NBC Direct Launches With Free Downloads 273
thefickler writes "It's here, and it's no joke. NBC has launched NBC Direct where most shows can be watched online and some shows are available for full episode downloads. This comes after NBC decided to pull out of iTunes." For now it's Windows only, XP or Vista, IE 6 or 7.
Streaming vs. Downloads... at the cost of DRM (Score:5, Interesting)
Of course, the Windows-only DRM makes this totally useless to me at the moment. Actually, can anyone think of any examples where a service promised Mac/Linux versions "coming soon" and it actually happened? I sure can't... That's DRM for you.
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Educational microcontroller kits for a digital generation. [nerdkits.com]
Re:Streaming vs. Downloads... at the cost of DRM (Score:5, Insightful)
As an aside, the only videos I see with Windows DRM are porn spam that use a 'feature' of WMP to take you to a website for licenses and malware.
Re:Streaming vs. Downloads... at the cost of DRM (Score:4, Funny)
Oh I've been there. I think it's called "Windows Update".
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If you want to watch while disconnected, perhaps you should consider buying the show on DVD?
Perhaps also, these benefits should be pegged under the benefits of DRM? I mean, it's not like NBC would release their programs for free and DR
Re:Streaming vs. Downloads... at the cost of DRM (Score:5, Interesting)
I for one hope NBC etc. will release the shows for international viewers, and I don't care about any commercials, as long as I can pick up the program and watch it at my own convenience, the only stuff I pick off of torrent these days are TV shows since they are so outdated when they finally hit the market here that its a mood point to buy them.
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I travel a lot, and often find myself on planes/trains and in hotels... And I always have a laptop with me due to the nature of why i'm travelling.
My laptop HD is more than big enough to carry a stack of TV episodes, which work out around 350mb when xvid compressed. I would hate to have the hassle of lugging around a stack of physical media, and having to search through it and swap it in when i wanted to watch something. Not to me
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If you just whinge here on slashdot and don't watch the episodes then you're not going to appear in their statistics. You -want- to appear in their statistics. Tell your friends about it. Get people to watch stuff. Whining about it not working -just right- for your situation doesn't help.
You -want- the statisti
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What could be better than that?
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and you have to watch it within 48 hours of downloading
those times and places where you're "not likely to have internet access" are a bit limited.
Jokes aside, I'd say that NBC has finally seen the light - The future of the Internet doesn't look like TV, as traditional media execs always hoped; More that the future of TV looks like YouTube.
If NBC has finally "gotten" it, good for them. This first laugha
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Re:Streaming vs. Downloads... at the cost of DRM (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Streaming vs. Downloads... at the cost of DRM (Score:5, Informative)
My Pda/phone has more than enough battery life to use it for several hours like this.
Off course I am limited to legal recordings made with my Mythtv box, which is set to automatically transcode to xvid.
I could transcode to make my recordings compatible with the PSP, however I would have to setup a lower resolution and psp batteries hold fairly low charges and memory sticks are expensive. The Slimline PSP features a TV-Out so might be an attractive option for others.
Streaming is a possibility since the htc universal is supported by the slingbox but Streaming video is not allowed on my Dataplan. Hotspots might work if I want to sit in starbucks and stream from my lan or youtube.
however since the slingbox software doesn't allow recording I couldn't use that to transfer an episode to my pda whilst on the move.
Actually there is an interesting idea would it be possible to down load a file with an intermittent wifi connection. using open wifi sources like la fonera.
Podcasts are a possibility, http://www.podcastingnews.com/topics/Podcast_Software.html [podcastingnews.com] , there is software available for most platforms including pda and psp.
Bittorrent also possible but so far only found a paid for client (about $20) http://www.adisasta.com/wmTorrent.html [adisasta.com]
I don't know if it will cope with an intermittent connection thou.
For Psp there is http://www.pspvideo9.com/pspcasting.html [pspvideo9.com] an interesting possibility.
and emule for pda possibly http://www-info3.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de/staff/mopi/mopiphant.shtml [uni-wuerzburg.de]
Unfortunately the NBC service is completely useless to mobile users starting with the DRM but as you can see there are a number of alternatives, from the fully legal to the legally dubious. Some of which I'd not considered before this post. Is anyone familiar with a linux based server which supports partial downloads and resumes from varied IP addresses and a mobile client to connect to it? perhaps a private bit torrent.
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Two operating systems and 3 browsers for ABC's service is way better than MS Windows only and IE only with NBC's half-@ssed effort.
Windows DRM means not free. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Windows DRM means not free. (Score:5, Insightful)
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Software and other media can easily be reproduced at no cost, so the natural progression of a competitive m
Re:Windows DRM means not free. (Score:5, Insightful)
For example, a IC that costs $5 probably has NRE costs upwards of a couple million dollars. Due to the cost of setting up chip fabrication and paying the engineers to do all the chip layout and design. The chip itself will cost pennies to fabricate, but the company producing the chip needs to recoup all the NRE costs spent to get to that first chip so they charge $5.
The same is true for non-free software. It may cost pennies to produce a CD or sub-pennies to download the binaries, but the company must recoup the NRE costs if they are to remain in business. That is why software costs money.
For free software, the makers of the software are looking to recoup their NRE in other ways. The hobbyist is usually looking for recognition, resume' enhancement, or just enjoyment. But, the hobbyist isn't looking to buy groceries with their good looks; the most likely have a day job that pays the bills. I posit that hobbyist do not produce the high quality free software that we've come to know and love, they just don't have the time or organization (they contribute but they are not the primary producers). The professional organization producing free software (IBM, RedHat, etc) are looking for other revenue streams from the free-customers to pay the NRE on the free software, through support fees or licensing related products.
All in all, to my point. Software is not free either. Somebody has to spend labor time producing it and those somebodies expect to get paid somehow.
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And what's this about not being able to get a Stephen King novel from anyone but Steve? I mean, really.
Translated: I don't think that word means what you think it means.
Re:Windows DRM means not free. (Score:4, Informative)
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Sure, you can boycott DRM hardware, to a point, but at some point you have no choice. For example, DVI monitors are limited in resolution, and if you want to upgrade to HDMI, all HDMI monitors come with DRM. Also, what choice do you have, if all hardware by law must support DRM [wikipedia.org]?
Malcolm would be proud... (Score:2)
Non-obligatory Sports Night Quote: "And because I love you I can say this: no rich young white guy has ever gotten anywhere with me comparing himself to Rosa Parks. Got it?"
By any means necessary? (Score:2)
I keep it to remind me not to become complacent, to further a DRM-free world if I can.
But, consider: Would you take this to the extent of not buying any DVDs? After all, they contain DRM, even if it's been cracked wider than the Goatse Man's ass.
Would you avoid going to movies, or watching TV, because the same compa
Too much coffee this morning? (Score:2)
I maintain my stance DRM has no right to exist, and DRM should be resisted by any means necessary. I want to live in a DRM free future no matter the cost.
"By any means necessary"?
"... no matter the cost"?
You're not alone in opposing DRM, but what are you going to do, barricade yourself in a church tower with a Remington 700 and start plucking off studio execs one by one?
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NOTE: I'm not saying that Windows is necessary to view the NBC videos. I'm simply questioning the AC's reasoning.
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The specifications of television signals are public knowledge such that with the right tools i could construct my own television.
Alternatively, because producing a TV would be difficult, and manufacturers who already produce TVs are competing with each other and keeping prices lower than it would cost me to make my own (economies of scale), I am free to purchase a TV from any one of many different vendors
Obligatory (Score:5, Informative)
Windows only, IE only, DRM only, USA only. (Score:5, Funny)
PARENT IS INSIGHTFUL (Score:4, Interesting)
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Strike (Score:5, Insightful)
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The royalty system emerged to allow for very "bursty" jobs, e.g actors & writers, to be compensated, when and if the studio made money. The royalty system has worked pretty well for quite a while.
In your world view, would you go back to the time when studios were the only ones who had any ownership in the "product" that was produced?
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The writer becomes the analog of the freeware developer, in which case that is his choice.
Second Chance (Score:2)
NBC does not understand it... (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm from Europe and I have one XP and two linux PCs. And your marketing department seems to be utterly clueless as to how they ever could target me via advertisements on a webpage or embedded in a video. And selling your old TV series to European TV stations years later does no cut it.
Yet any localized Google homepage shows me unobtrusive ads that are relevant to my search queries and geographical location. Times are changing NBC. Adapt or die.
Signed,
A user from Europe who wants to buy cheap American stuff.
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I do agree that NBC is rather clueless, but not for the reason you cited.
Re:NBC does not understand it... (Score:4, Interesting)
Nothing new here, European users are fcked since the international profit cycle is built on selling us the old crap (and our local channels gladly buying it).
I was initially very excited about this, but then realised it sounded too good to be true. And it was.
Oh well, back to downloading my stuff illegally and waiting for the Police to kick down the front door.
It works in Firefox (Score:3, Informative)
I should note... (Score:2)
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No thanks. (Score:4, Interesting)
http://www.nbc.com/Chuck/video/episodes.shtml [nbc.com]
Quality is crap in fullscreen, even though there's a 2" margin on each side of the screen in that mode. It played a 30 second ad for "Scrubbing Bubbles" shower cleaner before letting me watch it (fine with me). I then tested the use case of "I missed the last part of this show" and tried to get toward the end. This resulted in the ad playing again, twice.
Good luck competing with BitTorrent on that. It would take 30 minutes to BitTorrent an HD version of that show, transcoded into a 350MB XVID file in 480p quality. The file would be entirely free of commercials of any kind.
If they want to make this work, they need to offer shows for download in an unencrypted format. Feel free to play a 30 second or even minute-long video ad before allowing the download of a show. Feel free to add commercial breaks to the file. Feel free to require registration and include your zip code, such that local ads can be provided. But don't try to enforce any special player requirements, DRM, or mandatory commercial watching. Don't make me watch it in a web browser, or with a border around it (each additional inch of TV screen is exponentially more expensive). Make sure the video is at least 480p.
Do this and you won't have anyone downloading the ad-free version of a show on BitTorrent/p2p.
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Not so sure about that argument. 'In Rainbows' was free (if you wanted) but was still pirated anyway [slashdot.org]. I'm sure that there would still be many people who still rather download the shows through torrents just because they don't have to worry about ads (with the added bonus of not having an increase in file size or a decrease in quality).
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Non pirated versions are often inferior (drm etc) than the pirated ones, such that many people are now in the habit of simply downloading pirated copies. Many probably didn't even realise that 'in rainbows' was available legitimately under the same terms they usually pirate it.
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I think you've identified one crucial thing that NBC has to address before they can treat this like regular TV. Just now I tried to watch an episode of "Life" and ran into the DRM issue. So now I've uninstalled the player. That's not the issue though. While I was realizing that this DRM thing wasn't going away, I saw and heard that same Bertolli ad 5 times. Once just for kicks I tried fullscreen and it was horribly, obviously interlaced. Still not the problem. The real issue is that to achieve Google
Correction (Score:5, Insightful)
1) Goto BitTorrent... where new shows pop up right after they air, download speeds are insanely fast, there are no ads, there is no DRM, and I can get video that will play on whatever computer or device I want.
2) Goto NBC... where new shows pop up at 2am, I'm downloading from one source, there are ads, lots of ads, there is DRM, lots of DRM, and I can only play video on a Vista or XP computer.
NBC doesn't seem to realize that a conveniance based model has more opportunities for growth. Time after time the internet has favored those who have figured out how to make a profit by catering to conveniance.
Re:Correction (Score:5, Insightful)
I agree. They have a big advantage over the cap groups: they have the episode well before it's aired, in perfect quality. They could put up their own torrents for it the moment the episode ends on TV, or even halfway through it. Provide their own trackers, but submit the torrent to the popular sites so it's easy to access (in addition to putting it on their own website). Using their own trackers means they get viewership statistics -- probably more accurate than the Neilson family stats at that!
Most people will use the official torrent: it's guaranteed good quality, complete, available before anyone else's, and sanctioned by the producer. People will tolerate some ads, so long as they're not obnoxious. There's only so many companies that can be advertised in a global market, anyway. Add a "If you want to support this show, visit ..." to the end credits and have a site which lists the show's sponsors, a donation box, merchandise, etc. This site could use localisation to tell you about the sponsors nearest to you, so the networks don't need to miss out on local ad revenue.
It's interesting how big media still seems to believe they absolutely must exert 100% complete control over their content in order to be profitable, while seemingly oblivious to the fact they haven't had control for a long time and have been profitable regardless. Most people aren't greedy and selfish, but I think most people do feel completely disconnected from the fate of their favourite shows. For the vast majority of people, the networks have absolutely no idea what shows they watch. What does it matter if I torrent a show rather than watch it on TV? I'm not going to buy stuff I see advertised during it, and even if I did, the company that makes it has no real way of correlating that with the fact they sponsored a particular show.
I guess realistically, it's easier for the networks to produce a few shows which rake in millions in advertising, than it is to produce a lot of shows which are individually profitable, but with smaller margins.
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I feel the need to make a point on this. Most people will choose the official torrent even if it's riddled with ads, so long as they can fast-forward just like any non-DRM video... Even if they have to wait longer than the pirated versions.
Guaranteed quality... You mentioned that. While 'release groups' pretty much also guarantee the quality of their work, getting the video right from the source is even more sure.
Legality... Many people don't see any problem
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They offer for download an ad-supported version in a standard format and at multiple resolutions right when the show airs, or even before... And host it using something like Akamai...
So the legal one comes out first, is the same or better quality than the pirate version, downloads as quick or faster, but has ads. For most people, it will simply be easier to put up with the ads (providing they're not insanely intrusive) than to wait for a pirate version with the
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Except that one of your examples is illegal and the other is not. I've never found BitTorrent to be "fast". It usually takes me over 8-36 hours to download a 2 hour 700 MB movie when I try it. I have to leave it going overnight and this is on a 6 Mbps ADSL connection. In fact, I always choose an
Just Pointing Out (Score:2)
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"For now it's Windows only, XP or Vista, IE 6 or 7 (Score:4, Funny)
Works fine on a Mac (Score:4, Informative)
Using Leopard (10.5) and OmniWeb (based on the Safari engine), in case that's significant.
Re:Works fine on a Mac (Score:5, Informative)
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Good Next Step... (Score:3, Insightful)
Great Timing! (Score:5, Insightful)
Kind of makes a mockery of the studios argument, namely: giving this stuff away free on the net is just worthless promotional material. If that's truly the case, why not just give it away free? i.e. no DRM, and no region nor software restrictions.
Or might it be that the studios are... lying?
Doesn't work in Canada - again (Score:3, Interesting)
Back to Torrents...
Works fine under Linux. (Score:3, Informative)
Let's see here... (Score:2)
* IE only
* Full of DRM (the reason for the first two)
* Full of ads
I just don't see how NBC could have fucked up more.
Re:Let's see here... (Score:5, Funny)
They could have supported only Konqueror on Linux, spooked the big-wigs funding it by not using DRM, and made it ad-free so they don't generate revenue from it.
The major networks are fine without iTunes (Score:2)
Only free if it's DRM-free (Score:2)
It's only free if I can utilise the files on my existing hardware and OS.
Clueless. (Score:5, Informative)
1. Watch TV! Yay!
2. But it's NBC! They have a lot of programs and they all suck! Honestly I wanted to watch Stargate Atlantis or some kind of scifi-y thing. Nope. They got ten cop shows though. Fine I pick the updated Bionic Woman I haven't seen before.
3. Figure out their convoluted interface, okay. Very spiffy but what I really want is to quickly find out what the show is about then watch it, y'know? Looks like they must spend a lot of money to add shows to this system.
4. They don't have the first episode of the series! Arrrgh! No matter of clicking little arrows will show it!
5. Pick a chapter. Wuh? This isn't a DVD!! Will I have to click each chapter as they finish? (Cringe!)
6. Okay here we go, I clicked the first chapter of the first clip I could find. ARRRRRGHH!! I'm in Japan and instead of a video, the video pane shows a message saying they refuse to show the video!! AAAAAACK!
7. Goodbye NBC.
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http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/index.shtml [jaylenosgarage.com]
Gotta be nice to be a multi-millionaire!
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Black Male FWIW Not sure what the relvance was to the GP but whatever!
USA only too, of course. (Score:2)
It's not like they can use the opportunity to provide even ad-supported services to spread their material to those.
Nahh, let's just lose profits to them instead.
What you agree to (Score:2)
YOU SPECIFICALLY AGREE THAT THE SOFTWARE MAY DELETE FILES AND CONTENT FROM YOUR HARD DRIVE(S) AND OTHER COMPUTER MEDIA.
Now, they'll say this just pertains to the content you download from them, but the wording is disconcertingly broad, don't you think?
Great! Now just one request, NBC... (Score:2)
Could you put something up there that folks might actually want to watch? Oh, I don't know...something like a top ten hit show that isn't a game show or football game? Seriously, who's interested in a canned version of Monday Night Football? And sorry, as much as I love Howie Mandel, I'm not going to go hunt down a startup non-iTunes portal just to watch a silly game show. I'd watch a 40-year-old episode of The Gong Show or even Simon's Greatest Diss Hits from American Idol, but there's no way I'm getting e
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Hulu? (Score:2)
IE on Wine (Score:2)
So does NBC work in IE + Wine?
Thx
One word: Lame! (Score:2)
2) I am not going to go out and buy ( and install) Windows (along with its various regular patches) to watch an NBC show. The shows just aren't that good.
This all comes back to control. NBC thinks it should have absolute control of how/when/where you watch their shows. The public has said they don't want that anymore (DVRs, BitTorrent, iTunes are all examples of this). But NBC still insists on absolute control. Their solutions: a streaming approach (I tried it once and it was so
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- Incompatible browser (Firefox 2.0)
- I don't live in the US.
Two strikes and I'm out.
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You have to download an exe installer even in IE7. Are you sure you're talking about the video download service, not streaming? It's NBC Direct Beta, about 1/2 way down this page: http://www.nbc.com/Video/ [nbc.com]
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Re:Not worth reporting. (Score:5, Insightful)
Or maybe 95%+ computer users who use Windows would be interested in this kind of news. Can't we just be happy that most of the population has access to free TV shows? Can't we just encourage and nurture this kind of behaviour from media companies without becoming green with envy? Can we constructively criticise, rather than resorting to "I don't even want to know" when they don't factor in your particular minority?
[/rant]
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It's the corporate monoculture that is driving up windos market share values quite a bit beyond what it really is.
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The numbers of Linux were pulled out of my hat, but they've been in that area for many years no without significant change, so I assume they're fairly on target.
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Or maybe 95%+ computer users who use Windows would be interested in this kind of news.
Your numbers are way off. MS has about 90% of the PC market in the US (this is a US only service) according to most estimates of PC use. The Mac accounts for about 8%. Now exclude the large number of Windows machines running in business environments and which are not used to view entertainment media. You're probably looking at something closer to 70% of potential computer users that can run this. Now consider that 2% of those users are using versions of IE that are not supported by this service. Now consi
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Until there is support for Firefox, Mac, Linux etc...
How's that insightful? Of course that sucks that all of this isn't supported, but the fact that it doesn't doesn't make this service any less newsworthy.
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"
Q: Are there plans to support the Macintosh operating system?
A: NBC Direct's video playback and security (Digital Rights Management) are built for the Microsoft Windows(TM) operating system. They don't currently run on other systems, such as Apple Macintosh(TM) or Linux(TM). However, if your Apple computer runs on an Intel Core Duo(TM) processor, you can set up Apple's(TM) "Boot Camp" software to install and run Microsoft Windows
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No DRM and the biggy... no damn proprietary player. Let the users play it with the player of their choice.... so use an open format for the video.
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Isn't that a bit like coming in first place at the Special Olympics? You've "won", but you're still retarded.
Meh, I hope you recycle your trash as well as you recycle jokes [flickr.com].
Re:NBC DO NOT offer FREE downloads (Score:5, Insightful)
- It has to be accessible to everyone on the planet
- It has to cost nothing to everyone on the planet
- It has to be obtainable conveniently to everyone on the planet
Thanks for the clarification. I was using the archaic definition of free, meaning "something I can get for nothing".
Re:NBC DO NOT offer FREE downloads (Score:4, Interesting)
Just because you can't get it for free, it doesn't mean it's not free.
Whether 'restrictions by region' works or not is a completely different kettle of herring.
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