Posts filed under 'TV'
Often, after a hard days work, my husband and I are too tired to go to the theater to watch a movie. It’s times like these that I’m extremely grateful for pay per view television. Naturally, it’s not the same as going to see a movie on the big screen, but the appeal for me is that I can sit in my favorite chair and just relax, knowing that we don’t have to drive home afterwards. A lot of the movies are a bit older too, but I usually don’t get to see all the movies I want to at the theater, so it’s a good way to catch up on all the ones I’ve missed.
“NetFlix is definitely convenient, but still not as fast a pay per view because you still have to wait for the movies to be delivered”Another cool thing about pay per view is that it’s now free to watch some of the movies. I think they call it ‘on demand’, but the concept is still the same as traditional pay per view. All you need to do is find something you want to watch, click on it and it starts. A lot of the movies and programs are on HBO, and there is also free music and children’s shows. You’ll find quite a few of the stations programming this way, as long as you can pick them up. This type of ‘on demand’ viewing is just what I need when I’ve missed a movie or program.
Pay per view channels also play lots of special events, such as sporting events like the WWE wrestling, concerts and awards shows. Often then special events cost a bit more than the movies do though. WWE wrestling specials for example, often cost between 30 and 50 dollars. I’m glad my brother has his own pay per view account now because he is a huge wrestling fan and would always come over to watch the wrestling specials at our place. At 30 dollars a pop, it starts to add up very quickly!
A lot of people predicted that NetFlix’s gain in popularity would be the death of pay per view companies, although, I’m not sure that was the case. NetFlix is definitely convenient, but still not as fast a pay per view because you still have to wait for the movies to be delivered in the mail before you can watch them. Pay per view channels also show things that aren’t available on DVD yet. The movies in the mail services may take a bit of a bite out of pay per view services, but I can’t see them disappearing any time in the immediate future. With digital phone becoming more popular, a lot of customers seem to be returning to the cable companies, and paying to watch movies at home again.
I think I’ll stick to pay per view for the time being. It’s so nice to be able to relax at home in my comfy clothes on the couch and watch a movie when I feel like it.
June 10th, 2007
A few years back, pretty much all entertainment centers were the same. Because TVs hadn’t gotten as big as they are these days, it was easy to come up with a design that could fit all of them. All of that has changed now, and nowadays it seems you need to buy new furniture everytime you upgrade your digital equipment. Big screen TV entertainment centers have to be specifically designed to fit the modern TV.
Recently, I bought a home theater screen. I measured the big screen TV entertainment center from my most recent TV – the one I was getting rid of it. It was a plasma TV, and it was of a similar size and shape. I thought I would be able to fit the new TV, but I was wrong. Every entertainment center for big screen TVs is different. In this case, the footprint was off. The thing was just a little bit too wide from the front to back to fit in big screen TV entertainment Centers like the one I had. It almost did, and I spent an hour trying to find a way to negotiate the last few inches. After all, the difference between fitting and not fitting – although it was only 2 or 3 inches – was going to cost me another 600 dollars. In the end I lost, and had to cough up the dough.
I’m amazed at how expensive big screen TV entertainment centers have become. I never dreamed that they would cost as much as they do – in reality they’re not much more than a simple cabinet. Most of them are not even made out of wood anymore. They are certainly not handcrafted, so what is the reason behind the big expense? Whatever it is, big screen TV entertainment centers cost a fortune. It wouldn’t have been so bad if I’d been budgeting for it, but I hadn’t. I ended up spending all the money that I wanted to spend on the television screen. The big screen TV entertainment centers were an additional expense that I had not anticipated.
In the end, I had to temporarily give up the idea of big screen TV entertainment centers. Instead, I simply put the TV on a heavily reinforced table. I just could not find anything that fit the TV that I had! It was that overwhelmingly massive! I figure that in another six months, I will look at big screen TV entertainment centers again and try to find something that works. In the meantime, however, I am happy watching the TV from its new resting position on the table.
January 18th, 2007
So you’re lounging on the sofa or recliner again; just another moment of relaxation in a typical day. Suddenly one of those ads or infomercials pops on, rambling about some wonderful gimmicky product. Wow, what a surprise! My personal favorite is the Oxy Clean one. The bearded man always comes out screaming. He must assume that his microphone is broken, the way he yells into the camera. Or, maybe he’s just that enthused about the product? You’ve got to love these “as seen on TV products.” I’ll even bet that you’ve caved in and purchased one at some point or another. You know, just to see if the hype was legitimate. I know I have.
It’s sort of funny, but I’ve actually seen “as seen on TV” stores that only sell as seen on TV products. What a business they must have going on. As I stepped back to examine this bizarre store, I was in amazed. Everything looked like a bunch of boxed up junk. In no way did I want to enter and purchase anything. Now I fully understand why everything is only 19.95. One has to wonder about the profit percentage they make. This is the key to all these infomercial products. Most of them are so easily produced and packaged, that the company makes a quick killing. Imagine the potential customers. We all have televisions and most people are sitting in front of them on a daily basis. How many of us snatch the phone when we see these “miracle solution” products for a mere 20 bucks? I’m guessing quite a few.
The business of as seen on TV products is huge to say the least. Whether it’s some new grinder/mincer/dicer, or maybe a perfect tool that slices an entire pizza in one whack, folks around the world over are intrigued. They get excited by the notion of convenience at a low cost. After all, most of these products offer a money back guarantee. I can’t really argue with that logic. If you truly despise the as seen on TV products, you can apparently send them back for your cash. Just don’t go too crazy with these gimmicks, or pretty soon you won’t have any cash left in the bank.
January 15th, 2007
