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Up Next... Skypecasting

Davis Freeberg submitted linkage to a short story talking about Skypecasting Television. Essentially using Skype and Yahoo Messenger to rebroadcast video to the internet. While it isn't a PVR, it circumvents the regionally oriented programming that prevents the UK from watching our "Football" or us from getting Dr Who. It also raises yet another battlefront the content owners will need to contend with in the upcoming years.

35 of 190 comments (clear)

  1. This Ain't Yer Gran's PVR by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Insightful

    While it isn't a PVR, it circumvents the regionally oriented programming that prevents the UK from watching our "Football" or us from getting Dr Who.

    You can already get football from a variety of sites, at least one is hosted in China, no idea where the others are, you just have to put up with the commentary. Further, by Fox Soccer Channel and PPV you have access to more matches than you do in the UK, where IIRC 4 matches are televised out of the EPL schedule each match day. If you're wishing to watch Everton v Sunderland, or some other low end of the table match, you are out of luck.

    It also raises yet another battlefront the content owners will need to contend with in the upcoming years.

    Oh, yes. Expect all digital signals to have some encoded regionality which is intended to put the content owner in command. The major problem with these methods is they effectively kill foreign markets, because there's usually no distributor or the distributor asks too high a cost for content, which ultimately drives piracy.

    Maybe some day they'll learn that you can maximize profit by maximizing access.

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:This Ain't Yer Gran's PVR by Krach42 · · Score: 3, Informative

      No no no no... he means AMERICAN football in the UK.

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      I am unamerican, and proud of it!
    2. Re:This Ain't Yer Gran's PVR by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Funny
      No no no no... he means AMERICAN football in the UK.

      Sod. Who would watch that when you have Chelsea at Arsenal this Sunday?

      funny that american football is called that, the ball rarely makes contact with the foot.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    3. Re:This Ain't Yer Gran's PVR by Guspaz · · Score: 2, Insightful

      funny that american football is called that, the ball rarely makes contact with the foot.

      Funny that Billiards is called that, when the game rarely involves the paying of bills.
      Funny that Rugby is called that, when the game rarely involves a rug.
      Funny that Golf is called that, when the game rarely involves German cars.
      Funny that Hockey is called that, when there is little hocking.

      You get my point, I trust?

    4. Re:This Ain't Yer Gran's PVR by Luyseyal · · Score: 2, Funny

      Well, it did beat out decimeterball...
      -l

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  2. I've been doing this for a while... by ZackSchil · · Score: 3, Informative

    I had a system set up two years using Applescripts, PHP, iChat AV, and a TV tuner to broadcast TV over the internet to any iChat or AIM-equipped machine. It used a php script to change channels, etc. It was pretty great but now that I'm at college rather than boarding school, it's much easier to just use the cable in my room here.

  3. Who is the author of these Web 2.0 acronyms? by Lost+Found · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'd like to arrange for their prompt and bloody assassination.

  4. Advertisers wont care by Realistic_Dragon · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Thanks to new UK legislation that is threatening to allow product placement advertisers will be getting their crap pushed and 'content' creators will be getting their 20 pieces of silver no matter how you rebroadcast space cadets 97: the final farce... so why should they care?

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    Beep beep.
    1. Re:Advertisers wont care by Krach42 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Because, same as I would be willing to watch German ads on TV just to get German TV, there is little point for the advertisers to advertise something that I can't buy here in the US. I mean, it works fine for big companies that sell under the same name there and here, like Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, and T-Mobile, but what about Beer commercials?

      And what about standards of decency? I saw naked boobies on a German television program... WON'T YOU THINK ABOUT THE CHILDREN?!

      --

      I am unamerican, and proud of it!
    2. Re:Advertisers wont care by Krach42 · · Score: 2, Funny

      I swear, I didn't think that saying "naked boobies" was karma whoring... I apologize, I should have know better.

      --

      I am unamerican, and proud of it!
  5. overhyped? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Bah, give it six months and it'll just be lots of fat, sweaty nerds talking about other fat, sweaty nerds.

    So, no different from podcasting then.

    / zing

  6. Not another one! by 77Punker · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Podcasting, Skypecasting, ummmm... blogcasting? Seriously, it's just a media stream, not something new. Please invent words responsibly.

  7. Wonderful by MoneyT · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Let's give a catchy buzzword to a non existant problem so that we can attract the masses of clueless people to the concept who will inevitably post questions all about the net in an attempt to gain access to this "Skypecasting" which will lead to the creation of one or two small skypecasting applications which will inevitably draw the attention of the media companies who will see it as a massive problem plaguing their business and inevitably bring about lawsuits and laws which serve to do nothing other than make life more difficult and suckier for the common man.

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    T Money
    World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
  8. Internet PVR by Buzz_Litebeer · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What I would like is someone to make a simple interface like media portal but for the internet.

    Whatever the media application is playing, regardless of how it is playing it, it will send the image and sound data over the net to some application.

    ALso allowing to change channels etc... essentially just a nice little web front end. I have a TV card at home and I want to view it over the internet. I figured out how to do it with windows media encoder but the process is a tad combersome.

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  9. Wrong by Bogtha · · Score: 5, Funny

    t circumvents the regionally oriented programming that prevents the UK from watching our "Football"

    I think you'll find that it's good taste that prevents the UK from watching American football :). It's not a real sport if you have to stop for a rest every few seconds, and it must be a game for girly men if you need to wear armour! It's basically rubgy with padding and resting, isn't it?

    --
    Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
    1. Re:Wrong by Ratso+Baggins · · Score: 3, Funny
      It's not a real sport if you have to stop for a rest every few seconds, and it must be a game for girly men if you need to wear armour!

      I say, It's just not cricket! *cough*

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      --
      "we live in a post-ideological world..." - Billy Bragg.

    2. Re:Wrong by anothy · · Score: 2, Insightful

      oh, you're just asking for it, aren't you? :-)

      never mind the fact that you're right. American Football's a fun game - i used to play it after church on sundays with my mates at the school next door - but a sport? please. i've timed games to compare time spent doing something vs. time spent doing nothing; the ratio in the last two superbowls, supposedly the hight of the season, was about 1:7.5. that's just lame.

      and you're going to get all the guys talking about how (american) football players are so much larger and how hard the impact is. please. the injuries are largely because of the armor (added weight), not in spite of it. it may by physically challenging, but then so is pushing cars through swamps or having someone throw bricks at you. those aren't sports either. rugby detractors need to go watch serious rugby. those guys just tear each other apart! and women's rugby isn't exactly a lady's game, either. fun stuff.

      American Football could've been an awesome sport if it hadn't changed the way it's played for television and sensationalism. the game that's played on school rec lots is still a great game.

      and i love the fact that half your mods are insightful/informative.

      'course, i still can't follow cricket.

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      i speak for myself and those who like what i say.
  10. vlogging, vidcasting, etc. by b0r1s · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Amateur broadcasting of media... none of it matters until there's a good reason to do it. As for video blogging / vidcasting, the best reason to date is sending video messages to active soldiers serving overseas. All it takes is a webcam and 30 seconds to record, viewable around the world, independent of timezones, with software that's already available on 97% of computers anyway.

    --
    Mooniacs for iOS and Android
  11. Forgive me Lord for what I am about to do by OzPeter · · Score: 4, Funny

    (I appologise in advance for twisting your words around .. but I couldn't resist :-)

    "How can one get so emotionally attached to a sports team that they will get in mob fights with fans of another team? Granted it's usually a minority that partake in hooliganism, but it seems to happen fairly often (especially in Latin American countries); it almost never happens here in the states."

    Substitute:
    ideology for sports team
    fans for citizens
    team for country
    hooliganism for war

    And you get:

    "How can one get so emotionally attached to an ideology that they will get in mob fights with citizens of another country? Granted it's usually a minority that partake in war, but it seems to happen fairly often (especially in Latin American countries); it almost never happens here in the states. " :D

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  12. Re:OT: Re:This Ain't Yer Gran's PVR by ackthpt · · Score: 2, Informative
    Links please?

    Check the footy newsgroups, a few examples:

    • alt.sports.soccer.*
    • uk.sport.football.clubs.*
    • alt.sports.spurs
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    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  13. So I take it by hey! · · Score: 3, Funny

    you find neoblogisms offensive?

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    1. Re:So I take it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      You sir, deserve a pat on the back for being clever, and a sound beating for sharing your cleverness.

  14. grr.. "zomg casting!" by jigjigga · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This is not new, I did it nearly 10 years ago with an old tv tuner and windows netmeeting. I set the tuner to the capture card, sound to the input, and boom I could broadcast video.

  15. Re:LOL @ football by sesshomaru · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Someone's never been to a Raider's game:

    Oakland crowds leave wake of debris after Super Bowl

    --
    "MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
  16. Evil Sony by oGMo · · Score: 2, Funny

    The big, bad, evil Sony has something like that. And it even streams TV to those useless PSPs everyone seems to hate. Apparently, you can change the channel, and stream TV from anyone (not just your own device).

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    Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage

  17. Just use ORB by drsmack1 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I already have someone in Germany (I am in the US) watching ball games and other TV programs live from my computer using Orb

    And yes, you can watch using linux...

  18. Names by sloths · · Score: 4, Funny

    Fishing channel=Rodcasting
    Fitness channel=Bodcasting
    Religious channel=Godcasting
    Grass channel=Sodcasting
    Plumbing channel=Pipecasting
    Dental channel=Bitecasting

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    really 867993
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    1. Re:Names by deetsay · · Score: 2, Funny

      Wizardry channel=Spellcasting Astonishment channel=Flabbercasting Chicks' channel=Broadcasting Manufacturing channel=Diecasting Weather channel=Forecasting Stitching channel=Overcasting Mafia channel=Feet-in-concretecasting B-movie channel=Badcasting

      --
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  19. Re:LOL @ football by Diag · · Score: 2, Insightful

    most Europeans are too snobby to watch our "football"
    Why would they when they have Rugby Union?

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  20. Re:Don't know how useful that would be by Errandboy+of+Doom · · Score: 2, Funny

    Your football is boring, and our Dr. Who is badly written childish tripe.

    Oh come on, the current Dr. Who isn't childish.

  21. Re:LOL @ football by Maitri · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Ummm what country do you live in again? Violence related to sports happens all of the time in the US - especially if you have school rivalries involved. Having lived in VA and seen some UVA vs. Tech animosity and in SC and seen USC vs. Clemson nastiness (including the players ending up in brawls on the field after a game) I can attest to the fact. Heck, it even happened at my high school. Sports and civilized behavior don't seem to be very related to each other in any country I know about. Kind of makes you wonder the term sportsmanlike behavior came from...

  22. "content owners" be damned by nurb432 · · Score: 2, Funny

    They need to get over it. Information wants to be freeeeeeeee!

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    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
  23. Re:world wide audience by RobotRunAmok · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I've often wondered why the production companies don't market direct to a world wide audience. The technology is in place and there is an audience for the most minortity interest.

    Where's the upfront money going to come from?

    It's the distribution rights that the creator, say, Joss Whedon's 'Mutant Enemy Productions," 'sells' to, say, Fox, for, say, an 8th Season of Buffy. They haggle over a fee, which reflects MEP's production costs attenuated by whatever rights MEP decides to retain (if MEP can sell the season to someone else for International play, or DVD rights, or game rights, Fox will pay less. If Fox wants it all, they can expect to pay more.)

    Fox then pays Joss, and Joss pays the writers, actors, and crew. Fox crosses its fingers that it recoups in domestic ad revenue, syndication, DVD sales -- whatever rights it bought -- the dough it paid up front.

    What you're asking Our Boy Joss to do is create something on spec, and hope that he can make the money (whose money? His OWN Money? You Gotta Be Kidding!) back based on what he can get in adword revenue or pay-per-download fees. Works for books, sort of, cuz the production costs are minimal. Works for music, maybe, because of the (relatively recent) economies of the Home Digital Studio. But television? Especially Science Fiction television? Different league.

  24. Radio Free Sci-Fi by Verszou · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Must say I don't see the football angle here, since our TV system offers plenty of both kinds, domestic, british and american.

    But what I see as more important in this regard is that we might finally get access to the sci-fi and fantasy that other civilized countries get. I grew up in the seventies when our socialist government decided that that kind of TV probably wasn't good for you, and it' kind of stuck ever since. So this kind of tech would enable us to finally get at things that we never see like Farscape, Dr. Who (the latest episodes with Chistopher Eccleston and Billie Piper are in the words of the doctor himself 'fantastic') and so on.

    Now I don't want to infringe the copyrights of anybody here, but it seems that even though I pay my taxes etc etc. and everything else that goes towards financing TV around here I either get the choice for highbrow mumbo jumbo about allegedly serious issues, reruns of american sitcoms or whatever is the latest incarnation of the "survivor" franchise. So I really don't get why the content owners don't cash in on geeks like me - I'm sure we aren't a broad audience, but I'm pretty sure a lot of us would pay good cash to get what we want :-)

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  25. What amazes me by Kamiza+Ikioi · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What really amazes me is that every day, users are finding new ways to stream content over just about any protocol or program. And yet, these companies that are supposed to be shaking in their boots over lose of control over their programs are still working on streaming TV over the Internet. Sure, they are looking for a Pay-Per-View option, so as to not stream completely free, but I pose this to them.

    Do: First, with commercial television, just stream it as is in very high quality (HD if available) over existing channels. I know they have local affiliate licensing issues, but they need to start new shows that are net-only. Try the ones that the networks won't pick up or aren't running anymore. AOL is doing exactly that, and all should follow suit.

    Why: Because you make money on the advertising. If you restrict it to current channels, the redistributed pirated versions will strip away your advertising, and you gain nothing. The best way to compete with the pirates is to mimic their channels, but improve the service. Just look at Shoutcast TV. So many of those pirate channels are always maxed out. If you provide a 600Kbps+ streams that are always available and never full, nobody will bother with those cheap imitators. And guess what, your advertisers will LOVE you! Why? Because as a streamer, you have automatic statistics on how many viewers, time of day, and length of watching.

    Do: Utilize a channel like Skype for your own pay-per-view/commercial-free television.

    Why: Because you could set up your own payment scheme with Skype (who already has a system to pay for phone calls), and charge viewers just like a phone call. $1 per month per channel. That's competitive with cable television. I, for one, would gladly pay you to watch Discovery, Comedy Central (Daily Show/Colbert Report), History Channel, CNN, and Sci-Fi online anytime I want. Better yet, add $0.25 per channel for on demand show watching. As it is now, I've done away with a huge $30 a month package (rape) charged by my cable company. But, I and others are more than willing to pay for online a la carte programming.

    So, you see, it's pretty simple really. They don't even have to restructure any of their operations, only the mode of transfer. Unfortunately, none of this will happen anytime soon. The grasp of the technology still escapes people who think that Survivor is quality programming, that Gigli was a brilliant idea for a movie, and that 14yr old girls who download Happy_Birthday.mp3 are the scourge of the music industry.

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