New Scaratings

Hey, everyone. I'm posting this while wearing mt restaurant manager hat, not my trivia player hat. Buzztime is offering its accounts (for a price, of course) an enhancement that basically puts a frame around the regular Buzztime screen, with extra room on one side for advertising, which stays up throughout the whole game. (As opposed the the screens that pop up during breaks.) We are considering taking them up on the offer, as it looks like a great way to communicate information about specials and upcoming events, but we are worried that it will detract from the gameplay experience and/or render the actual game screen too small to read comfortably. Has anyone played at a bar that has this already and if so, are our fears justified? I believe the BWW's all have this enhancement; I don't know about any other chains or independents. Any input would be welcome. Thanks!

Our home bar (Ralphie's in Louisville, CO) used this regularly until the past few weeks. We usually had trivia on a big TV so it was never much of a problem, but it does take up a significant part of the screen, probably shrinking it to 75% or so of its original size. So if you generally have trivia on a smaller TV, it could definitely detract from the game, but otherwise it is probably a good investment.

I've seen them at a few locations and didn't much care for it. Long time players are used to the current configuration and it screws that up. As already stated, on bigger TV's it's not a huge deal, on smaller TV's it can render the game unplayable.

I'd say it's totally location dependent. Locations with many hard core players might suffer because of the change, locations with few veterans it certainly couldn't hurt. Whether or not the extra expense is justified is anybody's guess.

BO

A few places in Connecticut have this and I personally don't care for it much. If you must use it, put in on a wide screen. Also, I have never purchased anything from the advertisements which I see as a big nuisance.

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"...It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED...."

When Harry's in Countryside, Illinois had Buzztime, they had the advertising side and it wasn't a distraction, nor did it make the screen too small to read. Go for it!

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Malort. It's not just for breakfast anymore.

Thanks, Jethro, BO, Zog and BGTUNA, for the input! We here at Stewart's appreciate your thoughts on the subject. For a rare treat, I won't be behind the bar tonight, so I think I may pop into a local BWW's for BB/SD and see what it looks like there. If anyone else can add anything positive or negative, we'll continue to appreciate the comments!

I've played at some bars and use the frame and some that do not. I'm not much of a fan of the frame but if the TV is large enough, it doesn't present a major problem and if there are casual screen watchers, extra eyes will see the add. Small tv's or areas with a poor line-of-sight can have problems

All 4 places that I play at regularly around here have the advertising border. It is nuisance for sure but not a significant hindrance. I guess I have gotten so used to it now that I dont pay much atttenttion to it anymore. Would I prefer it to not be there? Sure, but if I can sit close enough to the screen its not a big deal either

I find the screen frame to interfere with the game significantly.

My home BWW doesn't hve the frame. The other site in town where I play frequently does. I don't think it interferes significantly with play.

Given what this service costs, I'd go for it.

Melrose has the frames, and has had them for long enough that the "Melrose Cafe and Bar" text burned into those screens dedicated to trivia. Take that into consideration, Akbar

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Do it. I've seen it done on a few screens (if it's the same thing I'm thinking of), and you get used to it relatively quickly. I can also see a whole lot of benefit to it, both on getting more players and selling more. I don't remember where it was that did it, but I ended up ordering wings because I saw them in game and was like, "MMMM WINGS."

This is assuming you aren't running everything on 20 inch screens.

I have played a few games at places that had the border screens. My 1st impression was I didn't like it because the questions were much tougher to read. The 2nd time, at a different bar, it was on a big wide screen no problem with that one. If you think it will help sales and have all wide screens then go for it. Maybe I'll get up to Bear one of these days.

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LET'S GO ....Orioles and the 9 and 5!!

Thanks again to everyone who has opined. I truly appreciate your comments and impressions.

As a fan of redheads, I certainly appreciated seeing a particular beverage that pays "tribute" to women with my favorite hair color being advertised every 15 minutes at Harry's Sports Bar.

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Malort. It's not just for breakfast anymore.

As others said, it's not advisable for small screens.

After 10 years of wearing bifocals, let me say that small is relative; if you have older folks I'd err on the side of caution, and at least make sure you have a few of the bigger screens with BT on it.