Westworld Season 1 General Discussion

T5000 wrote:

SurfingEagle wrote:

T5000 wrote:

This talk has made me realize, that the eyes of a T or host or robot, would be varied.
It would be difficult to give them the type of vision we have.
Would they see in 2d or 3 d??

Cameras can auto focus on objects in a 3D world. AIs are capable of driving cars now. So, they can see and interpret the environment in 3D (day or night). Drones can fly themselves. Modern aircraft can take off, fly to a destination, and land without any assistance from a pilot. That's been around for years.

I suppose their vision would be consistent with their job. A large portion of the human brain is devoted to making sense of visual data. But we don't see in frames per second.

Well I doubt Drones navigate with vision, or cars either, gps and  sensors more likely.
And no robots with eyes yet, just ordinary cameras which are more for the operator than the robot.

Just because a device is not using visible lights rays (visible to humans) doesn't mean it's not vision of some kind. What is vision but a sophisticated sensor. A lot of creatures can only detect levels of light around them, others can see light beyond the human range.

What are we talking about, if anything?

T5000 wrote:

tscc1000 wrote:

T5000 wrote:

...
My tv is just 720p, that is all I need, no gaming and for this size that is good for me.
For the bigger tvs, 1080 is better, especially real big ones.
...

I didn't even know, that "720p TVs" exist (speaking of flat screens TVs and their actual physical resolution, not talking of the compression of signal formats like 720p, 1080i and 1080p). Is it a 1280x720 resolution then? That physical resolution I know only from computer flat screens.
When called "TV", all I ever have seen are the ones with the 1366x768 resolution ("HD-ready", capable of displaying 720p and 1080i) or the ones with 1920x1080 resolution ("Full HD", capable of displaying 720p, 1080i and 1080p), or of course these days now also the new UHDs with 3840x2160 resolution.

Is it a 1280x720 resolution then? I think it is for when in pc mode.
For the tv mode I dont really know.
I remember 720 p from when I bought it, but it is good for me lol.

If I had a tv like yours, I would try the 3d on many shows just to see what it looked like.

by the way guys, Imdb is shutting down their boards, feb 20 so I put up some posts inviting people here,
so be nice to any that might show up.
We had one today but just a sign up no posts.
For tscc, on some of your shows you like, go to imdb find the board for that show, and put up a post inviting them here,
that way maybe you get some people to talk to about expanse and others.

Actually, most of the TV shows that I have are 360p to 480p.

Why are they closing the boards? Is that permanent? Looked on IMDB but saw nothing about it.

SurfingEagle wrote:

T5000 wrote:

tscc1000 wrote:

T5000 wrote:

...
My tv is just 720p, that is all I need, no gaming and for this size that is good for me.
For the bigger tvs, 1080 is better, especially real big ones.
...

I didn't even know, that "720p TVs" exist (speaking of flat screens TVs and their actual physical resolution, not talking of the compression of signal formats like 720p, 1080i and 1080p). Is it a 1280x720 resolution then? That physical resolution I know only from computer flat screens.
When called "TV", all I ever have seen are the ones with the 1366x768 resolution ("HD-ready", capable of displaying 720p and 1080i) or the ones with 1920x1080 resolution ("Full HD", capable of displaying 720p, 1080i and 1080p), or of course these days now also the new UHDs with 3840x2160 resolution.

Is it a 1280x720 resolution then? I think it is for when in pc mode.
For the tv mode I dont really know.
I remember 720 p from when I bought it, but it is good for me lol.

If I had a tv like yours, I would try the 3d on many shows just to see what it looked like.

by the way guys, Imdb is shutting down their boards, feb 20 so I put up some posts inviting people here,
so be nice to any that might show up.
We had one today but just a sign up no posts.
For tscc, on some of your shows you like, go to imdb find the board for that show, and put up a post inviting them here,
that way maybe you get some people to talk to about expanse and others.

Actually, most of the TV shows that I have are 360p to 480p....... I usually get the SD versions of most shows and movies,
the res varies on those , but most are pretty good as encoders have better tools and work with HD source.
if I really like something I will get a bigger size file and 720P.

Why are they closing the boards? Is that permanent? Looked on IMDB but saw nothing about it.

ok if you go to any of the boards now look at the top, there is a notice about it, I didnt see it either
at first, but some posters had stated it.
I had one guy come here and look, and he said today he was going to keep looking even though
he said this is a nice site.
He said IMDB allowed him to have shortcuts to all the forums he liked on his main page.
I always used bookmarks lol.

But if someone started a owned and built message board right now, like imdb then they maybe could get a lot of
those people to that site.
Would be a lot of work, but could make some money too.
Just make it to work just like imdb.

IMPORTANT: IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. As part of our ongoing effort to continually evaluate and enhance the customer experience on IMDb, we have decided to disable IMDb's message boards on February 20, 2017. This includes the Private Message system. After in-depth discussion and examination, we have concluded that IMDb's message boards are no longer providing a positive, useful experience for the vast majority of our more than 250 million monthly users worldwide. The decision to retire a long-standing feature was made only after careful consideration and was based on data and traffic. See more .....

I guess they did always seem to have a lot of trolling and flaming going on in just about every forum. But sounds like they're saying people are using other ways to comment. It's probably because everything has become too political.

“Westworld” star Thandie Newton may be headed to a galaxy far, far away.

Sources tell Variety the actress is in negotiations to join the upcoming Han Solo spinoff, starring Alden Ehrenreich.

Donald Glover, Woody Harrelson and Emilia Clarke co-star in the Disney-Lucasfilm feature, with Phil Lord and Chris Miller directing.

As Variety exclusively reported this week, “Fleabag” actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge is also in talks for a key role in the pic. Newton’s character is unknown.

The untitled “Han Solo” hits theaters May 25, 2018.

Produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Allison Shearmur, the Star Wars spinoff takes place before the original “A New Hope,” similarly to the recent spinoff, “Rogue One,” which has amassed over a billion dollars worldwide.

Newton is coming off her critically acclaimed turn in HBO’s “Westworld” as Maeve, the renegade robot whose gutty performance earned her two SAG (best performance and ensemble in a drama) nominations and a Golden Globe nomination. »

This might be good if the han solo actor can do good playing han, which I kinda doubt.

SurfingEagle wrote:

I guess they did always seem to have a lot of trolling and flaming going on in just about every forum. But sounds like they're saying people are using other ways to comment. It's probably because everything has become too political.

There were no problems, any big board is going to have dicks and trolls, I just ignore them.
I think they just want to cut the cost, they have 1000's of boards, one for every tv show and movie,
that is quite a few.
It will free up server space and less bandwith.

I wont go there as much now, just to get details on a show or movie.
I went there a lot to read the boards or post.

To check on a movie I would look at board titles rather than read user reviews.

T5000 wrote:

SurfingEagle wrote:

I guess they did always seem to have a lot of trolling and flaming going on in just about every forum. But sounds like they're saying people are using other ways to comment. It's probably because everything has become too political.

There were no problems, any big board is going to have dicks and trolls, I just ignore them.
I think they just want to cut the cost, they have 1000's of boards, one for every tv show and movie,
that is quite a few.
It will free up server space and less bandwith.

I wont go there as much now, just to get details on a show or movie.
I went there a lot to read the boards or post.

To check on a movie I would look at board titles rather than read user reviews.

Can't say I ever used it much beyond looking up a title or name, and actually now, you can just type part of a name in Google and see enough info immediately. I don't believe I ever posted anything on their boards or even have an account.

BTW, someone moved this thread. I almost couldn't find it No biggie, you should create a "water cooler" thread or "lounge" or something up top for shooting the breeze unless there is one somewhere already. We've gotten the Westworld thread all full of angst

Well once they end, if cable show and some network I move them down to back in 2017 area.
you should create a "water cooler" thread or "lounge" or something up top for shooting the breeze .......... not bad, might do that.

but also SE this is S1 WW thread, so it is pretty much done now anyway.
Next we start a S2 thread.

EPGUIDES.COM shows Westworld returning in sept 2017 !
I figured since it won emmys, that it would come back sooner than planned.
Tscc can you get S1 ratings and post them here?
I have no idea how it did in ratings.

Westworld: Season One Ratings



For comparison ratings of Game of Thrones Season 1:

Season one of Game of Thrones averaged a 1.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 2.52 million total viewers.

Ok thanks for the ratings tscc, did not think it did that good, that is why it will be back
in sept !

here is a link to the piano music in WW, I like it,  check it out, full versions from soundtrak.
I got the mp3 versions, and I play BH sun all the time.

T5000 wrote:

Well once they end, if cable show and some network I move them down to back in 2017 area.
you should create a "water cooler" thread or "lounge" or something up top for shooting the breeze .......... not bad, might do that.

but also SE this is S1 WW thread, so it is pretty much done now anyway.
Next we start a S2 thread.

OK

One problem with forum sites and TV shows is that there are so many of them. Every popular show has one site that specializes in that show, and it dominates the market. Everyone flocks to that site for info and fan posts. They usually have some super nerds of the show who break down every episode in massive detail and start controversies and debates. That brings in a lot of people just to complain or debate.

If you don't mind some critical feedback from a casual user such as myself, I'll say there are too many shows on display here. I literally have to use the browser's search tool on the page to find a show title. People want to find things and get a post going with as little effort as possible. If it's too much work, they'll go elsewhere. If there's no engaging conversation going on, they'll go elsewhere.

All the shows are flatly displayed on the home page. There are categories but all the shows for each category hit you at once on the home page. There's a lot of shows under a category like canceled, for example, that should be put away out of view, or there are canceled shows mixed in with other categories. A lot of shows seem to be categorized by the current members' personal preferences, but this is not something the world at large is necessarily in agreement with.

For example, this show is under Back in 2017-2018. With all due respect because maybe that's a typo, it just turned 2017. So, that makes no sense to a potentially new user. Also, things are categorized by network or cable as a TV show. That's more of a ratings category. Most people don't care about ratings or whether something is network, cable or premium.

I would suggest subdividing things by genre like Fantasy -> Science Fiction, Supernatural, Horror, etc.

A person might be interested in horror for example, but not in reality TV. So if they have to go past 20 reality TV shows to get to that one horror show, they'll probably pass on the whole thing and go to a site that specializes in the area they want.

Here's a list copied from IMDB for reference. Not saying things should be ordered exactly like this, but this is the kind of thing they do.

Action »
Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Adventure »
Biography | Thriller | War

Animation »
Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

Biography »
Crime | Mystery | Sport

Comedy »
Action | Horror | Romance

Crime »
Drama | Mystery | Romance

Documentary »
Biography | Comedy | Crime | History

Drama »
Romance | Film-Noir | Musical | War

Family »
Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

Fantasy »
Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Romance

Film-Noir »
Crime | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

History »
Adventure | Biography | Drama | War

Horror »
Comedy | Drama | Sci-Fi

Music »
Biography | Documentary | Drama

Musical »
Comedy | History | Romance

Mystery »
Adventure | Comedy | Thriller

Romance »
Comedy | Crime | History | Thriller

Sci-Fi »
Animation | Comedy | Family | Horror

Sport »
Biography | Comedy | Documentary

Thriller »
Comedy | Crime | Horror | Mystery

War »
Action | Biography | Comedy | Documentary

Western »
Action | Adventure | Comedy

This is all just purely suggestion on my part. Personally, I'm OK with the organization of the site, but I'm biased. I'm accustomed to the way you guys structure things. But someone new or unaffiliated isn't likely to be as forgiving or understanding. So, don't take this personally or as an insult. Just an observation on my part. Even if you took this seriously, it may not help get more members because there's just so many sites out there for entertainment already. You're competing with sites that really specialize in one show or genre, and they can focus on all the details associated with that show.

Well you make some good points SE.
Thing is with this free site, it has limitations on how we could present things.
Basically, and I could be wrong, but this home page is our only page lol.

But also we wanted to do the banner thing, which to do it as you suggest, the individual
show banners would have to go, and the page would be categories with no banners.

With Imdb, I always just went to their home page and search for a show I wanted, or movie,
then to that shows boards and bookmarked that page for future use.
I read they have 70 million users !world wide.

I dont use any individual show boards, except the old tscc board.
It is hard to get enough users on a board to begin with,  especially these free boards,
like wikifoundry, or this one etc.

But your right this site is a little bizarre and messy, will give it some thought, maybe Tscc will
give his opinion on this.
Then also it might be better to just build another one, that is arranged better and no banners.

One thing I was thinking about was putting all the shows in alphabetical order.
As it is, it is just for me and tscc, with shows we actually both watched at the top,
so we dont have to scroll for them.

It would be nice if we could hide some in one section or another page, but not sure
that can be done here , especially with banners.

T5000 wrote:

Well you make some good points SE.
Thing is with this free site, it has limitations on how we could present things.
Basically, and I could be wrong, but this home page is our only page lol.

But also we wanted to do the banner thing, which to do it as you suggest, the individual
show banners would have to go, and the page would be categories with no banners.

With Imdb, I always just went to their home page and search for a show I wanted, or movie,
then to that shows boards and bookmarked that page for future use.
I read they have 70 million users !world wide.

I dont use any individual show boards, except the old tscc board.
It is hard to get enough users on a board to begin with,  especially these free boards,
like wikifoundry, or this one etc.

But your right this site is a little bizarre and messy, will give it some thought, maybe Tscc will
give his opinion on this.
Then also it might be better to just build another one, that is arranged better and no banners.

OK, well at least, considered...

But yeah, I see your point about the structure of the site. There's basically three levels. The top category or forum. Under that, a subcategory or sub-forum. Then under those, threads.

So, you're a bit stuck with a flat looking structure unless you move entire sections to be threads only under some larger category.

My only suggestion in this case is to have the top most forum at the top of the page be something like "currently airing shows" or "active shows" (something along those lines). Then, put all currently airing shows there and forget the distinction of cable vs broadcast. If they're not currently producing eps, move them down to general categories further down the page. Use a few general genre based categories like Drama, Comedy, Fantasy, Movies, Science Fiction, Sports or [whatever]. Put the large categories in alphabetical order, then the shows under them in alphabetical order. If a show starts airing again, move it back up top, move non airing shows out. Keep that area like a dynamic cache of shows. I know you're doing something like that now, but the categories aren't that organized currently.

I'd put the canceled shows into one sub-forum as threads only. So, they're taken off the home page and stop using valuable space. Or, you may just have to eliminate some shows altogether to free up space.

Another thing you could try to see how it looks is to remove the banners for non-airing shows. Only use banners next to the title when the show is currently airing, and it's at the top of the page. That way current shows are emphasized. Then, remove it when it's not airing. That would clear up a lot of visual space and make the page shorter. But the trade off is that you don't have pretty banners all the way down the page. But then one could argue that so many banners makes the home page visually challenging.

Again, just suggestions. I'm sure you'll figure something out

Just a first quick thought to your discussion about the state and the structure of this forum.
One thing I can already say ... To be honest, I'm not eager to move on again to a new site and start it all over again. And I'd prefer not to delete stuff, even the old or canceled shows should stay archived.

tscc1000 wrote:

Just a first quick thought to your discussion about the state and the structure of this forum.
One thing I can already say ... To be honest, I'm not eager to move on again to a new site and start it all over again. And I'd prefer not to delete stuff, even the old or canceled shows should stay archived.

I wasn't suggesting starting a new site, but I guess you're responding to t5000's last line about "building another one". Creating another site on this service would have the same limitations.

I'm only suggesting a cleanup / reorganization of content so that finding shows is easier and more efficient for a new visitor, or any casual user. Do the archived canceled shows need banners?

tscc1000 wrote:

Just a first quick thought to your discussion about the state and the structure of this forum.
One thing I can already say ... To be honest, I'm not eager to move on again to a new site and start it all over again. And I'd prefer not to delete stuff, even the old or canceled shows should stay archived.

Tscc nothing is going to be deleted here unless we both agree to it.
I was just saying that rather than change this forum to be more agreeable to new users ,
it would be easier to build a new site with no banners, but I dont have time for that right now, and I doubt
people would flock to it any more than our other sites.

Imdb had a thread or MB for "every" show and movie and that is too much for anyone who isnt a commercial
site.
The bad thing about imdb ending their boards, is they dumped all the existing posts !!
There was a lot of useful data and good reading there, and they just threw it away.
I was hoping they might just disable new posts.

I see we have one new poster from imdb, must have seen my posts before feb 20.

I made the imdb forum for any thread to be created there whether movie or tv show.
If no one comes we can change that or use it as a general discussion forum .

I was looking for a good bates motel forum or mb and didnt really find a good one.
reddit has plenty of posters, but tedious to read.
The others not many posters.

Most big forums, that I routinely visit or belong to, are all text at the forum hierarchy level. You don't see much in the way of graphics and videos until you drill down to the actual forum posts. This site is designed similarly.

Removing some banners would definitely shorten the vertical size of the homepage and make it faster to scan. But if you don't think it would help bring in members, then it's a moot point.

I'm not sure what the formula for popularity and success is on forums. Maybe, there's a lot of luck and timing involved. I do get the sense that there is an over abundance of places to talk about entertainment and watch entertainment as well. Attention spans don't last long in any one place.

Well one thing is if someone comes to your site and only say 2-10 posters, they will go elsewhere,
so it is how to get those first 20 or so.

And no I dont think it would help get new people, like on 5-0 and Nikita , those were text based
and all one show, but never got more than 1 or 2 actual new people to post on those.
no banners there.

And here we have more shows, but we dont have all the shows, or movies,and only what 5 or less
people.

you could pay people to post on a commercial site, just to get it going, or have employees
do posts.
But hey I have bigger problems, so may just leave this site as is. or make some minor changes.

T5000 wrote:

Well one thing is if someone comes to your site and only say 2-10 posters, they will go elsewhere,
so it is how to get those first 20 or so.

And no I dont think it would help get new people, like on 5-0 and Nikita , those were text based
and all one show, but never got  more than 1 or 2 actual new people to post on those.
no banners there.

And here we have more shows, but we dont have all the shows, or movies,and only what 5 or less
people.

you could pay people to post on a commercial site, just to get it going, or have employees
do posts.
But hey I have bigger problems, so may just leave this site as is. or make some minor changes.

I don't think we can use Wikifoundry sites as a good example of failure on our part. I mean it was growing a little at one point before that guy bought it and put it on AWS. All the popular sites lost a lot of traffic and members because the guy never fixed major features of the system even to this day. In particular, he never fixed the account with Google which was pretty important to keeping it up to date on search engines and seeing where activity was going, IMO. I eventually got pretty disgusted with the system not only not being fixed but getting more bugs than before. With that kind of negativity, one can not grow sites or have the interest to. The platform has to have consistency, and owners have to have faith that the system is going to be around if they're going to invest the time.

Well I read that google give priority to sites that are "owned" and very low priority
to free sites created like WF or this site.
So doing a free site no matter how good, it isnt going to do well in search engines.

Nikita and 5-0 were wetpaint sites, and we never got any new posters, except maybe 2 or 3.
And that was before WF took over.

I used to check and nikita site never showed up under various type searches.

and it isnt failure on our part, it is just the way it is.

Many people dont care for forums, they like message boards, and twitter and facebook boards.