Ok, so yesterday I wrote about about the WGA strike and what sort of consequences will come from it. Then I linked to some fun video sites… well you know what- I know a lot about this space of the web and I think it’s my responsibility to pass along this knowledge.
File sharing is stupid these days. When working moms are being successfully sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars by the RIAA, it’s probably time to uninstall Kazaa… and yeah, there are workarounds for mp3s (google is a powerful tool) but for videos, outside of file sharing and torrents (which are being shutdown left and right) there are somewhat limited options. Most people only think of YouTube for online video, well I’m here to let you know there’s a bit more out there for everyone.
So let’s get on to it.
In response to yesterday: Andy Samberg and his comedy group “The Lonely Island” had their first big SNL video a couple years back, which was actually called “Lazy Sunday” - but thanks to NBC’s stranglehold over SNL content, good luck getting to it on their website (without 3+ minutes of ads). If only there were a place that hosted hilarious SNL videos like this… man, I love teh internets.
More viewing fun: in response to the strike the WGA has put together this site which hosts videos about what life would be like without writers (some are really funny). Oh, and if you actually want to watch them, go to YouTube’s Speechless Channel. Sorry Cambridge, MA based Brightcove, but your streaming really needs some work. (Thanks Selene!)
Along with the Hulu leak from yesterday, you should all also be aware of CBS’s innertube (which should only be used to watch How I Met Your Mother) click on “full epsidoes” on the top bar… then wait through annoying ads.
ABC has full shows online too, but use some proprietary player… which is just idiotic in this day and age. There’s not really anything to watch there anyway… but seriously, what is “Move Media Player”? And why does Fox video player also use it?! There’s a chance that Move Player might be more than I originally assumed, but still- if you’re a video hosting site these days and you aren’t using Flash or H.264 (apple’s MP4), then you’re going to be pretty harshly ridiculed.
And lastly, should you want to watch an irreverent 90 minutes of fart jokes and drunken bafoonary, then you’re in luck. Tomorrow kicks off the first ever “Direct to Download” feature length film: Jackass 2.5 (according to an exec: “There’s more vomiting, nudity, and defecation”). It’s pretty funny actually, but this is a historical moment and Jackass will always been known as an innovator in Internet Video. From the 19th through the 25th you can download watch the full movie available at http://blockbuster.jackassworld.com/
So that’s what I’ve got for you. Hopefully you’ll have some great time wasting with those. Anyone know of any good ones I missed, let me know in the comments below.
Oh- and speaking of comments- enjoy the new Comment Preview button - it uses Ajax and I’m pretty happy with it. I’ve also fixed the formatting (I think…). So please pass along more feedback on the site- as it’s a constant work in progress and I like the idea of new projects.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:48 am
As long as you are asking for comments . . .
Right now you may have only 3 readers. I don’t expect that number to remain in the single digits very long, however. As people come and partake of your writing (which is top-notch), comments will start appearing on old posts. For you, this is fine since I’m sure you get emailed when people post comments. But for me (and the rest of your readership), it would be convenient for you to show maybe the five most recent comments in your sidebar, above or below tags maybe. That way, when someone comments on something a week ago, I will know and I can go berate them for not reading the post sooner.
For an example of how this is done on a wordpress blog, check out wcuk.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:49 am
Also, can you put timestamps on your posts, too? Maybe that will encourage you to post multiple times per day.
December 19th, 2007 at 11:54 am
I never thought about the writers strike this way (opening doors for new people). I’m still not even remotely sold on internet TV or internet movies. There will have to be major advancements before any of that seems worth it to me - basically speed and quality. Plus all the legal jargon that is surrounding everything internet media these days it seems to me that it will be awhile before the kinks are worked out.
Pretty cool about the Jackass movie - I may actually give that a try.
December 19th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
Drew,
I disagree about the workability of internet TV — somewhat. I think it has an excellent role as a niche service. I would rather have 20 extra ESPN channels than the 20 spanish, russian, italian, chinese, korean, etc. channels that come with my package. Internet TV offers to fill those small market niches.
As an example, I’ve been a subscriber to cycling.tv for 2 years. I think I paid about $40 for a full year which gave me access to nearly all of the spring classics as well as some of the one week tours throughout the summer. It maybe isn’t the most attractive deal in the world but my group of cycling friends really appreciated that I had the subscription when we watched Paris-Roubaix via my computer via a DVI connection to my 37″ LCD. Which brings me to . . .
Speed and quality. The data rates are Good Enough (TM) for cycling-type programming. It’s not HD. It’s not even comparable to SD 480i. It’s probably on par with 1970s rabbit ears OTA. But it sure is better than nothing (or watching liveupdates on cyclingnews.com). For live/sporting events like that, I think the data rates are reasonable. For on-demand things like network programmming (see Z’s recommendation of CBS’s Innertube) where pre-loading is possible, current bandwidth is acceptable.
While I don’t like the idea of a la carte cable, the niche emergence of internet TV.
April 10th, 2008 at 7:58 am
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April 14th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
I will bookmark your article for future use. It was very interesting and informative. Thank you.
Have a nice day and continue working in the same way! ;)