Entertainment & Music Free to Air Television?

[freddy mercury]

Worst ever. Couldn't live without Foxtel. Watch heaps of TV only work part time so heaps of time to watch TV.

 

[Cthublhu]

Can someone explain to me the obsession with HD? I don't remember watching television 25 years ago and wishing for a better picture. I have an HD television and I have seen some HD broadcasts, are they that much better? I would argue not, they are a little clearer but my overall enjoyment of the presentation isn't affected by the fact it's not in HD. For mine it seems a lot of people have been caught up in the hype and marketing of it.

The problem with HD is that it's only marginally better than SD.

When SD came along it was light years ahead of analog so everyone started producing and broadcasting it. The difference is obvious and I'd never go back to analog in a million years.

HD over SD? Barely noticeable. When watching the footy, in HD the crowd scenes are much sharper and I do kinda like the 5.1 sound but it's not THAT much better. I've had a close look at shows that are broadcast in both HD and SD and the difference is often hard to pick up. HD shows are also apparently much more expensive to film so I wonder if production companies will keep making them.

I guess it's analogous to the VHS -> DVD -> BluRay tech progression. DVD shat all over video so video died a quick death. BluRay comes along and the difference is so marginal that DVD sales are still well on top.

 

[THRILLHO]

I agree that it isn't that big a gap between HD and SD but let's remember that no station is broadcasting in native HD 1080p.

OneHD is 1080i and ABC 24 is 720p. Almost all games are released in 720p and they look great. Let's re-evaluate how good HD is when broadcasters start taking it seriously and invest in 1080p.

 

[Tassieboy]

Turn on TV, go to Knowledge channel and spend half an hour watching a great drug doco. All fox is good for really

Yeah BBC K is really good.

 

[nicky]

The BBC make some outstanding documentaries.

 

[morri]

I am quite happy with what I am getting over the airwaves here Luckily we get decent sports and decent documentaries without having to pay a global conglomerate of tv network.

 

[XFactor1979]

What surprises me is how everyone has not tossed their tv into the river. It sits in the living room as a mere ornament

Is the hope that one day, things will turn around and tv becomes good again?

* it is not recommended to toss those LCD screens into the river, they are not environmentally biodegradable.
CRTs though

 

[PP34]

FTA TV is ridiculously bad and I wish I was the person who made the decisions in the house so we could get Foxtel. I cannot stand FTA and watching the Olympics without Foxtel will be horrible.

 

[XFactor1979]

^ See? TV hasnt sucked away all my imagination

 

[Silent Alarm]

We had Foxtel for a few years simply because FTA was mindnumbing. But after a while, you end re-watching everything on Fox. They repeat so many shows to the extent that you end up watching the ABC and SBS. Me and the old man used it to watch the footy, and I watched the soccer, but that's about it.

The other aggravating thing was how long it takes for a series to be broadcast here. You might as well watch the episode of a new series online. You can sit down and watch it when you want, it's online a few hours after broadcast, and.. well... y'know.

Besides, a huge percentage of 18-25 year olds barely watch television. The internet dominates. It's way more convenient to watch watch something online.

 

[PP34]

We had Foxtel for a few years simply because FTA was mindnumbing. But after a while, you end re-watching everything on Fox. They repeat so many shows to the extent that you end up watching the ABC and SBS. Me and the old man used it to watch the footy, and I watched the soccer, but that's about it.

The other aggravating thing was how long it takes for a series to be broadcast here. You might as well watch the episode of a new series online. You can sit down and watch it when you want, it's online a few hours after broadcast, and.. well... y'know.

Besides, a huge percentage of 18-25 year olds barely watch television. The internet dominates. It's way more convenient to watch watch something online.

All I really want it for is the EPL, NFL, NBA (mainly just the extended coverage as league pass is better) and Footy.

I agree with online being more convenient but I just cannot stand watching things on a small computer screen in shitty quality. Even the shows I download in HD aren't as clear as they are on TV. Hopefully there's some kind of amazing cable TV type thing for the internet in the next few years.

 

[mike262]

All I really want it for is the EPL, NFL, NBA (mainly just the extended coverage as league pass is better) and Footy.

I agree with online being more convenient but I just cannot stand watching things on a small computer screen in shitty quality. Even the shows I download in HD aren't as clear as they are on TV. Hopefully there's some kind of amazing cable TV type thing for the internet in the next few years.

cant u just transfer it to an external hardrive or USB and wach it on your tv via an xbox or other device. Quality is still good when i do this.

 

[J_Moore]

Think you've summed it up perfectly with "quantity over quality".

The degredation of HD channels, coinciding with the exponential rise in sales of HD tvs, is bewildering. One, Mate and Gem have just become vehicles to recycle old American crap that isn't good enough for the main channels. Which is saying something, because the main channels are slop. Feels like 2003 again. Wall-to-wall reality and lifestyle shows.

The Block, Masterchef, The Renovators, Dancing with the Stars, Australia's Got Talent, Top Design, Border Security, Bondi Rescue, RBT, AFP, Customs, Crash Investigation Unit, Highway Patrol. The list is seemingly endless. Surely there is a market for high quality drama or sitcoms? Not just endless repeats of Two and a Half Men, Big Bang Theory or endless, mindless, droning Australian dramas like Rescue Special Ops, Sea Patrol, All Saints, which simply mirror reality shows based on police, rescue and ambulance services?

I'm amazed that there isn't more pressure from Cricket Australia, AFL and NRL to broadcast their games in HD.

Even Channel 10 aren't showing footy in HD anymore.

There's not, really. high quality scripted TV costs a whole lot of money to make, and Australian audiences can't be relied upon to watch it. They're just not commercially viable in a market of this size. You'd pretty much need it to be a massive hit in order to think about breaking even. Only the ABC can really afford to look at it, but they've been dropping the ball to sign big names to lite-entertainment panel shows, or funding groups (Working Dog, Andrew Denton, Chaser, Chris Lilley) that should really be able to stand on their own in the commercial world.

Plus there's always a bit of a talent drain to the US with these type of things. Nature of the beast.

 

[THRILLHO]

There's not, really. high quality scripted TV costs a whole lot of money to make, and Australian audiences can't be relied upon to watch it. They're just not commercially viable in a market of this size. You'd pretty much need it to be a massive hit in order to think about breaking even. Only the ABC can really afford to look at it, but they've been dropping the ball to sign big names to lite-entertainment panel shows, or funding groups (Working Dog, Andrew Denton, Chaser, Chris Lilley) that should really be able to stand on their own in the commercial world.

Plus there's always a bit of a talent drain to the US with these type of things. Nature of the beast.

Oh, I'm not talking about Australian drama. I'm talking about a market for high-end US drama shown on Australian TV.

Surely 7, 9 and 10 would get decent ratings if they showed Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones at 10pm on Monday and Tuesday, 11 hours after it broadcast in the US. Would save me downloading it myself. They surely wouldn't have to spend too much to outbid Foxtel's Showcase for the rights.

They all sit on these shows for months and months and then finally air them when anyone with any interest has already sourced it from the net. It would surely rate half a million people which isn't that great, but would make the outlay worth it and keep people watching past 9:30.

The major difference between the US and Australia is the effort put in to keeping viewers watching. Aus focuses on 6pm - 9:30pm and pretty much gives up after that whereas the US tries to keep people watching well into the night.

Australian broadcasters keep scheduling like they think it is 1996. I'm not going to sit around for months waiting for them to screen a show I'm keen on, nor am I gonna keep watching it if they continuously shuffle the timeslot. I will, however, watch a show if they screen it the day after the US and keep it consistent.

 

[XFactor1979]

The major difference between the US and Australia

I've been there, and let me say, the quality of Free to air television in the States/ Canada is NO better than it is here

They have 50 Free to air stations (24 hours a day), of which there is nothing worth watching.

With cable tv in the states, there are 600 odd stations, a lot of those stations are not that much better, however if you flip through enough channels, you will find something worth watching, the odds of finding something worth watching is increased from 0%

 

[The Passenger]

I agree with online being more convenient but I just cannot stand watching things on a small computer screen in shitty quality. Even the shows I download in HD aren't as clear as they are on TV. Hopefully there's some kind of amazing cable TV type thing for the internet in the next few years.

either hook up an external drive or usb to one of your tv screens, or if you have a laptop you'll be able to run a monitor cable to your tv and run dual screens. you can do it with a desktop computer too obviously but you'll need the box next to the tv or a really long cable.

 

[PP34]

cant u just transfer it to an external hardrive or USB and wach it on your tv via an xbox or other device. Quality is still good when i do this.

I'm talking about watching the EPL or NFL on a shitty stream.

either hook up an external drive or usb to one of your tv screens, or if you have a laptop you'll be able to run a monitor cable to your tv and run dual screens. you can do it with a desktop computer too obviously but you'll need the box next to the tv or a really long cable.

I have connected my computer to the TV via HDMI to watch NBA League Pass and some movies and the quality is nowhere near the same as watching it on a normal TV via Foxtel or One HD (when they had the NBA).

 

[Smoooothy]

i have foxtel, which i dont think i could live without. a few weeks ago i was given a program called HDTVPlayer 0.38. Is fantastic. Has all 4 Sky Sports UK channels, and their F1 channel, BBC, ITV, Setanta etc (even the Australian Setanta)

IPTV should be the way to go i think, nearly everyone has a TV, and internet connection, why not make use of it.

 

[raskolnikov]

I only have FTA. The only shows I watch regularly, besides the footy are Masterchef and The Amazing Race. I don't have time to watch anything else. Foxtel would be a waste of time for me. Footy and the NFL would be the only reason for me to get Foxtel. Thank God that One has the NFL covered.

 

[Donners]

My girlfriend has just cancelled her Foxtel, and I've never had it.

I think it loses a lot of appeal when all the people in your house work full-time - there's just not enough hours in the day to make enough use of it to justify the cost, especially when you can get the basics on FTA. All I watch is Masterchef, QI, Once Upon a Time and the footy.

I'm quite content to grab my favourite shows on DVD and listen to footy and cricket on the radio when they're not on TV.

 

[alex_is_on_fire]

i have foxtel, which i dont think i could live without. a few weeks ago i was given a program called HDTVPlayer 0.38. Is fantastic. Has all 4 Sky Sports UK channels, and their F1 channel, BBC, ITV, Setanta etc (even the Australian Setanta)

IPTV should be the way to go i think, nearly everyone has a TV, and internet connection, why not make use of it.

Can you give us more information on this?

Where, how much, does it hook up to your TV or PC, download and cost?

 

[XFactor1979]

high-end US drama shown on Australian TV.

Surely 7, 9 and 10 would get decent ratings if they showed Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones

That's the thing, this thread should have been open a long time ago, especially when people were noticing the US Emmy nominations/ Emmy winning shows at the Emmy awards were not making it to Australian shores on the free to air stations. Yet people were arguing that what they had on free to air was good enough

Its too late now

And the argument that Australia should embrace local content (and I agree we do) because its American and Americanization sucks ass. Is not good enough, because the majority of what is on Commercial FTA TV in Australia is still franchise American TV (CSI, Law and Order, NCIS), or the Australian content is an Australian version of a reality tv show (eg the Amazing Race)

 

[Miqar_Baqfhied]

Watched a documentary on Usain bolt last night on SBS. Was pretty good.

Then watched something on piracy in Somalia with this dude who travels round. Some guy went to see all these gangs and was with the RAF in Afghanistan. Was good too.

First time in months anything decent has been on tv apart from footy.

As long as that Alice from Masterchef piece of kent is on TV then it is kept turned off as much as possible.

 

[Plugger35]

SBS is the best FTA station, they have some great documentaries as well as the Tour de France and they have less ads.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Barely watch TV apart from sport. I have Fox because of the coverage of the cricket, EPL and AFL, which is really very good. Our Premier League coverage is better than that on Sky (UK). As for AFL, can’t really complain about every game live and ad-free. It’s a good sports package and good value imo.

I surf through the channel menu sometimes and catch the odd doco, which I record (IQ is great). ABC and SBS are pretty good for that.

Apart from that all I really watch is TV shows on DVD. JB regularly has sales where you can pick up full seasons of top quality stuff for $20, so I tend to load up then and usually find a few I like, and then you have many more seasons to watch.

As for HD, I never really got the big deal about it. But when the Fox dude did my installation, shrewd little salesperson he was, first channel he chucked on was a HD sports channel. I’ve got a pretty big screen, **** me it looked brilliant. I was sold within five seconds. I had HD free for the first month and kept switching between the HD and SD sports channels. Absolutely no comparison. I’ve had HD since, costs me an extra $10 a month which I don’t mind. I really notice it now, I go round to a mate’s place and watch a soccer game in SD and it shits me. Guess I’ve become a bit of a HD snob, whereas I used to be one of those people saying “what’s the big deal, normal TV is fine!”. Which it is, HD is just better.

I think TV really hit a fork in the road for a lot of people when reality TV took off. It’s one of those things that you either love or hate. Fact is a lot of people enjoy it. The networks love it because it’s so cheap and they can just keep churning it out. Personally can’t stand it and I know a lot of people are the same... they’ve by and large switched off TV since and not gone back.