Posted by James Kilgour | Posted in TV, Technology | Posted on 19-07-2008
Tags: 5, Demand 5, James Kilgour, Television, TV, VOD
Here in the UK, we have never have to miss any TV program, thanks to VOD (Video on Demand) services, available for BBC, ITV and Channel 4 programs. Now to join the band wagon is Channel 5. That channel that nobody really watches, (except for Neighbours obviously).
Demand Five is essentially the same as the other Catchup services, except for one difference. Speed. It takes a few extra seconds than normal for the video to start, but worse. Once the program of choice begins, it starts to stutter and freeze, and the audio has a slight Internet-style tinge, which is annoying.
More to the point though, what are people actually going to watch on it? In my opinion, the only program that Five actually show than anybody watches is Neighbours (which Five don’t actually produce). Who bothers with ‘Fifth Gear’, which really is just a bad, cheap version of ‘Top Gear’ on BBC 2, or ‘The Gadget Show’? The only other good thing on Five is the movies they show at the weekend (again, not produced by Five). Unfortunately, these aren’t available on the VOD service.
One of the big problems with Five though is signal quality. Half of my neighbours even can’t get Five anyway! Watching any Five produced program, it is obvious of how low budget they are. The presenters are usually rubbish, and the ad breaks last for an eternity! Someone could die during one of them!
JK
