iHCPL The Future of Media #79 Television

Exercises:

1. Visit Hulu, tv.com, or one of the other TV sites. Search or browse the site to see if your favorite show is listed.

I was able to find episodes of “Barney Miller” on both Hulu and tv.com. There were 68 on Hulu, and 66 on tv.com. I watched the full episode of “Atomic Bomb” on tv.com. But, alas, there were no episodes of “Doctor Who;” I’d have to buy them on iTunes or DVD. Oddly enough there were also no episodes of “You Bet Your Life,” not even on the network sites.

I was happy to discover Shiba Inu Puppy Cam and a live feed of a squirrel feeding at a bird feeder. It’s worth being aware of, especially in October.

2. Have you ever watched a TV show on your cell phone?

No, I have not.

If not, are you interested?

Not at all

Why or why not?

I can’t imagine paying for a service that bills me by the minute for watching TV on a tiny screen. Also, when I looked at what TV was available from my phone service (AT&T) it listed: “AT&T Mobile TV CBS Mobile, CNBC, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile TV, FOX Mobile, FOX News, MSNBC, MTV, NBC2Go, Nickelodeon, CNN Mobile, ABC Mobile, Disney Mobile, and Crackle.”

As a personal opinion, I find American commercial television to be exactly what FCC Chairman Minnow said about it almost a half century ago, “I invite you each of you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there for a day without a book, without a magazine, without a newspaper, without a profit and loss sheet or a rating book to distract you. Keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that what you will observe is a vast wasteland.”

Until they offer programming from PBS or the BBC, I’d be willing to pay a little extra to keep it off my telephone.

3. Are there any streaming programs or user "channels" that you watch?

Since the great changeover to digital broadcasting, this is the only way I have to watch PBS. The television set has become primarily a DVD and VHS playback machine.

Have you ever posted videos to a site on a regular basis?

I have never posted a video to a site.