Viewing habits evolve with online offerings
TV Goddess
Published: October 30, 2006
Last Modified: October 30, 2006 at 12:26 PM
In this world of video iPods and 24-inch computer monitors, TV isn’t just for the TV set anymore.
Networks and other Web sites have made giant strides recently, putting more and more episodes of TV series online, mostly to purchase but some for free streaming or download.
With access to programming online, viewers can give their tired VCRs and DVDs a rest and still catch more than one show scheduled in the same hour.
The ability to watch shows online is innovative and has the potential to change the definition of a "series." For example, online-only content has started to pop up on the Web - not just on YouTube (www.youtube.com), although that’s the No. 1 place to find it.
Three of the major networks have started offering their programming online in a big way.
NBC (www.nbc.com) offers full episodes of six of its programs - including the new hit "Heroes" and struggling, critically acclaimed dramas "Studio 60" and "Friday Night Lights." The only problem with their offerings - other than the lack of choices - is that only the most recent episode is available, so folks who get backlogged could have a hard time catching up, unless they were willing to purchase the episode elsewhere.
ABC (abc.go.com) is the best of the networks about keeping its shows online for more than one week, but its fancy, new video player has some issues - not the least of which is that it requires a horrendous amount of bandwidth to play optimally. It also can't go full-screen, and only seven ABC shows are available. But since many new shows are there from the first episode to the most recent, it’s a great way for latecomers to catch up on hits such as "Ugly Betty" and "The Nine." CBS' Innertube (www.cbs.com/innertube) offers a larger selection of programming than ABC or NBC - nearly every prime-time show seems to be included - but it breaks its episodes into pieces and only offers short blips of some programs and the most recent full episode of most others.
The CW (cwtv.com) and Fox (www.fox.com) are sadly lacking in the video department. They offer nothing on their sites beyond previews and interviews (the CW does have some fun behind-the-scenes footage and director’s cut scenes from its series, though). The Web contains other free episodes on sites from TNT (www.tnt.tv) and SciFi (www.scifi.com/pulse) to MSN (video.msn.com) and even on MySpace (www.myspace.com/burgerking, for one).
And there’s always the option to pay for episodes, which is likely the way of the future. Amazon (www.amazon.com/unbox) has joined the pay-per-view online circus, along with AOL (video.aol.com), Google (video.google.com) and, of course, iTunes (www.apple.com/itunes).
The number of places to find episodes and other online TV content can be overwhelming. Thankfully, when something gets overwhelming online, guides are usually created to help people deal. One comprehensive guide to online videos that also serves as an online video blog is at www.tvguide.com/videoguide. There is a full list of regular video sites at the bottom of the page, while the top is updated frequently with new online video finds. The site makes watching the new online video offerings spring up almost as fun as watching the videos themselves.
Online video can seem like a brave new world, and nearly every site has kinks to work out before the medium achieves any sort of perfection or even consistency. But the changes already have come so far so quickly that dedicated TV watchers can almost always be assured of finding what they're looking for without resorting to piracy or, even worse, missing an episode.
TV reviewer and Portland, Ore.-based freelance journalist DeAnn Welker can be reached at deann@tvgoddess.com. To read more of her TV ramblings, visit www.tvgoddess.com.
