Amazingly, here in the heart of Silicon Valley, we have only once credible choice for cable: It's Comcast. Not Verizon FIOS, not U-Verse high speed, nothing. As a result, Comcast seems to feel it's ok to provide hardware that seems to have been built in the 80s, overlay software that I could've built on my Commodore 64, and provide service that--while improved--is adequate at best. That covers both TV and internet. DVR recordings would be cut short, skipping would occur, and boxes would reset sporadically. Not to mention the cable actually being out for long periods of time.
So when we moved last year, I took the opportunity to move to DirecTV. I was pleased with the ordering, setup, and viewing experience that I gave on the lack of On-Demand content compared to Comcast. The box--though still belonging in the technology museum--was nicer and the software was better (though not great). It was not as intuitive as I liked. But it did allow me to watch my beloved Redskins via the Sunday Ticket. All was good.
Until about a month ago, when shows would not record, and when they did, they'd all inevitably stall 50-75% into it and we'd miss the ends. Resetting stalled on the self-check. To DirecTV's credit, a 10 min phone call in which they performed diagnostics led them to immediately send me a new box that I should get in less than 36 hours. I'm annoyed but not pissed off--yet.
While I can move to satellite for TV, there's no other option for internet. It's a monopoly in the heart of where the internet is the lifeline that fuels the world's economy. Nothing I can do about that. There are times I'm thankful for my unlimited (grandfathered) data plan from AT&T. The LTE speeds are often 5-10X faster than Comcast speeds--especially during peak hours. You'd think I'd get better for $79/month (inclusive of taxes)
This all leads me to crave a potential Apple option for TV (that is an actual TV). I know content is king and that'll drive its usefulness, but really, I just want something that I know will work. Something that I know will be intuitive. Something that will connect all my devices--hell, it's 2014! I deserve that. I want to be able to watch a movie on my iPad on the plane, go home, play with my kids and pick up the movie seamlessly on my TV. I need to be able to plug in to any TV provider and watch it on my Apple TV, with their interface. I'm no software engineer and I'm sure what I'm asking is likely difficult, but weren't we promised this some time ago? I'm not even asking to control my TV by my iPhone as a remote or scrolling through the guide with my iPad that I can see on my TV--though that'd be nice. But really, most important, I want to know that the shows I record will actually playback. Every. Time. Is that too much to ask? Apple, please help!
So when we moved last year, I took the opportunity to move to DirecTV. I was pleased with the ordering, setup, and viewing experience that I gave on the lack of On-Demand content compared to Comcast. The box--though still belonging in the technology museum--was nicer and the software was better (though not great). It was not as intuitive as I liked. But it did allow me to watch my beloved Redskins via the Sunday Ticket. All was good.
Until about a month ago, when shows would not record, and when they did, they'd all inevitably stall 50-75% into it and we'd miss the ends. Resetting stalled on the self-check. To DirecTV's credit, a 10 min phone call in which they performed diagnostics led them to immediately send me a new box that I should get in less than 36 hours. I'm annoyed but not pissed off--yet.
While I can move to satellite for TV, there's no other option for internet. It's a monopoly in the heart of where the internet is the lifeline that fuels the world's economy. Nothing I can do about that. There are times I'm thankful for my unlimited (grandfathered) data plan from AT&T. The LTE speeds are often 5-10X faster than Comcast speeds--especially during peak hours. You'd think I'd get better for $79/month (inclusive of taxes)
This all leads me to crave a potential Apple option for TV (that is an actual TV). I know content is king and that'll drive its usefulness, but really, I just want something that I know will work. Something that I know will be intuitive. Something that will connect all my devices--hell, it's 2014! I deserve that. I want to be able to watch a movie on my iPad on the plane, go home, play with my kids and pick up the movie seamlessly on my TV. I need to be able to plug in to any TV provider and watch it on my Apple TV, with their interface. I'm no software engineer and I'm sure what I'm asking is likely difficult, but weren't we promised this some time ago? I'm not even asking to control my TV by my iPhone as a remote or scrolling through the guide with my iPad that I can see on my TV--though that'd be nice. But really, most important, I want to know that the shows I record will actually playback. Every. Time. Is that too much to ask? Apple, please help!
No comments:
Post a Comment