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TV on Demand - actually on your TV
- 12 Jan 07, 03:34 PM
It has been another big week in moving toward the merger of TV and the internet. At the Computer Electronics Show () in Los Angeles, Netgear announced the launch of the Digital Entertainer HD. Days later , and then finally, . All these boxes allow you to hook up to your pc, and download and watch content from the internet.
As one executive of Netgear said, you can now watch YouTube on your TV.
Now admittedly, this will be old news to some of you. The Nintendo Wii games console already provides internet access. But not everyone wants a game console just to enable TV access to the internet. I mean, I’ve got all the hand-eye co-ordination of an English test batsman, so I’ve never really got on with games. But I can just about manage the remote control.
This, for me, is where TV on demand starts in earnest. It is all very well being able to download a movie, but it is so much better to be able to view it from the comfort of the sofa on a big screen rather than a rickety old desk chair.
Looking at some video on demand content, this might not look that exciting. For example, with Channel 4 not yet offering captioning on their downloads, you might be better off watching their programmes as they air on TV. But looking forward, once the Â鶹ԼÅÄ launches the iPlayer and makes its content available, it could be an improvement. Captioning quality and flexibility should be improved. More content should have audio description. And there won’t be a need to stay up until late at night to watch programmes in the Sign Zone either.
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I ordered TV on demand from my cable provider about a year ago and it turned out to be a big disappointment, so much so that we had it disconnected immediately. I worked for the world's largest research consorteum which was a subsidiary of the seven regional Bell operating companies and which developed video on demand. It was conceived of as user access to a vast library comprising every television program and movie ever produced. The reality my cable provider offered was a few current run movies and a few recent series. Unacceptable so far in my opinion. Come back when you have something to worth crowing about cable provider.
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