This week, for our second tennis watch of the summer, I am back to watching the game via my tablet on my lap while Sue watches it on the far television (photo below). Sue is more far-sighted and also sees brighter than I, so she can track the ball on our less than wonderful tv, but I tend to lose track of the ball after the serve. Meanwhile, my tablet has a great screen, and I can easily follow the play. (BTW, I did try to brighten the tv display last year, but the results weren't great, so I just returned it back to normal.)
For some reason, I am able to follow the ball fairly well on the old tv during Wimbledon but lose track of it at other events. Having written all of that, I can sometimes follow it in this tournament as well; it seems to depend on the brightness of the day.
This way we can still watch together. There is sometimes a little difficulty getting the two streams to jive, but I can usually finagle around the problem with a little judicious pausing on whichever stream happens to be ahead of the other.
Currently, we are watching the Canadian Open, properly called the National Bank Open. It is one of the nine Masters 1000 events that rank below the four grand slams but above the other tour events for tour points and prize money.
My computer monitor is also up to snuff, so when Sue trundles off to bed, I watch it in my den.
One odd thing is that even though two devices, tablet and tv, are synced, I often get different commercials, or at least the commercials are played in a different order. I find that very weird. At first, I feared that the streams were out of sync again, but when play resumed, all was fine. This is not a one-off; the commercials play differently on the two devices each and every time. As I already said, weird!
I'm guessing as sophisticated as data gathering is these days, I'm sure they have different metrics for those likely to watch something on an electronic hand held device vs those that watch things on traditional televisions. Years ago there was a Tom Cruise movie in which he was on a crime unit that stopped murders before they could happen until he became the suspect anyway. In one scene, he was walking through a shopping area and all the video ads were speaking to him directly. I have always felt we are heading towards that end. Already our social media streams are tailoring ads for us.
ReplyDeleteThat is in the weird category for sure! Like Ed mentioned, we recently were talking about how The Minority Report advertising is already happening. I always assumed the ads were broadcast from the studios, but now I see there's tweaking available according to the viewer's device. Ha!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the name of the movie. It was bugging me that I couldn't remember it.
DeleteThat IS weird about the commercials. I suppose there is a different price structure for internet vs. television.
ReplyDeleteThat is weird.
ReplyDeleteBig brother is watching.
ReplyDeleteNo judging, but my tv is bigger than yours, ha.
ReplyDeleteWe've kept somewhat up to date with gadgets but not the tv. So I expect your is more than just bigger. Someday, we may update, but it does for all but tennis so far.
DeleteI have trouble following the action in hockey, tennis and soccer. I'm never looking in the right place, and the action is so fast.
ReplyDeleteWell I find that interesting. I don't watch sports or much TV [dad called it the Boob Tube]. I will start watching programs once we have long nights and short days.
ReplyDeleteThe commercials on your laptop or tablet do track what you look at so the algorithm tries to direct commercials towards that.
When I was looking to adopt a puppy, I suddenly got more commercials regarding dog food and dog supplies when watching YT. Maybe I am wrong but there it is.
Never have got into watching tennis.
ReplyDeleteI am not a sports fan (except for bowling), but unfortunately the networks took off the bowling on their channels. I don't mind watching a live game of tennis in a park, though!
ReplyDeleteHave you ever been examined for cataracts? I have some starting and the optometrist says no worries yet, but in 5-10 years they likely may progress where lens surgery is an option.
ReplyDeleteThey are developing nicely. I have hardly had to wear sunglasses this summer. This is not my norm.
DeleteWe have a really big screen, not a new machine but an excellent colour and detail one. And I still lose the ball. Argh. I also lose the centre star of a group in the sky. There is a name for this and it is progressive, but my loss is tiny and progressing so slowly that I am not supposed to worry about it. But, football on the other hand, in either iteration, has a visible ball.
ReplyDeleteGadgetry. Some old, some new. Offspring, more or less patiently coaching the aged parent through how to use it. JG is now talking to his phone, like the YD. I am impressed, I guess. But it looks weird, eh?
Happy watching.
That is weird about the commercials. I don't watch any sports.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have figured out the optimum viewing for your household.
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen or play tennis in years.
ReplyDeleteWhen you eventually have your cataract surgery, you will see so much better. Hope Sue shares her big TV with you then. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteThat is a clever solution! I guess, depending on the surface colour, it can be tricky to see the ball. I always misjudge in or out balls, too.
ReplyDelete