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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, March 2, 2008

'Start Over' makes it easier to catch shows

By Jeff Chung

On March 24, 1986, KBFD-TV aired its first broadcast in Hawai'i. To mark our anniversary, KBFD, in partnership with Oceanic Cable, will start a service called "Start Over," which will be available to Oceanic Digital subscribers starting this month. You must be an Oceanic Cable digital subscriber with a digital box to use the service.

Fans of KBFD often tell me how they or others in their family are "hooked" on Korean dramas, and that the dramas have altered their lifestyle.

Because the popular Korean dramas start at 7:45 p.m. daily except Sundays, some fans sometimes rush home from their dinner to watch their favorite show. Other times, people simply lose track of time and become frustrated when they have missed the first 10 minutes of a show. The "Start Over" option is a digital service that aims to solve such problems.

Start Over allows viewers to watch from the beginning — or to start the show again — even if the drama episode is nearly over. Let's say you got home late and missed the beginning of a Korean drama that started at 7:45 p.m. It's already 8 p.m. or even 8:50 p.m. and the drama is about to finish. Simply press "select" then "select" again on your Oceanic Digital remote, and the show will start from the beginning.

The service is limited to restarting shows as they air. After the episode ends, you will not be able to access it. So, if it's 9:20 p.m., you will not be able to restart the Korean drama that was on from 7:45 to 9 p.m. Your last chance of starting over the Korean drama would be 8:59 p.m., but that is cutting it close. And if your clock is off, like my watch is, a minute's difference could mean the world. If you access Start Over at 9:01 p.m., you would see the 9 p.m. news start over again. Also, if it's 7:44 p.m. and you wanted to start over, you would watch the 7 p.m. program instead of watching the 7:45 p.m. drama ahead of time.

Think of Start Over as a one-program DVR that resets itself after the next program starts. Let's say it's 8:15 and your favorite drama started 30 minutes ago. If you access Start Over, you can't fast-forward once it starts.

Also, if you channel surf, the program will not be there when you switch back to it. Start Over could leave you watching the end of a drama episode at 9:30 p.m. By then, though, the 9 p.m. news is over and the next drama is starting.

If you want to watch the 9 p.m. news, you would have had to cut out of the drama by 9:20 p.m. to be safe to restart the 9 p.m. news. If your favorite show is on at 9:30 p.m., you will have to restart that program as the news wraps up.

Let's say it's 8:55 p.m. and you just made it home with enough time to restart a drama that began at 7:45 p.m. You watched about 20 minutes and the time is 9:15 p.m., You then accidentally channel surf.

When you get back to KBFD, you will be seeing the current program, which is news, not your drama. Channel surfing will cancel your Start Over feature.

Start Over is a great option for fans who want to avoid speeding home from dinner to catch their favorite show.

So, you can have that dessert you have skipped in the past.

Analog cable fans watch KBFD on Channel 4, while digital subscribers see KBFD on Channel 82.

Once on the digital service, you will also be able to watch Channel 80, which has 24 hours of KBS network programming with many subtitled shows and Channel 81, KLIFE, which offers music videos, dramas, movies and cultural programming all on demand.

THIS WEEK'S K-DRAMA SYNOPSES

'BRIDE FROM VIETNAM'

Episodes 55 and 56

Tonight at 7: Ji-young listens in on the conversation between Jun-wu and Sung-il. Jun-wu promises Sung-il to never reveal his secret if he lets Young-su and Se-mi marry. Sung-il adamantly declines the offer. Ji-young also sees Sung-il crying over an engraved cross and suspects a dark secret in his past.

Tonight at 8: Ji-young verifies Sung-il's English name is Richard Kim from his passport. Young-min discovers Ji-young snooping in Sung-il's office and she tells Young-min that he has a half sister who was born in Vietnam.

'KING & I'

Episodes 39 and 40

Tomorrow at 7:45 p.m.: The king and Eol-Woo-Dong have a tearful reunion. Eol-Woo-Dong tells the king she'll leave the city, but the king promises to protect her. So-hwa is devastated when she witnesses the king and Eol-Woo-Dong's reunion. Chi-gyeom questions Seol-young's intention for taking Eol-Woo-Dong to see the king.

Tuesday at 7:45 p.m.: So-hwa chides Eol-Woo-Dong for breaking her promise and seeing the king again, but Eol-Woo-Dong tells her the king is the first man she's ever truly loved. So-hwa goes down on her knees and begs Eol-Woo-Dong to leave the city for the king's sake.

'BAD GUY'

Episodes 7 and 8

Wednesday at 7:45 p.m.: Oh-joon and Dal-lae solidify their relationship. Oh-joon meets Soon-dae, and they get along well. Dal-lae promises her "Mom" that she will date Oh-joon and try to move on. While Oh-joon promises Man-doo never to lie again, he's inevitably faced with his past.

Thursday at 7:45 p.m.: While driving, Oh-joon nearly hits a pedestrian, who happens to be Yun-ha. Although Oh-joon dreads the misfortune, she has to leave at just the right moment.

'SCARY GIRL'

Episodes 33 and 34, 35 and 36

Friday at 7:45 p.m.: When Chairman Baek tells Kyung-pyo that Young-rim is studying Arabic, he's certain Young-rim is working for Dae-Hyong. Jung-jin joins Young-rim at the cafeteria and tells her Kyung-pyo will interview her for the job.

Saturday at 7:45 p.m.: Young-rim is puzzled about how Kyung-pyo found out about the time she spent in America. Fast-forward to 2000, Jung-jin asks Young-rim to accompany him on his business trip, but Chairman Baek opposes the idea.