Ditching Cable TV: Webtv as a solution

Image by Chris Tengi via Flickr

Comcast Digital Cable ghosts of mars online , what have you done for me lately? From the poor UX to the decreasing utility of live TV, Claire and I got rid of the box, increased our bandwidth, and moved to the world of webtv. Now powered by a Mac Mini, our value per unit of tv time has gone way up.

TV on the Web

TED Talks – TED (Technology Entertainment Design) is an annual conference with the mission of discussing “ideas worth spreading.” These talks are some of the most informative, concise expressions of thinking anywhere on the web.

VBS.tv - VBS is an online broadcast network with Academy Award-nominated director Spike Jonze (Adaptation, Being John Malkovich) as their creative director. Check out Illegal LA , a docu on illegal immigration with colorful viewpoints from all sides of the story, including an original member of the Crypts, the CEO of American Apparel, and undocumented kids on the streets of LA.

Hulu – Goes without saying, the best and most comprehensive source of traditional TV content on the web is Hulu. From subtle advertising that actually turns the volume down a notch, to embracing embedding and web-wide distribution from the get go, they’ve done a lot of things right. And the UX leaves little to complain about. Who would have thought that Fox/NBC would get this right?

South Park Studios – Self Explanatory. Watch the Over-loggin episode for some internet related jokes.

NYtimes Video – Self Explanatory. Great content.

Desktop Tools

Miro – Open source RSS reader for subscribing to video feeds. Great for managing TED talks if you don’t want to watch them on the web

Itunes – Self explanatory. Download AMC’s Mad Men.

What’s missing

Discovery is still stuck partying like it’s 1999. Recommendations, more often than not, travel via email or IM. Where is the powerful, cross platform, facebook-beacon-like tool that helps me both bookmark videos for later personal consumption and discover from the wisdom of my peers. I’ve heard that the teams at ffwd and Redux may have something up their sleeves.

What happens next?

What is the future of TV? Lots of money rides on the cable companies pulling their heads out of their proverbial asses and fixing the experience through their boxes. At the same time, there are competing box-top solutions in the form of the AppleTV, Vudu player, and Netflix’s offering. But none of these, lacking web browsers, provide access to the Hulu’s and VBS.tv’s of the webtv world. This is not a complete solution.

Will more people follow suit and start plugging in low-cost computers to their tvs, that, coupled with wireless keyboard and mouse, really deliver the web in a meaningful way? Is there room for a rogue 3rd party to develop a simple Mac Mini style box that’s reduced down to web browser, large harddrive, and get Miro (Itunes for bonus points)? Am I a total outlier – or will you plug a computer into your TV too?