If you haven’t already taken a look at this, you owe it to
yourself to visit the CNET TV site. It’s
only in beta at this point, but it sure seems a lot more stable and polished
than most beta sites I’ve visited over the years.
Although there are a number of objects on the screen, the
interface overall is simple and intuitive. I really like the virtual remote control on the left, for example; the 8
channels they currently offer fit nicely in a list at the bottom of the
remote. It’s also extremely easy to
create a playlist from all the videos across all channels. So as I scan through the entire program
listing I can quickly click on the plus sign next to the segments I’m
interested in and they’ll show up in my personal playlist.
Since I like to keep up on the latest tech trends, I can see
myself creating a playlist every morning and having it run in the background
while I get settled in for the day ahead. I’d like to think the traditional TV networks will follow this model at
some point and offer bite-size segments from news and other programs for playlist
viewing. You missed a
fascinating segment from the Today Show? No problem. Add it to your NBC
playlist and watch it anytime later that day. I don’t care if the network adds a commercial to the front end. And from their point of view, it’s much
easier to disable the fast-forward button online than it is on a DVR, so 100%
of the online viewers will see the ad, compared to something less than 100% for
the traditional viewers.
P.S. -- In the original version of this post I neglected to mention that my colleague Barry Pruett alerted me to CNET TV; despite all my various news feeds and other tracking systems, I think this one would have slipped below my radar if Barry hadn't given me a heads-up.
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