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"In addition to removing TVs, they added 12 more seats to these planes." Am I the only person on earth who thinks those god awful wastes of space should be rem

"In addition to removing TVs, they added 12 more seats to these planes." Am I the only person on earth who thinks those god awful wastes of space should be removed? I've never interacted with one, they don't play anything, and my phone is about as big as those screens anyways and already contains all the content I wish to view?

nightski 8y ago
Actually I feel like Delta has quite a nice experience. They also have many new release movies available. I don't own a tablet because I don't find them particularly useful personally and I'd rather not watch a movie on my phone.
Moto7451 8y ago
Delta and Norwegian are two examples of IFEs done right. Good content, the ability to browse the in flight menu, and very responsive. I take a tablet on anything else I fly on. I’m sure the premium cabins form premium carriers are similarly nice.
com2kid 8y ago
I love on-board movies, airplanes often have new releases, and if I bring my own headphones I can have a great experience. Heck international flights are the only time I get to catch up on the latest movies! I've seen most of the Marvel movies that way. The screens also don't run out of battery. Some planes have chargers now days, but plenty still don't. I want my phone battery available when I land, so I try to avoid using my phone during flight.
- m463 8y ago
  I believe airlines let you view their movies on your portable device. That addresses the "new release" concern, but not the battery problem. You also have to install someone's app, if you're into that sort of thing.
  - vonmoltke 8y ago
    I just did that on my phone on a United flight. The performance was pretty bad. The media stopped at random places, then resumed 15-20s later.
batiudrami 8y ago
Many airlines put iPads in the seat pocket instead. Some have a clip in the seat back to fit it while you're flying. They're lighter and have much better screen quality (plus use a standard 3.5mm headphone jack). I wouldn't be surprised if they were significantly cheaper, too.
- jfaat 8y ago
  You wouldn’t be surprised to learn that an iPad cost less than a cheaply made screen with lower resolution, smaller size, without things like wifi, gps, battery, and ssd storage?
  - batiudrami 8y ago
    Apple operates on orders of magnitude larger production runs than custom built products just for aircraft fitouts. I suspect the margins are generous, too.
  - GhostVII 8y ago
    An iPad has economies of scale that probably aren't present to the same degree in those airplane screens. Plus, if you have only iPads you don't have to pay for a specialized infotainment system, which is also proabnly expensive for the same reason. An iPad is like $300 new, that's pretty cheap. The in plane entertainment has ads though, so maybe those bring in revenue that an iPad couldn't.
    - batiudrami 8y ago
      The iPads I've seen run a custom app to deliver the in flight experience including flight paths and streaming entertainment from the in-flight Wifi compelte with preroll ads. But you're defintely right about economies of scale.
  - mikeash 8y ago
    A general rule of thumb is that any item intended for aviation use gets an extra zero added to the price. Sometimes two zeroes.
andrewflnr 8y ago
I'm with you. Airplane TVs are a scourge on my sanity. It's one thing when a neighbor is watching a movie I can't stop myself from glancing at. It's worse when they're just letting the promo loop roll endlessly. Every flashy cut pulls my eyes away from what I'm trying to look at, no matter how many times I've seen it, and brings me one step closer to snapping. It doesn't help that the only way to turn it off is to turn the screen brightness down to zero, so AFAICT most people just live with it helplessly. Then it gets turned back on to play the safety demonstration, and then the promo loop plays again, rising from the grave like an evil undead king, forcing me to turn it off again with clumsy buttons designed to withstand baby barf. I may have some issues to deal with.
- itsNotYou 8y ago
  You don't have any issues to deal with. The idea that advertising even works (in the sense that it changes opinions or fosters a desire to buy, where, previously there was none) is really the root cause of the problem here. Somehow, somewhere, a person once suggested that repetition was a useful strategy for getting people to buy things, and in a crucial moment, when a millenia of person year misery could have been halted, killed in the womb, whoever heard the suggestion simply shrugged, and now, even though I never drink Gatorade, I still remember that it's actually thirst-ade for that deep down body thirst.
hodgesrm 8y ago
I like them. United overseas flights have a pretty good movie selection that always includes at least a few favorites like 'Arrival'. The software and hardware in seat-back screens has also gotten vastly better over the last 15 years, so they are now responsive and easy to use.
deleted 8y ago
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nightski 8y ago

Actually I feel like Delta has quite a nice experience. They also have many new release movies available. I don't own a tablet because I don't find them particularly useful personally and I'd rather not watch a movie on my phone.

Moto7451 8y ago

Delta and Norwegian are two examples of IFEs done right. Good content, the ability to browse the in flight menu, and very responsive. I take a tablet on anything else I fly on. I’m sure the premium cabins form premium carriers are similarly nice.

com2kid 8y ago

I love on-board movies, airplanes often have new releases, and if I bring my own headphones I can have a great experience. Heck international flights are the only time I get to catch up on the latest movies! I've seen most of the Marvel movies that way. The screens also don't run out of battery. Some planes have chargers now days, but plenty still don't. I want my phone battery available when I land, so I try to avoid using my phone during flight.

m463 8y ago
I believe airlines let you view their movies on your portable device. That addresses the "new release" concern, but not the battery problem. You also have to install someone's app, if you're into that sort of thing.
- vonmoltke 8y ago
  I just did that on my phone on a United flight. The performance was pretty bad. The media stopped at random places, then resumed 15-20s later.

batiudrami 8y ago

Many airlines put iPads in the seat pocket instead. Some have a clip in the seat back to fit it while you're flying. They're lighter and have much better screen quality (plus use a standard 3.5mm headphone jack). I wouldn't be surprised if they were significantly cheaper, too.

jfaat 8y ago
You wouldn’t be surprised to learn that an iPad cost less than a cheaply made screen with lower resolution, smaller size, without things like wifi, gps, battery, and ssd storage?
- batiudrami 8y ago
  Apple operates on orders of magnitude larger production runs than custom built products just for aircraft fitouts. I suspect the margins are generous, too.
- GhostVII 8y ago
  An iPad has economies of scale that probably aren't present to the same degree in those airplane screens. Plus, if you have only iPads you don't have to pay for a specialized infotainment system, which is also proabnly expensive for the same reason. An iPad is like $300 new, that's pretty cheap. The in plane entertainment has ads though, so maybe those bring in revenue that an iPad couldn't.
  - batiudrami 8y ago
    The iPads I've seen run a custom app to deliver the in flight experience including flight paths and streaming entertainment from the in-flight Wifi compelte with preroll ads. But you're defintely right about economies of scale.
- mikeash 8y ago
  A general rule of thumb is that any item intended for aviation use gets an extra zero added to the price. Sometimes two zeroes.

andrewflnr 8y ago

I'm with you. Airplane TVs are a scourge on my sanity. It's one thing when a neighbor is watching a movie I can't stop myself from glancing at. It's worse when they're just letting the promo loop roll endlessly. Every flashy cut pulls my eyes away from what I'm trying to look at, no matter how many times I've seen it, and brings me one step closer to snapping. It doesn't help that the only way to turn it off is to turn the screen brightness down to zero, so AFAICT most people just live with it helplessly. Then it gets turned back on to play the safety demonstration, and then the promo loop plays again, rising from the grave like an evil undead king, forcing me to turn it off again with clumsy buttons designed to withstand baby barf. I may have some issues to deal with.

itsNotYou 8y ago
You don't have any issues to deal with. The idea that advertising even works (in the sense that it changes opinions or fosters a desire to buy, where, previously there was none) is really the root cause of the problem here. Somehow, somewhere, a person once suggested that repetition was a useful strategy for getting people to buy things, and in a crucial moment, when a millenia of person year misery could have been halted, killed in the womb, whoever heard the suggestion simply shrugged, and now, even though I never drink Gatorade, I still remember that it's actually thirst-ade for that deep down body thirst.

hodgesrm 8y ago

I like them. United overseas flights have a pretty good movie selection that always includes at least a few favorites like 'Arrival'. The software and hardware in seat-back screens has also gotten vastly better over the last 15 years, so they are now responsive and easy to use.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]