A Potpourri of Vestiges Feature
The world of today is one in which everybody’s
entertainment needs are easily accessible and available with the touch of
a few buttons. It wasn’t too long ago that televisions were programmed to
receive four or five channels but now there are endless networks separated
by genre, and programs can be consumed on demand. Long gone are the days of
picking up movies from a video rental store, as these are now streamed on
hugely popular services like Netflix. And gaming online has become so
advanced that players can log on and be competing against people in other
countries in a matter of seconds. Here, we examine some of the best ways to
enjoy films, television, and games in 2018.
Watching Films – Netflix
The meteoric rise of Netflix
Netflix has recently taken the world by storm, emerging as
the number one method of consuming television serials and movies at home. But
while some may have only heard of the service founded by Reed Hastings and Marc
Randolph in the last few years, it has actually been in existence since 1997.
Netflix was originally a DVD distribution company, designed to replace the
format of rental giants Blockbuster. Users could select which films they wanted
to watch from a vast list of options and have them delivered to their
homes through the mail. By 2002, it was reported in the New
York Times that Netflix mailed around 190,000 discs per day to its 670,000
monthly subscribers. At the time, the company was worth $85.2 million. Even so,
it was failing to turn a profit, and the company founders even tried to sell up
to Blockbuster at one point. In hindsight, they will be eternally thankful that
the now-non-existent video rental company refused to take their offer.
By quarter four of 2017, Netflix had 117.58
million subscribers. This is an increase of nearly 100 million in six
years. While their DVD delivery service was a novel and original idea, it was
streaming and producing unique content that helped the company to thrive.
Netflix is now becoming renowned for producing a number of its own shows and
films, while at the same time offering content from other networks and
production companies.
One of the most notable and classically binge-worthy
Netflix creations is House of Cards, which began in 2013 and was
initially directed by esteemed filmmaker David Fincher. With Academy Award
winner Kevin Spacey starring as the protagonist, the dark political thriller
was destined for success and has an impressive rating of 81 percent on Rotten
Tomatoes. Netflix have also been behind other critically acclaimed series such
as Orange is the New Black, Stranger Things, and Master
of None.
The world-famous streaming company, which is available in
more than 190 countries, is now trying to change the game in the way films are
released and watched. In 2017, Netflix released its first “blockbuster”, in the
form of Will Smith-led supernatural cop thriller, Bright. The service
paid $90 million for the movie, and it has become one of the most-streamed
programs ever. There are plans to release many more films in this fashion going
forwards, and it seems Netflix is now trying to usurp the cinema too.
Online Gaming – Playing Poker
Poker has come a long way over the years
Online gaming is prevalent in every genre nowadays, mainly
thanks to super-fast internet speeds, which have improved massively in the last
ten to fifteen years. One gaming sector that has arguably reaped the greatest
benefits from this is poker because it has continued to flourish since the
introduction of broadband internet. In fact, the years between 2003 and 2008
have been described as the “poker boom” because so many people became
aware of the game, and started playing in the online poker rooms that were
cropping up all over the web at the time.
You only have to look at the number of entrants to the
number one poker event of the year, the World Series of Poker, to see what kind
of effect the internet had on the number of people playing the game. In 2003,
when Chris Moneymaker won the epic contest with 5/4 off-suit there were 839
entrants. The following year, when Greg Raymer topped the pile to win $5
million, there was an astonishing increase to 2,576 participants. A year after
that, the number had shot up to 5,619.
Sites like 888poker
are leading the way in terms of creating the perfect online gaming experience.
There are over 10 million users playing at the site, which has won the EGR Best
Poker Operator award three years running, meaning it’s always easy to find a
game instantly. The site creates a social environment for users to enjoy while
playing poker and has also introduced some modern formats of the game such as Flopomania,
where players can skip straight to the action. Poker sites like this have shown
that they can evolve alongside technology, and players should expect them to
become even more advanced in the near future, as things like augmented and
virtual reality become engrained in mainstream culture.
Watching Television Shows – TV on Demand
The BBC iPlayer is a hugely popular on-demand service
While Netflix may be changing the way people watch films
and well-produced television series, the streaming service hasn’t yet tapped
into everyday soap operas, reality TV shows, or news features. For these
things, on-demand players from different networks reign supreme.
It wasn’t too long ago that people had to study TV guides
to be able to plan their viewing for the evening ahead. If you missed a program
or were unable to record it, you’d have to wait for repeats. Now, thanks to the
internet and TV on demand, there is no risk of anyone ever missing out on
watching the programs they love. Many channels now have their own streaming
services and offerings such as the BBC iPlayer and Channel Four’s All 4
are enabling viewers to watch programs any time they want. Usually, programs
are only held for a specified period of time but, still, there is much
less chance of missing anything by having a service like this. With smart TVs
now coming with internet capabilities, watching TV on demand can be done from
the actual TV, rather than through a computer.
There is still live TV available but the question is,
with all of these streaming services, will it continue in the future? TV
viewing has changed so drastically that viewers almost find it strange to
watch things live now without being able to pause or rewind. Also, if Netflix
decides to take on soap operas and news, this could drastically affect
established TV channels.
In only a short space of time, the way we get our
entertainment has evolved massively. Now that everything is available to us at
the mere touch of a few buttons, what could possibly improve this moving
forwards? These are certainly extremely exciting times for lovers of
television, films, and gaming.
Readers, please feel free to share your opinion by leaving your comments. As always your valuable thoughts are highly appreciated!
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