[Waterluvian]

Lossy = I don't need all the data. I can look away for most of a baseball game and still enjoy it. But if it's some intense drama like Game of Thrones then I need to see it all. You miss a scene and you're confused for episodes to come.

[cshimmin]

If you only pay attention for 10% of the content, GoT is much lossier than baseball. Sparse vs dense would be more sensible terminology.

[Waterluvian]

Regardless of terminology, I'm trying to communicate the idea that some media demands your full attention while others don't.

Maybe a better example is a podcast vs. music. You don't really need to absorb, consciously, every note and lyric of a song. But a podcast demands your attention.

[Apocryphon]

No, it depends on what content you're looking for. There are certain series where if I only care about the plot, I can find a synopsis on a wiki somewhere, or just listen to the show in the background. But if I want to get the full visual experience in the acting, cinematography, and production, I need to watch in order to be emotionally engaged.