Internet will or should never replace TV!!!!
Well maybe I should have put this under the TV topic but I'll keep it here. Every so often you will hear someone say the internet is the future of TV, I say no and it shouldn't be for a bunch of reasons. Yes I think it can be great for world events live 8 where you can watch a live performance in Germany then go to another band in say Canada. With Football starting up sports makes a good example of why.
Granted I don't have a huge TV but it is medium size. Manny Computer monitors are not big like they should be for sports events. I have heard there are TV's where you can see the blades of grass, man I wish I had one of those HD 42inch bad boys. Watching football on a little screen on my computer chair just isn't the same. Not to mention no matter what any one says the video on computers isn't as good. Not to mention often times the video doesn't take up the entire screen because you need to be able to Navigate. When I watch sports that is all I want to see and I want to be distracted by other stuff.
In terms of the money side the reason there is NFL games on TV is from companies like Pepsi who pay lots of money for ads and they are not the only ones who pay a lot of money for ads. I don't see any company paying that much money for something over the internet. I Could be wrong but I just don't see that happening. I also don't think that it should.
Yes I have gone back and watched a show I missed online and it was nice. It was in chapters but the video wasn't as good and it wasn't as fun to watch it in a video window. Yes you can sometimes make it take over the entire screen. but that still isn't the same as watching in the living room. Maybe if you had one of these new (seen an add for them) non keyboard computers it might be different. Not sure how it works but I guess everything is on a touch screen it does look pretty cool. But in that case I still think it is a bad idea. I want seperation between my TV and computer what if I get a virus and now not only can I not surf the web but that is how I get all my entertainment.
I also don't think it would Happen because of there being so many channels. If you have cable or the dish look at all the chanels there are and that isn't even all of them out there. Yes I do think it would be nice if Cable gave the al le carte option so you could only get the channels you wanted but then maybe some of the lesser ones would lose money.
The Poor: I know I just bashed them in a comment in e:imk2 post. What I was trying to say is that there are a lot of people who abuse the system as opposed to the system helping them. But there are people who don't have the money for a computer or the internet and the TV they get is with rabbit ears. With TV going digital that is why they are giving money so people can get those converters. How often that scroll goes across the screen is a very telling sign of how many people don't have cable. But this brings up another point what if you have TV, Phone, and Internet all on the same line (one company) and something happens like a snow storm, hurricane or other thing. Well ever way to communicate has just been lost and you could still have power, how are you going to know what to do, how is anyone. But wait there is that poor guy next door who gets like one channel on his little TV, but what if that wasn't an option because all TV has gone to the net?
Some could say that Computer screens will go big and go HD and they might be right. Some might say that the software or what ever it is that hurts the quality of the video will get worked out and it will be just like watching your tv, and maybe some day it will. Some might say the prices will drop and everyone will have a computer and a good connection, that I really doubt. Some might say that NBC and HBO will jump to the internet. I sure hope they don't and they would be wise not to. You have to be loyal to the Medium you are a part of. I love the indemand services and think that is a great way to go. I don't think that having episodes that you can only see online is really a good idea. I understand that the way they are made in format might fit the internet better then the station and you might not be able to fit them in. But in time if you do enough of them you will put your self out of Buisness.
I do understand that Companies see a lot of promise on the internet and do have TV show content on the web. I do get that Utube is very popular and is good to watch videos on. I do get bands putting videos up there. But it still isn't the same as sitting alone or with 10 people in your living room watching something and I hope people understand that and advertisers understand that and that the internet is only used as a way to Help out with viewership. But that being said there would be two good things that might come out of TV going to the net. 1. the ratings would be exact and you would know how many people really watched it as opposed to the Current rating system that is kinda guess work. 2. You can watch something when you have time and if two shows would have been on at the same time now you could watch them both with out conflict. But that being said I don't think those two reasons alone are enough to move it to the web. You would lose the communty feel of some people talking about a show they watched last night..
Ok end of my rant.
