Rant: Unskippable DVD Ads And Why I Hate User Operation Prohibition
I’m going to depart from 2 Feet from Freedom’s usual theme for a little while and instead of bringing you all the latest SEO, copywriting and internet marketing news, I’m going to have a bit of a rant about the unskippable ads that are popping up on DVD’s and Blu Ray’s lately.
Picture the scene: it’s Sunday afternoon. I’ve just plonked myself down in my chair, put a new Blu Ray into the player, cracked open a nice cold beer, opened up the tube of Pringles and I’m all set to watch some big, dumb action film in glorious high definition. Only I can’t watch the film for a good ten minutes because of user operation prohibition; you can imagine the mood that puts me in, especially when the unskippable ads in question are for romantic comedies and Mars bars.
Your menu button doesn’t work, the chapter skip button is blocked, the only thing you can do is fast forward and you can’t even do that on some of the ads that these films have in front of them. By the time I’ve even got to watch the film, my beer’s usually finished and I’m reaching for my second one to calm me down because I’m so annoyed about having to watch a load of adverts for films I’m never going to watch and anti-piracy videos telling me that I wouldn’t steal a car. No, I wouldn’t steal a car, and I didn’t steal this film either – I’ve paid for it and you’re still trying to make me feel like a criminal!
In all seriousness, who thought this was a good idea? I love Blu Ray, I love DVD, and I love watching films at home on my big TV and visiting the cinema if there’s something good on. I’m not going to stop doing that, but I’m afraid that if this annoying trend continues, I will be looking for a reliable, legal online distributor of high definition digital media rather than paying to watch ads. I don’t think I should have to watch ads on my property unless I want to and I don’t really like the fact that something I buy takes my remote control away from me. User operation prohibition is possibly the worst thing to come to home entertainment systems since Twilight and I’m really hoping that DVD and Blu Ray manufacturers get the point soon.
Rant over.
