Kiss Cable Goodbye

Quick post about calendar

2008-03-19T19:01:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot about you all tonight. I am compiling a list on online original programing and when it airs. Check out the Google Calendar. I promise there will be more tomorrow.

College Basketball Fans

2008-03-18T13:23:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to reach as many possible audiences as possible I will post about one of the cooler iTV sports options this spring.
CBS, who still refuses to get on board with Hulu, is offering every game of the NCAA tournament online for free. (I am not responsible if you get fired for partaking in this service.)
The video player is even equipped with a boss button, that way you can steal from your employer without him even knowing it.
It is nice to see big cable companies embrace iTV, and sports is one area where iTV is somewhat lacking. However, in the spirit of internetness there are some things that I think CBS needs to fix:

1. Windows Media Player - I know the execs over at CBS are still way behind the times, but in what world is Windows Media Player the preferred format for watching iTV? Let me introduce you to my friend Flash.

2. Internet Explorer - In 1999 there might have been reason to not make sure your site was compliant with Firefox, or other browsers, but it is 2008. Sure the video player runs in Firefox, but certain aspects of the site mysteriously disappear. (Are we supposed to believe this is a coincidence Mr. Gates?)

3. Facebook privacy - First time I logged onto the site it asked me to share the fact that I visited the site on Facebook. I wonder how much money Facebook made selling CBS the rights to stalk me?

4. VIP Passes - If you want to surpass all the losers who learn about this on Thursday all you have to do is register early for a VIP pass. I assume this is just a scam for CBS to send me spam about penis enlargement pills, but I still might sign up. (Everyone knows I am a whore and I must be first and have supreme access.)

Despite these overwhelming violations of internetness, check out March Madness on CBS. (Then spam the hell out of them for being tools.)

Quarterlife / Three in a row, on a roll

2008-03-17T13:29:00.000-07:00

I just want to congratulate myself on reaching my third consecutive blog post. I am officially on a roll mi amigos.
Most of these first blogs will be introducing readers to new content, and I decided to talk about some iTV that isn't geared toward the technogeek.

Quarterlife
I figured I will give you a description of quarterlife straight from the horses mouth:

quarterlife is the Internet series from Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, the creative team behind “My So-Called Life,” “thirtysomething,” “Legends of the Fall,” and “Blood Diamond.”

NBC aired one episode of quarterlife as an hour-long drama series on Tuesday, February 26, which marked the first time a major TV network broadcast an Internet series. After disappointing ratings, NBC decided to move the show to its BRAVO network. BRAVO will air a marathon of quarterlife on Sunday 9th, March starting at 8am/7am central

I was first introduced to the show on Hulu, but as soon as I found out about the website I went over there to check it out.
The show basically deals with a group of recent college graduates entering into the career field. It deals a little bit about the role of technology in their lives, but it is mainly your typical television drama.
What initially drew me to the show was recognizing Scott Michael Foster from Greek, a television show that I really got into. I really liked his acting and so I decided to check out quarterlife.
The verdict is still out on this show. Sometimes I think the acting is a little over the top and many of the characters are cliche, but I think is definitely something everyone should check out.
I like the web format better because 10 minutes of the show is much easier to digest than 45 minutes straight. However, I think whoever edited for television did a good job of editing the show into larger segments.
I think this is a show that could really draw female viewers into the online genre, something that hasn't really worked that well to date.
It is also trying to market itself as a home for the iTV generation to vblog about themselves.
So if you are looking for an alternative to the usual sausage-fest / technogeek offerings of iTV, then you should check out quarterlife. (For those who would like to see the television episodes check out Hulu.)
Here is the first web episode for your viewing pleasure:

Introduction 2.0 / Sundays Suck

2008-03-16T18:53:00.000-07:00

Seeing as how Sundays in the world of internet television is much like Sundays in the world of real television, I will take this opportunity to further explain my vision for this blog.
Broadcasting programming on the internet has been around for a couple of years now and it continues to grow.
Major networks are getting into the game and creating some competition for some of the originators.
I got into iTV (I just branded internet TV, Google search to verify readers) a couple of years ago when I was looking for information about former TechTV stars. Through my searching I discovered many of them were broadcasting online. One of my favorite stars was working with an innovative project called Revision3.
Revision3's goal is to be the first internet television network. The programming is mainly geared towards the technogeek, but they are trying to expand their programming to include other audiences. I definitely recommend checking out their programming and I expect to cover many of these shows in this blog.
Soon after discovering this I discovered networks had started broadcasting television on their websites, giving viewers more options.
I was definitely hooked, and prior to getting DVR I used this quite frequently to watch my favorite television shows online.
Then along came Hulu, which I touched on last week, and then I kissed cable goodbye.
I have to also say that Netflix has played and important role in my conversion. I received 6 months of Netflix free from my beautiful girlfriend for Christmas and as part of my package I received access to tons of streaming content, which includes many television shows.
So hopefully this blog will be a place where you come to learn about iTV, and I promise I will try to be funnier in future posts.
This skit from a recent SNL episode should make you laugh; I think it really sums up why I think we need to find alternatives to the crap cable companies are broadcasting:

Welcome and Hulu

2008-03-15T13:30:00.000-07:00

Hello internets! (Or just my close friends)
This is a blog that I have been thinking about for a while. Most of you know that I am a professional writer, and that I have wanted to write my own thing for a while.
Those of you who know me also know that I am a fan of technology and the internets. I am also a fan of television. I am a bit of a junkie.
Every year I can't wait until pilot season to check out the new shows. I also DVR my favorite shows and watch them when I get the chance.
Recently the writers strike forced me to search for some alternatives to regular television. I am a proponent of organized labor, and I understand what the writers were doing, but I think the writers strike really pushed me away from cable, much like the players strike pushed a lot of fans away from baseball.
(It also didn't help that Comcast recently took over our local Insight access.)
I have been exploring the growing market of online programming. I have known about it for a while, but I never really got into it. After much exploring I present this blog in order to help my friends sever their ties with cable.

Hulu
So to start this blog off I will talk about the biggest news in online television this week: Hulu going public.
Some of you out there have heard me talk about Hulu before, but now it is open for everyone to use.
It is a collaboration between NBC and FOX to freely distribute their online programming in one location. I have used the beta for a couple of months now, and I can generally recommend it.
In general it is a great place to catch up on any programming you have missed. I use it to watch the past weekends Saturday Night Live skits.
There are still some bugs to work out. The high quality videos can have some consequences, especially when trying to watch full screen. The syncing usually doesn't match, and so I usually don't full screen videos.
So, check it out and let me know what you think. This will also give me time to formulate some more post.

Tim