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Watching TV on the Internet - just stop it!

I wish to gripe about the ridiculous media obsession with watching TV on the Internet.  The Television set is one of the greatest inventions of all time.  So when did we decide that it wasn't good enough any more, and we needed the ability to watch TV shows on our computers and/or mobile phones too?

Let's be clear: Watching your favourite shows in the comfort of your living room, with surround sound and a 37 inch high def screen, is a million miles away from huddling at your desktop to watch a postcard-sized jittery playback of something.

Yes, BBC iPlayer, I'm looking at you.  What is the point, exactly?  What makes BBC iPlayer (or other channels' equivalents) any better than simply using your Sky+, TVR or even VHS to record and play back the shows you "missed" on your "proper" television?  What makes it better?  Absolutely nothing!

Look, it's simple.  If you want to watch a television programme, use your television.  It's great.  It does not require an Internet connection.  It does not give a jittery low res image either.  When did you forget that your TV set is capable of showing TV programmes?

The Internet was never built nor designed for delivering television broadcasts.  Video gobbles up bandwidth, and it's very unfair to "normal" web users.  Why should I struggle to bring up a web page because my teenage neighbours are hogging all the bandwidth by viewing the omnibus edition of Hollyoaks on their laptops?  Why couldn't they just watch it on their TV instead, and leave the "real" web users to use the Internet?

And this whole "watch it again" culture that TV stations are trying to promote...  No, thanks, I don't want to watch it again, I've already seen it.  Stop telling me to watch it again.  I don't want to.  And as for the BBC "Making the unmissable unmissable"?  Well, firstly, that statement is grammatical nonsense.  But secondly, can somebody please inform the BBC that we already have video recorders, PVRs, Sky+, etc.  and have done for a long time.  So, thanks for the offer BBC, but your "invention" is about 30 years too late, and sadly nowhere near as good or as convenient as even the first Beta Max video recorders!

BBC iPlayer - watching TV on the Internet Do the likes of BBC, ITV, etc.  think they are "clever" by letting us view their programmes on the web?  What are they trying to prove?  Are they trying to show off how smart they are with things like iPlayer?  Well, here's the news:  It's not clever, it's stupid, annoying, and pointless.

I don't want to get an FM radio signal from my washing machine.  I don't want my toaster to play MP3's.  And I DON'T want my computer to play back television shows.  I have a perfectly good Television Set which does that job better than any other gadget ever will.

Television is NOT the Internet, so can we please stop trying to force television into this place where it doesn't really belong.  It's a highly uncomfortable fit at best.  Brief YouTube clips are one thing, but the whole EastEnders omnibus?  NO!  This obsession with broadcasting entire TV shows online is squeezing our bandwidth to breaking point and is utterly pointless.

TV online?  Stop it.  Just stop it.

By: Real Web User

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TV is redundant, quality of digitised programmes is appalling, I can't bear to look at them. Why limit yourself to being in a certain place at a certain time to watch a certain programme. If you do want to watch a programme far better to watch online when and where you choose, however, considering the amount of garbage on TV I can't remember when I last watched a programme. Apart from some 'Celebrity' I've never heard of explaining how they boil an egg, redecorate a room in 45 minutes or the ultimate mind numbing talking about themselves on a 'talk' show, (talk shows should be made illegal). There is however some very good TV, the shopping channels, those are great, the best comedy going. Watching the presenters trying to keep a straight face whilst also trying to persuade viewers to pay £100 for something that can be bought for £50 in the High Street or online is REAL entertainment, the ultimate is the TV exclusive deal, ie the product is such tat that no shops will stock it so we need to get rid of it on TV. I digress, the world is changing, wasting millions of watts of electricity keeping transmitters operating round the clock to broadcast the guff that passes for entertainment is ludicrous. Rather spend the money on providing a high speed internet service so we can watch what we want when we want.

-1

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artuk - 22-Dec-11 00:02 

Frankly, it doesn't matter a jot where you watch TV - on a proper television set or internet streaming. The programmes are all rubbish - well, most of them. Isn't that what counts?

+1

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Grumpy xx - 9-Dec-11 22:19 

It's a rhetorical argument. If TV streaming was removed tomorrow, it's pretty much guaranteed something else would move in to fill the gap bandwidth wise. When BT get around to laying fibre networks allowing huge increases in data transfer rates, likely as not that will get filled up.
You could possibly pose the same argument with Skype versus landlines. Or even mobile networks versus landlines. Were cellphone network carriers originally designed to do anything other than voice and basic text capabilities? A recent survey done by the 3 network said that nowadays 97% of their traffic is data.
Maybe you have put forward an answer, levy the TV companies (or whoever). But truth is that the world wide web is more versatile than the local tv/radio aerial...

-1

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Oi - 21-Nov-11 18:11 

Would everyone out there read this gripe and take in the facts.
The internet has only so much capacity and if everyone wants to watch the telly on their laptop the net is going to grind to a halt.

Why do people want to watch tv on a laptop?

As this gripe says the internet was never designed for the transmmision of tv broadcasts and the tv companies are getting another delivery system for free because as far as I know they make no financial contribution to the internet providers, although there has been talk of imposing a levy on the broadcasts, to be paid by the tv companies.

So who is paying for all the bandwith used by internet tv? we are, in slow downloads and access.
When everthing grinds to a halt it will be too late.

-1

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Stalag 14 - 21-Nov-11 11:13 

"Watching TV on the Internet - just stop it!"

Why? Is anyone stopping you watching TV? Has the TV output decreased because of internet television? No, to both those things. I personally like the convenience of iplayer but that doesn't mean I'm going to have a rant about people who watch TV....
What a dumb complaint - there's really much more worrying things to be concerned about in this world. Go away.

0

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Oi - 21-Nov-11 08:26 

<a href="http://www.watchtvonlaptop.net">watch tv on laptop</a>

-1

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shera - 12-Sep-11 15:22 

This site has loads of info about watching tv on your laptop or via the internet:
http://www.watchtvonlaptop.net

-3

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shera - 12-Sep-11 15:21 

When you're abroad and get rubbish reception from your Sat dish 'cos it's raining, or the wind is blowing, or it's gone 10pm. Then you understand why internet tv, connected to your tv is such a fantastic idea!!!

-3

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Silver Woolf - 1-Jun-11 18:11 

Stuart, if you were "typing" that out on a Wii then you're a very patient man, unless of course you have one of those keyboard accessories. To do it with a Wiimote alone would be a complete nightmare.

There's actually a lot of choice of Internet TV on demand these days, such as

http://www.youtube.com/shows?feature=mh
http://www.crackle.com/
http://http://www.seesaw.com/

To name but a few.

-1

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AOD - 11-Apr-11 15:43 

I think I-Player is rather useful actually, because for those Sky+ viewers STILL without the luxury of Anytime, you have to pre-set the box to record it, so say a friend tells you about a Panorama episode that was on last night, you could'nt have known about it before, thus haven't recorded it, BAM, iplayer, plus, lots of consoles now allow you to watch I-Player on your TV, like the Wii i'm typing this on now!!

+12

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Stuart Westley - 11-Apr-11 14:47 

looks like an "I do it because I can" even with the WEEKLY GRIPE. Tryed to read a posted comment and DAMNED if I didn't an ADVERT. right over the first paragraph. I'm done. You can put all where the SUN don't shine.

-4

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pat - 16-Mar-11 13:09 

Let me tell you a story that may cause a re-think on your part. I am in hospital and they provide free Wi-Fi to patients. I have a laptop and iPlayer Desktop installed. I download BBC programmes when Internet traffic is light and watch them whenever I want. I currently have around 15 programmes lined up, including the first 6 episodes of THE KILLING. The Desktop allows you 30 days (as opposed to 6 on normal iPlayer). If a doctor or nurse comes in I just hit the pause button. I do have a TV by my bed but the screen is smaller than my laptop! Thank you BBC. Apart from THE PROMISE, I am watching nothing on any other channel.

-3

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oistrakhan - 12-Feb-11 19:00 

well Ive got my 42 inch flat screen attached to my PC - infact I dont even have an aerial - I stream or download everything I watch on TV. It much more convienient - you can watch what you want when you want.

+13

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woody - 9-Nov-10 12:24 

I totally agree with "real web user" Television belongs on the telly not on a laptop or pc or phone. This is using technology just because they can. Also someone somewhere has to pay for all the bandwith being consumed by online tv. For all the idiots who watch tv online answer this: when the internet slows to a crawl who is to blame? "internet browsers" or "downloaders" or "online tv addicts" The internet was never designed to broadcast tv!!!!!

-5

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Theborgbabe - 17-Jun-10 10:41 

I beg to differ. I've watched many a football or cricket match online. Is it legal? You tell me. At times the stream is pretty dubious, but recently I've found 2 or 3 which functioned perfectly. In addition, what with modern technology these days you can hook up a TV to a PC and watch said broadcast on a TV. It's brilliant!

+4

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Mr Popodopolous - 26-Mar-10 19:19 

Will someone please tell this idiot to shut the f***k up.

+3

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My Arse! - 26-Mar-10 01:34 

All we need is STOp wastin our time and find out the purpose of our lives here in this world
I suppose we are not here to entertain ourselfs

-6

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O - 22-Feb-10 09:38 

You miss the major point entirely - LICENSE FEE.
I congratulate you, though, on being nice and rich to afford all the latest TV stuff.

-2

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Chris Manders - 16-Nov-09 23:25 

Is there anyone that has had the same problem as myself, recently moved home Sky Engineer came out placed sky box in living room plus sky box multi room in my daughters bedroom, have had 3 letters from sky informing me that I have not got the boxes connected properly and from this month they will be taking £25-75 extra each month because I am in breach of of the mulitroom subscription terms and condition. I have not moved the boxes they are in the same place as when the engineer conected them, I spoke with them on the phone today and they say because I have a with held telephone number they can't prove that my boxes are at my home, I explained my number has always been with held and in all the years that I have had sky it's only now you are telling me that this a problem, what are you going to do about it, answer we will still be charging you the extra amount until it can be fixed by a engineer,I now know the engineer should have placed in a prefix in the box but why isn't this explained instead of taking extra money,and it wasn't the Scotland call centre it was England. Not very happy with them at all, I have not breached anything.

+8

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Barbara - 10-Oct-09 23:45 

I have never heard such a load of uneducated comments from someone who is purporting to be intelligent. I watch TV through my PC it uses a fraction of power compared with a £1000 or a £200 television set. I do not need a desk top box, another saving, I do not need a television licence, the signal comes through my existing aerial or dish, (or even your existing set top box if you have one). Monitor screens can compete with any TV set and it is so much easier routing the signal throughout your home. The PC has its own telly remote for the superior male. The only addition to your computer is a TV card approx 12 quid. I can live video or download whole series as I watch the telly in the comfort on my fake leather sofa, (going green), I can make DVD's High or low Def without having to buy a DVD reader or a very expensive DVD writer. Of course you will have to keep all your peripherals up to date with your big telly mate, for Blue Ray and further developments, while I just download the software free! And finally your gripe was about watching Internet TV, which is only an ADDITIONAL option on a PC, a hundred people can surround you watching all the omnibus programmes going, (for the great unwashed masses), and it will not affect your bandwidth one iota As for shaky or intermittent picture and sound quality that's down to you being rather thick and unable to set up streaming on your PC, I would love to know what type, how old and how much your PC cost, compared with your new wide screen money and power grabbing telly, ( sounds like most wives actually lol)!!!

+1

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George Who, - 4-Oct-09 12:42 

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