Internet TV

The Explosion of Internet TV

Internet television is only beginning to show itself, but in some sectors it is already huge. We are getting to a point where our bandwidth can accommodate good quality streaming media, while also the bandwidth costs are really low, so for the broadcasters, this means a huge market.

Internet TV Forms

Internet TV shows itself in many forms, some of them are very minor for now, but will be much bigger later on.

Clips

It is quite common to read CNN for example and have a video story sitting somewhere in the article, accompanying it. This is a feature that will be used much widely in the future I believe. Video blogs also belong to this category, and in fact, so does Youtube and other video sharing sites, they are a form of internet TV too!

Live Channels

Remember how cool it was when radio stations put up their live broadcast on the net for the first time? I only turn on my radio in the car nowadays, at home I can just go to the radio's website and hear the live broadcast. The same is happening for TV. If you take a look at an internet TV list you will find hundreds of channels. This is kind of what is going on in the world.

It is not yet widespread that you can go to HBO and click on a link and watch it live, but I think with the advance of technology it will be. Public stations will all have live broadcasts and we can throw out our TV. Or can we?

How to Watch?

Replying to my question above, I don't think we'll want to throw out our TV just yet. People usually want to watch the TV on a big screen, while if your working a big screen can get in the way. Many people also enjoy time away from their PC or laptop, even if they are just sitting in front of the TV. It is possible though to watch internet TV through a TV (that sounds stupid enough), maybe alternatively, we can throw out our TV cable.

Now I'm sorry, but that's not the case just yet either. Current cable TV is capable of transmitting HDTV for example, while a DSL line will not be able to. We will need a boost of bandwidth to do that, but I'm comfortable that it will come.

Free or Foe?

The view is mixed here. There are a bunch of stations you have to pay for, but there are also a load of free ones. The quality ones are usually paying stations, but you can occasionally find the odd one out which is free, but really good. The good news is that there are so many, you are bound to find one you like. Services like Youtube and Google Video are free of course. You won't find the latest films there, but there are plenty of music videos, funny videos and so on that you can watch.