outlaw fast-forwarding through commercials

[BJ_M]

one of my points was that the ads are often IN the movie - throughout it .. product placement in movies is huge business ... and many people don't even realize it is advertising also ..

[bugster]

one of my points was that the ads are often IN the movie - throughout it .. product placement in movies is huge business ... and many people don't even realize it is advertising also ..

Yeah, like James bond with his BMW/Aston Martin.

But even so it is not quite so 'in your face' as dedicated advertising and doesn't detract from the main entertainment quite so much as a forced 5 or 10 minute ad break.

[lordsmurf]

I just wonder how many people that posted to this thread have taken enough time to write their senator or congressman to make their complain there? Everybody likes to complain- most of them don't do anything else.

All the time. www.EFF.org.
This was how I learned my congressman was great, and my congresswoman was a c---.

[Tidy]

Actually the bill was aimed at DVD makers. It would outlaw them from making technology that would enable consumers to fast forward or skip commercials. Unfortunately an unintended consequence is that the consumer himself may be breaking the law by bypassing the commercials.

Not to worry, lawmakers like John McCain are working to "fix" the bill so you and I won't become law breakers by trying to avoid the commercial content on a DVD. The means to do so will still be illegal however.

Here's a link to the story in the NY Post; http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/34357.htm.

Who gives a flying crap whether we are safe from being lawbreakers. I do not think that is anybody's concern. The concern is that it is a waste of time and will create more work for those of us who ditch the promos when making backups anyway.

[Alan69]

I'm all for this law, but with one addition:

10 year prison sentence for the studio CEO if any DVD takes more than 30 seconds to get through the commercials and start playing the movie.

That should shut them up..

[DereX888]

everyone remembered the taco bell dog, but thier sales slumped big time during the time the ads were run ...

by 20%

Even best ads wont help if the product is crap or overpriced or not popular due to any other reasons.
And to the taco bell dog - perhaps thats the reason:

[Capmaster]

everyone remembered the taco bell dog, but thier sales slumped big time during the time the ads were run ...

by 20%

Even best ads wont help if the product is crap or overpriced or not popular due to any other reasons.
And to the taco bell dog - perhaps thats the reason:

I just lost the appetite for their Burrito Supreme. Thanks :P

[Sillyname]

But I'm a Canadian, American laws don't affect me

Big business affects everybody. It has nothing to do with nationality, anymore.

[alstatr]

Instead of everyone complaining why not use your purchasing power to send Hollywood a message. They can't make money if we don't buy the movies... Its a matter of basic economics... Its not the studios that have the power, its us the consumers.

[Sillyname]

Instead of everyone complaining why not use your purchasing power to send Hollywood a message. They can't make money if we don't buy the movies... Its a matter of basic economics... Its not the studios that have the power, its us the consumers.

The government forces strikes to stop when they affect the economy. Maybe we'll be forced to go to the movies by the National Guard? (Re-Education Camps, anyone?)

Wonder how many diabetics became compelled to "Drink Coke!" back in the subliminal days?

[louthewiz]

I believe all we can do now is strip backups of them and we won't have to sit through them. :P

[samuraijack]

Next thing you know, they will try to disable the mute button..... :P

[Sillyname]

Next thing you know, they will try to disable the mute button..... :P

Or they could just keep subtitles on at all times during commercials. Maybe a little mesmerizing spinning wheel to GRAB your attention before the commercials start, too.

[Capmaster]

Next thing you know, they will try to disable the mute button..... :P

Or they could just keep subtitles on at all times during commercials. Maybe a little mesmerizing spinning wheel to GRAB your attention before the commercials start, too.

They've already mastered the tools to do that with their intense self-promotion with the little station logo in the lower right corner, and sometimes with the entire lower 25 - 30% of the screen a commercial for an upcoming episode of something or other.

Taking that a step further to have it continuous is just a matter of time. That's when I wear out Google's search engine finding logo strippers that'll work on those videos :P

[Sillyname]

Next thing you know, they will try to disable the mute button..... :P

Or they could just keep subtitles on at all times during commercials. Maybe a little mesmerizing spinning wheel to GRAB your attention before the commercials start, too.

They've already mastered the tools to do that with their intense self-promotion with the little station logo in the lower right corner, and sometimes with the entire lower 25 - 30% of the screen a commercial for an upcoming episode of something or other.

Taking that a step further to have it continuous is just a matter of time. That's when I wear out Google's search engine finding logo strippers that'll work on those videos :P

Now, with widescreens, they have more room to fill with advertisements. Imagine a 4:3 video of STAR WARS Episode III with the rest of the space taken up by a TEDDY GRAHAMS commercial...

[Capmaster]

Next thing you know, they will try to disable the mute button..... :P

Or they could just keep subtitles on at all times during commercials. Maybe a little mesmerizing spinning wheel to GRAB your attention before the commercials start, too.

They've already mastered the tools to do that with their intense self-promotion with the little station logo in the lower right corner, and sometimes with the entire lower 25 - 30% of the screen a commercial for an upcoming episode of something or other.

Taking that a step further to have it continuous is just a matter of time. That's when I wear out Google's search engine finding logo strippers that'll work on those videos :P

Now, with widescreens, they have more room to fill with advertisements. Imagine a 4:3 video of STAR WARS Episode III with the rest of the space taken up by a TEDDY GRAHAMS commercial...

Do you suppose that's why widescreen DVDs have been hyped so much, in spite of the fact that the majority of TVs are 4:3?

Maybe they're getting us used to that big black space at the bottom so when they slide in their whoring, we'll figure "well I can't do without widescreen, so I guess I'll just live with the ads"?

[samuraijack]

Next thing you know, they will try to disable the mute button..... :P

Or they could just keep subtitles on at all times during commercials. Maybe a little mesmerizing spinning wheel to GRAB your attention before the commercials start, too.

They've already mastered the tools to do that with their intense self-promotion with the little station logo in the lower right corner, and sometimes with the entire lower 25 - 30% of the screen a commercial for an upcoming episode of something or other.

Taking that a step further to have it continuous is just a matter of time. That's when I wear out Google's search engine finding logo strippers that'll work on those videos :P

Now, with widescreens, they have more room to fill with advertisements. Imagine a 4:3 video of STAR WARS Episode III with the rest of the space taken up by a TEDDY GRAHAMS commercial...

Maybe a bit off topic, but I was watching LOST with the wife the other night and the Asian couple was having what looked to be a very serious conversation that may have even made their characters more deep. Just at the moment the subtitles came on, my local TV station flashed the logo and then proceeded to show us the lottery scores directly over the subtitles. Damn that ^%#$$ annoys me. Its gotten so I wont even watch TBS because of the floaty logo thingy...

[Capmaster]

My wife and I have gotten away from broadcast TV for the most part ...for that very reason. Not only are excessive commercial breaks not enough, they have to run ads during the show ...they just can't wait to try and influence you to buy this or watch that.

Nowadays, the only first-run TV we won't miss is American Dreams, Everwood and Fear Factor. The rest are older shows like Fresh Prince, Friends, Seinfeld, etc. on satellite and if we don't see them on one channel, another channel or two will be showing the same syndicated episode in a week or two. So if they start pissing us off with animated plugs for the Anna Nicole Smith show, or rudely animated head and torso shots of the Sex in the City characters simulating sex, we can flip that channel off and check out another one

[Sillyname]

Do you suppose that's why widescreen DVDs have been hyped so much, in spite of the fact that the majority of TVs are 4:3?

Maybe they're getting us used to that big black space at the bottom so when they slide in their whoring, we'll figure "well I can't do without widescreen, so I guess I'll just live with the ads"?

Either way you slice it, that's prime real estate man!

[cal_tony]

In the U.S. this is the week of Thanksgiving day. So what do I see on this thread? 3 pages of complaints. They express emotion and frustration about the issue of PUO. Well get used to it and quit complaining. Just be thankful that:
1. New first rate(?)DVD's can be purchased for between $15 to $20
2. DVD players can now be bought for less than $ 40
3. Blank disks can be bought for 25 to 50 cents each.
4. Free and inexpensive software can fix all of PUO limitations.
5. Computers are now quick enough to complete # 4 in a half hour or less.

I don't want to seem unsympathetic, but we should be thankful that all of us, that understand this problem,
have the tools at our disposal to fix the commercials, the logos, the warnings, the endless menus on series DVD'S, etc
When it comes to companies looking for new found money, there is no escape for us,we can just tinker as best we can, so be thankful that on this issue we can still tinker.
Because if I'm not mistaken, it was the great philosopher Stienfeld on his TV.series who said" if it isn't THIS than it's THAT"

Oh! by the way, that doctored ad with the dog, funniest thing I've seen in ages.

[Sillyname]

In the U.S. this is the week of Thanksgiving day. So what do I see on this thread? 3 pages of complaints. They express emotion and frustration about the issue of PUO. Well get used to it and quit complaining. Just be thankful that:
1. New first rate(?)DVD's can be purchased for between $15 to $20
2. DVD players can now be bought for less than $ 40
3. Blank disks can be bought for 25 to 50 cents each.
4. Free and inexpensive software can fix all of PUO limitations.
5. Computers are now quick enough to complete # 4 in a half hour or less.

I don't want to seem unsympathetic, but we should be thankful that all of us, that understand this problem,
have the tools at our disposal to fix the commercials, the logos, the warnings, the endless menus on series DVD'S, etc
When it comes to companies looking for new found money, there is no escape for us,we can just tinker as best we can, so be thankful that on this issue we can still tinker.
Because if I'm not mistaken, it was the great philosopher Stienfeld on his TV.series who said" if it isn't THIS than it's THAT"

Oh! by the way, that doctored ad with the dog, funniest thing I've seen in ages.

What does this got to do with killing Injuns?

The whole reason behind this post was that Congress was thinking about making it illegal for companies to even supply us with tools to strip out the commercials.

[alstatr]

The government forces strikes to stop when they affect the economy. Maybe we'll be forced to go to the movies by the National Guard? (Re-Education Camps, anyone?)

So what you are saying is that the government will come to my house and demand that I buy a DVD or I will be thrown in jail (man would that suck)? Sure the government forces labor strikes to stop (i.e. the dock workers strike in California) but this would not be a strike it would be a boycott. And as far as I know the government can't tell me what to spend my money on... (although they would love to )

I wasn't around when the theatres used subliminal messages but I kinda wanna see one to see if they actually work. Sure I would mad after I bought the pop or popcorn but I think I would laugh and be like "damn they got me good".

[TheFamilyMan]

If we're "forced" to at least play through the commercials, consider:

The studios should be forced to include this info on the jacket.

Once this becomes common, consider the wise advertisers who ad is: This DVD presentation is brought to AD FREE (well, almost) by blah, blah... and it is shown for only 15 seconds. You could hit PAUSE if you really wanted to read the list carefully!

And then the even wiser studio that makes it a point NOT to include adds in their DVD releases, and promotes this fact.

Man, the studios can't be that blind about the general public. How many people really give a shit about commercials on a product they bought/rented just so they didn't have to fast forward all the time and/or miss the content that was taken out for commerical space. In my experience, only young children bother to really pay attention to ANY commercial.

[Sillyname]

The government forces strikes to stop when they affect the economy. Maybe we'll be forced to go to the movies by the National Guard? (Re-Education Camps, anyone?)

So what you are saying is that the government will come to my house and demand that I buy a DVD or I will be thrown in jail (man would that suck)? Sure the government forces labor strikes to stop (i.e. the dock workers strike in California) but this would not be a strike it would be a boycott. And as far as I know the government can't tell me what to spend my money on... (although they would love to )

If you have big stock in defense, you are basically getting people to pay for bombs and guns, when you pick a fight.

[Nilfennasion]

And then the even wiser studio that makes it a point NOT to include adds in their DVD releases, and promotes this fact.

If anyone's read through a few pages of the Amazon user comments about the Animal House DVD I provided the link for, then they know that FamilyMan has just hit the nail on the head.

The coalitions against unsolicited bulk email have also reported that legitimate businesses lose about ten times as many customers as they gain from flooding people's inboxes with SPAM. Why should forced advertisements on a DVD (which basically equals the same thing) be any different?

[hhhhbk]

Now, with widescreens, they have more room to fill with advertisements. Imagine a 4:3 video of STAR WARS Episode III with the rest of the space taken up by a TEDDY GRAHAMS commercial...

this actually happened in Bristol (UK) university student union
in order to pay for the new widescreen tfts they actually ran adverts on the left hand 1/4 of the screen

[gll99]

Actually think of the fun you will have when you watch your older DVD's, forced to sit through commercials for products that no longer exist.

[Sillyname]

Actually think of the fun you will have when you watch your older DVD's, forced to sit through commercials for products that no longer exist.

I can imagine a particularily dedicated consumer killing themselves when they can no longer find said product available for consumption. This could get ugly.

[dfluke]

Its just another attempt of the MPAA to make software such as DVDecrypter and DVDShrink illegal. These are tools that will allow you to skip or remove commercials from a DVD.

[Sillyname]

Do you get the feeling that none of these douchebags even watch TV or movies? They make them, so they don't have to watch them, I guess. So where are we on this chain? And how entertaining is it really, to be rich? I imagine movies about getting rich or depicting rich people as bad guys would turn off even the most giving of the rich community. And don't all motion pictures or TV shows have some element of money screwing everything up or making everything better? What value have dreams brought to you by NABISCO?