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YouTube Adds Full-Length Television Shows

Posted by timothy on from the what-about-magnum-pi-and-square-pegs? dept.

thefickler writes "YouTube has moved to put full-length television shows on its site for the first time. Historically, YouTube has hosted a bewildering and attractive variety of video clips, the vast majority of which have been under ten minutes in length. YouTube has announced that it had finalized a deal with CBS to offer shows such as Star Trek, MacGyver, Beverly Hills 90210, and The Young and the Restless. I can't wait to watch The Young and the Restless!"

10 of 197 comments (clear)

  1. Still using Flash by Daengbo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'd like to see Google switch over to the video tag and a free codec. That would make everything perfect.

    --
    Put identity in the browser.
    1. Re:Still using Flash by CastrTroy · · Score: 2, Interesting
      With all the patent trolls, nobody knows whether those technologies are patent free either. From the Dirac FAQ.

      Do you infringe any patents?

      The short answer is that we don't know for certain, but we're pretty sure we don't.

      We haven't employed armies of lawyers to trawl through the tens of thousands of video compression techniques. That's not the way to invent a successful algorithm. Instead we've tried to use techniques of long standing in novel ways.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
  2. What Next? by nicknamenottaken · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I think it is a smart idea to have star trek on youtube to compensate for the rest of the proposed garbage listed in the story. Hopefully the trend of 1 in 4 television shows on youtube not being garbage will continue.

  3. Censorship Sucks. by liquidMONKEY · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Californication is censored, both language and nudity-wise, on YouTube. Normally for most programs it wouldn't matter, but it was the raunchy stuff that really propelled the comedy along in this case. Either have the full-length shows uncensored (possibly with a warning for moral individuals), or GTFO.

  4. Please no by hcdejong · · Score: 3, Interesting

    With short clips the YouTube UI is bad enough. For full-length TV shows I want:
    - a UI that can be controlled from arbitrary input devices, e.g. an IR remote and rotary controller (Griffin Powermate). Sitting at your computer doesn't cut it, I want control from my comfy chair.
    - a full-featured UI with controls for skip forward/reverse (at short/long intervals), aspect ratio, mute, etc.
    Basically, I want the VLC UI.

  5. Re:As a non-american... by Monkey-some · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I was totally agreeing with until I saw my young niece watch some children serie through youtube without even bothering to put it full screen...not that she's technologically impaired but it's only that she was instant messaging around, browsing and "studying" in the meantime.

  6. I don't think that's the point here... by g253 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    You may be right that Youtube's is still inferior to Tv's resolution, although I find it good enough for watching on the computer or on an ordinary 5 years old TV... And it's even better than a worn-out VHS ;)

    But that's not the point here : the important thing is that they're streaming full episodes, legally, on youtube. That's a change in policy, it sets a good precedent, and it could even help to make the average consumer think about so-called piracy ("why can't I download it off mininova if I can watch it on youtube?").
    So while the low res might make it less appealing to the average nerd, it's still a Good Thing. (although the region locking is rubbish)

  7. Re:As a non-american... by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The videos are still encoded to 480x360 at the most. That's hardly "better than TV".

    -uso.

    It's at a point where with most shows it really doesn't matter. It's not like TV was the lowest point you could possibly go to make out what's going on.

    This conversation is academic anyway. If YouTube is going to compete with Hulu AND with its users, chances are the quality will be higher than what they have right now. You're better off waiting-and-seeing than saying you don't like the numbers and never checking it out.

    --

    "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

  8. Re:As a non-american... by RazzleDazzle · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Your "nearly perfect" solution seems way more complicated than necessary but to each his own.

    As for my "bet" maybe you need to practice on google searching, I did a single search and found this

    http://www.freeproxy.info/en/free_proxy/cgi-proxy.htm

    The few I tried worked right off the bat.

    I suppose doing something like TOR might work too.. though you might not get a US proxy I suppose. Maybe their are config options? I've never even downloaded it or seen it in use.

    --
    ZERO ZERO ONE ZERO ONE ZERO ONE ONE! Just brushing up for my next big invention: Ethernet over Voice (EoV)
  9. Re:Region-locking is an abomination. by electrictroy · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Ya know, it's only been three years since ABC first started putting television shows online. And it was only a "limited test" because they were afraid it would hurt their Nielsen Ratings for over-the-air television. They thought the internet might cause financial losses.

    We've come a long way since those dark days when networks were afraid of the internet.

    --
    The government is not your daddy. Its purpose is not to raid middle-class neighbors' wallets and give it to you.