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

[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and watch it at my own convenience, the only stuff I pick off of torrent these days are TV shows since they are so outdated when they finally hit the market here that its a mood point to buy them.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.

Obligatory

[OverlordQ]

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

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.

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: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.

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.

"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.

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".

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.

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: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.