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TNT: Irritating Things

F

FredLeonard

Guest
I was watching a World War II movie on TNT. Germans spoke German with subtitles. TNT kept showing promo banners across the bottom of the screen blocking the subtitles completely.

They often offset program start and end times so recorded programs are clipped at the end.

They try to overlap the start and end of programs. While credits for one show are running in a small screen window (unreadable), the next program starts in another small screen window (unwatchable).

The people who run TNT seem to have nothing but contempt for the audience.
 
Then why watch? I gave up TNT and TBS, in fact all cable, years ago and for much the same reason.

But the overuse of the banner affects not only useless cable channels, it is a common problem with OTA news outlets as well. When showing news clips or feature stories it is common to place a banner underneath and frequently the banner masks the content of the story. Very unprofessional.
 
landtuna said:
Then why watch? I gave up TNT and TBS, in fact all cable, years ago and for much the same reason.

But the overuse of the banner affects not only useless cable channels, it is a common problem with OTA news outlets as well. When showing news clips or feature stories it is common to place a banner underneath and frequently the banner masks the content of the story. Very unprofessional.

Not just one banner, but often TWO. And the Nexstar-Mission stations always have a sponsor within the banner(s).
 
nomadcowatbk said:
rgseark2009 said:
boiseengineer said:
What tool there thinks it's OK to stretch all the SD 4:3 programs to 16:9.

T N T i s s t i l l d o i n g s t r e c h o v i s i o n ? I n 2 0 1 3 ? ? ?

people demand it, they're afraid of black bars

What people? The same ones who were saying DJs talked too much before radio stations got rid of most of them?

Who prefers having the top and bottom of pictures cut off and a slightly fuzzy image (especially on video-taped shows)?
 
FredLeonard said:
nomadcowatbk said:
rgseark2009 said:
boiseengineer said:
What tool there thinks it's OK to stretch all the SD 4:3 programs to 16:9.

T N T i s s t i l l d o i n g s t r e c h o v i s i o n ? I n 2 0 1 3 ? ? ?

people demand it, they're afraid of black bars

What people? The same ones who were saying DJs talked too much before radio stations got rid of most of them?

Who prefers having the top and bottom of pictures cut off and a slightly fuzzy image (especially on video-taped shows)?

the same people who liked colorized movies
 
firepoint525 said:
One thing for certain: if you want to see movies as they were originally intended to be seen, you will probably be forced to either buy (or at least rent) the movie yourself.

That seems to be the only solution.

Networks, especially SPIKE and TNT just butcher a movie by over-editing just to fit in a dozen or more commercials and ads for Time Warner (which I have as a cable provider)

When a movie is listed as running 2 hrs but three hours is set aside to air this movie on cable TV you can bet the farm that most of that additional time is for advertisements.
 
Movies on Spike also have up to an hour+ added just for commercials. Ever seen a movie on Spike that started at 8PM and ended at 11:17PM? Then the next program was 11:18-11:53? All Viacom greed.

-crainbebo
 
boiseengineer said:
What tool there thinks it's OK to stretch all the SD 4:3 programs to 16:9.
If the graphics still look good, why not? Granted, it's not the best nor is it proper BUT..... (Current TV comes to mind here)

Now if there's a channel doing it live like a poorly encoded YouTube video, uhh.....

Cheers & 73 ;D
 
On WPIX in NY, I have actually seen advertisements pop up and sit there in the middle of a show. It seems to always happen during Friends or Seinfeld on weekends.
 
boiseengineer said:
What tool there thinks it's OK to stretch all the SD 4:3 programs to 16:9.

To me, distorting the picture is the same thing as taking mono audio and distorting one channel to make it stereo.
 
PirateJohnny said:
boiseengineer said:
What tool there thinks it's OK to stretch all the SD 4:3 programs to 16:9.

To me, distorting the picture is the same thing as taking mono audio and distorting one channel to make it stereo.
I saw "Slumdog Millionaire" and the subtitles were often partly off the screen. I couldn't even see them. I have only old TVs because they were cheaper, but why couldn't the station have letterboxed them?

I could have done that myself with an antenna but I don't think I pick up this station with an antenna. I did, very well, when it was the Nighlight station but that's analog.
 
vchimpanzee said:
PirateJohnny said:
boiseengineer said:
What tool there thinks it's OK to stretch all the SD 4:3 programs to 16:9.

To me, distorting the picture is the same thing as taking mono audio and distorting one channel to make it stereo.
I saw "Slumdog Millionaire" and the subtitles were often partly off the screen. I couldn't even see them. I have only old TVs because they were cheaper, but why couldn't the station have letterboxed them?...

Really? We get that complaint from viewers about FOX sports graphics. If the image were letterboxed for your out of date TV, it would be postage stamped (black bars on top, bottom, left and right) for viewers with up to date TVs, capable of seeing the entire 16x9 picture with no black bars anywhere. Your digital converter box should give you the option of display appearance on your TV. Your converter box should make it letterboxed for you.
 
firepoint525 said:
One thing for certain: if you want to see movies as they were originally intended to be seen, you will probably be forced to either buy (or at least rent) the movie yourself.

I have not watched a theatrical release movie on commercial TV since the old days of Big 3 network movie nights, when there was no other alternative. Aside from the fact that they are "edited for content" (sanitized, in other words), and for time-slot considerations, is bad enough.

But the main problem for me is commercial breaks. TV shows and Made for TV "movies" are designed to be run with commercials, with scripted breaks in the action. But theatrical movies are not. Often, the commercial breaks are badly placed, and ruin the flow of the film...for me anyway.

On the rare occasion I miss a film that I wanted to see, and didn't catch in the theaters, premium cable, or NetFlix, I put it in my NetFlix cue and watch it on Blu Ray.
 
As long as we are making complaints....

Movie directors don't seem to realize that their "masterpiece" will spend a few weeks in theaters and then spend years (if the director is lucky) being watched at home - on broadcast or cable TV, on DVDs, via streaming or using whatever technology comes along later. But much of the eventual audience for any film will see it in some sponsored form on an advertiser-supported medium. You'd think these directors would would allow for that - would plan for breaks and for the need to show a toned-down and cleaned up version of the film. But no!
 
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