Journal DumbSwede's Journal: HBO - What are you thinking? 1
OK, here is the deal -- I like "Six Feet Under" the HBO drama a lot. HBO is now showing season 5 in HD, but I haven't seen season 4 yet. I've had HBO for close to a year now and I didn't see any season 4 episodes (I usually only check the HD offerings), and I can't just catch up on the season 4 episodes because they aren't out in DVD yet. Because the channel is encrypted I can't archive the episodes to watch later after I have watched season 4 when it comes out on DVD (who knows when, still waiting for them to release the last few seasons of OZ).
And these stupid TV executives wonder why people download stuff on Bitttorrent? I've paid my dues -- I want to watch my "Six Feet Under" in order. I rented seasons 1 2 3, but there is absolutely no legal path for me to watch this as intended now.
To add insult to injury HBO made no attempt that I know of to let me know that new episodes of "Six Feet Under" where coming up on HD. They just kept hyping the replays of The Sopranos' last season on Sunday nights. This crap makes me so mad I could just scream.
I'm willing to pay for the episodes HBO, you just won't let me have them, you and your stupid moronic shortsighted marketing droids. Sometimes it really feels like you want to punish your customers rather than serve them. I have money to pay for the episodes! Hello! Anyone there? Money, you know that's why you make this stuff, to make money!
Here is my guess. HBO feels they have to have you checking their listings every week, make sure you're not missing anything, and hey if you haven't been a customer for the last 6 years solid, screw you -- WE WANT LOCK IN. Miss your favorite show? Guess you shouldn't have quit checking the listing even when we haven't shown crap for the last 3 months and now summer movie season has started and we'll just sneak this in to keep you on your toes. Besides if they offered DVDs in a timely fashion people might only subscribe when there are new episodes of their favorite shows and not put up with the half-year long intervals of crap that stream out from time to time. As far as movies go I probably watch more classics on HDNet than the glut of recent Grade B fare HBO serves up.
I should just give up on HBO (I never would have subscribed if not for shows like Sopranos, OZ, and Six Feet Under). I'm not really getting my moneys worth, but there is so little HD available, and it does show my system off well for company, and it really isn't much extra compared to what I've already sunk into equipment and other cable services and high speed internet. BUT come next year, when HD-DVD or Blu-Ray HDTV compatible disks come out, bye bye HBO. I'll wait however long it takes for stuff to come out on disk rather than suffer with your programming practices.
I think you doth protest too much (Score:2)
I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill here. If HBO chooses not to release one season before the start of another, that's their prerogative. I subscribe to vanilla HBO on a vanilla TV, and I tape 6ft and other shows to watch at my convenience. If you are having trouble taping shows, it seems that's the problem and it has nothing to do with the availability of an earlier season.
Why exactly can't you record for later viewing? You said something about security features. In my ca