Possible new TV show about Hi Fi......

[PaulStewart]

Hi All,

As some people on this forum know, Viv and I run Paul Stewart Media, which among other things publishes commercial websites. However, the main part of or business is a press and TV features agency and production company. We had our regular production meeting yesterday, (or as I like to call them what the hell are we going to do now meetings), to discuss next years schedule. The upshot is that we thought that with the vinyl revival etc., it would be a good time to do an hour special on Hi-Fi, audiophiles, and especially vinyl. Now I could get the presenter to interview me, but that’s pretty boring and I have the perfect face for radio.

We are going to talk to manufacturers, journalists, retailers, musicians and record producers. Most importantly, we would like to interview people who use high end kit to enjoy their music. To be honest the bigger and more eccentric the better, but we also need the more normal side of Hi-Fi too.

We produce for the cable and web TV market and are also talking to the new local terrestrial network. This is unlikely to get on the big 5 national stations, that’s not our market, for many reasons, Not least of which is the greater freedom working for fully independent channels.

If anybody on here would be interested in talking about our mutual hobby on camera and showing us round your system, please PM or better email me, (content@paulstewartmedia.com), with a phone number and either I or the researcher will give you a call. To keep budgets down, we are going try and keep to the London(ish) area, but that’s not set in stone. Early days yet and we don’t plan to start shooting till early next year, but please get in touch ASAP if you are interested as we have to plan things well in advance.

Regards to all

[synsei]

What an excellent idea Paul. As much as I'd like to participate I also have the perfect face for radio (and body I might add :lol:) so regrettably I must decline your offer for the wellbeing of your potential audience, I wish you every success with the project however. Please keep us updated as to where we can watch it should the project go ahead ;)

[brian2957]

I had you pictured as a tall sophisticated suave type Dave ;) This idea sounds fantastic though . Unfortunately I'm too far away and I too have a fantastic face and body for radio :)

[Marco]

Dave'll do it if you let him wear his frock... ;)

Marco.

[sq225917]

How about a program that hints at the transition path that exists for consumers of mobile audio media to make it into the big leagues with a real hifi. Balance the growth in mobile media vs the hipster vinyl revival, but keep it all 'youf' no one wants to see embarrassing 40 something waffling on bollocks about hifi. I imagine there's mileage to be had in recognising the huge growth in the small device/dac/headphone market of late and carefully done you could go from introducing people to mobile-fi to letting everyone know hifi is still hip and vital all in one program.

[synsei]

Dave'll do it if you let him wear his frock... ;)

Marco.

Jo has told me I have exceeded my frock budget so no new frocks for a goodly while :lol:


I had you pictured as a tall sophisticated suave type Dave ;)

Only in my head Brian, only in my head... :eyebrows:

[brian2957]

I have a very good mirror ( from a fairground ) :lol:

[synsei]

I have a very good mirror ( from a fairground ) :lol:

Ding dong!!! (in my best Leslie Philips voice) :D

Think of Bombur from The Hobbit and you wouldn't be far off... :lol:

[RichB]

I know you said it would be London focused but if there were ever a place to find a bunch of nice people and great gear in one friendly setting then NEBO3 would be it.

You'd get some good old northern opinion for vox pops there I reckon.

[PaulStewart]

Thanks Rich,

Bit to soon for us as we are only just working on the format, but thanks for offerering

Paul S

[Thing Fish]

I look like Charlie Drake on a bad hair day but I suggest George Clooney or Johnny Depp could play me...:)

[doodoos]

A good angle may be the the limitations that rooms can have on system performance. Very relevant here in the UK where living spaces are some of the smallest in Europe.

[chelsea]

The wigwam show might be worth thinking about as a feature.

[walpurgis]

Not sure how Hi-Fi demo's are going to sound through those little speakers on my telly! :)

[cloth-ears]

A few program name or Naim suggestions; The Class “A” team. SONY fools and horses. Undercover BOSE. MISSION impossible. There must be loads more out there……………….

[MCRU]

All it needs is a clearaudio statement turntable or some other massive analogue beast and some data about how vinyl is outselling CD, that will make jim royal etc fall off his chair and take interest I think :)

The Bristol Show will be on us soon so it makes sense to do something there surely Paul? I may even buy you a small beer!

[RichB]

Some mothers do AV em?

[cloth-ears]

Some mothers do AV em?

:lol:

[loo]

Well I live in London and have the camera presence of Richard Burton but sadly me stereo is a load of sh*t
;)

[The Grand Wazoo]

Who's going to present it?
Don't tell me.......Amp and Deck

[MikeMusic]

Could be a good little prog

Spread the word about how music should sound

[jollyfix]

Who are the target audience? I feel that you need a good mix of people on the show, young and old, male and female. The systems featured should be varied, from cheap as chips , to mega bucks. The second hand market should get a mention also.
There is nothing worse than a show about enthusiasts/hobbyists, where they all come across as being odd etc, and kind off car crash tv, " did you see that show about hifi, that bloke spent ££££ on that cable, nutter". The best for me ,would be to inspire people to find out more about HIFI, make them understand there is a difference between playing music, and listening to music. People generally play music when they are doing something, driving a car, making dinner, eating breakfast whilst the radio is on. Some of these people have memories of scratched vinyl being played on a cheapo music center, some have never heard vinyl, it would be a great show if it could convince a small amount of people to take the plunge and buy a HIFI ( new, second hand).
What about all those bedroom young DJ's, most used to play vinyl, now it seems so many have gone over to CD, and of late laptops. Why carry a couple of boxes of vinyl when a laptop will do. Why have some speakers, HIFI separates, cables, when a small box you plug a phone into will do. How would you get across that having a HIFI is worth it? The pleasure one gets from music on so many emotional levels, the people who play music feel that too, but i feel dont realize how much better it can be for just a small outlay of money etc.

[MikeMusic]

Who are the target audience? I feel that you need a good mix of people on the show, young and old, male and female. The systems featured should be varied, from cheap as chips , to mega bucks. The second hand market should get a mention also.
There is nothing worse than a show about enthusiasts/hobbyists, where they all come across as being odd etc, and kind off car crash tv, " did you see that show about hifi, that bloke spent ££££ on that cable, nutter". The best for me ,would be to inspire people to find out more about HIFI, make them understand there is a difference between playing music, and listening to music. People generally play music when they are doing something, driving a car, making dinner, eating breakfast whilst the radio is on. Some of these people have memories of scratched vinyl being played on a cheapo music center, some have never heard vinyl, it would be a great show if it could convince a small amount of people to take the plunge and buy a HIFI ( new, second hand).
What about all those bedroom young DJ's, most used to play vinyl, now it seems so many have gone over to CD, and of late laptops. Why carry a couple of boxes of vinyl when a laptop will do. Why have some speakers, HIFI separates, cables, when a small box you plug a phone into will do. How would you get across that having a HIFI is worth it? The pleasure one gets from music on so many emotional levels, the people who play music feel that too, but i feel dont realize how much better it can be for just a small outlay of money etc.
+1
and 1 or 2 higher end systems per programme - depending on how many systems per prog of course. If 1,2 or 3 then the higher end every other week say

[loo]

As much as I would love such a show I can't believe there is a viable target audience
Paul

[Oldpinkman]

As much as I would love such a show I can't believe there is a viable target audience
Paul

There is an entire channel on sky for caravans...:eek:

[Martyn Miles]

How about a program that hints at the transition path that exists for consumers of mobile audio media to make it into the big leagues with a real hifi. Balance the growth in mobile media vs the hipster vinyl revival, but keep it all 'youf' no one wants to see embarrassing 40 something waffling on bollocks about hifi. I imagine there's mileage to be had in recognising the huge growth in the small device/dac/headphone market of late and carefully done you could go from introducing people to mobile-fi to letting everyone know hifi is still hip and vital all in one program.

Program ? I think you mean programme.

[MikeMusic]

As much as I would love such a show I can't believe there is a viable target audience
Paul

Depends how it's slanted.
Who would believe Top Gear could get such ratings ?

[Clive197]

There is an entire channel on sky for caravans...:eek:

Eh Richard, that's only for people who are a bit camp!:lol:

[Oldpinkman]

Depends how it's slanted.
Who would believe Top Gear could get such ratings ?

I strongly suggest you don't ask Clarkson to host it. I feel his views on designer mains cables will be not dissimilar to his views on caravans :rolleyes:

[MikeMusic]

I strongly suggest you don't ask Clarkson to host it. I feel his views on designer mains cables will be not dissimilar to his views on caravans :rolleyes:
Oh no. I quite like Clarkson in his place, Top Gear. Not on 'our' hifi programme
Assume he'd be too expensive anyway.
Someone human, enthusiastic about music without being carried away (like us !)
Think The Gadget Show punters are also out

[Spectral Morn]

Hi Paul

It would also be good to involve female audiophiles in this program or just ladies who enjoy music reproduced well and own good systems to do this but are not audiophiles, in the geeky, nerdy way, many men are ;). They do exist just less common on forums.

Regards Neil

[Macca]

Get Alan Partridge to present it.

[Beobloke]

Hi Paul

It would also be good to involve female audiophiles in this program or just ladies who enjoy music reproduced well and own good systems to do this but are not audiophiles, in the geeky, nerdy way, many men are ;). They do exist just less common on forums.

Regards Neil

Could we have a "challenging foo-peddlars" segment? Personally I'd pay any amount of subscription fee to see Julia Bradbury in her infamous fishnets-and-leather-mini-skirt getup haranguing a manufacturer of cable-lifters....

:D

[seoirse2002]

You want a presenter?...


http://theartofsound.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=10926&d=1383738939

[PaulStewart]

Hi all,

Thanks to those who have emailed and PM'd so far, please keep them coming. Neil, we are working on format now, but at the top of the list we made when we first thought of the idea is "Lady Audiophiles" :) Paul, as far as audience size goes niche TV is what we do, it's the biggest growth area in the industry, with hundreds of new channels hungry for content. in fact, we have a six part classic car show (with a difference), in production at the moment and it doesn't get more niche than that.

As for presenters, I don't think we could get near Clarkson's £1mil a year BBC earnings, but he would be the ideal presenter, he loves "stuff". I did a thing with him at Top Gear live, with a fantastic soldier who had won a GC for an incredible act of bravery that had lost him his leg amongst his other injuries. Everyone was kinda ignoring the chaps artificial leg in am embarrassed way, as you do sadly. not so Clarkson, bends down looks at high tech leg in detail and proceeds to have an in depth discussion with the guy about the merits of titanium/CF over aluminium/glass fibre, flexibility, etc. Result, ice broken, the chap at ease and event went off well. Jeremy is the sort of bloke who would love high quality mains and other cables, as long as they did the job well.

In all seriousness we are looking at presenters at the moment, the balance is hard to get right, but I guess that's what we get paid for, (Or least I hope we do). :lol:

Best regards

[Joe]

Get Noel Fielding in.

[ff1d1l]

You need someone who can interview and present, sure, but you also need knowledgeable and passionate interviewees. Designers with something to say like Stan Curtis, personalities like Ken Kessler, Paul Messenger, general experts on technology and innovation like Barry Fox. Personalities from within the industry might be very entertaining too...Ivor T of Linn, Touraj M from Roksan, Dan D'Agostino....get time travel sorted out and Paul Voight, Peter Walker, Paul Klipsch and Arthur Radford, Alan Blumlein would make for riveting interviews...but failing that why not decent in depth items on their work?

Programme suggestions...

How it got here....film and Blumleins early work, pioneers like Voight etc. Early high end, cinema reproduction, syncronised discs to striped film..stereo, early stereo discs, maybe up the the Mark Levison HQD system.

The resurgence of vintage equipment....the prices paid for "Holy Grail" anachrophilia like, say, Tannoy Black or a Jbl Paragon or Western Electric (or even speakers the size of a couple of shoeboxes with a bbc pedigree) would be surprising and interesting to the viewer dipping their toe in this subject...ebay records for stuff most people would walk past at a car boot sale, with examples....who is paying these prices....what are they doing with the equipment....

A programme on current high end earphone listening and equipment would certainly interest me, although its not something I currently do.

The current high end...who buys...installations...droolable systems...who makes this stuff now. Interviews.

Interviews with enthusiasts - of all sexes - about their systems....the pork pie show...diy, eccentric systems, low priced esoterica.

The digital v analogue debate...voices from the hi fi industry, and from among those who record it. Compression and the backlash against it. Recording sound and reproducing these recordings, and the conflicting aims of those whose desire is to do this at the highest level. That pink floyd studio on a boat on the thames would be an interesting item, as would Jack White (formerly) of the white stripes who records with vintage analogue equipment.

I could go on....but I wouldn't, personally, be interested in Top Gear about hi fi...why dumb down?

Yeah, I could do this...Gizza job.

Best of luck

[Tarzan]

Who's going to present it?
Don't tell me.......Amp and Deck

:lol:

[Macca]

Serious answer

I'd make it about the history of audio reproduction in the home, starting with Edison and ending up with digital streaming. That way it is a history program primarily and you can sell it to Discovery Channel. Skip through the early years in the first couple of minutes until you get to stereo in the 1960s, then work through the decades, discuss changes and advances interspersed with snippets of interviews with people who still run set ups of that era, all the way up to the present day. Discuss digital versus analogue and so forth as you go along but only lightly; it should be a programme aimed at everyone not just the enthusiast.

[PaulStewart]

Serious answer

I'd make it about the history of audio reproduction in the home, starting with Edison and ending up with digital streaming. That way it is a history program primarily and you can sell it to Discovery Channel. Skip through the early years in the first couple of minutes until you get to stereo in the 1960s, then work through the decades, discuss changes and advances interspersed with snippets of interviews with people who still run set ups of that era, all the way up to the present day. Discuss digital versus analogue and so forth as you go along but only lightly; it should be a programme aimed at everyone not just the enthusiast.

Quite right Martin, you have to provide background to all these things and the first rule of this kind of factual is never just do it for the enthusiast of course they are core, but the idea is that if the enthusiast is watching it, his mate who has popped round for a beer and is not a Hi Fi fan, should find it interesting too.

Cheers

[Lodgesound]

Check out a programme made for the BBC's Monitor series in around 1959 by the director John Schlesinger called "Hi Fi Fo Fum"...............I think you may find it interesting.