While NBC Universal is making deals left and right to try to make up for the fact that it is no longer distributing its digital TV shows through iTunes, don’t get distracted by all the small-fry announcements. For instance, today it announced that it would make NBC shows available to SanDisk for its new Sansa TakeTV/Fanfare service. Is anyone going to buy a USB TV device from SanDisk? We’ll see.
In the meantime, NBC has something brewing that could actually make a difference to the digital-download appeal on its own site, NBC Direct. NBC will soon start using peer-to-peer technology from Pando to distribute its downloads, a story StreamingMedia broke a couple weeks ago. Yesterday at the Web Video Summit in New York City, where I was moderating a panel, I was able to confirm that a stripped-down version of Pando’s technology will be incorporated into the NBC Direct video player. I also learned something new. The reason NBC wants to go with P2P technology is because it wants to start distributing high-definition videos. Pando’s P2P system can help NBC not just to lower the cost of distributing large files, but also to differentiate itself with HD video downloads. No special Vudu box or SanDisk USB video device will be necessary.
NBC will be betting big on HD to drive viewership of Web video. It is already playing around with HD streams on Hulu, its joint venture with News Corp. And it is not going to be just NBC. HD video is going to come to the Web a lot faster than most people think. It may even come to many people’s computer screens before it comes to their TV screens. Just think about that for a second. If you can get a better viewing experience off the Web than you can on your TV, that might just be the incentive you need to really start shifting away from TV.
I don’t see movement away from the TV any time soon. I just spend $$$ on a beautiful 1080p flat screen TV, I’m not really interested in viewing HD on my 17″ monitor. My sofa is much more comfortable than my office chair! AC3 sound is also much better on my livingroom.
Bill
Bill you just need a setup like this guy’s
http://techavid.com/internetTV.php
pay no attention to the room itself .. just the set up. Thank you - lol
I love the idea. my family owns a hugn flat screen tv but we don’t subscribe to any cable service because there too expensive. We only watch dvd’s.
So, if I can somehow watch regular shows on my computer, it would be great. you see. i have a nice flat screen, a couch and good sound system in my office.
Make it so!
sincerely,
angela hayden
art goddess
“I’m not really interested in viewing HD on my 17″ monitor. My sofa is much more comfortable than my office chair!”
Then maybe what we’ll see is people setting up their 32″ HD computer monitors in their living rooms with wireless keyboard and mouse sitting on top of the coffee table.
This turns me on.
Let’s see if I understand this:
NBC leaves iTunes because they want to charge more money, then they give away content for free?
yeah, now I see
Meh, it will probably be DRM laden. Good for watching on the PC, maybe even the TV when I get a nice HD and hook my PC up to it, but it does me no good on my Zune.
I think this a good move. I think it will certainly make some people consider watching tv on the web instead.
“HD video is going to come to the Web a lot faster than most people think.”
I think you’re right. However I don’t think it will matter. People in this industry segment forget that TV has always been, and will likely always be, about the immersible experience. In this one case smaller is NOT better.
i better be able to watch this stuff on my apple tv or they can suck it.
HD 720p isn’t that much more data than a DVD when it’s compressed with H.264. The purists will whine that it’s not 1080p.
Low tech point is that until the networks agree on a standard resolution, file format, and distribution system this is all pretty pointless.
720p - H.264 - BitTorrent would be a good start.
What they really need to do is create a box that will play DVDs, HD-DVD, Blue-Ray, amp 5.1 speakers, DVR, Cable-card, wireless internet connection… at which point Joe Consumer would be able to replace all of the boxes under his TV with just one box and one remote. Forget about Hi-Def, people want simplicity.
Is NBC going to compensate people for the use of their upstream bandwidth? What happens if you want to use VOIP while you are helping NBC serve up HD? Is there some sort of QoS built into Pando? Does it work?
In the case of piracy giving up upstream bandwidth may be a fair trade. But giving up upstream bandwidth to watch ads interspersed with NBC shows sounds not so fantastic. If I am missing something, please let me know.
@Bill
You should plug your computer into you HD tv; i.e. watch (HD) internet media via your computer on your 1080p TV. Try it. You will never go back.
This is good news indeed. Now we’ll just have to wait for 150 years until this is available in Europe.
FYI - Openhulu.com is available to all, no invite needed!
Also, NBC is writing refund checks to all its advertisers:
http://real-us.news.yahoo.com/....._nm/nbc_dc
…the “hulu effect”?
Yawn. . .
I agree with those here who don’t see PC based video as anything to get excited about. If I can’t get what I want on iTunes for use on my Apple TV, I’ll get it via bit torrent. Call me a thief/pirate if you want. But f**k these bi***s, I was buying their TV shows on iTunes and they decided to get cute with his Steveness - f**k em
NBC is making some really huge drives into online video, and I really like the Hulu beta.
It will be interesting to see if the current “less advertising, more content” model that seems to be driving Hulu, NBC Direct and other network online video initiatives continues over time.
One of the reasons that peole hate their televisions right now is that for the most part, there is just “too much” advertising. We kill it with Tivo, we kill it online with peer to peer. If NBC wants success, it will moderate the ads and not try to junk up the system as the networks have done for the last 50 years.
I looked at some very early (1950’s) television programs complete with commercial sponsors the other day and was reminded how much like these new online initiatives that they felt… one sponsor, few commercial breaks. a really pleasant viewing experience. If TV had remained that way I would never have left.
-Don
I hate watching TV on my computer - I’d like to get away from my office sometime during the day. Can I put it on my iphone and take it with me traveling? If not then it personally doesn’t interest me at all.