netflix and other streaming sites have been experimenting with content that wouldn't work on broadcast TV, but are still worth watching.

I personally see great value in scheduled TV. It promotes the habit of watching a certain show at a certain time. The benefit to the show here, is obvious; but there's also a benefit to the viewer, at least a viewer with a certain kind of disposition. It's fun to be a part of a regularly occurring event, to like your show so much you make it "appointment TV," to look forward to and anticipate your favorite show. And it encourages you to take time out for leisure rather than squeeze leisure into a busy schedule. The so-called convenience of getting to watch a show whenever I want to watch it just increases the temptation to double-task, to catch the show on some tiny device while rushing to work or checking e-mails, or just to procrastinate watching the show at all.

But if the show is great enough, if the writers do their jobs, you'll want to watch the show, right? Maybe. But in addition to the fact that things on a schedule always take priority over things not on a schedule, not every show starts out great, but many are entertaining and worth trying. Many shows start out slow as the writers figure out how they work, but have potential nevertheless. So a fun diversion and break from the workday every Thursday night can eventually become something more, but a fun diversion and nothing more won't compete for the attention of a viewer who has to schedule it in.

Finally, when shows are scheduled, a large segment of people watch them at the same time. In addition to an event, it's a communal event, and there's value in that, too. I tend to be more liberal than most in my social outlook, but I don't think it's true that everything edgy is progressive and everything unpopular is intelligent. And even if that were the case, I see a limited value to progressive, intelligent programming that never escapes a limited social bubble.

 

[Shawnster]

Not exactly. I have six bucks cash in my pocket, and it won't buy me six minutes of Discovery. I'd need to use my credit card, which--laying aside the legitimate security and privacy concerns about putting a credit card number on the internet--costs extra money both to have and to use. .

Would purchasing a pre-paid debit card or a MasterCard gift card solve this problem? Works like a credit card but does not contain any personal information.

 

[jaime]

Would purchasing a pre-paid debit card or a MasterCard gift card solve this problem? Works like a credit card but does not contain any personal information.

Netflix can be paid for through iTunes and I think through Amazon, both of which are able to be topped up by vouchers. Does CBS work the same way?

 

[uniderth]

my trusty old Compaq computer many years earlier . ...

Compaq FTW!

 

[Greg Cox]

Compaq FTW!

Served me well for many, many years.

 

[KelisThePoet]

Would purchasing a pre-paid debit card or a MasterCard gift card solve this problem? Works like a credit card but does not contain any personal information.

That would solve the credit card problem, which is actually the smaller of my two problems. I have a credit card and occasionally make online purchases. I'm just more cautious about it than most. What I don't have is a television or computer with the right specs. And like I said above, that's my personal choice to an extent, but I'm just trying to point out that it's more complicated than laying down six bucks.

 

[Apparition B5]

Finally, when shows are scheduled, a large segment of people watch them at the same time. In addition to an event, it's a communal event, and there's value in that, too. I tend to be more liberal than most in my social outlook, but I don't think it's true that everything edgy is progressive and everything unpopular is intelligent. And even if that were the case, I see a limited value to progressive, intelligent programming that never escapes a limited social bubble.

For better or for worse, the days of communal television are, for the most part, over. When you had four television channels, people could get together at the water cooler or wherever and discuss last night's episode of Joanie Loves Chachi. Now you have 200+ cable television channels, dozens of video streaming services, podcasts, thousands of video games... rarely anyone watches the same television shows, nonetheless the same episode. All television shows are in a limited social bubble now.

 

[KelisThePoet]

And that's sad. Television used to be far more democratic (lower-case "d"), with all the shortcomings and potential of democracy.

 

[Guy Gardener]

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Ever since any of us had an internet ready computer, made after the year 2003 (earlier within reason), we could watch Netflix on it.

There's a free 2 week trial.

Netflix, I have been assured, does not give a damn if we share our password/login with a few friends/family, or our friends/family share their password/login with us.