Live Internet Television

Thanks for this poll. I was able to vote on the first part (on the computer, or shall we say, HTPC), but for the second portion, I would have to say that having complete TV series (such as 24, or Lost, etc.) available in a continuous stream (Season 1, episode1, season 1, episode 2, and so on) would be what would make online TV perfect in my mind. This is a major shortcoming of sites such as Hulu - they have only a couple of episodes....hard to enjoy these shows that way. And, while we are making a wish list, perhaps no commercials in the middle.... the beginning might be OK. Some folks want to have surround sound, but I'm not sure this is possible with flash-based players. Finally, many folks want to see the shows in 720p, which is more and more possible as people upgrade to fiber optic Internet. So, that's my vote, a bit complicated! -Ben

You make a lot of very good points.

So far, broadcast networks are guarding their properties very jealously, fearing lost profits as content goes onto the Web. So, you mostly get a few of the most recent episodes. And there are now rumoprs tat Hulu is looking at a pay model! Perhaps that will open up the content you are looking for on the Web, but a too-high price will shoot networks in the foot, giving them some of the widespread public disgruntlement enjoyed by cable networks. People have expectations of access, free content, and freedom on the Web.

I really do believe that online TV is the future, and once a variety such as is available on DVD can be legally streamed on demand, it will take off in a big way. A lot of special interests certainly stand in the way of that, however. Even Netflix is not there yet, and they have a lot. However, their streaming content is only a small fraction of their physical library still. Pretty much none of the new releases are available for streaming. I'm sure the studios and networks want to ensure that as many blu-ray and dvd discs are sold as possible, and that makes sense as they have many jobs to support. There must be a way to monitize online video sufficiently though. I'm sure you folks have thought about all of the angles already! He (or she) that cracks into this market in a big way will make it big. Someday........