I used to binge watch everything at 1x speed until my brother ripped into me about it

My brother watched one episode with me and said Dude you are wasting your life watching shows that slow. He said I should watch at 1.25x or 1.5x speed to save hours. I tried it on a 10 episode drama and finished the season in 2 less hours. Now I cant go back but I wonder if I am missing small details. Anyone else think faster playback ruins the vibe of a slow burn show?

2 comments

2 Comments

susan_ward21d ago

Hate to break it to you but you didn't save two hours, you saved less than that since you cut 10% off each episode, not the full runtime. And yeah, anything above 1x totally kills the pacing for shows that are meant to breathe.

masondixon21d ago

Read an article recently that broke down how even small speed increases mess with the emotional beats in TV and movies. The director frames shots with specific pauses in mind, and jumping to 1.1x or 1.2x just scrambles that flow completely. Susan's point about shows meant to breathe is spot on, something like Better Call Saul or Succession would feel totally off at a faster speed. The math stuff is whatever, but the artistic side is what really bugs me about speed watching. People treat their watch time like a task to optimize instead of just enjoying the ride lol.