Anyone have a Nielsen box?
- Thread starter ManBearPig
- Start date
SlitheryDee
Lifer
- Feb 2, 2005
- 17,252
- 19
- 81
Where do they put the box? Is it in your living room, or is it where the cable enters your house? I would refuse if I had to have something else sitting around my TV. Got enough clutter there as it is.
veri745
Golden Member
- Oct 11, 2007
- 1,163
- 4
- 81
http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/nielsen-solutions/nielsen-measurement/nielsen-tv-measurement.html
They do the TV journals, but they also have a "cross-platform track everything that everyone in the household does on TV, internet, and phones" system that I would never-in-a-million-years agree to in my household.
Printer Bandit
Lifer
- Mar 16, 2005
- 13,856
- 109
- 106
ultimatebob
Lifer
- Jul 1, 2001
- 25,134
- 2,450
- 126
Not much at all. I think that I got paid $30 every six months for my four TV's.
ultimatebob
Lifer
- Jul 1, 2001
- 25,134
- 2,450
- 126
They put the Nielsen box behind each of your TV's. They are basically small form factor PC's. They then tap into sound outputs for all of your equipment to look for the Nielsen signals in the programming.
They also open up and modify your DVR to track when you're watching recorded or time shifted programming. If you still have a VCR, they'll get really freaky and attach all sorts of probes to it to see when you are recording and playing back stuff.
(All of this is not as bad as it sounds. Since they have to open up your equipment to modify it, Nielsen will take over the warranty service for all of your monitored equipment. In other words, if your TV breaks when you're the ratings program, Nielsen will fix or replace it.)
All of those boxes then talk to each other using power line networking, and then your viewing data gets broadcasted out daily from the "master system" using either a modem or a cellular data connection. That system has a UPS on it, so they don't lose any data when the power goes out.
Nielsen will also send out a tech every six months or so to check all of the equipment. If you ask him nicely, he will buy you a pizza for dinner while he's there
By the way... while you are in the program, you cannot tell "strangers" that you are in the ratings. You're basically sworn to secrecy until a year after you leave the program.... like me
Last edited:
sourceninja
Diamond Member
- Mar 8, 2005
- 8,805
- 65
- 91
I think I'd agree only because I don't watch tv and it would be really funny for them to just have a log of netflix.
They put the Nielsen box behind each of your TV's. They are basically small form factor PC's. They then tap into sound outputs for all of your equipment to look for the Nielsen signals in the programming.
They also open up and modify your DVR to track when you're watching recorded or time shifted programming. If you still have a VCR, they'll get really freaky and attach all sorts of probes to it to see when you are recording and playing back stuff.
(All of this is not as bad as it sounds. Since they have to open up your equipment to modify it, Nielsen will take over the warranty service for all of your monitored equipment. In other words, if your TV breaks when you're the ratings program, Nielsen will fix or replace it.)
All of those boxes then talk to each other using power line networking, and then your viewing data gets broadcasted out daily from the "master system" using either a modem or a cellular data connection. That system has a UPS on it, so they don't lose any data when the power goes out.
Nielsen will also send out a tech every six months or so to check all of the equipment. If you ask him nicely, he will buy you a pizza for dinner while he's there
By the way... while you are in the program, you cannot tell "strangers" that you are in the ratings. You're basically sworn to secrecy until a year after you leave the program.... like me
intriguing. it's serious business.
SlitheryDee
Lifer
- Feb 2, 2005
- 17,252
- 19
- 81
They put the Nielsen box behind each of your TV's. They are basically small form factor PC's. They then tap into sound outputs for all of your equipment to look for the Nielsen signals in the programming.
They also open up and modify your DVR to track when you're watching recorded or time shifted programming. If you still have a VCR, they'll get really freaky and attach all sorts of probes to it to see when you are recording and playing back stuff.
(All of this is not as bad as it sounds. Since they have to open up your equipment to modify it, Nielsen will take over the warranty service for all of your monitored equipment. In other words, if your TV breaks when you're the ratings program, Nielsen will fix or replace it.)
All of those boxes then talk to each other using power line networking, and then your viewing data gets broadcasted out daily from the "master system" using either a modem or a cellular data connection. That system has a UPS on it, so they don't lose any data when the power goes out.
Nielsen will also send out a tech every six months or so to check all of the equipment. If you ask him nicely, he will buy you a pizza for dinner while he's there
By the way... while you are in the program, you cannot tell "strangers" that you are in the ratings. You're basically sworn to secrecy until a year after you leave the program.... like me
Sounds like too much trouble to me.
ultimatebob
Lifer
- Jul 1, 2001
- 25,134
- 2,450
- 126
The biggest pain is when one of their pieces of equipment stopped reporting, and their help desk called me to turn on the TV to make sure it was working.
The on site technicians are pretty cool, though. They would help you unbox your new TV and set it up for you if you asked them. That plus the equipment warranty was probably worth more than the little thank you checks they send you.
It's also nice to have some impact on what gets put on TV. Then you watch a show, you're basically representing 100,000 viewers in your demographic. I'm a big fan of Chopped on the Food Network (for example), and I noticed that other shows like it started popping up on other networks while I was in the ratings.
You can also blame me for Pawn Stars... sorry about that
KaOTiK
Lifer
- Feb 5, 2001
- 10,877
- 8
- 81
So no change for me then.
EDIT:
I would do it if given the opportunity though. There is so much crap on TV and I'd watch anything scifi just to get more damn scifi.
Last edited:
My parents (and thus I) did it for a while. When we did we used little booklets, it was long before the fancy boxes. I'd like to think my dad and I were responsible for more sci-fi since all we watched was Sci-Fi. It was just before SG-Atlantis, BSG and such.
I'm not sure I would do it again though. It was kind of a pain in the ass. And while the boxes would make it easier, I would not be thrilled about paying for the electricity on them.
I'm not sure I would do it again though. It was kind of a pain in the ass. And while the boxes would make it easier, I would not be thrilled about paying for the electricity on them.
GagHalfrunt
Lifer
- Apr 19, 2001
- 25,284
- 1,997
- 126
Yes, there are benefits. Watch the shows you like and that helps them, so they're more likely to be renewed.
I'd do it only if they provided me with free cable television...
Edit: FULL Programming... ESPN, HBO, SHOWTIME, the works...
Edit: FULL Programming... ESPN, HBO, SHOWTIME, the works...
Wyndru
Diamond Member
- Apr 9, 2009
- 7,318
- 4
- 76
Seriously, why do the neilsen boxes even exist anymore? Can't the cable providers already tell who is watching what? Although the demographic info wouldn't be as reliable because they don't have record of who is in your house.
ultimatebob
Lifer
- Jul 1, 2001
- 25,134
- 2,450
- 126
The cable box people don't know when you're watching DVD's or Netflix on your TV, or what you're watching when you're doing it.
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