Comments on: Cable TV

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:19:53 +0000

And how would you know what the graph creator is thinking? Maybe he just made the circle sizes different to piss off someone who’d look to far into the issue of circle sizes and their relation to the subject matter.

I liked the graph. My only suggestion would be to move the “Channels I Watch” section into the “Channels in basic package” section. It still works as is, but I think that might have made it funnier on some other levels.

By: ChzCakeKitteh

ChzCakeKitteh — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:17:42 +0000

Clappity Clappity. I’m now going to count all venn diagrams as Venn Diagram+’s (Copyright Jefoid 2009) and stop commenting about circle sizes.

By: Kevin T.

Kevin T. — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:47:24 +0000

It’s true. I watch the Military Channel, History Channel, NBC (for Jay Leno), and sometimes the Science Channel. Of the 90 other channels, over 50 percent of them I’ve never watched a single show on them.

By: Douche Bagalow

Douche Bagalow — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:06:07 +0000

Seriously… they need to make spelling a mandatory class at your high school!

It’s a la carte.

Fail.

By: nekorobo1138

nekorobo1138 — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:20:45 +0000

Then the issue, as far as overhead costs are concerned, is with the limitations of the equipment controlling what package you are permitted to see. If the service providers actually cared about creating the option of making cable channels a la carte, the current equipment that prevents them from doing this, based on cost effectiveness, would be changed accordingly.

By: Jefoid

Jefoid — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:22:09 +0000

I am as anal retentive as anyone, but I have grown tired of this argument. I propose the invention of the Venn Diagram+. This shall be defined as “Exactly the same thing as a Venn Diagram except that the relative size of the circles implies the relative size of the group.” There. Problem solved. Now will people please stop posting this pointless comment?

BTW, I expect to be sourced properly as the inventor of the Venn Diagram+ in all scholarly papers.

By: StCyr

StCyr — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:55:14 +0000

Or maybe it’s meant to be a visualization of different channels available, not a diagram of any particular type. Why assume that someone has to use a pre-defined set of diagram rules and formatting to get their point across?

By: StCyr

StCyr — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:47:42 +0000

I’d say it’s most characteristic of a Euler diagram.

By: papajon

papajon — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:51:19 +0000

Well, maybe a graph fail, but I’ll say its a graph intent win; though its not funny when I think of what I am payign for with my cable service. I pay for a whole lot of junk I don’t watch just to get to the sports and movies I do.

Screw cable, I want the Star Trek holo-deck! If I had that when I was a bachelor I’d have never seen the light of day again.

By: Pamela

Pamela — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:34:12 +0000

So true, which is why I turned off my cable and watch DVDs. (Where I live, no cable = no TV stations at all.) Personally, I think the problem with the system is a needlessly inefficient system. Why are they waisting time and money with outdated television distribution services? We have this wonderful new-fangled thing called the “internet” (or “inter-tubes” depending on who you talk to), through which people can download streaming video. If the television distribution equiptment is too expensive, how about allowing people to simply watch whatever they want whenever they want through the ‘net? (I know why they don’t do it, and it has nothing to do with file sharing since everyone does that anyway, the simple fact is that if they allow you to choose what you want to watch then they would actually have to produce something worth watching.)

To be honest, I think cable is a total ripoff. For the cost of a whole season boxset of your favorite TV show (or two), you get 1 month of commercial-infested sub-par programming, most of which you wouldn’t watch if it was the last show on Earth. The commercials insult our intelligence and are either trying to get us to buy useless junk we don’t need, food (which we Americans seem to have enough of to start with), or large purchases, like cars, that commercials have no influence whatsoever on our decision to buy or not. In short, they are a waste of time and money. DVD boxsets have a few commercials at the beginning, but other that that, you can enjoy commercial-free programming. At the end of a month, the $50 for your cable just has to be paid again, while the $50 for your boxset (or two) has gotten you something you can watch whenever you want forever.

In short, DVD boxsets make far more sence than cable imo, unless you are just totally addicted to TV and watch it nigh on constantly (because that’s about the only way to get your money worth from the cable company).

~Quag

By: catgirl

catgirl — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:13:19 +0000

I love my cable company. I get a lot of great channels for a decent price. However, my mom has satellite (I think Dish Network), and it’s terrible. Getting the basic package gives you tons of channels of sports, soap operas, and home shopping, but nothing that’s actually good. And you can’t just get a better tier of channels unless you buy all the silly sports, soap opera, and shopping channels too. Also, the service goes out any time there’s a gentle breeze, and the customer service is bad.

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:27:13 +0000

Not really. It’s an oligarchy. An oligarchy has the potential to offer all of the disadvantages of socialism without any of the advantages of it.

By: Cowpie

Cowpie — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 07:25:12 +0000

screw it all! i get netflix!

By: Farris

Farris — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 05:31:45 +0000

Does anyone else remember the days when it was TechTV and was actually entertaining as well as informative?

Man I miss The Screensavers.

By: keshet

keshet — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 03:46:21 +0000

So cable is socialism? We’re subsidizing crap channels! Let’s turn cable TV into capitalism. You should be able to subscribe to just the channels that you want.

By: RS

RS — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 03:33:17 +0000

Because the graph creator clearly thinks they matter.

By: Ginny

Ginny — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:07:39 +0000

So do I, or on the network websites. That is why I”m fully convince hulu is the future!

By: Rachel of Cyberia

Rachel of Cyberia — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:20:10 +0000

…back when there was ZDTV.

By: Kurt

Kurt — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:07:52 +0000

But if you didn’t pay for the whole package, you wouldn’t get the Korean infomercial channel! And then what would you be stuck with?

By: MLD

MLD — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:10:02 +0000

this.

I don’t even have cable anymore.

By: Czernobog

Czernobog — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 23:33:25 +0000

There should be another set containing the whole thing labeled “things I can get illegally off the web.”

By: shade

shade — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 23:20:06 +0000

yup, i don’t watch much tv anymore save for abc(lost) nbc(the office) and fox(house) which reminds me, house starts in 40 minutes!!

By: Qu

Qu — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:31:36 +0000

So much better back when there was TechTV.

By: Tightwad

Tightwad — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:03:52 +0000

I gave up on cable and dish and read more or else just watch movies for free online at hulu.com.

By: Ev

Ev — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:47:30 +0000

Some people are just angry. Maybe he needs a hug. Pierre, do you need a hug?

By: shin0bi272

shin0bi272 — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:31:07 +0000

if the circle sizes dont matter why are you so angry about them?

By: kernelleak

kernelleak — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:44:04 +0000

Sci-Fi? I think you mean SyFy… x_X;

np: Ritornell – Nina (Golden Solitude)

By: Amelia

Amelia — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:35:47 +0000

well good it would make more jobs then

By: Wade From TN

Wade From TN — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:31:41 +0000

Venn diagram fail or not, that’s so true! I don’t even watch TV. We just get digital broadcast and even then I only watch 2 shows on it. We never had cable or any of those kinds of TV channel packages. It’s such a waste anyways since I’d only watch some shows like Stargate or Atlantis. Even then the series have ended. Maybe the discovery channel, but really it’s such a waste.

On to more computer games and hardware!

By: RS

RS — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:13:05 +0000

It’s a fail because the graph creator is obviously trying to imply something with the circles’ size, while that is not the way a Venn diagram works.

By: California Dave

California Dave — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:05:51 +0000

I also have basic cable, and I watch stuff on maybe 25% of the channels. My cable company calls me, asking if I want to upgrade to digital HD cable. There’s a grand total of TWO channels I would watch regularly – BBC America (for Doctor Who) and Game Show Network. I don’t have much interest in anything else. So why should I pay an extra $40/mo (plus the converter box rental) for two channels?

By: Tianashen

Tianashen — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:02:57 +0000

QFT. That is one of the only channels I miss.

History Channel
Discovery Channel
Sci-fi (though I hear it’s having issues or something)
and G4
maybe Comedy Network

By: Baliame

Baliame — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:58:11 +0000

“Venn diagrams or set diagrams are diagrams that show all hypothetically possible logical relations between a finite collection of sets.”

No fail here, move along.

By: RS

RS — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:34:19 +0000

If it’s not a venn diagram, what is it?

By: bibliotechnique

bibliotechnique — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:33:13 +0000

So, it’s more cost effective to pay for 50+ channels that I never watch? That’s not an exaggeration. I have basic, and a few “deluxe” channels (no premiums like HBO, etc.), for a total of close to 80 channels. I watch maybe a dozen or so on a regular basis. As far as I’m concerned, I’m paying for services I don’t use. Ala Carte would be my choice.

By: Ev

Ev — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:21:27 +0000

Good point. But that doesn’t make the diagram any less truthful, nor paying $100 a month for the three channels you actually watch any less annoying.

By: StCyr

StCyr — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:14:26 +0000

Assumption fail. Do you see a heading that says “Cable TV Venn Diagram?” Not every graph with circles is meant to be a venn diagram.

By: Tallfellow

Tallfellow — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:45:32 +0000

So many people talk about services being a la carte. What customers don’t realize is how much more it would end up costing if you pay per channel instead of per package. There is a great deal of additional overhead involved whenever you have expanded cable services. For example, the once piece of equipment that controls what your boxes are permitted to see (package wise) has an upfront cost of 4 million dollars. If customers had a la carte channels then that would require a greater volume of equipment (due to the physical limitations of each control unit.) This in turn requires a greater server, network, and employee base. This growth in equipment and bodies has a cost associated with it which is then passed down to the customer. No matter what service you get, Dish, Cable, DirecTV, et cetera, the same basic rule applies: a la carte is not cost effective for the customer.

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:40:52 +0000

g4 ftw

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:37:00 +0000

They won’t do that. If they did, they would go bankrupt because no one would want the crap channels. When’s the last time you heard some one say, “I’m sorry, I can’t chat right now, I am watching Miami Vice rerun’s on Sleuth”. They make their money on the packages full of crap that no one wants.

By: nekorobo1138

nekorobo1138 — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:26:13 +0000

seriously… they need to make cable á la karte.

By: Pierre

Pierre — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:19:27 +0000

Another venn diagram fail.

By: shin0bi272

shin0bi272 — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:18:12 +0000

Yeah thats about it… but I do watch 2 or 3 channels that are on the basic package too.

By: Ynaffit

Ynaffit — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:11:55 +0000

>.< So true, even if you have something like Dish Network. I have Dish Network and I watch maybe three of the channels in their basic package.

Actually, when I was on cable, I watched more of the channels. . .