Getting video out to a Web-based audience can been a daunting prospect. As was discussed in class, one of the fundamental challenges is figuring out which video player(s) your audience is using. Do they have Real Player, Windows Media Player, QuickTime? Watching the video has not always been an easy task either, as Ed Helms shows us in this 2003 video from Comedy Central. While very tongue-in-cheek, the frustration he encounters was not uncommon for many early video users on the Web. For that matter, I encountered it in class just the other day, ironically, trying to show this very video. In addition to video formats for specific players, one also has to be concerned with CODECs. The letters stand for encode-decode and refer to the algorithm used to make the video more compact.
Here's the problem, uncompressed broadcast video is around 2GB/minute. That translates to about 180GB for a 90 minute movie--and that's standard definition, not high definition. MiniDV cuts this down to around 250MB per minute. While the drive space is definitely an issue for editing, it becomes critical for distribution. DVD, DBS, and digital cable all rely on CODECS to get video to you. CODECS are all the more important when you start to think about video for the Web as not only do need to worry about what player the user has, but whether or not the user has the correct CODEC--and there are a wide variety of these.
Things have gotten a bit better over the last few years, though CODECS can still wreck havoc for folks, particularly on downloaded videos. One of the tools that has helped with this is Flash. As of December 2007, some version of Flash is installed on around 98 percent of computers used online. In addition, Flash Player works on Microsoft, Apple, and Linux operating systems, as well as on a host of mobile devices. This makes it extremely flexible. Adobe offers a nice introduction to Flash Video that you should take a look at. The ubiquity of Flash is one of the things that has helped make it a popular format for YouTube and other video sites including many network sites (couldn't resist the Heroes link).
While YouTube is pretty cool (and we'll be talking about it more in another blog entry) iTunes is another option for video distribution and in many ways has helped revolutionize audio and video on the Web. If you've used iTunes much, you've probably heard of podcasts. These are video or audio shows that you can subscribe to using iTunes. You can find one for almost any topic these days. What makes this work is RSS (Real Simple Syndication). BlipTV has a nice discussion of how RSS works for the end user. RSS works with things other than podcasts. If you use http://my.yahoo.com, http://news.google.com or any other news aggregator, you are probably relying on RSS. For the next part of the blog, I'm going to talk you through an RSS feed. We'll go over this in class, but you really need to look at it ahead of time.
The key to RSS is setting up an XML document. You'll be setting up two types RSS files for your podcast, one for to create a list of your podcast files for use in a Web browser and the second so that someone can subscribe to your podcast using iTunes. Denis Sureau offers a nice discussion of the specific parts of a standard RSS feed. You'll want to make sure you use RSS 2.0.* If you want to check your RSS feed to make sure it is error free, open the XML file you created it Firefox--it has a debug feature.
A regular RSS feed and the feed you use for an iTunes subscription are a bit different. Standard RSS is transmitted using HTTP, while the RSS feed you use for iTunes uses ITPC. Creating content for iTunes also gives you the ability to add more metadata to your RSS document.
Here's the RSS feed I used for people that want to subscribe to a podcast I had using iTunes. You'll notice a tag that begins with. This is a remark tag and allows me to leave notes to you in the code explaining what things do. Hopefully it will help.
<?xml version= "1.0" encoding= "UTF-8"?>
<!-- This code is commented to help explain which section does what. Comments describe the code below them -->
<!-- Some of the text is from the Apple web site http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/podcaststechspecs.html-->
<!--this file does not contain all possible iTunes tags-->
<!-- rss xmlns - points to a document that defines what each of the iTunes tags-->
<rss xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" version= "2.0">
<channel>
<!-- Time before the feed refreshes in minutes-->
<ttl>60</ttl>
<!-- The name of the podcast series that shows up in the Podcast column-->
<title>Adventures in EMAC</title>
<!-- website link and arrow in Name column-->
<link>http://www.depts.ttu.edu/masscom/programs/emac/index.php</link>
<language>en-us</language>
<!-- copyright information is not visible in iTunes 2217 is phonographic rights and A9 is the copyright symbol-->
<copyright>℗ & © 2007 College of Mass Communications, Texas Tech University</copyright>
<!-- Text in the Description column-->
<itunes:subtitle>EMAC 4300</itunes:subtitle>
<!-- Text in the Artist column -->
<itunes:author>Ed Youngblood</itunes:author>
<!--when the circled i in Description column is clicked in the iTunes store-->
<itunes:summary>Podcast for students in EMAC 4300</itunes:summary>
<!-- similar to above, but describes the RSS channel-these two should probably be the same-->
<description> Podcast for students in EMAC 4300.</description>
<!-- This is a section and is composed of two tags which designate the name and email address of the person or persons associated with the podcast-->
<itunes:owner>
<itunes:name>College of Mass Communications, Texas Tech University</itunes:name>
<itunes:email>ed.youngblood@ttu.edu</itunes:email>
</itunes:owner>
<!-- The location of the album art-->
<itunes:image href="http://www.depts.ttu.edu/masscom/images/masscommofficiallogo.jpg" />
<!-- Category column and in iTunes Music Store Browse-->
<itunes:category text="Education">
<itunes:category text="Higher Education"/>
</itunes:category>
<itunes:category text="Mass Communications"/>
<!-- An individual podcast item-->
<item>
<!-- Title of the podcast episode that shows up in the Podcast column-->
<title>Adventures in EMAC Vol. 1</title>
<itunes:author>Ed Youngblood</itunes:author>
<!-- Text in the Description column-->
<itunes:subtitle>EMAC 4300 Vol. 1</itunes:subtitle>
<!--when the circled i in Description column is clicked in the iTunes store-->
<itunes:summary></itunes:summary>
<!-- Location of the audio or video file-See Apple link above for more file type information. Length is total number of bytes. In thisw case 2.9MB. See total bytes in file infor-->
<enclosure url="itpc://youngblood.mcom.ttu.edu/~nyoungbl/emac4300_1.mp3" length="2946723" type="audio/mpeg" />
<pubDate>Monday, September 11, 2007, 21:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
<!-- Length of podcast in hours:minutes:seconds-->
<itunes:duration>3:04</itunes:duration>
<!-- Searchable but not visable-->
<itunes:keywords>Mass Communications</itunes:keywords>
</item>
</channel>
</rss>
For the reading response, I would like you to address the following:
1) Think back over the video you have consumed over the last 1-2 weeks. How much of it was Web-based vs. TV vs. DVD/VHS? Where do you go to get specific types of video entertainment/information?
2) Thinking back to Ed Helm's video from almost four years ago, how easy do you think it is now for users looking for online video. How do you think the new media landscape has changed or stayed the same?
16 comments:
I have found myself increasingly using my laptop as my primary entertainment and information source. The benefits of being wireless coupled with 24/7 Internet connectivity allow me to carry my work and relaxation with me. To answer the first question, I have used the web overwhelmingly in the past 1-2 weeks compared to TV,DVD's and VHS. I did end up visiting the movies to catch 'Cloverfield' and ended up regretting it bigtime..but that's another story. So yes,that's another reason why I do prefer to access videos via the web. Also, Google Video,Youtube,Metacafe and Megavideo have a very generous video content. Some sites I use to access movie information are imdb.com and rottentomatoes.com.Other sites I visit are espn.com and rollingstone.com for sports and music related videos and podcasts. There is also the repeat watch factor and the downloading feature online which I find useful. In terms of quality, there are numerous formats of differing quality. So the better your Internet connection, the better the format you can choose to view your content. The DivX codec is especially popular among high speed broadband users. It can compress high quality and lengthy videos into manageable sizes. So, all in all, whether it is a mobile device,a desktop computer or a laptop, the web is fast becoming as popular, if not more, than TV and cinema.
The Ed Helms video highlights what was a real problem a few years back. But now with a majority of business and commercial consumers preferring broadband connectivity, buffering and downloads are not quite the same issue it previously was. It is also far easier to find online video content these days. Sites such as Youtube have a great entertainment content in the form of music videos, viral videos, video blogs,pirated movies and online video diaries. The age of the Internet celebrity is also on the rise. Take the example of Perez Hilton, a "celebrity blogger". He runs a quirky celebrity gossip site which garners 2-3 million hits on a good day and is one of the most popular sites for entertainment related content and videos.Sponsors flock to his site and he has now graduated to breaking musical artists by promoting them on his website. The new media landscape is much more niche and fragmented than it was before. And I believe content will continue to get more specialized and exclusive with every passing year. On Google, via iGoogle, you can add links to your favorite websites.I get news headlines, breaking news alerts, quotes of the day, cartoons, art, stock alerts, etc. all on my iGoogle homepage. I feel Google has done a commendable job in helping me funnel such diverse content into a manageable format for me.I do not find quite the same level of customization in TV and videos, which is why I prefer using the web.Like the new HP ad tagline boasts, "The computer is personal again."
I would have to agree about the web quickly becoming a much more trafficked medium. Even if you just look at the aesthetics of a television monitor and a computer monitor, they look alike and many people have them functioning the same way. (I worked in circuit city over summer 07) and we sold many screens that were capable of being both a monitor and a television, especially to incoming freshman who had a space crunch in the dorms. I believe I consume more video media via my computer through the web than I do regular DVD/VHS. Often times, if I want to see a television episode, I will watch it on the network’s website. That way I can watch it when and where I want to. If I want to look up a movie that is coming out or check a music video for a band, I go to the web.
In regards to Ed Helm’s video, I still will on occasion run into problems with not having the right software to view a file, but this a rare occurrence. I think that, as long as any new user has flash installed on their machine, they should be able to access all kinds of video on the web, making it much easier to use. I’m not sure that the landscape has changed that much, as it has maybe just adapted to a more universal landscape. There are to be sure, specialty sites and such, but they all run and operate very similarly. From that perspective they are the same. Any user, regardless of niche, genre and experience can have almost the same virtual experience. The new technology has enabled those who would have before been confused and have difficulties navigating and viewing the content they want, can suddenly find themselves, not only capable, but actually enjoying web-based video content with relative ease.
My Video Consumption
Over the last two weeks I have consumed video from a variety of places, including television, my DVR and the Web. Online I watch news clips that are featured on Yahoo.com. I have found myself watching online news clips because they are easy to access. Yahoo! features video from a variety of sites, including YouTube and abc.com. Sometimes I click on one video, then I watch other related videos. I typically do not seek out specific news videos, but they do catch my attention on Yahoo’s homepage.
However, I do seek out some online videos for entertainment. For example, I go to sites like abc.com to watch TV episodes, such as Grey’s Anatomy. I was pleased when the major networks started posting episodes online because it allowed me to watch TV episodes I missed. I also watch previously shown episodes on my DVR. I enjoy watching episodes online because there are only limited commercials. And with the DVR, I can fast forward through the commercials.
As I mentioned, I also watch video on TV. I watch TV for entertainment and information. I typically watch the news and my favorite shows on television, but if I cannot watch it on TV or I would like to see a news segment again, I go online. Although I like not having to watch commercials, TV is still most convenient in my house because we have a TV in almost every room. I also watch movies on my TV, instead of my laptop, because my TV has a bigger screen. With a bigger screen or projection system, I could see myself downloading movies from sites like NetFlix. Until then, I plan to watch most movies on my TV.
Ed Holmes Video & the Changing Media Landscape
As Arijit suggested, video is much easier to find now than it was only four years ago. There are sites that are entirely devoted to offering videos. One of the most popular, if not the most popular, is YouTube. Arijit mentioned several video categories offered on YouTube, but more video categories are added all the time. For instance, Sean Jean or P. Diddy, a recording artist and film producer, searched for a new assistant through YouTube. He requested applicants submit a video via YouTube explaining why they should be his new assistant. He received videos from over ten thousand applicants. He was obviously overwhelmed with the response because he released an update to his request. It’s amazing how sites like YouTube evolve so quickly and how many different topics it includes.
One reason it has become easier for users to watch online video is because of improved technology. Another reason is that
I think it is becoming easier to find online videos because the technology has improved. When Ed Helm made his video for Comedy Central, the technology was not as fast. I remember experiencing situations like those depicted in Ed Helm’s video. It was frustrating. Today watching videos online is much more enjoyable because I do not have to wait for the video to buffer.
I think the media landscape has changed because of changes in technology and because more user-created content is available online. More content is being created because of software like iMovie. Arijit suggested that new media is more fragmented. I think this fragmentation is partly due to the fact that so many individuals are creating content and because users have so many options. I think the landscape of new media will continue to change as technology changes and as users provide more online content.
Ashley McGee
Over the past two weeks I have consumed video through DVR and the web. During the day I use the web more frequently than any other source, because I have a computer at my disposal. I frequent CNN.com, tmz.com and yahoo.com for my news and entertainment. I estimate that I watch 5 to 10 videos online every day. The videos allow me to gather information quickly about a topic; in comparison to hunting through various news articles and blurbs for the same information. In the evenings, because of my schedule, I use the DVR so that I have the ability to watch shows at my convenience. I enjoy having the ability to watch a television series through the web, too. For instance, over the summer I missed recording the finale of a single season sitcom, I went to the networks web site and was able to watch the finale from their web site. The convenience of videos on the web has my attention and the more I frequent sites and explore what is available the more I find myself turning to my computer for entertainment and information. In the past I would have relied on the television for video and the web for text.
The Ed Helm’s video was actually hilarious, I remember trying to download/or watch videos a few years ago, and for the life of me I could not figure out why they wouldn’t work! I didn’t know enough about the coding in videos (and players) to realize that I probably did not have the right player. The funniest part about watching the video today was that it paused in the middle to buffer!!
The video reminded me of what a daunting task it was considered to watch a video on the web, and as much as the technology has improved, with certain sites it continues to be a task to watch a simple clip or episode. The new media landscape has definitely changed; it has become more user friendly and with Flash watching videos from the Web is more common place. The more people experience video on the Web the more of a norm it has become. I think it also helps that broadband connections are commonplace now and the dial-up era has passed for most people. As the technologies have improved, the connection capabilities (dial-up, cable, etc) and users are improving with it. I am one of those users that is learning at a more cautious pace; I enjoy having the capability to watch video, but sometimes I think twice about using my computer for long videos.
Most of the videos I have consumed have been television and DVD related because I watch a lot of movies and comedy shows on television. I do DVR shows, but even though that is digitally recorded it still is a television medium. Typically the web-based videos that I have or will watch are ones for classes, especially this class, or they are some mindless things someone wants me to see on youtube. Typically I visit youtube to watch a funny clip of a show that I have previously seen. More recently I visited youtube for some instructional guitar materials. I find it more often than not there are tons of guitarist out there posting their rendition of a song or simply showing you how to play a song, or merely just showcasing their talent. The best instructional guitar videos I have found, which are on youtube and a supporting web site are these: http://hobbies.expertvillage.com/videos/metal-sweep-picking.htm,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Aj2wx9PYxI
Now dealing with video players and codecs, I believe that video has gotten better, but only marginally. You still can go out there on the web and find videos that just don’t want to load or that take forever to load. I know I watch movie trailers on either apple or yahoo movies and they take forever to download if you choose the larger file size. There are definitely smaller video files out there, but for the most part I think the problems that Ed Helm addressed are still alive and well today. I think with any large video file you are going to have problems getting it onto the web and having people download your file in a timely fashion, unless you compress your video pretty small, but then you sacrifice other aspects of the file. Video players have definitely improved but files still run slow and are choppy and download speed all depend on your Internet connection and the file size of the video.
Over the past few weeks I have used the web for the majority of my video consumption. I frequent sites like cnn.com, justjared.com and yahoo.com for my news and entertainment fix. You Tube and Funny or Die are two of my favorite video sites. (Check out the Landlord- http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/74 and Jerry O'Connell's Tom Cruise parody- http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/3f716ffebe ) I use these sites for various searches, whether informational or purely entertainment.
The Ed Helms video definitely brought up the memories of sitting in front of my computer waiting for a video to download, buffer and play. While there have been advancements in technology since Ed's video I still encounter problems at times, especially if I ever try to watch music videos on Yahoo's Launch website. As others have mentioned the size of a file and the compression will still play a part in how fast your video downloads, no matter what kind internet connection you have or if you have flash on your player. The faster speed of the Internet due to cable and dsl have provided a help in small video views, while the use of flash has helped to make sites like You Tube a great sucess.
Since I really don’t have many TV channels, most of my video consumption comes mainly from the Internet. I generally check CNN.com several times a day, usually watching many of the videos of the day. I will occasionally get on YouTube and either look at random videos or sometimes I am looking for something in particular, especially in regards to music videos or things for class. Regarding YouTube, I definitely feel it is becoming a main steam way to get videos of a variety of topics from movie clips and trailers to music videos to commercials that have been dubbed over. The iPhone and iPod Touch both have a YouTube shortcut icon on the “desktop” making it easily accessible to any user. Many of the social sites, such as Facebook and Myspace, also allow users to upload video. I also use iTunes to download and listen to or watch video and audio podcasts. In fact, before I recently got my new car, I was subscribing to various car review video podcasts though iTunes. I still view photography-related podcasts through iTunes daily. I find with all the available videos online, including current TV shows, that I do not miss having all the cable channels available to me. I almost prefer looking at something over the Internet because generally you have the ability to pause whatever you are watching and come back to it. Unless you have a DVR-like cable box, you don’t have that option with TV.
The Ed Helm’s video made me laugh, mainly because I remember those times and still occasionally run into them while trying to watch a video. Basically, I didn’t “get into” using the Internet until I started college in 1999. I remember I had at least 5 different players for all types of media I got off the network. It also helped because back then students could share out their music and movies over the Tech network (I was living in the dorms) and I would sometimes need two or three different players to view all of the different material. Actually, the other night I was looking at http://www.firstshowing.net/, watching some trailers for upcoming movies and I ran into the whole buffering issue. It really surprised me because I had not run into any problem like that in quite a while.
Over the past two weeks, I have watched way too much TV, have watched a few DVDs, and have watched some video online. I fully admit to being a Law & Order junkie, so I usually get sucked into one of the numerous marathons that are on TV on a nightly basis. I used to have HBO, but after the cancelled all of my favorite shows, I cancelled HBO. So, my movie intake is limited to what's on cable, and in my Netflix queue. It's been awhile since I've gone to the movie theater. (I was wanting to go see Cloverfield, but thanks to arijit's advice, I'll be reconsidering.) The cost of going to the movies is prohibitive. I also think that improvements in home theaters (as I'm sure Nikki and her Circuit City summer job will atest to), the move to DVD format, and quicker home movie distribution have had an impact as well. In terms of online video consumption, I primarily use YouTube, and sadly, mostly to find ads to show to my undergraduate class. I have watched some missed episodes of TV shows online. However, my computer is a little old and slow, so I still have the occasional buffering problem. For specific entertainment information, I usually check out imdb.com, people.com and/or cnn.com (they have a surprisingly extensive entertainment section).
Moving on to Ed Helms' video, I thought it was hilarious. As I mentioned, I still have some buffering issues thanks to my ancient laptop. I think in the four years since the video was produced, accessing and watching online video has become easier. Technological advances have certainly allowed higher quality video to become quicker to download and view. Likewise, technolgies have become more user-friendly, allowing anyone to be able to create, upload, and disseminate video. Hybrid devices (like the iPhone) also let people have constant access to the Internet and online video. So, I definitely think the new media landscape is changing consistently and rapidly.
Video technology is changing rapidly – in fact the way we consume different types of video content has changed just as fast. I am still a TV lover when it comes to watching a television show or movie. I attribute this mostly to the fact that I’m so accustomed to using the technology of the television (although when the DVR and HD are added to the mix, the extra remotes are a bit frustrating) that it takes little to no thought on my part to turn it on and begin watching. Also, the television sets that I own have larger screens than the computer screens that I own, making them more viewer friendly. If, however, I want to find out the new tricks or other updates of the babies in my family I have never considered asking to watch the home videos on the camcorder, or through their television screen for that matter. I always sign into a blog and watch home videos through YouTube. For some reason, watching home videos with the computer/Internet medium does not seem so cumbersome and long. I assume this is because uploading and playing the videos are much faster on YouTube than actually getting out the camcorder, connecting it to the television, etc. etc.
I think that Ed Holmes video is how people feel a lot of the time when they are having to present material and the technology does not cooperate. For the most part technology is dependable and will be readily available – however, when you feel the pressure for it to work it always seems to go awry. As technology advances so does the necessity for the technological knowledge and familiarity level to advance. If the user is completely unfamilair with video technology it will most likely be very challenging, however some familiarity will enable the user to experience better video technology.
Over the last two weeks I have watched video mostly on TV. It is interesting to notice that the majority of the responses on the blog identified web as one of the sources of the video. I guess in my case, lack of time available during the day and evening does not allow me to really indulge into watching online videos. One of the main reasons is that I use the computer, in those very short periods of time available, only for work reasons (like reading a blog entry and writing a response). I admit that it is a very limited use of computer resources! But while I am doing something for the class, I can still watch TV as a background picture and get some of the news, like BBC world news in the evening. In terms of where I go to get specific types of video entertainment/ information? For news – it would be BBC, I find them more informative and internationally oriented than US news organizations. Sometimes I get a better understanding of US news watching BBC.
Regarding entertainment – it would be mostly DVDs – brought from home, sometimes I would use some Russian web sites to watch Russian films.
I found Ed Helms video fascinating. The reason is because it reflects the reality of Russian internet users. I don’t know the statistics but I assume that the majority of online users in Russia still use dialup connection, meaning that downloading and buffering can take all day... I would say that before coming to the US to study I did not watch any video online, sometimes even photos would be impossible to download. So I guess what is shown in the movie can still be current day reality in some of the countries! I think it is necessary to keep it in mind if we create web sites with the video hoping to reach international audience.
Normally I consume most of my video via the television, but the last couple of weeks I have consumed most of my video content through DVDs. I do not know if it has anything to do with the writer’s strike, but lately television, in my opinion, has little entertainment value. Rather than watch the mediocre television shows that have aired recently, I have been watching old episodes of ‘The Office,’ or recent releases to DVD. I do not generally use the internet as source to access video. The only videos that I consume via the internet are movie trailers. Although the movie Web sites that Arijit mentioned, imdb.com and rottentomatoes.com, are great movie Web sites, I tend to go to joblo.com, ign.com or comingsoon.net for movie videos. On the rare occasion I will go the YouTube.com or collegehumor.com to look at a video. On a side note, I must disagree with Arijit with regards to ‘Cloverfield.’ Aside from the constant motion sickness, I found the movie to be entertaining.
Although I do not use the internet to access video as often as I use television or DVDs, I agree with the majority that obtaining video from the internet is easier than it was a few years ago. Unless you fall in that two percent that does not have Flash player on your computer, you will be able to access a number of videos on the Web. As Ashley claimed, common broadband connections probably have a lot to do with this. Videos are more accessible and, for the most part, have limited buffering periods. However, I do agree with Scott when he said that sometimes videos can take forever to load. Like Scott, I run into problems trying to load movie trailers as well. Also, not all videos are available in Flash. There are often times that you need a specific program, whether it be QuickTime or whatever, to open certain videos. In these cases you run into the same problem as the fellow in the video. Although it is funny to watch the man in the Helm’s video, it is not funny when it takes an hour to download a program to watch a two minute video clip. It is more convenient now to watch video on the internet, but there is still room for improvement.
Over the past two weeks my main mode of media intake would have to be eith er DVR or cable. I tend to not use the internet to watch video (such as episodes of a show that are on-demand) simply because I can DVR the show in HD and then watch it at my convenience.
However, I do have to admit to watching an episode of the Harry Potter Puppet Pals with a group of friends this week. The youtube video is one of series of puppet shows involving the characters of Harry Potter. Even when I did not have the option of recording a show to my DVR, I tended to avoid watching shows online simply because I would rather watch it on a bigger screen.
The Ed Helms video, although it is four years old, raises an interesting point about the constraints that are inherent in Internet video. Even with the use of Flash encoding and broadband speeds, videos will still need to buffer a certain percentage before they can begin to play.
Although this issue is not as bad as it was in the time that the video was produced, the problem has now moved into the realm of mobile media. My iPhone needs a certain amount of the video to be buffered before it can play a YouTube video. So, while my computer might be able to access just about any video at any time with relative ease, my phone and my mobile devices will still struggle with the buffer problem.
One large change that has allowed buffer times to be decreased, is the invention of better encoding processes. These processes can take video and code the video down to a smaller file than ever before, yet it still retains a better resolution than ever before.
In the last two weeks I have consumed video through the web multiple times. I depend on the web do watch episodes of certain series that I have not been able to watch due to work or class. I am obsessed with Prison Break and Grey’s Anatomy and unfortunately, the two nights those shows come on television, I have class. Thanks to network sites and full episodes posted online I am able to catch those missed episodes very easily on my computer. I enjoy watching episodes online because the commercials are very short and I can pause and come back to them if interrupted. Back in the day, if you missed an episode of something, the chances of you seeing that episode were slim to none. Flash video has been a key reason why episodes are now posted online and easily viewed. Last week I was extremely disheartened when I found out my other obsession, Lost, will be aired on Thursday nights now (which we have class). I always forget that I can just go online and watch the episodes at a convenient time for me! Therefore, I am not too upset about missing Lost (I mean I have only been waiting since last February or March!!). I know that I will not take the capability of watching episodes online for granted.
It is amazing how much online videos have developed and improved. The Ed Helms video was hilarious to me because it portrayed exactly how online videos back in the day were not even worth the attempt nor time to watch. I still come across some of those same problems from time to time (stalling or buffering), but I think it has to do with the speed of my computer. But overall I am much more able to view videos online in a more than timely manner with good quality as well. Web sites such as youtube are incredible. I would have never thought 5 years ago that the web would have advanced so much with online videos. When I read that Flash is installed on 98% of computers used online I realized that at the time I installed Flash I had no idea what an amazing tool it was. I honestly think I did not even mean to download it, I was probably on some web site and I wanted to view something and clicked ok to download just for that purpose. But now I often see the benefits of having it on my computer. Youtube is a web site I never thought would exist. It is so quick and has a video on pretty much any topic I can think of and I often visit youtube for pure entertainment. Looking back, I now realize how the web has developed in only a few years and I can definitely relate to past issues with online video, which allows me to fully appreciate the improvements. I look forward to future advancements and am interested to see what will come next.
I usually start my day with turning Internet and TV on. Listening news on TV and at the same time, I check several different emails such as tech account, gmail, and daum, read brief U.S. and Korean news on Korean portal site, and go to cyworld (one kind of Korean facebook). Most videos that I watch is Korea website-based. I just visit one or two Korean portal sites and go detail if I want. Last 2 weeks, I was stuck with the third season of Lost on DVD. I want to review all third season before the fourth season premieres. I looked at fourth season premiere on official website and Youtube.
Ed Helm's video shows exactly what I had and still have when I try to visit and watch some Korean websites’ video. Sometimes, it may go worse than Ed Helm’s video. The videos on Korean websites are using their own media player. Therefore, if I want to watch video on specific site, I have to install their media player to watch. The whole process follows exactly as same as Ed Helm’s video. Therefore, sometimes, I try to search videos that I want on Youtube. The landscape of Internet seems that it has changed and developed a lot. However, in my opinion, I think it depends on who uses Internet at where. Since late 1990s at South Korea, IT is one of the major governmental public promises. IT industries have grown dramatically with governmental support. The governmental support sometimes also becomes to control the market. It makes a different landscape of Internet between U.S. and South Korea. One other thing is that the Internet usage between different generation. For example, college students and seniors do not have same Internet usage pattern. College students will spend most of their time to access Internet in high-speed. However, few seniors might be able to use Internet. Generation and local Internet landscape circumstance might be one of factors to estimate. I think it depends on where people use Internet and how they use Internet could tell the landscape of the Internet has changed or stayed the same.
I also think it's interesting how many people have commented that they use the web so frequently for video. Maybe I'm showing my lack of tech savvy, but I rarely use the web for video content. I utilize the Internet for electronic print media and only very occasionally for video. Granted, I use my television about as frequently. When I miss something on television, I ususally just miss it. I'm not a DVR user, and it has occurred to me, maybe twice, to find a program online that I would like to have seen but did not.
I am most likely to access video content online when it has been sent to me. I increasingly receive e-mails with links to video clips. Sometimes I hear discussion about something on YouTube or Yahoo and seek it out.
Again, I might be telling on myself, but I found Ed Helms' video to be a great caricature of my own computer usage. Agreed, those kinds of issues don't happen anywhere nearly as frequently as they once did. Thankfully, technology has obviously progressed rapidly enough to make it much more user-friendly!
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