tall and tasty, with all due respect I think you're comparing apples with pears. A 4.5 hour sector on a charter is something different to a 9-12 hour long haul flight in a premium cabin which one has paid a heck of a lot of dosh for.
For health reasons I always fly long haul in Business Class which I pay for out of my own pocket. I enjoy reading too. In fact I don't need or use all the IFE game features on offer with some carriers. However, the very least I'd expect on a 9 to 12 hour flight is to listen to some music or be able to watch a movie or two. By the way, when flying on scheduled intercontinental flights you get a choice of more recent movies.
If top carriers such as BA and VS have as many problems with their IFE equipment as it appears they have, that's simply not good enough.