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NBC Direct Launches With Free Downloads
thefickler writes "It's here, and it's no joke. NBC has launched NBC Direct where most shows can be watched online and some shows are available for full episode downloads. This comes after NBC decided to pull out of iTunes." For now it's Windows only, XP or Vista, IE 6 or 7.
Finally, someone understands that the times when we've got time to watch old TV episodes, we're not likely to have internet access! I've often found myself traveling (train/plane) and it's been a perfect time to watch, but have been thwarted because of streaming-only services.
:-(
Of course, the Windows-only DRM makes this totally useless to me at the moment. Actually, can anyone think of any examples where a service promised Mac/Linux versions "coming soon" and it actually happened? I sure can't... That's DRM for you.
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Educational microcontroller kits for a digital generation.
Is this what they're talking about:
http://www.nbc.com/Chuck/video/episodes.shtml
Quality is crap in fullscreen, even though there's a 2" margin on each side of the screen in that mode. It played a 30 second ad for "Scrubbing Bubbles" shower cleaner before letting me watch it (fine with me). I then tested the use case of "I missed the last part of this show" and tried to get toward the end. This resulted in the ad playing again, twice.
Good luck competing with BitTorrent on that. It would take 30 minutes to BitTorrent an HD version of that show, transcoded into a 350MB XVID file in 480p quality. The file would be entirely free of commercials of any kind.
If they want to make this work, they need to offer shows for download in an unencrypted format. Feel free to play a 30 second or even minute-long video ad before allowing the download of a show. Feel free to add commercial breaks to the file. Feel free to require registration and include your zip code, such that local ads can be provided. But don't try to enforce any special player requirements, DRM, or mandatory commercial watching. Don't make me watch it in a web browser, or with a border around it (each additional inch of TV screen is exponentially more expensive). Make sure the video is at least 480p.
Do this and you won't have anyone downloading the ad-free version of a show on BitTorrent/p2p.
What has *science* done?!? -- Dr. Weird (ATHF)
I'm a software developer. Do I get royalties when my work is used to start up a new site abroad? No I don't. Do I get royalties for each user using the code I developed for my employer? No I don't. Would the world be able to function if we had to develop the infrastrucutre to pay everyone royalties on use? ("You walked on that spot right there, where I put down the gravel under the pavement, 20 times during the last 6 months, so you owe me $0.002").
Hint: NO!
Hear hear! I'm also ready to spend my strange foreign money on cheap US entertainment! Just give me a chance and I will!
Nothing new here, European users are fcked since the international profit cycle is built on selling us the old crap (and our local channels gladly buying it).
I was initially very excited about this, but then realised it sounded too good to be true. And it was.
Oh well, back to downloading my stuff illegally and waiting for the Police to kick down the front door.
Once again, a TV download/streaming service that blocks out Canadian viewers, even though we get all shows broadcast at the exact same time as the US. Maybe I would watch the shows legally if they let me.
Back to Torrents...
I know a lot of Australians who download content illegally simply because it isn't available any other way at the time (if we want to wait 12 months we might get it then). The telivision channels have begun combating this by showing shows within a fortnight after America, but its still not the norm.
"Most people will use the official torrent: "
I feel the need to make a point on this. Most people will choose the official torrent even if it's riddled with ads, so long as they can fast-forward just like any non-DRM video... Even if they have to wait longer than the pirated versions.
Guaranteed quality... You mentioned that. While 'release groups' pretty much also guarantee the quality of their work, getting the video right from the source is even more sure.
Legality... Many people don't see any problem with downloading the video... After all, they paid their cable dues and it IS broadcast OTA for free. But I would venture that most of those people would still prefer a definitely-legal version.
Supporting the show... Most people that love a show are happy to help make sure it continues to exist. Getting the video from the producer is a good way to do that.
Hassle... While the show generally IS posted immediately on torrents and other places, there are sometimes delays. Getting it from the official site would probably be more stable.
This is all assuming that they can watch it on their PC, PS3, PSP, Nintendo DS, iPhone, iPod, n800 or whatever other crazy contraptions they've got lying around, instead of being anchored to one device. That means NO DRM.
Having the show appear on the site at the same time as it airs, or even in the middle, would just be a major bonus. There is -no- reason why they can't do this.
"If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
It's the corporate monoculture that is driving up windos market share values quite a bit beyond what it really is.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
As the person above kindly pointed out, you missed my meaning.
Just because you can't get it for free, it doesn't mean it's not free.
Whether 'restrictions by region' works or not is a completely different kettle of herring.
"It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him." - Tolkien
The royalty system emerged to allow for very "bursty" jobs, e.g actors & writers, to be compensated, when and if the studio made money. The royalty system has worked pretty well for quite a while.
In your world view, would you go back to the time when studios were the only ones who had any ownership in the "product" that was produced?