Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
I love going out to the cinema; from the big seats, dark room, massive screen to the popcorn and other members of the audience sharing in the experience. It is a great night out.
But with staying in being the new going out, how do we combat this? Films on TV are notorious for being a bit dull; by the time the films are on the small screen, they have been out for public release for some time (albeit at the cinema or on dvd, etc). This means everyone tends to know what they are about already – so where is the suspense, the drama, the unknown?
The advantage of films on TV is that they tend to be a comfort to us; the traditional showing of a Bond film at Easter, The Snowman being on over Christmas, that kind of thing. The timeless classics.
How many of the films going through the cinema in this day and age will still be as popular in 10 years time?
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
Over the last few years, a lot of the soaps have been going all out for the anniversary shows – either there 2000th episode or 50th year on the air – and the way to do in this day and age is live TV. Most recently, Eastenders used it’s 25th anniversary to broadcast live the killer of Archie Mitchel.
In a plot line that has taken months to develop, even the actors themselves didn’t know who had killed Archie. The producers carefully let a couple of clues slip out (most noticeably, the hairbrush at the Vic clue), but very, very few people thought it would be (look away now if you do not want to know!) Stacey Slater.
But is this method of broadcasting any better? I think yes. As good as the shows look when they are well rehearsed and taped, the thrill of knowing the actors could really fluff their lines is brilliant TV!
Monday, February 15th, 2010
I spent the weekend at my Mum’s, and was amazed at the amount of TV she watches these days. Once upon a time, she would go nuts at me and my siblings for organising our time around our favorite programs, but now this is what she does! Oh how the tables have turned!
The usual arguement we had from Mum was that “it will rot your brain”, etc etc. But apparently, that’s not true anymore (thanks for the info Mum!), and TV is actually very educational. I asked if this was the case when she was watching her soaps, and she said that although they weren’t directly educational, they helped her relax and was therefore good for her.
Well, I can’t disagree there Mum!
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
The first ever episode of Coronation Street was broad-casted live on December 9th 1960. Since then, millions of viewers have regularly tuned in to see the trials and tribulations of the various cast members who have graced the beloved small screen that is Corrie. Over the last 5 decades, there has been 120 deaths on Corrie, with around 80 of them being premature (i.e. murdered, accident, suicide).
Now, this little statistic makes 66% of deaths in Corrie an unnatural one… So why do people live there?! I must admit, that in my small little town, very few people die, and I have yet to read about a muder, although we have had a few fatal car accidents.
So why do soaps have such a high mortality rate?
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
In ITV’s Corronation Strett, Gail Platt is famous for her lack of success with men: she is now up to marriage number 5! And in true soap style, none of them have ended happily (well, marriages just don’t end happily, do they?).
In marriage number one, Gail Potter became Gail Tilsley. They later divorced after her affair with Ian Latimer, amid Brian’s doubt that he was the father of Sarah-Lou. They later re-married (making this Gail’s second marriage), before Brian was tragically killed in a stabbing. Marriage number 3 was to toy-boy Martin, making her Gail Platt. In this marriage, it is Martin’s second affair that ends the marriage. Thrice bitten, but still not shy, Gail marries the psychopathic murderer Richard, making her Gail Hillman and onto her forth marriage. As viewers will know, this marriage was doomed from the start, as the clearly unhinged Richard plunged the whole family into a canal in a bid to end all of their lives.
And after all of this drama, normal people would think that Gail would give up on the idea of marriage, as she clearly has horrendous taste in men. But nope, man number 5, Joe McIntyre, has popped the question and got her to registry office on time. And now he is trying to fake his own death to get out of debt! And in real Corrie style, this plan is bound to backfire and catch Gail head-on.
Can Gail pick them or what?!
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010
Companies like Verizon and SBC Communications have made attempts to distribute TV content over fibre-optic networks using internet technology. This has proved to be one communication channel competing with cable and satellite to broadcast TV content to homes. IPT (internet protocol television) is now been taken up by Akimbo systems which is attempting to deliver TV over broadband and this comes as a output to your TV rather than computer making it much more appealing. The Akimbo box looks and functions like a TiVO and you need a receiver and a subscription package. Once set up the program is very similar to what you get from cable.
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
With the technology advancing the internet allows more and more of us to watch television programs online. Companies such as Yahoo have recently announced partnerships with television manufactures as they foresee a trend from the computer to the TV screen. One of the directors quoted that are consumers watch more TV they are demanding Internet connectivity to further the viewing experience. Online programs are known as widgets. Web Capable televisions would be embedded which in turn would allow more video on demand, social networks, games and online shopping.
Sunday, January 17th, 2010
In the UK the government has set up a body to regulate the content of advertising and broadcasted content. The restrictions have applied since the early days of TV and as a result only ITV, Channel 4 and 5 can show an average of 7 minutes of advertising per hour. As a result any of the programs from the US have to be edited to as the TV breaks were originally intended for US channels and US advertising breaks. The rules for advertising extend to which programs can or cannot have adverts – such as the news or current affairs program, documentaries and programs for children.
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
Most people think of the need for a TV license if they watch TV on a plasma, or ‘normal’ tv. However as technology progresses, new developments also make it possible to watch TV on more devices than ever – as such you still need to check If you are properly licensed. If you watch any programme while it’s being broadcasted then by law you still need to be licensed even if it’s via the internet, mobile or any other device. However, if you use the on demand services that are now available such as the ITV I Player, 4 on Demand or the BBC’s version. The same rules apply if you use a video or DVD recorder to watch or record programmes as they are shown on TV.
Thursday, January 7th, 2010
The content of what you see on television is normally financed by the government, advertising, licensing (in the UK, this is the TV license) or subscription such as BT vision, Sky or Cable. To ensure that only the individuals that have paid receive the channels TV channels are usually encrypted and they receive a decryption code to see that signal. Those channels which are free are not encrypted and known as Free to air. The use of Televisions to advertise to the public is a great way of creating publicity and for producers to fund their programming, and networks and stations sell blocks of broadcast time for advertisements.
Consider the following:
If you want
Corporate Video come to us.
For your
HGV License come to us.
Property Search London , we can help you!
Go no further for your
Makita Radios