The widespread adoption of broadband Internet is sparking an explosion of video on the Web. The purpose of this guide is to define the different types of video available, offer some examples, and suggest places on the web that you can find video that fits your interests.
All of the video referenced here plays directly in your web browser or media player and does not require any additional computer or TV hardware (except for iTunes downloads). You must have a broadband Internet connection, and even then your viewing experience may be less than perfect due to limited bandwidth and the ability of providers to stream media consistently.
TV
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TV episodes. Traditional television networks are testing the waters of TV on the Internet. The selection of top U.S. shows is still quite limited, as the networks decide on what business model to adopt for the Web. The networks have a lot at stake. They have a lucrative business in traditional television, and they can’t afford to cannibalize that, but they don’t want to miss out the opportunities on the Net.
NBC is offering several shows on YouTube. ABC is offering several of their shows online for free, but only for those in the U.S. Currently there are 5 episodes of Desperate Housewives, 5 episodes of Lost, the entire season of Alias, and 17 episodes of Commander in Chief are available to watch on line. Apples boasts 150 TV episodes available on their iTunes site including MTV, Nick at Night, and Survivor. The Sci-Fi Channel offers full episodes from Battlestar Galactica, Stargate SG-1, and others.
TV channels from traditional TV streamed over the Web. Currently, these are comprised primarily of news channels including BBC, Bloomberg, C-SPAN, and a number of local news channels (all available at Streamick). Often the web offering is a synopsis of the regular TV offering. CNN offers a number of video news stories for free from it’s homepage. Fashion TV, and all it’s derivatives (swimsuit, lingerie, etc.) are available on the Web. There are also a number of U.S. local network affiliate stations newscasts available (Streamick).
Web only TV channels. Low production and distributions costs are fueling the introduction of many new Internet only TV channels. The channels are typically aimed at niche audiences and vary widely in quality and content. Some of the offering are simply a stream of videos played over and over again, and some have commentators and VJ’s that better resemble traditional TV. Examples include: TV Cartoons, Channel 125, Poker TV, Sailing TV, Mania TV, etc. These are all available at Channel Chooser. See this previous post for a more complete list of Web only TV channels.
Video Clips & Short Films
Personal homemade video clips, pirated TV and movie clips, bloopers, humorous, etc. The best places to easily share and view the types of videos is at the large video sharing services: YouTube, Google Video, Yahoo Video, BlipTV, and Grouper.
Amateur/Professional clips and short films with a creative element. Content producers (as opposed to those who simply post other people’s content) are increasingly posting their work on the web, primarily on the big video sharing services, but more and more with web services that return a cut of the advertising revenue back to the content owner. These sites include: Panjea, LuluTV, Revver, and eefoof. You can read previous posts here for: Panjea, LuluTV, Revver, eefoof.
Music Videos. Music videos are available widely on the Net at all of the services above, MTV Overdrive (US only), MuiscPlus TV Yahoo Music!, FuseTV, and CMT for country music videos.
TV Advertisements. iFilm offers a channel devoted to TV ads, and numurous ads can be found at the major video sharing services listed above.
Movies & Film
Movie trailers, commentary, and behind the scenes. Trailers are available everywhere on the net. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has large collection. Apple has a good selection of movie trailers. Coming Soon has a vast collection of trailers.
Full-Length Movies. Many people are downloading full-length movies using peer-to-peer software such as BitTorrent. Do so at your own risk of downloading god knows what on to your computer and possible a visit from your local police. Movielink offers full-length movies for rent or to own (only in the U.S.). Sundance Channel offers a selection of it’s films and original series via Google Video. Guba and Warner Brothers have recently agreed to feature 200 Warner Bros. movies and TV shows on Guba. News reports indicate that iTunes will have full-length movies by Fall of 2006.
Internet TV Channels Aggregated on to One Site (Free)
The sites below and many others are aggregating video feeds from many sources on to one page. They have become quite popular destinations, but I think that intellectual property issues may cause trouble for these sites in the future.
MeeVee. By far the best selection of channels and shows to watch, and a good, user-friendly interface.
Channel Chooser previous post ( here). 70 channels of Internet TV, mostly niche and obscure channels, few widely popular channels.
FreeTube previous post ( here). Very similar selection to Channel chooser.
Streamick previous post ( here). Very similar selection to the above sites, no adult channels
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I would also like to mention http://www.ChannelKing.com I think its one of the best.
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VERY GOOD
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