Scrolling

[NutmegCT]

Does this bug you as much as me?

On the morning news (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, etc.) I see the bottom 1/3 of the screen has no news content whatsoever.

On Fox I see the words "Fox News" spinning in a logo on the left, then the "title" of the segment, then the word "Headlines" scrolling across the screen, behind the segment title.

Just below that I see another scrolling line, with other news that Fox has just shown. Then to the right of that, I see airport codes with local weather.

I can see the "whole" picture in bits just to the left and to the right of that scrolling stuff. So the picture hasn't been "compacted" - it's been covered up by the scrolling stuff.

So I'm only seeing the morning News on the top 2/3 of the screen. Of course, when the commercials come on, the commercial is 100% of the screen.

Same thing on ABC, CBS, NBC. On the bottom of the ABC screen I see yesterday's closing stock quotes, and below that
are several "tabs" showing stocks, mobile, currents, news, and lottery. But those tabs never change.

This reminds me of a "famous" scene in the movie Idiocracy.

I have a widescreen LCD tv, but it's the same on my old CRT tv. The scrolling stuff isn't an advert, so there's no extra revenue to the network. Anyone have a clue why so much of the "picture" is covered up?

I can't see an advantage to anyone to just have static text and graphics, especially if they're not promoting something that garners revenue. It's more like the stations just want to add "stuff" to the screen, even if it covers up the actual programming.

This all started just as HDTV was taking off a few years ago. My guess is that stations wanted to "prepare" us for the wide picture, so they masked off part of the screen with scrolls. But they've kept it that way.

Tom

 

[judow]

Every so often I find myself reading these scrolls and am oblivious to the commentator(s). Perhaps I can't walk and chew gum at the same time but it really annoys me. Wonder how others feel?

Good point btw.

 

[PAUL161]

Channel 2 in our area is the menu channel. When they started this service years ago, it was a full screen scrolling listing of what's on each channel. As time went buy, they started taking a small portion of the upper screen to advertise other programs etc, then as time moved on the upper screen took up more space and the menu in the lower section kept getting smaller. Point being, if someone wants to look at the menu to find out what's coming on, that's what their there for, not to watch a bunch of commercials! It's now down to a point where the menu is so small you have to be very quick to check or you missed it. I'm getting to hate cable TV, even the movies stink in most cases. If the Turner Classic Movie Channel shut down, I'd junk the TVs! Gee it's nice to rant so early in the morning! :banana: PJ

 

[NutmegCT]

<snip> I'm getting to hate cable TV, even the movies stink in most cases. If the Turner Classic Movie Channel shut down, I'd junk the TVs! Gee it's nice to rant so early in the morning! :banana: PJ

Paul - I feel exactly the same. With most cable stations (Discovery, History, Sports, etc.) you see the same set of commercials every seven minutes. Amazing. There's 40 minutes of content in every 60 minutes; 20 minutes (at least) of commercials. And they're all for the same products.

Fully 1/3 of the stations I can get (DishTV) are merchandising stations: jewelry, clothes, travel, gold, etc.

Good grief. And even those stations have advertising scrolling across the bottom of their own advertising!

Amazing. Think what we could accomplish if we banded together and told our TV providers what we think, and what we'll do if it doesn't improve.

Let's see ... internet for news, DVD rental for entertainment ... the mind boggles.

T.

 

[Basil]

I am a insufferable news junkie and watch several different stations. Well, actually I do more listening than watching when it comes to news shows. That's probably why the scrolling doesn't bother me too much. My TV is to the side and behind me when I'm online and I have it going all the time, but doing more listening than watching. However, when I watch a movie on one of the Sat channels what bugs be are those little ads for upcoming shows that pop up from time to time. Usually it will be a small image of some actor promoting their show!

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Symptom of the times. Cram as much "information" - and I use that term loosely! - into as little space/time as possible. The end result is, as my heroes, Click and Clack, would say, "unencumbered by the thought process". The unfortunate result is the reception of only a fraction of the total information, so that the reaction of the recipient of said "information" is just as informed.

HEY! Maybe if I add a scroll screen to the bottom of the pulpit...

 

[Brooklands]

My current TV gripe is the political ads...not a single local ad has a specific thing that a candidate would do, just what is wrong with the opponent. I keep the TV most of the time now through the election, and then can turn it back on.

 

[aerog]

However, when I watch a movie on one of the Sat channels what bugs be are those little ads for upcoming shows that pop up from time to time. Usually it will be a small image of some actor promoting their show!

...and it's getting worse. The little corner promo ads at least pop up then go away (usually), but the constant glaring watermarks ruin the show they cover up. The "Military Channel" (part of the Discovery-Channel lineup I think) has a ridiculously obnoxious "watermark" now, for example. Watching a show with subtitles is sometimes <span style="font-style: italic">literally</span> impossible because the watermark covers up about 25% of the subtitles.

 

[Guest]

I don't have this problem as I've headed it off at the pass years ago. I have grown tired of paying for 300 channels of the same crap. N matter what time of day, there was nothing on worth watching. I spent more time hunting for something then I actually did watching.

The wife and I decided not to get cable or the like in our home when we bought it. We used antenna only. That was fine until Katrina took it out and we were down to rabbit ears. We could only get one station, as we couldn't find a replacement antenna anywhere.

It was really quite liberating. You got just enough of the news you needed. If someone was on you didn't like, then it was time to talk or do something else productive. This went on for sevral years.

When "the big switch" came, the digital box didn't work well with the rabbit ears. My m-i-l had an antenna in her attic so I got that and put it in our.
MAN, it was like having cable !!!! We were now able to get allot more stations, but not allot of crap. Our favorite is the two retro TV channels we get.

Our local news station is VERY Mayberryish and we love it. A traffic accident is about the worst thing you'll here about and there always is a story about somoene doing something nice for somebody else.

Last thing I need is a bunch of media idiots telling me ~EVERYTHING~ is bad and we're all gonna die. Seems like herding sheep off a cliff you you ask me. I choose to opt out.

We also went through a 30 day stretch w/ no TV and that was really nice too. I highly recommend it.

 

[AngliaGT]

......and why,when I want to read the credits at the end
of a movie/show,do the condense it down until it's unreadable,
just to advertise another show/movie?

- Doug

 

[Andrew Mace]

My current TV gripe is the political ads...not a single local ad has a specific thing that a candidate would do, just what is wrong with the opponent. I keep the TV most of the time now through the election, and then can turn it back on.

What's even worse (to me, anyway) about such ads is that all some of these ads do is mention the opponent's name and show his/her picture; they don't vocalize the candidate's name, but you just might be able to see it if you can read the small print at the end of the ad. I'm no psychologist, but it seems to me that if all you hear is GEORGE TIREBITER [did this] and GEORGE TIREBITER [did that] and GEORGE TIREBITER [failed to stop this], etc., etc., the average person is more likely to remember only the name GEORGE TIREBITER, rather than the name of the clown trying to unseat him!

But as The Who once said: "Meet the new boss...same as the old boss...."!

 

[tomshobby]

I am a insufferable news junkie and watch several different stations. Well, actually I do more listening than watching when it comes to news shows. That's probably why the scrolling doesn't bother me too much. My TV is to the side and behind me when I'm online and I have it going all the time, but doing more listening than watching. However, when I watch a movie on one of the Sat channels what bugs be are those little ads for upcoming shows that pop up from time to time. Usually it will be a small image of some actor promoting their show!

Same here. All the years I had my consulting business I worked at home alone. Just having the TV on behind me helped me feel not so alone.
Love CNN, 24 hour version of SNL. So funny!! I have it on all day no matter where I am in the house.
And the DVR, whiz through commercials at warp speed!!

 

[Guest]

However, when I watch a movie on one of the Sat channels what bugs be are those little ads for upcoming shows that pop up from time to time. Usually it will be a small image of some actor promoting their show!

...and it's getting worse. The little corner promo ads at least pop up then go away (usually), but the constant glaring watermarks ruin the show they cover up.

I think they're called frogs. I beieve the term got coined when WB put Michigan J Frogg down in the corner. I think they were the first to do it. I'm with ya, I hate them too.

 

[William]

Paul - I feel exactly the same. With most cable stations (Discovery, History, Sports, etc.) you see the same set of commercials every seven minutes.

You can't blame the networks for that, though. It's how the clients (ie, the advertisers themselves) purchase the ad time. It's not uncommon for an advertiser (particularly a large company with a nationwide presence) to buy a bunch 30 second spots on, say, Discovery, on Wednesdays between the hours of 7 and 11 pm, and require the spots run three times an hour during that time span. In other words, they want their ads to run several times during all the episodes of <span style="font-style: italic">Mythbusters</span>.

-RB

 

[JPSmit]

Paul - I feel exactly the same. With most cable stations (Discovery, History, Sports, etc.) you see the same set of commercials every seven minutes.

You can't blame the networks for that, though. It's how the clients (ie, the advertisers themselves) purchase the ad time. It's not uncommon for an advertiser (particularly a large company with a nationwide presence) to buy a bunch 30 second spots on, say, Discovery, on Wednesdays between the hours of 7 and 11 pm, and require the spots run three times an hour during that time span. In other words, they want their ads to run several times during all the episodes of <span style="font-style: italic">Mythbusters</span>.

-RB

and let's never forget from the TV station's point of view the content is the commercials and the show is filler. shows cost them money commercials make them money.