DIY Television

This is a great idea I just had: sadly I dont have the time or anything like the resources to implement it. So if anyone CAN get it off the ground then do it – you’ll make a fortune

The idea is based on a simple premise. Television works.

If it works dont fix it

You see we’ve had standard TV for years and years. You look in a guide, see whats on and flick to that channel to see it. Or you know (and this is the crucial thing) that your XYZ favourite TV show is on tonight and at the required time flick on the TV to watch it. This is the core format to television viewing and it can, I think, be said to work well.

We have had lots of improvements to the basic model over the years. For example a shed load of extra channels, pay-for channels, the ability to pause a show and On Demand TV. Or does On Demand count in the same group? In a way it is a seperate format – a new way to do things. With On Demand (and yes I am going to capitalise the words every time; for the sheer hell of it) you dont have a structure to your TV viewing any more – you just watch what you want when you like. Some might call it the next generation – the next step for Television viewing. Over recent weeks I’ve come to disagree.

Going Backwards

Dont get me wrong I like having shows (and by extension movies) available whenever I want them. If nothing else it’s nice to dip into old episodes of series you know and love. And, obviously, it’s ideal for when you missed your favourite show this week!

The problem I find with such a wealth of programming available is threefold:

• Firstly I dont have enough time to watch it all. There is too much content and just dipping into it is no way to ensure I see all that I want to. Because what I watch tends to be dependant on whatever fad I happen to have at the time there are several good series that I have not seen the ends of
• Secondly it is easy to lose track (this is closely linked with issue one) of what I have or havent watched. And with irregular gaps between viewings sometimes it is hard to recall the storylines.
• Thirdly, and the most annoying problem, is that it encourages procrastination. I *could* goand do some work or I could just watch some on demand TV….

So is there a solution. YES.

DIY TV

It’s simple: I like watching a series over the course of a few weeks. I like havign a regular TV schedule. But there is also lots of crap I dont want to watch.

So let me create my own channels. That way I can select the shows I want to see and order them how I want over the course of a week. It could let you schedule a whole series into the Tues 9pm slot. Of course if you had a boring Sunday afternoon and watched the next episode in advance it would just bump the next episodes up the timeline.

You could have already released series on back order – so it would just queue them up like a regular series. And it could support new series that are being released as the weeks unfold. Throw some films into the mix and make the interface nice and we are MADE.

The beauty is I can spend an hr each week going through new updates and upcoming releases etc. to schedule my weeks TV. Then I just have flick on one channel, my channel, and voila. Allow the scheduling of different channels (with child filters etc.) for different family members and some sort of “recommendations” system to fill any gaps and you have a good service.

It could be monitized with adverts between shows, adverts on any interface and potentially onscreen overlay adverts.

So, someone make this please: that way I will finally get some work done AND watch all my favourite TV.