I was going to keep this a secret. One that only Lauren knows.
I confess, I have been watching the Bionic Woman. The plot has been ridiculous and underwhelming. But I'm watching it anyway.
Maybe it's because I'm a fan of Battlestar Gallactica and Katee Sackhoff. I really don't know. I do know that it could be so much better though.
Looks like Marc Andreessen is watching as well ;)
The recent deal between Disney and Cox is interesting to me. They are going to disable fast forward functionality on VOD. It's an effort to preserve an endangered species (aka the 30 second spot)
I'm not opposed to ads. I want content creators and distributors to make money. We have portfolio companies that are counting on ad sales.
But I think anytime you force the consumer to do something unnatural you are going to lose. At the very least it will bum out that user and that can't be good. And forcing someone to watch an ad (especially for time-shifted/prerecorded content) seems unnatural to me.
I think we need to find creative solutions here. NNN is rolling out some new pre-roll campaigns at VODCars that integrate the pre-roll and the show itself. And Wallstrip has done a masterful job integrating product placement in some of their shows. NBC is reducing their 30 second prerolls to a 15 seconds and YouTube is going to reduce it even further.
DVRs and VOD is a platform for innovation. We can do a lot with these platforms to make sure the economics work. New ad units are starting to emerge and there are a lot of lessons (good and bad) that can come from the online world to the cable/satellite/iptv world.
We shouldn't go backwards and turn off functionality or make the consumer experience worse. It's too late. The genie is out of the bottle.
Nielsen says that 40% of DVR viewers watch ads.
I don't believe it. This certainly doesn't ring true in our house. We watch virtually zero ads. And everyone I know that has a DVR tells me they love it because they don't watch ads anymore. People even watch "live events" 30 minutes late so they can skip the commercials and catch up.
This feels like a self-serving report by Nielsen.
What do you think?
If you are a scifi fan you have to check out the tv series Battlestar Galatica. It's a remake and blows away the original. If you aren't familiar with the show than here's the basic storyline.
Lauren doesn't watch this stuff so I end up buying a few episodes from iTunes whenever I travel. I just finished season 2 on the flight to california this week. The show is just getting better and better.
Last night Lauren and I were watching the Monday nights episode of Studio 60. Great show. Enjoyed the diss on the FCC and we are loving the story unfold.
But the highlight for me last night was the tribute to New Orleans. Amazing musicians. Found it on YouTube. Enjoy.
Friends periodically ask me which remote control they should buy.
Since this blog is also my journal of sorts I thought I'd jot down my history in my search for the Holy Grail of remote controls.
About 10 years ago our home entertainment system started to become rather complex.
Like most people we had too many boxes and way too many remote controls.
When our first daughter was born I remember the first time we got a babysitter one evening. Trying to show the babysitter how to operate the TV was a joke. Just watching television you needed three remote controls - all had different layouts and look & feels. I ended up creating a "how to" instruction sheet and I had a laminated for safe keeping.
Well since those days my AV system has become a more sophisticated and unfortunately much more complicated. I've gone through my share of remote controls. I don't remember all of the remotes over the years but a few stand out.
The very first programable remote control I purchased was the Microsoft TakeControl remote.
It was enormous. This photo doesn't do it justice -- it was huge and heavy.
It had great promise - but it sucked.
A short time thereafter the Philips Pronto was all the rage in home theater magazines. Home installers were configuring this remote and websites like RemoteCentral were attracting a cult following where consumers were exchanging their customized screens.
It was so hard to set up that CEDIA installers were actually providing a backup service with your Pronto's settings. And like the Microsoft remote I found the lack of real buttons (vs soft buttons) a problem. It was also enormous and it sucked as well.
After that I ended up returning to a basket of remote controls but that was really lame and I was now back to square one.
Then in 2001 I discovered the Home Theater MX500. I'm pretty sure that Santo and I bought these at the same time after we downloaded and studied the manuals and poured over various websites like AVS Forums.
The Home Theater MX is extremely powerful, capable of sophisticated macros, could program a zillion devices. Also you could buy IR to RF repeaters and even had dedicated buttons for DVR trick modes. But it too took me forever to set up. When I upgraded various components in my av system I had to re-configure the macros. It is also a very large and heavy remote. It was also expensive. When my kids later destroyed this remote I decided not replace it. The idea of reprogramming the thing wasn't worth it for me.
At last, Nirvana: Harmony Remote Controls
A few years ago I discovered Harmony Remote Controls (now owned by Logitech). They have several models and they are truly amazing. These remote controls are radically different.
1. Easy to set up. When you get a Harmony Remote you create a profile on their website. You simply input all of your av components and their web service will automatically create the correct codes and scripts called "Activities". You plug in your remote with the included USB cable and click "Update" and you are done. If you ever get a new piece of equipment, you make the change on the website and click Update again. Done. If your kid or yellow lab named Jackson physically destroys your remote, you goto Amazon, Prime it, connect to your PC or Mac, log into the website and click Update. Done.
2. Customer Service. I have never experienced a consumer electronics company support their products better than Harmony (pre and post acquisition). They have expanded tech support hours, their staff is super knowledgeable about CE and they are extremely patient and thorough. They actually care.
3. User experience. Babysitters love our AV system and so do we :-) If you want to watch tv you just click the physical activity button on the remote that says "Watch TV". All of the correct devices turn on, switch to the correct input" and just work. Same thing for DVD, game console, MacMini, music, etc.
I went on this journey with a few good friends. I'm sure we aren't the only ones. Love to hear your experiences.
update: Santo just gave me this gyro rf mouse & keyboard. it looks like it could be a lot of fun to connect to my macmini on the big screen. i'll let you know how it goes. thanks Santo.
This is really funny. Natalie Portman on Saturday Night Live. Watch the video here.
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