For Thing 43, I reviewed my use of Hulu, ABC.com, and YouTube.
Free on-demand has not had much impact on my wife and me. The same limitations on access to true broadband service regarding music online apply to TV and video. Creatures of habit, we often resort to video tape when we record programs to watch later. For some reason, our DirecTV installer advised us not get the additional line required for DVR/Tivo.
Our neighbors two miles west in Little Marais recently upgraded Dish to include DVR, and after the initial promotional package expires, they have decided to cut back on some options.
Our daughter and son-in-law in Woodbury have a complete Comcast package that provides for DVR, On-Demand movies, on-demand Netflix, XBox360 or Nintendo Wii, and high speed wireless internet service. I wouldn't move to the big city for it, but if it's available I'll buy it. My wife would not buy the complete package.
I have been using Hulu since I saw the commercial for it during the Super Bowl. The first shows I watched were episodes of Legend of the Seeker, and Life on Mars, going all the way back to the pilot episodes. It's a well designed internet application.
Right away on Hulu I discovered that ABC TV current series were available only from ABC.com. It too is a well designed application. You can view episodes as soon as they have aired on TV. ABC.com recently launched a music service.
On-demand Netflix via Internet or DirecTV has the same limitations I mentioned in my previous post on high speed internet service. Verizon National access is fast enough for viewing, but the 5 gigabyte per month file download limit quickly is consumed by a few movies.
DirecTV, XBox 360, Nintendo Wii, and Netflix on-demand services all cost something. None of this is free. Some media critics and stock analysts see all of these advances as threats. Analysts usually point to lost ad revenue. Hulu, YouTube, and ABC.com all show commercials before you can watch a program, besides the ads in the sidebars.
In general, as a result of the More Things on a Stick program, I recognize web 2.0 features on TV and in movies that started long ago. All media are improving therefrom.
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