Whether it's football...
Or football
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Monday, October 8, 2007
Watch Live Games With Internet TV
I'll try to run through what's currently available and where to find it.
First of all, I went spent almost 6 years studying abroad, so I know what it's like to be on a desperate search for internet tv. For the majority of that time, it just didn't exist. It was either a problem of not enough content or a massive fee. A lot has changed since then.
There are basically 3 or 4 very good options in 2007, but that is very dependent upon what you mean by "free tv on the internet."
The first, and by far the most popular version of internet tv is on-demand viewing. There are several different companies that offer you the ability to watch previously-aired programs and television series for free. If you are looking, perhaps, to discover a television series that you never really got into and now you feel out of the loop, this is the way to go. If you scroll down the page later you can read some of the reviews I did on the specific sites and software.
However, this isn't really internet "tv" to me. This is kind of like a free movie rental of a television series. That's not what I was searching for myself, so I'll assume there are some of you out there like me who want a real television experience on your computer (and one that isn't going to cost you monthly fees).
Ok, in that case, there are basically two really good options: placeshifting or an all-in-one solution.
Placeshifting was a term coined a few years ago by a company called SlingMedia, but it's more of a marketing buzzword than anything, really. What's important to know is that this tool allows you to take the cable service that you already pay for in your home, and transport it with you on the road, over the internet on any computer, anywhere in the world. For about 50% of you reading this, the SlingBox is the answer to many of your prayers.
If you travel with any kind of regularity, even to a neighboring state, this little devil makes you feel right at home. Anything you have on your own cable network you're able to access on your computer. Local news, local sports, local weather. Any premium channels you subscribe to like HBO. You can even access the "on demand" screens and pay-per-view channels! Even cooler than that... are you ready for this? On the premium models, you can even control your home dvd player, DVR, or other external devices that are plugged into your home network!
I have tried out the very first version of this product, some 3 years ago, and i was blown away. There were some small things I would have changed about the quality of the image when connecting to some slower internet connections, but for the most part it was awesome. I'm sure today it is really, really good.
The slingbox itself is an actual piece of hardware that you connect in your home to your cablebox. It's not very large and pretty simple, just plug and play, but if you aren't looking for equipment to buy, you want more channels than what you currently pay for with cable, or you want to drop cable all together, this product probably isn't for you.
However, I have to mention their website because it's freaking awesome. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the Mac VS Pc commercials, but I love them. This site does a sort of a rip off of that general idea, but in the end it makes it even better. Here are just a few screen shots, but you really have to see it to understand the humor.
Moving along... The second option, and the one I use right now, gives you a lot more freedom and can save you a boat load of money even if you never leave your house.
It's basically a downloadable software program that uses the internet to connect to a network of satellite channels. The premium version of the software gives you access to over 4000 stations! That's insane. The cool thing, I thought, was that you can get channels from virtually any country on the planet. I would list them here but it's a big waste of space. If you don't live in the US or you travel abroad, this thing is great because it works anywhere.
This is a screenshot of what the software looks like, channel listings on the left in this view. You can play around with a multitude of settings, window sizes and resolutions, etc., etc.
Another great thing is that the product costs 1/2 of what the slingbox costs. And that's just for the actual product. It's just a one time fee and then no monthly fee after that. Where I live, part of the year in the US, my cable + internet bill is $120. And I'm almost never here. Even with Slingbox I would have had to continue paying. Now I use this other service, and I pay nothing!
That's as close to perfection as you're going to find in free tv on the internet in 2007. I'm totally happy with my setup, but I am going to keep watching to see what is coming up over the horizon in the next few months. I hope that answered some of your questions.
by the way, the product page for this software can be found at: SOFTWARE DOWNLOAD
First of all, I went spent almost 6 years studying abroad, so I know what it's like to be on a desperate search for internet tv. For the majority of that time, it just didn't exist. It was either a problem of not enough content or a massive fee. A lot has changed since then.
There are basically 3 or 4 very good options in 2007, but that is very dependent upon what you mean by "free tv on the internet."
The first, and by far the most popular version of internet tv is on-demand viewing. There are several different companies that offer you the ability to watch previously-aired programs and television series for free. If you are looking, perhaps, to discover a television series that you never really got into and now you feel out of the loop, this is the way to go. If you scroll down the page later you can read some of the reviews I did on the specific sites and software.
However, this isn't really internet "tv" to me. This is kind of like a free movie rental of a television series. That's not what I was searching for myself, so I'll assume there are some of you out there like me who want a real television experience on your computer (and one that isn't going to cost you monthly fees).
Ok, in that case, there are basically two really good options: placeshifting or an all-in-one solution.
Placeshifting was a term coined a few years ago by a company called SlingMedia, but it's more of a marketing buzzword than anything, really. What's important to know is that this tool allows you to take the cable service that you already pay for in your home, and transport it with you on the road, over the internet on any computer, anywhere in the world. For about 50% of you reading this, the SlingBox is the answer to many of your prayers.
If you travel with any kind of regularity, even to a neighboring state, this little devil makes you feel right at home. Anything you have on your own cable network you're able to access on your computer. Local news, local sports, local weather. Any premium channels you subscribe to like HBO. You can even access the "on demand" screens and pay-per-view channels! Even cooler than that... are you ready for this? On the premium models, you can even control your home dvd player, DVR, or other external devices that are plugged into your home network!
I have tried out the very first version of this product, some 3 years ago, and i was blown away. There were some small things I would have changed about the quality of the image when connecting to some slower internet connections, but for the most part it was awesome. I'm sure today it is really, really good.
The slingbox itself is an actual piece of hardware that you connect in your home to your cablebox. It's not very large and pretty simple, just plug and play, but if you aren't looking for equipment to buy, you want more channels than what you currently pay for with cable, or you want to drop cable all together, this product probably isn't for you.
However, I have to mention their website because it's freaking awesome. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the Mac VS Pc commercials, but I love them. This site does a sort of a rip off of that general idea, but in the end it makes it even better. Here are just a few screen shots, but you really have to see it to understand the humor.
Moving along... The second option, and the one I use right now, gives you a lot more freedom and can save you a boat load of money even if you never leave your house.
It's basically a downloadable software program that uses the internet to connect to a network of satellite channels. The premium version of the software gives you access to over 4000 stations! That's insane. The cool thing, I thought, was that you can get channels from virtually any country on the planet. I would list them here but it's a big waste of space. If you don't live in the US or you travel abroad, this thing is great because it works anywhere.
This is a screenshot of what the software looks like, channel listings on the left in this view. You can play around with a multitude of settings, window sizes and resolutions, etc., etc.
Another great thing is that the product costs 1/2 of what the slingbox costs. And that's just for the actual product. It's just a one time fee and then no monthly fee after that. Where I live, part of the year in the US, my cable + internet bill is $120. And I'm almost never here. Even with Slingbox I would have had to continue paying. Now I use this other service, and I pay nothing!
That's as close to perfection as you're going to find in free tv on the internet in 2007. I'm totally happy with my setup, but I am going to keep watching to see what is coming up over the horizon in the next few months. I hope that answered some of your questions.
by the way, the product page for this software can be found at: SOFTWARE DOWNLOAD
My Thoughts Exactly
Jonathan Eig: Games belong on free TV
By Jonathan Eig
October 3, 2007
By Jonathan Eig
October 3, 2007
As baseball's postseason gets under way, there are many wonderful story lines to follow. Will our miserably beloved Cubs at last end their losing ways? Will Alex Rodriguez cap his Ruthian season with a flourish or fade again under October's bright lights? Can the Phillies, having emasculated the Mets, continue their thrilling march?
Unfortunately, many Americans will be unable to follow the action this month because the division series and National League Championship Series will be broadcast exclusively on cable television. No one seems too worked up about this new development, and I suppose I understand why; nearly 90 percent of all American households have cable TV. The remaining 10 percent is a minority group without representation, and the assumption is that its members will somehow cope. There's the radio. There's the Internet. And in my case, as a member of the lonely 10-percent club, there's Jake's Pub on North Clark Street.
Yet season by season, baseball, once the most democratic of all games, grows more elitist. Tickets for Yankee games have become not only expensive but increasingly difficult to obtain, a trend likely to continue when the team moves to its smaller, more luxurious new ballpark in 2009. At Wrigley Field, where I've been a season-ticket holder for the last decade, business executives and bachelor party revelers have crowded out two demographic groups: children and the sort of fan who packs his own lunch.
Baseball set another attendance record this year, proof that much is going right for the national pastime. Labor battles have been settled. Questions about steroid use are less often raised now that testing is at last in place. The violent crime rate among the game's players remains low, at least compared with football and basketball. Somehow, despite its ridiculous salaries, baseball continues to give us players who seem human to us. It remains a game that welcomes immigrants, farm boys and oddballs (although more so on the field than in the grandstand).
The folks in the front offices at Major League Baseball did a nice job earlier this season celebrating Jackie Robinson, baseball's greatest force for equal rights and fairness, who played his first big-league game on April 15, 1947. But Commissioner Bud Selig and other officials at Major League Baseball should have taken notice of another date from Robinson's glorious rookie season: Oct. 2. On that date 60 years ago the World Series was broadcast for the first time across network television. It wasn't much of a network. It reached only New York, Washington, Philadelphia and Schenectady, N.Y. Nearly 4 million people watched in bars, through appliance store windows, and in a few well-to-do homes. But the screen was big enough and Robinson's presence vivid enough to carry the day, signaling as never before in the nation's history that a new era had begun.
Since then, television has helped to make baseball a big business. It has stolen some of the game's innocence. It has put an end to World Series games played in sunshine and in slanted shadows at an hour when the kids are still awake. But it has also helped make the game feel like a part of the public domain, something in the air among us.
Let cable TV have the overhyped drama of "Monday Night Football." Let it have the back and forth of basketball's eternal season. But baseball should belong to the people -- all of them.
----------
Jonathan Eig is the author of "Opening Day: The First Season of Jackie Robinson" and "Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig."
Copyright © 2007, The Chicago TribuneUnfortunately, many Americans will be unable to follow the action this month because the division series and National League Championship Series will be broadcast exclusively on cable television. No one seems too worked up about this new development, and I suppose I understand why; nearly 90 percent of all American households have cable TV. The remaining 10 percent is a minority group without representation, and the assumption is that its members will somehow cope. There's the radio. There's the Internet. And in my case, as a member of the lonely 10-percent club, there's Jake's Pub on North Clark Street.
Yet season by season, baseball, once the most democratic of all games, grows more elitist. Tickets for Yankee games have become not only expensive but increasingly difficult to obtain, a trend likely to continue when the team moves to its smaller, more luxurious new ballpark in 2009. At Wrigley Field, where I've been a season-ticket holder for the last decade, business executives and bachelor party revelers have crowded out two demographic groups: children and the sort of fan who packs his own lunch.
Baseball set another attendance record this year, proof that much is going right for the national pastime. Labor battles have been settled. Questions about steroid use are less often raised now that testing is at last in place. The violent crime rate among the game's players remains low, at least compared with football and basketball. Somehow, despite its ridiculous salaries, baseball continues to give us players who seem human to us. It remains a game that welcomes immigrants, farm boys and oddballs (although more so on the field than in the grandstand).
The folks in the front offices at Major League Baseball did a nice job earlier this season celebrating Jackie Robinson, baseball's greatest force for equal rights and fairness, who played his first big-league game on April 15, 1947. But Commissioner Bud Selig and other officials at Major League Baseball should have taken notice of another date from Robinson's glorious rookie season: Oct. 2. On that date 60 years ago the World Series was broadcast for the first time across network television. It wasn't much of a network. It reached only New York, Washington, Philadelphia and Schenectady, N.Y. Nearly 4 million people watched in bars, through appliance store windows, and in a few well-to-do homes. But the screen was big enough and Robinson's presence vivid enough to carry the day, signaling as never before in the nation's history that a new era had begun.
Since then, television has helped to make baseball a big business. It has stolen some of the game's innocence. It has put an end to World Series games played in sunshine and in slanted shadows at an hour when the kids are still awake. But it has also helped make the game feel like a part of the public domain, something in the air among us.
Let cable TV have the overhyped drama of "Monday Night Football." Let it have the back and forth of basketball's eternal season. But baseball should belong to the people -- all of them.
----------
Jonathan Eig is the author of "Opening Day: The First Season of Jackie Robinson" and "Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig."
What The....
Ok, I think I've done a pretty decent job of staying totally focused on free tv on the internet, but this new technology I ran into is just mind-blowing and I have to post something on it.
So, now let's say you've found the free tv on the internet solution that fits what you're looking for. Now you've got tv, radio, IM and text messages, and much more all running for free on your system. What's missing? For me, one of the key interactive tools I use almost everyday is Skype. And it's great. The call quality has been fantastic. However, as I also have plenty of friends and family who don't use Skype, I make just as many calls with it to fixed landline phones or cell phones. Considering I'm abroad all the time, $.02 cents a minute to make a call from, say, Germany to the US doesn't seem unreasonable. Actually, it's much less than any calling card you'll find.
But cell phone calls do add up, and I'm always on the lookout for something to get around this. Enter pudding.
With Pudding, you can make free unlimited calls to any phone in the US or Canada, all from your web browser, and no software to install, nothing. YES! When I saw this I nearly flipped out. So where's the catch? Surely they aren't doing this out of the kindness of their hearts. Well, depending on your point of view, the catch is either simply an afterthought, or one of the most
terrifying invasions of privacy you'll come across.
Pudding uses voice recognition technology to "listen in" on your conversations, and as you speak, key words are analyzed. All the while, pudding uses this to display on your screen various websites, images, news and advertisements that correspond.
This is really genius. And really evil genius. Most people won't even think twice about using this service. The phone company is ripping them off, and they are bombarded with internet ads all day anyway, why not take the free calls? I'm probably in this camp. But just think of all the evil implications.
Click HERE to watch a pretty cool video presentation by the directors of Pudding, you'll get a better idea of how it works. Good stuff.
So, now let's say you've found the free tv on the internet solution that fits what you're looking for. Now you've got tv, radio, IM and text messages, and much more all running for free on your system. What's missing? For me, one of the key interactive tools I use almost everyday is Skype. And it's great. The call quality has been fantastic. However, as I also have plenty of friends and family who don't use Skype, I make just as many calls with it to fixed landline phones or cell phones. Considering I'm abroad all the time, $.02 cents a minute to make a call from, say, Germany to the US doesn't seem unreasonable. Actually, it's much less than any calling card you'll find.
But cell phone calls do add up, and I'm always on the lookout for something to get around this. Enter pudding.
With Pudding, you can make free unlimited calls to any phone in the US or Canada, all from your web browser, and no software to install, nothing. YES! When I saw this I nearly flipped out. So where's the catch? Surely they aren't doing this out of the kindness of their hearts. Well, depending on your point of view, the catch is either simply an afterthought, or one of the most
terrifying invasions of privacy you'll come across.Pudding uses voice recognition technology to "listen in" on your conversations, and as you speak, key words are analyzed. All the while, pudding uses this to display on your screen various websites, images, news and advertisements that correspond.
This is really genius. And really evil genius. Most people won't even think twice about using this service. The phone company is ripping them off, and they are bombarded with internet ads all day anyway, why not take the free calls? I'm probably in this camp. But just think of all the evil implications.
Click HERE to watch a pretty cool video presentation by the directors of Pudding, you'll get a better idea of how it works. Good stuff.
Previously Aired TV
If you're simply looking to watch some old episodes of television series, the site I like best is Joost.com.
At first I got really excited about it, and it's hard not to. The whole site and user platform has that unmistakable Mac OSX look and feel. It just looks cool.
And for some people, the selection is more than adequate. They claim to have over 15,000 different shows up at this point with more than 250 channels. However, when they say "channels" that doesn't necessarily mean the television stations you are used to. Some of them are user created content, and others come from who knows where, but aren't really the marquee stuff you'd expect to see. And on select channels, like Comedy Central, don't expect to see shows like "The Daily Show" or "South Park." Even so, there are some that seem to be popular these days, and series like CSI are available.
There are a couple of problems that make this not something I use very often. First, not all of the programs are available outside of the US. In fact, a lot of them aren't. I'm oversees more than I am here, so this just doesn't work for me.
At first I got really excited about it, and it's hard not to. The whole site and user platform has that unmistakable Mac OSX look and feel. It just looks cool.
And for some people, the selection is more than adequate. They claim to have over 15,000 different shows up at this point with more than 250 channels. However, when they say "channels" that doesn't necessarily mean the television stations you are used to. Some of them are user created content, and others come from who knows where, but aren't really the marquee stuff you'd expect to see. And on select channels, like Comedy Central, don't expect to see shows like "The Daily Show" or "South Park." Even so, there are some that seem to be popular these days, and series like CSI are available.
There are a couple of problems that make this not something I use very often. First, not all of the programs are available outside of the US. In fact, a lot of them aren't. I'm oversees more than I am here, so this just doesn't work for me.
Besides the lack of content, the biggest issue that I have with this, and most other services like it, is that it's not really TV. TV for me means laying on the coach and surfing through channels until I find what I like. That means being able to come in to a program that's already in progress and not have to interrupt myself each time by closing a window, browsing titles, reading descriptions, and then starting a whole other thing from the beginning.
Still, if you're thoroughly bored, it's one of the better sites out there for previously-aired content.
Another Interesting Concept That Won't Work
From money.cnn today...
"Justin.tv publicly launched its live, free streaming services this week, making the power of live video programming available to anyone with a computer, a web cam and an Internet connection.
If you take a look at some of the content that's up right now, it's pretty bad and there isn't much of it. Seasoned youtubers aren't even going to look twice. If people were able to use the site to also air the content from their own websites, social networking pages, etc., I think it would catch on. But for now, just looks like another product that is about 3 or 4 years late.
"Justin.tv publicly launched its live, free streaming services this week, making the power of live video programming available to anyone with a computer, a web cam and an Internet connection.
On2 Flix Publisher Live is an innovative browser based plug-in that renders the user's browser into an encoding and publishing platform without any expertise, installation, or investment required by the user. The videos are encoded directly on the user's desktop and streamed live on the Internet by simply plugging a webcam into the computer and logging on. On2 Flix Publisher Live works with Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox browsers."
This idea has been around for a long, long time, and I think there's a reason that no one has launched such a service until now.... it doesn't work. In theory, it's a nice concept -- give content hungry internet surfers their ultimate fantasy: the ability to produce their own LIVE programming and broadcast it over the internet for FREE. And as a second added bonus, be able to WATCH other people do it even worse..... for FREE.If you take a look at some of the content that's up right now, it's pretty bad and there isn't much of it. Seasoned youtubers aren't even going to look twice. If people were able to use the site to also air the content from their own websites, social networking pages, etc., I think it would catch on. But for now, just looks like another product that is about 3 or 4 years late.
XBOX 360: Cheap Computer or Expensive Add-On?
From the MontrealGazette...
"According to iSuppli Corp., a technology industry research company, Microsoft has been losing around $126 U.S. on each Xbox 360, of which there are about 11.6 million units, mostly in the United States. But now the pieces of Microsoft's grand plans are starting to fall into place - in the United States at least.
Americans with Windows Vista Ultimate or Windows Vista Premium can download an application that will turn their computer into a TV broadcaster. No Canadian release date has been set. The content - already hundreds of hours of TV shows and live concerts - is all being supplied by Microsoft for free. As with traditional broadcasting, there will be ads in place to make the venture profitable.
For those uninterested in buying an Xbox 360 to watch Internet TV broadcasts, the company announced the Home Media Extenders, which are basically little black boxes that sit on top of a person's TV and decode TV signals sent from a the computer.
Watching TV over the Internet has become a hot trend. Earlier this year, Apple Inc. released its Apple TV device in the U.S. In a similar fashion to Microsoft's technology, the device is capable of streaming movies and video from the Internet. It can also access files from a home computer. More than a million people have bought the unit so far. But as with Microsoft's new option, Canada is not much of a factor.
Then there is the well-documented Youtube phenomenon. The website hosts about 100 million videos, with 65,000 new videos uploaded daily and more than 20 million visits per month. For Microsoft, the company's latest assault on the living room will help to boost profits. People who want to watch Internet TV will need an Xbox 360 or a Media Extender and Windows Vista."I guess if you already own an Xbox360 and Windows Vista this is ok.....no, wait, it still sucks! I really don't have any idea where these technology giants are trying to go. Ok, so my computer with internet access, a 300 GB hardrive, latest video card and surround sound speakers is sitting 20 feet away on my desk. But my media experience won't be complete until I buy this other thing which beams all that stuff over here to my 300 dollar game thing... what? I'm lost. I understand that you have a few old tv shows and whatnot available for free, but why not just put them on the internet so I can watch it on that new computer and Vista operating system you told me to buy?
I, myself, am not a gamer. I don't like playing them, I like even less watching them be played. However, I have had a chance to see the Live Marketplace where you can download movie rentals, even those in HD, directly to your Xbox. This seems quite nice. But I don't understand why Microsoft wouldn't make this available to it's PC users. Calling it a bigger market is the understatement of the year. And why is it that they charge for movies in a point system instead of dollar value? Is that simply to trick children into spending a bunch of money each month in downloads before they've realized it?
At the end of the day, Microsoft TV isn't really TV. It's just another place where you can download a clip here, or a clip there. Not really what many of us have been waiting for.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
