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.

Comments

Streaming vs. Downloads... at the cost of DRM

[compumike]

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. :-(

--
Educational microcontroller kits for a digital generation.

Re:Streaming vs. Downloads... at the cost of DRM

[deniable]

I don't mind the streaming, so long as the pinheads involved allow buffering and caching. If a video is taking too long from Youtube, you can pause it and let it buffer the damn thing. The CBS innertube wouldn't do this, and gods was it annoying getting a word every five seconds. That was for the mandatory ad, I gave up on the whole thing after that.

As an aside, the only videos I see with Windows DRM are porn spam that use a 'feature' of WMP to take you to a website for licenses and malware.

Re:Streaming vs. Downloads... at the cost of DRM

[adri]

Oh for gods sake people. Just watch the damned episodes if you can. If you can't then email NBC and tell them why (Doesn't work under Mac. Doesn't work under Linux. Doesn't work with my browser. etc.)

If you just whinge here on slashdot and don't watch the episodes then you're not going to appear in their statistics. You -want- to appear in their statistics. Tell your friends about it. Get people to watch stuff. Whining about it not working -just right- for your situation doesn't help.

You -want- the statistics to reflect that there's interest in this service. You -want- the executives to notice that people are using it, that there's non-windows people using it, that people are actually providing constructive feedback to them. Sheesh!

Re:Streaming vs. Downloads... at the cost of DRM

[Anonymous Coward]

C.S.I season 5 just hit the stores around here in local region (region 1 parallel import is region 7 I think, but you aren't supposed to be able to see them), so if you follow the show on TV (which is season 7 right now I think) its kinda hard to pick up the season for a trip.

I for one hope NBC etc. will release the shows for international viewers, and I don't care about any commercials, as long as I can pick up the program and watch it at my own convenience, the only stuff I pick off of torrent these days are TV shows since they are so outdated when they finally hit the market here that its a mood point to buy them.

Re:Streaming vs. Downloads... at the cost of DRM

[Goldberg's Pants]

a website for licenses and malware

Oh I've been there. I think it's called "Windows Update".

Re:Streaming vs. Downloads... at the cost of DRM

[blackest_k]

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. For me I can put films and Tv in divX or Xvid on my HTC universal (pda/phone 640x480) andlisten using bluetooth without the hazzle of headphones with cables in full resolution. Or take the sd card and slip it into a card reader or usb adapter and watch on a PC or a dvd/divX player that supports the card.

My Pda/phone has more than enough battery life to use it for several hours like this.

Off course I am limited to legal recordings made with my Mythtv box, which is set to automatically transcode to xvid.

I could transcode to make my recordings compatible with the PSP, however I would have to setup a lower resolution and psp batteries hold fairly low charges and memory sticks are expensive. The Slimline PSP features a TV-Out so might be an attractive option for others.

Streaming is a possibility since the htc universal is supported by the slingbox but Streaming video is not allowed on my Dataplan. Hotspots might work if I want to sit in starbucks and stream from my lan or youtube.
however since the slingbox software doesn't allow recording I couldn't use that to transfer an episode to my pda whilst on the move.

Actually there is an interesting idea would it be possible to down load a file with an intermittent wifi connection. using open wifi sources like la fonera.

Podcasts are a possibility, http://www.podcastingnews.com/topics/Podcast_Software.html , there is software available for most platforms including pda and psp.

Bittorrent also possible but so far only found a paid for client (about $20) http://www.adisasta.com/wmTorrent.html
I don't know if it will cope with an intermittent connection thou.

For Psp there is http://www.pspvideo9.com/pspcasting.html an interesting possibility.

and emule for pda possibly http://www-info3.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de/staff/mopi/mopiphant.shtml

Unfortunately the NBC service is completely useless to mobile users starting with the DRM but as you can see there are a number of alternatives, from the fully legal to the legally dubious. Some of which I'd not considered before this post. Is anyone familiar with a linux based server which supports partial downloads and resumes from varied IP addresses and a mobile client to connect to it? perhaps a private bit torrent.

Re:Streaming vs. Downloads... at the cost of DRM

[pla]

Since you can't transfer it

... Yet ...


and you have to watch it within 48 hours of downloading

...Until DVD Jon or similar gets annoyed by that...


those times and places where you're "not likely to have internet access" are a bit limited.

Jokes aside, I'd say that NBC has finally seen the light - The future of the Internet doesn't look like TV, as traditional media execs always hoped; More that the future of TV looks like YouTube.

If NBC has finally "gotten" it, good for them. This first laughable attempt at giving people what they want may have a few flaws. I don't know, I won't use it even having a capable machine, because I don't watch anything on NBC (used to watch The Office until they turned it into a tedious little soap opera; and SNL, well, TiVo'd I'll watch part of it, but if they won't let you skip commercials, they probably don't let you skip the 90% of really dumb sketches, either). But still, good to see them trying.

Re:Streaming vs. Downloads... at the cost of DRM

[JimDaGeek]

I know that you can watch ABC shows in Firefox/Safari on Mac OS X and Firefox/IE on MS Windows. Though sadly they don't support Firefox under Linux. I don't know why though, as it is mostly flash.

Two operating systems and 3 browsers for ABC's service is way better than MS Windows only and IE only with NBC's half-@ssed effort.

Re:Streaming vs. Downloads... at the cost of DRM

[bigstrat2003]

That's why it's a beta. If you like the concept and want to see it succeed, send them some feedback on your experience (if you haven't already). Nothing is worse than good concepts getting killed for lack of interest, and I'd rather not see this become one of those.

Re:Streaming vs. Downloads... at the cost of DRM

[node 3]

If NBC has finally "gotten" it If NBC had finally "gotten" it, their shows would still be available on iTunes.

Windows DRM means not free.

[Zombie Ryushu]

If its DRM restricted its not free. In beer or in Speech. Windows DRM means you have to pay for Windows which means that somewhere MS Gets a cut. So yes, your paying for it. And yes, Apples's DRM is no Better. I maintain my stance DRM has no right to exist, and DRM should be resisted by any means necessary. I want to live in a DRM free future no matter the cost.

Re:Windows DRM means not free.

[Anonymous Coward]

In that case, I guess no software is ever free, since you have to buy the hardware to run it on.

Re:Windows DRM means not free.

[TheVelvetFlamebait]

You can construct your own personal DRM-free future! All you have to do is ignore it! Don't buy/watch/download/give/take DRMed media! You'll have a reasonably faithful simulation of your DRM-free future without the hassle or rudeness of forcing it upon on everyone else!

Re:Windows DRM means not free.

[jackalope]

Your logic forgets one significant source of cost in hardware and software development. Non-recurring engineering (NRE) is a significant contributor to the cost of hardware and the primary contributor to the cost of software.

For example, a IC that costs $5 probably has NRE costs upwards of a couple million dollars. Due to the cost of setting up chip fabrication and paying the engineers to do all the chip layout and design. The chip itself will cost pennies to fabricate, but the company producing the chip needs to recoup all the NRE costs spent to get to that first chip so they charge $5.

The same is true for non-free software. It may cost pennies to produce a CD or sub-pennies to download the binaries, but the company must recoup the NRE costs if they are to remain in business. That is why software costs money.

For free software, the makers of the software are looking to recoup their NRE in other ways. The hobbyist is usually looking for recognition, resume' enhancement, or just enjoyment. But, the hobbyist isn't looking to buy groceries with their good looks; the most likely have a day job that pays the bills. I posit that hobbyist do not produce the high quality free software that we've come to know and love, they just don't have the time or organization (they contribute but they are not the primary producers). The professional organization producing free software (IBM, RedHat, etc) are looking for other revenue streams from the free-customers to pay the NRE on the free software, through support fees or licensing related products.

All in all, to my point. Software is not free either. Somebody has to spend labor time producing it and those somebodies expect to get paid somehow.

Obligatory

[OverlordQ]

Link to the site itself since TFS doesn't include one.

Re:Not worth reporting.

[binarybum]

works fine in seamonkey - can't imagine it wouldn't work in firefox as well.

Windows only, IE only, DRM only, USA only.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, this will keep me from the torrents.

Strike

[El Lobo]

And this is exactly why the writers are now on strike. They get nothing from the distribution online while the broadcasting companies gets all the income generated from ads, etc. But even worst: they get nothing from the distribution on DVD in some cases.

Re:Strike

[Aladrin]

Next time you write your contract, you should renegotiate for proper royalties, instead of getting an hourly/yearly wage. Let us know how that works out for you.

Re:Strike

[volkris]

Um... it's precisely the same for the writer.

The writer becomes the analog of the freeware developer, in which case that is his choice.

Re:Strike

[wavedeform]

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?

NBC does not understand it...

[simp]

Hello NBC,
I'm from Europe and I have one XP and two linux PCs. And your marketing department seems to be utterly clueless as to how they ever could target me via advertisements on a webpage or embedded in a video. And selling your old TV series to European TV stations years later does no cut it.

Yet any localized Google homepage shows me unobtrusive ads that are relevant to my search queries and geographical location. Times are changing NBC. Adapt or die.

Signed,
A user from Europe who wants to buy cheap American stuff.

Re:NBC does not understand it...

[tero]

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.

It works in Firefox

[MSRedfox]

I just watched part of 'Life' in Firefox without any problems. So the the claim for IE only is false.

No thanks.

[ChangeOnInstall]

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.

Re:No thanks.

[speilberg0]

Do this and you won't have anyone downloading the ad-free version of a show on BitTorrent/p2p.

Not so sure about that argument. 'In Rainbows' was free (if you wanted) but was still pirated anyway. I'm sure that there would still be many people who still rather download the shows through torrents just because they don't have to worry about ads (with the added bonus of not having an increase in file size or a decrease in quality).

Correction

[Aqua OS X]

So here are your downloading options...
1) Goto BitTorrent... where new shows pop up right after they air, download speeds are insanely fast, there are no ads, there is no DRM, and I can get video that will play on whatever computer or device I want.
2) Goto NBC... where new shows pop up at 2am, I'm downloading from one source, there are ads, lots of ads, there is DRM, lots of DRM, and I can only play video on a Vista or XP computer.

NBC doesn't seem to realize that a conveniance based model has more opportunities for growth. Time after time the internet has favored those who have figured out how to make a profit by catering to conveniance.

Re:Correction

[totally bogus dude]

I agree. They have a big advantage over the cap groups: they have the episode well before it's aired, in perfect quality. They could put up their own torrents for it the moment the episode ends on TV, or even halfway through it. Provide their own trackers, but submit the torrent to the popular sites so it's easy to access (in addition to putting it on their own website). Using their own trackers means they get viewership statistics -- probably more accurate than the Neilson family stats at that!

Most people will use the official torrent: it's guaranteed good quality, complete, available before anyone else's, and sanctioned by the producer. People will tolerate some ads, so long as they're not obnoxious. There's only so many companies that can be advertised in a global market, anyway. Add a "If you want to support this show, visit ..." to the end credits and have a site which lists the show's sponsors, a donation box, merchandise, etc. This site could use localisation to tell you about the sponsors nearest to you, so the networks don't need to miss out on local ad revenue.

It's interesting how big media still seems to believe they absolutely must exert 100% complete control over their content in order to be profitable, while seemingly oblivious to the fact they haven't had control for a long time and have been profitable regardless. Most people aren't greedy and selfish, but I think most people do feel completely disconnected from the fate of their favourite shows. For the vast majority of people, the networks have absolutely no idea what shows they watch. What does it matter if I torrent a show rather than watch it on TV? I'm not going to buy stuff I see advertised during it, and even if I did, the company that makes it has no real way of correlating that with the fact they sponsored a particular show.

I guess realistically, it's easier for the networks to produce a few shows which rake in millions in advertising, than it is to produce a lot of shows which are individually profitable, but with smaller margins.

Re:Correction

[Bert64]

They could also easily undercut the pirates...
They offer for download an ad-supported version in a standard format and at multiple resolutions right when the show airs, or even before... And host it using something like Akamai...
So the legal one comes out first, is the same or better quality than the pirate version, downloads as quick or faster, but has ads. For most people, it will simply be easier to put up with the ads (providing they're not insanely intrusive) than to wait for a pirate version with the ads stripped.
So long as the pirate version is significantly better, people will have incentive to download that instead.

Re:Correction

[Aladrin]

"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.

"For now it's Windows only, XP or Vista, IE 6 or 7

[Kickasso]

Yeah. For all values of "now" in this millennium.

Works fine on a Mac

[Killer Eye]

Not sure where the Windows/etc. requirements came from, but I'm viewing it perfectly right now on my Mac.

Using Leopard (10.5) and OmniWeb (based on the Safari engine), in case that's significant.

Re:Works fine on a Mac

[DietFluffy]

You can stream on Mac, but you need Windows to download.

Good Next Step...

[KookyMan]

...but still a ways to go. Before everyone jumps on the bandwagon about it being Pro-IE/Pro-DRM, at least give credit to the fact that its yet another step in the right direction with offering downloads.. They're trying it out, and I think will find it will be a success... Perhaps next ABC/CBS will follow this lead and knock out a little more of the restrictions, say opening to any browser, or removing the DRM. When it comes to big corporations, changes come small and slow. This is defiantly a good thing, lets just hope it continues down this path.

Re:I should note...

[ogfomk]

It works with Fedora 7 and Firefox. I am enjoying The Tonight Show.

Re:Not worth reporting.

[TheVelvetFlamebait]

[rant]

Until there is support for Firefox, Mac, Linux etc...

Yeah, and I think that it's not worth reporting until they add subtitle capability for all those deaf people out there. Or censored versions for all those moral luddites out there. Or offline versions for people without internet access. It seems about as reasonable.

Or maybe 95%+ computer users who use Windows would be interested in this kind of news. Can't we just be happy that most of the population has access to free TV shows? Can't we just encourage and nurture this kind of behaviour from media companies without becoming green with envy? Can we constructively criticise, rather than resorting to "I don't even want to know" when they don't factor in your particular minority?

[/rant]

Great Timing!

[owlnation]

Excellent timing! The perfect time to launch this is during a writers' strike where they are trying to be justly paid for such downloadable content.

Kind of makes a mockery of the studios argument, namely: giving this stuff away free on the net is just worthless promotional material. If that's truly the case, why not just give it away free? i.e. no DRM, and no region nor software restrictions.

Or might it be that the studios are... lying?

Re:NBC DO NOT offer FREE downloads

[Macthorpe]

The criteria for something to be 'free' according to you, then are:

- It has to be accessible to everyone on the planet
- It has to cost nothing to everyone on the planet
- It has to be obtainable conveniently to everyone on the planet

Thanks for the clarification. I was using the archaic definition of free, meaning "something I can get for nothing".

Doesn't work in Canada - again

[brunes69]

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...

PARENT IS INSIGHTFUL

[aussie_a]

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.

Works fine under Linux.

[MMC Monster]

Watching the first episode of Heroes via Firefox (it's using flash).

Let's see here...

[FoolsGold]

* Requires Windows, not even a Mac will do
* IE only
* Full of DRM (the reason for the first two)
* Full of ads ...

I just don't see how NBC could have fucked up more.

Re:Let's see here...

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

"I just don't see how NBC could have fucked up more."

They could have supported only Konqueror on Linux, spooked the big-wigs funding it by not using DRM, and made it ad-free so they don't generate revenue from it.

Re:Does not help me alot

[Heddahenrik]

Someone should explain that NBC is BROADCASTING the content. A few minutes after it's aired it's sent on the bittorrent channel. So I guess we outside of USA just have to do with top quality easy to download TV-series without any ads until the TV-show producers figure out how to distribute their shows on their own.

Clueless.

[mattr]

Great I thought, and then had the wind taken out of my sails. They refuse to display the clip if you are out of the region they define. Despite that it would be used I think by people on vacation who don't want to miss their favorite show. Sum of my experience:

1. Watch TV! Yay!
2. But it's NBC! They have a lot of programs and they all suck! Honestly I wanted to watch Stargate Atlantis or some kind of scifi-y thing. Nope. They got ten cop shows though. Fine I pick the updated Bionic Woman I haven't seen before.
3. Figure out their convoluted interface, okay. Very spiffy but what I really want is to quickly find out what the show is about then watch it, y'know? Looks like they must spend a lot of money to add shows to this system.
4. They don't have the first episode of the series! Arrrgh! No matter of clicking little arrows will show it!
5. Pick a chapter. Wuh? This isn't a DVD!! Will I have to click each chapter as they finish? (Cringe!)
6. Okay here we go, I clicked the first chapter of the first clip I could find. ARRRRRGHH!! I'm in Japan and instead of a video, the video pane shows a message saying they refuse to show the video!! AAAAAACK!
7. Goodbye NBC.

Re:Not worth reporting.

[colfer]

"PC (requires Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player 10)."
You have to download an exe installer even in IE7. Are you sure you're talking about the video download service, not streaming? It's NBC Direct Beta, about 1/2 way down this page: http://www.nbc.com/Video/

Re:Not worth reporting.

[Tom]

Or maybe 95%+ computer users who use Windows Wake up, dude. Windos hasn't been 95%+ for several years now. If you focus on the consumer market (let's just assume most people don't watch NBC shows at work) then Apple alone has a market share of around 8-10% (depending on whose statistics you believe). Add 2-3% for Linux and about 1% for everything else.

It's the corporate monoculture that is driving up windos market share values quite a bit beyond what it really is.

Re:NBC DO NOT offer FREE downloads

[Macthorpe]

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.

Re:Not worth reporting.

[99BottlesOfBeerInMyF]

Or maybe 95%+ computer users who use Windows would be interested in this kind of news.

Your numbers are way off. MS has about 90% of the PC market in the US (this is a US only service) according to most estimates of PC use. The Mac accounts for about 8%. Now exclude the large number of Windows machines running in business environments and which are not used to view entertainment media. You're probably looking at something closer to 70% of potential computer users that can run this. Now consider that 2% of those users are using versions of IE that are not supported by this service. Now consider that 15% of the market is running Firefox and while those users can run IE for the most part, some of them won't switch browsers just to watch a TV show. Now consider all the people using Web appliances, iPods, cell phones, and other handhelds.

By tying their technology to one specific vendor and one specific software instead of writing to standards they've assured that their potential market is probably about half of what it otherwise could be.

Can't we just be happy that most of the population has access to free TV shows?

Capitalism works via enlightened self interest so... no. This move is just one more which contributes to keeping the PC market broken and uncompetitive and works towards consolidating the cartel run entertainment industry and the monopoly dominated desktop OS industry.