Comment by fireflash38
Comment by fireflash38 2 days ago
That's also rather shit, unless you're using a prescribed browser and operating system.
We've rebuilt cable boxes, but somehow they're even shittier than before.
Comment by fireflash38 2 days ago
That's also rather shit, unless you're using a prescribed browser and operating system.
We've rebuilt cable boxes, but somehow they're even shittier than before.
The hands-down best DVR experience I had was a TiVo Slide remote (the top slid back to reveal a small but fully functional keyboard) paired to a PC running Windows 7 Media Center with a four-tuner InfiniTV Cablecard adapter. Obviously it's been a few years, but that was just smooth all around once I got it set up. Very high WAF.
But Windows 7 is gone, and so is the TiVo Slide remote.
Maybe they're not handing them out any more, but I've still got one and it still works in the TiVo (Edge?) that I have. It replaced that WMC DVR because WAF. Her genuine preference was for our old ReplayTV and its interface, but they didn't live long enough to make HD DVR's.
Turned out after I had already bought all that stuff due to flakiness that it was just some bad RAM that, really, was overkill - I could have just taken out the bad sticks and kept on rocking, in which case it probably would still be our DVR.
Not even those dirt cheap bluetooth devices with a trackpad and mini keyboard? Those are great and it just works.
Or what about the Steam Controller? It's UX is similar to some nicer smart TV interfaces.
The real solution is you build an app that is nice for your family to use and just tells the boxes what to play. Sure hope your family doesn't use iPhones!
If you're using Firefox or run Linux, you won't be getting the stream quality you have paid for.
Always assuming every single thing can be improved - and expecting huge corporate entities to do it - seems like a recipe for failed expectations.
Cable TV wasn't perfect, of course, but it was pretty damn good, especially in allowing everybody to have access to just about every show that was produced.
That the "replacement" model is disappointing and a worse experience, really shouldn't come as a surprise.
It's interesting to hear your perspective, but I totally disagree about Cable TV. It's the worst paid service I've ever seen. 100+ channels of almost pure garbage that insults my intelligence at every turn. 1/3 of the time was ads, and of the remaining 2/3, much was taken up by "when we return..." and "before the break...". Plus most of the content was targeted towards morons.
These days, you'd have to pay me $20+ per hour to watch cable TV.
I did have basic cable for a few years in the early 2000s, and I did enjoy watching Star Trek TNG reruns. Because there wasn't any good alternative back then in the dark ages.
Modern streaming is the same thing, except it's hidden under the illusion of choice.
Many of the most popular streaming shows were originally aired on broadcast TV (which most people watched via cable) - The Office, Friends, West Wing, Big Bang Theory, etc. Or originally for cable channels - Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, Suits, etc.
Netflix has produced a few decent shows but most of its stuff is "targeted towards morons" or "pure garbage that insults my intelligence" - Love is Blind, Is it Cake.
Commercials arent great but they are passive - easy to ignore. Much rather have a 3-minute commercials break where I can go to the bathroom or check my phone than having to actively scroll for 90 seconds switching from app to app and navigating their awful interfaces to get back to the show I was watching the other day.
But that's just me - glad you like our new television overlords, they certainly love anyone bashing cable tv!
That doesn't seem like an apples-to-apples comparison. There is a lot of junk on the broadcast and cable channels as well.
I expect there to be more aggregate junk on Netflix just because there is no floor: networks have only 168 hours a week to fill, while Netflix can throw anything at all on the pile.
But it doesn't matter, since unlike the networks, they're all available at once. If something insults your intelligence, you don't watch it.
You do know that people outside America had to buy very expensive DVD box sets to watch those shows?
I’ve run homebrew DVRs since the MythTV/Hauppauge era and it’s true
My family won’t adapt to anything in the living room with a keyboard and mouse, and getting a reliable remote on any PC based solution is often problematic.