Picture-in-picture

[JerseyMatt]

There are plenty of reasons. I switch during a commercial to news and when the game comes back on I just needed to hit swap. It was that easy (instead of randomly flipping back and forth.)

Also, when following two football games, I'd make them equal size and then zip off to the breaking action on one game while pushing the second game up in the corner and then a few seconds later I could swap back to the other game.

I used pip every single day.

Maybe it wasn't something that you used, but it is still a very useful feature. I'd much rather keep an eye on the game and watch another program on one big screen than watch a program while starring at my smartphone...


And yes, double play does work - it is just not intuitive nor as functional as the E* implementation (particularly because there is no pip.)

Like I said it's not useful, it's obnoxious. And it's not like I never used it before, I had two TV's with it, and I also had an UltimateTV box which had it. It was fun to play with, but it got old really fast because it was always in the way of something no matter where you put it.

Windows 8 is 100% software, yet it is going to cost a billion dollars to implement. You point is moot as resources cost money, period.

But I do find it interesting you are waging a vendetta against something you don't use, care about and claim costs nothing...

Uhm.. Ok, speaking of moot points.. Windows 8 is an operating system that is being written from the ground up by thousands of programmers involving millions of man-hours. PiP costs nothing because it isn't a big innovation, it's the same old code from 20 years ago. Every manufacturer had it, so it's not even like they have to pay a license fee or anything, they just have to dig into their dusty old archives.

Bottom line if it was something the TV buying public cared anything about, it would be in every TV on the market. But it's not, so it's not. And I'm not 'waging a vendetta', the OP asked a question, and I answered it.

 

[bacchus101]

Like I said it's not useful, it's obnoxious.

Well, that is clearly your opinion. Not one I and many others share, but to each their own I suspect.

Although, it seems that you have not used the E* implementation of PIP, so you are not really speaking from a position of authority concerning my points.

 

[JerseyMatt]

Why yes, as a matter of fact I have used it. I had E* for two whole weeks before I dumped them for lying to me. It's just as obnoxious on a 722 as it is anywhere else. Especially the 'side by side'. Gotta love watching two squished programs next to each other.

 

[bacchus101]

Why yes, as a matter of fact I have used it. I had E* for two whole weeks before I dumped them for lying to me. It's just as obnoxious on a 722 as it is anywhere else.

You should really phase everything as, "in my opinion" because your ridiculous blanket statements about a feature many people enjoy are coming off as obnoxious...

You don't like pip. We get it. Just move on.

A lot of people actually love the feature and it is one of the most cited things missed coming over from E* to D* (besides basic HD.)

 

[JerseyMatt]

Like I said, if so many people love it (I doubt your claim that it is the 'most cited missed thing', because it's a gimmick), being that it is 30 year old technology it would be standard on all TVs, cable boxes, and satellite receivers. But where is it? <crickets>

 

[harshness]

Yes it was fad tech.

By the same standards, C-type audio cassettes, VHS VCRs and audio CDs were a fad. You're claim seems more than a little silly in view of the fact that PIP was a feature in fancy TVs for more than 30 years.

What killed PIP is the expense of a second tuner relative to the cost of a TV. Then again, we have people willing to pop for multiple TVs and multiple outboard tuners to replace PIP so go figure.

 

[JerseyMatt]

By the same standards, C-type audio cassettes, VHS VCRs and audio CDs were a fad.

Apples to oranges. Those have been obsoleted by evolution of technology.

You're claim seems more than a little silly in view of the fact that PIP was a feature in fancy TVs for more than 30 years.

But it hasn't been seen even in fancy TVs in the past 7+ years. It was a gimmick to sell the higher priced TV (which resulted in a higher profit margin because it cost nearly nothing to implement), nothing more.

What killed PIP is the expense of a second tuner relative to the cost of a TV. Then again, we have people willing to pop for multiple TVs and multiple outboard tuners to replace PIP so go figure.

I already debunked that. The vast majority of TV's didn't HAVE a second tuner for PiP. They used the built-in tuner and whatever you had hooked to an input, or multiple inputs. Dual-tuner PiP was only available on high-end TVs during the later years (late 90's-early 00's). So you can't say it had anything to do with production cost. It is 100% software technology, and the software is already there so no new innovation is required.

 

[bacchus101]

What killed PIP was the dumbing down of American society. One less button to click and mess something up, one less tech support call.

That said, there are millions and millions of Dish and Comcast users enjoying the benefits of PIP right now and from the perspective of someone who likes the versatility of the feature, it is a selling point.

Sure, some people find it annoying. Others think it is the best thing since sliced bread. To each their own. I for one have been considering getting another receiver just to take advantage of the PIP functionality of my television.

 

[harshness]

But it hasn't been seen even in fancy TVs in the past 7+ years. It was a gimmick to sell the higher priced TV (which resulted in a higher profit margin because it cost nearly nothing to implement), nothing more.

Samsung had PIP pretty much across their entire Plasma line until the 2010 product line came along.

Your assertion that PIP is cost free is silly. Mixing different modes of video is not trivial and cannot be done "in software". With the variety of OTA and home entertainment video standards and resolutions, it is an expensive proposition to deliver PIP without a daunting list of limitations. There are typically more combinations that don't work fully than do.

Being expensive or difficult to implement doesn't make the feature any less desirable to customers but it will make a manufacturer think at least twice about offering it.

 

[jcrandall]

Enough with the personal attacks. Some find PIP a nice feature, others think it is worthless.

DirecTV has said PIP will be a feature in the HR34. Dish already has PIP as a feature.

Some TV's have PIP built in, few have multiple tuners for PIP.

There are the facts. Leave everything else out of it.

 

[tigerfan33]

I used PiP rarely when I had Dish. I would seem to forget I even had the feature. lol
The time I did use it was during football season. Not a must have for me.
Now. MRV is a must for me!!
Next to an HDVR, the number one must have IMO.