Constant Cable Promos

[searadiofreak]

I'm not sure how long this has been going on, but I just noticed for some reason today that many basic cable channels are keeping a static promo for an upcoming show on screen constantly. It seems like where before you would get popups for a few seconds, now it is part of the screen constantly. I see this on Discovery, TLC, TBS, USA, Tvland, Animal, History, Comedy, Lifetime, HGTV, AMC, SyFy, and others. I find it even more annoying than popups. Sometimes I wonder why I pay fifty bucks a month for this.

 

[KML0224]

In a similar vein: When a TV ad runs for either a new movie or a movie is coming to DVD/Blu-Ray...why does the title of the movie HAVE to stay on during nearly the entire advertisement? Usually, it'll be in an area right at the top? Are people's attention spans really that short these days?

 

[landtuna]

I'm not sure how long this has been going on, but I just noticed for some reason today that many basic cable channels are keeping a static promo for an upcoming show on screen constantly.

The proliferation of pop-ups was one irritating reason I canceled cable (actually DirecTV) some time ago. I will tolerate them on the very few OTA shows I watch for free but I will not pay for them.

 

[DToTheJ]

The worst is if you're watching a series or movie and they have the title of it on the screen the entire time. Like we're not smart enough to figure out what we tuned in to watch? Meh.

 

[quadraphonic]

Brian Regan does a bit about books, and how they have the title on every page, as if smart people reading books forget what they are reading pretty often, and have to look back at the top of the page often.

I guess cable television is just copying what the publishing world's been doing for years (except with ads for other products)?

 

[notalkallstatic]

In a similar vein: When a TV ad runs for either a new movie or a movie is coming to DVD/Blu-Ray...why does the title of the movie HAVE to stay on during nearly the entire advertisement? Usually, it'll be in an area right at the top? Are people's attention spans really that short these days?

I've wondered this and the only conclusion I can come up with, is if you are fast forwarding through the commercials via DVR, DVD, or if you are still recording on VHS (I don't have a DVR, so I'm actually not sure how it looks when you fast forward through commercials,) but as the image goes by, the title stays up there so you can see what movie it is, and you might go back to actually see what it's about.

Just a theory.

 

[KML0224]

I only have a Magnavox DVD recorder (from 2007-08) with a dual analog and digital tuner. Each separate show I record pops up with it's own title box. However, it will only say the channel it was recorded off of, the time that started and the recorded length. The static image for each title will show the first image recorded on that program. (It lets me change the title and customize the title picture after it's finalized on the disc.)

 

[landtuna]

The other thing I find very distracting are the scrolls at the bottom of the screen showing news and sports scores. I end up watching TV on my PC where I can adjust the viewing window to block out the bottom part of the screen.

 

[DToTheJ]

Remember those animated doodads that would appear on the bottom right of the screen occasionally on MTV when they showed videos - this had to be around 1991 or 1992... THAT was annoying...

KML/Static re: the mundane title during spots for films... I never thought of it that way! I thought it was just new formatting for the purpose of HDTV or something...