Addicted to TV…
1. I’ve just got Tata Sky installed at home. Clarity is good, it’s stereo, and I like the experience of “Active,” which is Tata’s version of interactive TV-DTH and CAS seems to actually be better, and worth the extra money. Unfortunately, most of the new TV series seem alien, except for classics like Friends and Seinfeld.
2. I’m officially hooked! Lost and Heroes are two of my favourite shows! Sadly, my job demands that I miss at least two episodes a month. I also found we have too many channels! I have five favourites, but I can’t watch them all at once… I’m considering buying a TV-Tuner so I never miss another episode.
3. I’ve re-discovered Discovery and The History Channel! I wish I had these channels to watch when I was growing up. I now need my daily dose of edutainment. To be honest, this TV experience is becoming addictive, but I wonder if that’s more to do with the fact that I wasn’t a regular couch potato-I am fast becoming one though!
4. I now know why they call this the “idiot box.” I spent the whole weekend glued to the TV, did absolutely nothing else, slept only a few hours, and am now suffering a sore thumb from channel surfing, and I feel hung over. That’s it. No more TV for me! I’ll just wait for the World Cup to begin and then promptly lose control again…
Entertainment: 3.5/5
and getting addicted to YouTube as well
1. I love YouTube. I like spending my free time looking at other people making fools of themselves on camera, and what better place to do this than YouTube? There’s also intriguing content, like sightings of UFOs or the Abominable Snowman, or music videos by budding artists from around the globe…
2. The best thing about sites like YouTube is that I’m really king of my PC and Net connection. I watch what I want to, when I want to. It’s not going anywhere. There’s no schedule. No repeat telecasts to worry about. No TV-Tuners. All that’s required is a desire to be entertained, and a few mouse clicks.
3. I like the lack of censorship on the Net. I don’t like being told that although I’m an adult, I’m not qualified to decide what I can or cannot watch! YouTube can be clean family fun, or wacky adult humour; I like being able to make that choice! There’s a lack of educational information (the Discovery or History Channel kind), but I did learn a really cool and simple way of folding shirts neatly!
4. Resolutions and clarity aren’t what we expect-not at our speeds at least. But the quality is bearable, it’s completely on-demand, and for this very reason, is not addictive at all. But it’s on my computer, and so its more of an individual’s entertainment solution. I can’t get my family to gather round and make some popcorn for a session of YouTube-ing, now, can I?
Entertainment: 3.5/5
I have to say, for me there’s no contest: YouTube wins hands down. Interestingly, the majority of my colleagues at Digit, and my family and friends, feel TV is the better entertainer. They like being able to sit down with the family and watch an old Bollywood flick! Each to their own, I say.
As far as a conclusion goes, popular opinion forces me to admit that for families, nothing beats the boob-tube. For individuals, YouTube is a very real alternative to the TV when it comes to entertainment. Educational programmes? Stick to Discovery! Sorry, but this is another Old Way, Tech Way that ends in a boring draw!