Does picture in picture bother anyone?

[neilc]

It started on Smackdown and now both NXT and AEW Dynamite do it. I just find it really annoying, and AEW seems to use it more often and not always in the middle of matches. At least Sammy Guevarra brought signs so we could follow what he was talking about, since the sound is from the commercial. I always put it on mute until it's full screen again.

[Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby]

I can never manage to pay attention to what is happening on the PiP with the exception of Sammy's segment tonight. This latest show was a big improvement on how they have done it, reserving it for continuing match action or working around it in a worthwhile way.

[Long A, Short A]

My brother had a TV that could do picture and picture, but we rarely use that function.

[segaz]

I was used to it on Wrestling shows in the early 90s with interviews and such.

[Wieners=$$$]

Jan 2, 2020 7:16:55 GMT -5 segaz said:

I was used to it on Wrestling shows in the early 90s with interviews and such.

Yeah, it's been a thing with wrestling for a while, however, then it was part of the show. Now its grab-your-attention-until-we-have-your-money commercials. I personally, find it too distracting at times, especially since a big element, the sound and the play-by-play commentary, is removed.

I understand that this is good, because it maximizes your show, but commercials are designed to grab your attention. If there was some way to choose your picture sizing, so the wrestling window is bigger, I would like it better.

Funny thing is, most people, in this modern age, are already looking at two screens simultaneously, with the larger one being in the background. All picture in picture usually does is make the viewer pay more attention to their phone, pad, laptop etc.

[cassonova]

When done properly, no. I do dislike the "watch our show while the commercial plays" PiP. In WWE it's pretty benign, but it happens too much on Dynamite, and often at poor times in the show.

I miss the olden days when PiP was used for a brief promo, putting over a wrestler or feud.

[Malibu Stacy]

I don't like when it's used during commercial breaks. I'm too accustomed to traditional commercial breaks and having a rhythm for when to go raid the fridge or take a restroom break.

[Hypnosis]

Jan 2, 2020 9:36:18 GMT -5 Malibu Stacy said:

I don't like when it's used during commercial breaks. I'm too accustomed to traditional commercial breaks and having a rhythm for when to go raid the fridge or take a restroom break.

Agreed, but I would also like for matches to not have two commercial breaks during them.  One per match (if they're going long) is enough.

[111111]

I mean surely it's better than just showing the full screen commercial?

You can either watch whats happening in PIP or just ignore it and treat it like a regular break.

I'd rather have the option and not make use of it than not have the option.

[Bang Bang Bart]

Jan 2, 2020 10:48:10 GMT -5 Hypnosis said:

Jan 2, 2020 9:36:18 GMT -5 Malibu Stacy said:

I don't like when it's used during commercial breaks. I'm too accustomed to traditional commercial breaks and having a rhythm for when to go raid the fridge or take a restroom break.

Agreed, but I would also like for matches to not have two commercial breaks during them.  One per match (if they're going long) is enough.

If they varied the lead-in for commercials aside from “guy gets thrown out, then a tope spot” or “big move at ringside”, I wouldn’t mind them so much.

[Deleted]

I’m only using dynamite as a reference here but when they do it, I fast forward (Usually watching it recorded) because the adverts are so distracting that there is almost no point watching the show because my mind is just blasted by the adverts

[Cyno]

Blame the television networks for that. TNT, Fox, and USA are the ones mandating when the commercial breaks take place and they're the ones who also decide when they want to use PIP. Like on the international broadcasts of Dynamite, AEW airs uninterrupted so you get everything you can't see or hear during commercial breaks. I've never had WWE Network, but I imagine it's similar with the stuff they show there.

[Bang Bang Bart]

All this talk of PIP just reminds me of that brief period last year where WWE went overboard with 2/3 Falls matches and matches not resuming during commercial breaks.

[Jake, The Jake, Jake]

They can put the wrestling in the little corner during the commercial all they want, I’m still not watching the commercial.

[Rican]

I absolutely can't stand it. I end up just not paying attention to anything happening.

[DASH 243✅]

I watch mat of my wrestling on dvr and I just fast forward through the pnp

[HisRoyalGreeness]

I honestly can’t stand it now. When WWE started doing it I thought it was pretty cool mainly because what was happening during the break didn’t necessarily need sound. However, it’s become one of my major gripes with AEW. It’s not that they do it but how they do it. They have it going when there’s either nothing going on or they even do it while there’s a promo or an angle happening. At first I chalked it up to them being new and not having timing down yet but now it’s just annoying.

[Deleted]

As in Scott Hall picture in picture?

Isn't it good that at least you see some wrestling and not only commercials. o,O

[nisidhe]

I find it beyond distracting, myself. If the networks want their commercial time, there are options including, but not limited to, shorter matches.

The issue is that the TV shows are being broadcast live, so timing everything precisely has become absolutely critical. It actually hurts the product, I find, to have the expectation set that every week is supposed to be live when some judicious editing, re-arranging of match orders, and tape delays could produce a tighter format that more would find entertaining.

Live broadcasts are generally over-rated and have too much scope for screw-ups that have to be managed and, even then, the result can be less than totally successful.

[Ludwig Kaiser’s Walk]

I just stop paying attention when it goes to commercial, even if the match stays on.

If it were a PPV or something where the matches “matter”, then maybe I’d pay more attention to it. But, on Raw or SD, it doesn’t effect anything.