Comments on: Smart Business Move: Letting Viewers watch TV Shows Online http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2008/04/21/smart-business-move-letting-viewers-watch-tv-shows-online/ Utterly random, incoherent and disjointed rants and ramblings... Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:52:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.5 by: Luke Maciak http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2008/04/21/smart-business-move-letting-viewers-watch-tv-shows-online/#comment-8824 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:18:59 +0000 http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2008/04/21/smart-business-move-letting-viewers-watch-tv-shows-online/#comment-8824 Hmm... It seems to me that NBC is requiring you to download some custom plugin and specialized player in order to play the videos. This is the old way of thinking which demands that any web accessible content is locked down with DRM and only accessible via custom software that user must download, install and agree to restrictive license and terms of use. Also there is this lovely note: <blockquote>PLEASE NOTE: Support for Apple and Linux systems will be coming in early 2008</blockquote> So both you (a Mac user) and me (a Linux user) are locked out of their content because they haven't built the custom video player for our platforms yet. I could try to run their player under Wine, or in a virtual machine but it's a hassle. I might as well just hit my favorite Torrent site and download the episodes in HD quality worry free. To watch my BSG episode I simply go to their webpage and hit "play video". That's it - no downloading of custom software, no plugins, no registration, no licensing. Just click and watch. That is how you supply VALUE to the end user. Make it simple, easy and instant and available across the board. Anything else is a waste of time and resources as the demographic you want to reach (ie. people who insist on watching your shows online, and thus by necessity pirate your shows) will not bite. Hmm… It seems to me that NBC is requiring you to download some custom plugin and specialized player in order to play the videos. This is the old way of thinking which demands that any web accessible content is locked down with DRM and only accessible via custom software that user must download, install and agree to restrictive license and terms of use.

Also there is this lovely note:

PLEASE NOTE: Support for Apple and Linux systems will be coming in early 2008

So both you (a Mac user) and me (a Linux user) are locked out of their content because they haven’t built the custom video player for our platforms yet. I could try to run their player under Wine, or in a virtual machine but it’s a hassle. I might as well just hit my favorite Torrent site and download the episodes in HD quality worry free.

To watch my BSG episode I simply go to their webpage and hit “play video”. That’s it - no downloading of custom software, no plugins, no registration, no licensing. Just click and watch. That is how you supply VALUE to the end user. Make it simple, easy and instant and available across the board. Anything else is a waste of time and resources as the demographic you want to reach (ie. people who insist on watching your shows online, and thus by necessity pirate your shows) will not bite.

]]> by: Chrissy http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2008/04/21/smart-business-move-letting-viewers-watch-tv-shows-online/#comment-8822 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:54:34 +0000 http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2008/04/21/smart-business-move-letting-viewers-watch-tv-shows-online/#comment-8822 NBC does it too: http://www.nbc.com/Video/, and the quality isn't too bad! NBC does it too: http://www.nbc.com/Video/, and the quality isn’t too bad!

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