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Will the Web Replace TV?
dratcw writes "With the continuing writers' strike cutting way back on the number of new and original TV shows available, many media Web sites are providing alternatives to TV that can be found on the Web. A number of sites are offering features describing broadcast/cable TV alternatives while you wait for that next episode of 'Chuck'. 'What better time than during the writers' strike to (re)discover Internet TV and video? The quantity, quality, and diversity of online video grows by the day; and though it's far from perfect, it is at least interesting enough to make you forget that you're watching it on a PC monitor.'" Any web-based favorites you'd like to point out for fellow commenters?
Anyone else hear of 'Generation Cox?' I was out in Southern California for some work and there were constant commercials for new Cox Cable technology that would transform the way people would watch tv.
It is basically a completely on demand infrastructure with customizable viewing recommendations. Someone in the industry also suggested that work is being done on moderation technology for people who wanted to join 'viewing groups,' or groups of people united by philosophical or moral similarities who wanted to cull desirable programming from all the chaff.
Sounds like a hybrid to me. Not entirely web, not entirely tv.
Funny you should mention the BBC. The BBC is pretty much one of the very, very few channels for which I would sincerely love to pay every cent / penny they tax me.
In Sweden, France, Germany, Italy and pretty much most countries I have been to, the TV is abominable, including the State-owned channels... The BBC 1, 2 and 3 are a beacon of hope for high quality TV.
And I'm not being nationalistic. I am from Holland. In Holland, the only thing that comes close to BBC quality or even noteworthiness is Nederland 3.
Books are just excellent.
Another more suggestion:
Take your iPod, and use the ipod e-book formatter to put some nice books on your iPod, for reading while you listen to some great music. You can even make playlists that go with the story line!
You can convert e-books here: http://www.ambience.sk/ipod-ebook-creator/ipod-book-notes-text-conversion.php
Some great books here: http://www.craphound.com/index.php?cat=5
and here: http://www.geocities.com/davidbainaa/
and here: http://www.baen.com/library/
Free, or better Creative Commons books, are regularly mentioned on Boing Boing as well.
Blogging because I can...
More closely emulating TV I'm in both the Joost and Hulu betas. Joost might be out of beta now... Anyway, Joost focuses more on providing exclusive/unique content in a streaming and TV-like environment. Joost uses its own application and has a pretty snazzy interface. Hulu is more like a YouTube of TV shows where specific shows (including Family Guy, The Simpsons, The Office, etc...) are streamed on demand, but that at certain intervals during the show you're forced to watch a 30 or 60 second commercial. It's entirely webpage based but does do full-screen video. I ended up watching the first few episodes of the Tin Man, got myself hooked. Also got to finally watch all the Firefly's thanks to Hulu!
Honestly, between those two services and (ahem) other-services-that-rhyme-with-fittorrent (ahem), my roomie canceled our subscription to cable TV... We simply don't need it as we can watch anything we want to within a few seconds (or at most hours) of us wanting to see it.