Which Will You Watch? TV and Broadband Internet Video Will CompeteI’m waiting for NFL games to hit the internet. It will probably be presented as a pay per view, but it’s coming, you can bet on that. Already you can watch live events via broadband internet. WebTV (an oldie in internet time) serves to muddy the waters a
little more. Which is TV and which is internet? Sometimes, it’s hard to tell.Sometimes there is no appreciable difference to the viewer. Churches ran with this technology right away and now it’s not uncommon to visit a Christian site and be presented with the option to view a full service – sometimes live, but more often not – on your monitor. Windows Media and RealAudio players handle these presentations very well. But what about real TV programming? The commercial kind, with interruptive advertising and all? It’s coming along. News videos, RealAudio broadcasts, Google videos, Youtube… they’re plowing up the roadbed and making it ready for the Big Guys. Whether national TV broadcasters come to the internet, or whether the internet births its own broadcasting super stars is yet to be seen, but whoever does it needs a better understanding of the internet than today’s news sites seem to have. Although computer monitors have yet to equal big screen TV, they’ve been greatly improved so that graphic presentations are much easier to watch. Watching newscasts, sportscasts and religious presentations tend to be a more individual activity because monitors are still small and one needs to sit fairly close to them for the best experience. But… as I said. It’s coming along. The question is, will they compete or compliment each other? Will the internet be a challenge to traditional TV shows, or will it fall into step beside them? I think – I hope – that the internet will challenge TV broadcasting The internet is more in touch with real people, doing real things. People who prefer to be online more than sit in front of the TV are a little different breed, and they’re going to expect different things from their entertainment choice. Is the internet up to it? Maybe not quite yet. But.. it’s coming along.
Oct
13