For most of the twentieth century, the only ways to watch television were through over-the-air broadcasts and cable signals. With broadcast TV, an antenna picks up radio waves to transmit pictures and sound to your television set. With cable TV, wires connect to a set-top box or to your TV itself. These wires run from your house to the nearest cable TV station, which acts as one big antenna. Aside from a few options like satellite TV, broadcast and cable were -- and still are -- the main ways to watch television.
New technology can change the way we receive news and entertainment, though. Radio challenged newspapers in the early 1900s, and television challenged radio. Now, it looks as though traditional television has its own competitor, but it's not one that's easily separated from television. It even has television in its name -- it's what we're now calling Internet TV.
Internet TV, in simple terms, is video and audio delivered over an Internet connection. It's also known as Internet protocol television, or IPTV. You can watch Internet TV on a computer screen, a television screen (through a set-top box) or a mobile device like a cell phone or an iPod.
It's almost the same as getting television through an antenna or a series of cable wires -- the difference is that information is sent over the Internet as data. At the same time, you can find even more variety on Internet TV than cable TV. Along with many of the same shows you find on the big networks, many Web sites offer independently produced programs targeted toward people with specific interests. If you wanted to watch a show on vegetarian cooking, for example, you could probably find it more easily over the Internet than on regular TV.
Because many sites offer on-demand services, you don't have to keep track of scheduling. For sites using webcasting or real-time streaming video, though, live broadcasting is still an option.
Internet TV is relatively new -- there are lots of different ways to get it, and quality, content and costs can vary greatly. Shows can be high-quality, professionally produced material, while others might remind you of Wayne and Garth broadcasting "Wayne's World" from their basement. Traditional TV networks are also easing into the technology and experimenting with different formats.
Live Internet TV Types and Prices
Although video quality and screen size vary, right now Internet TV offers a few more benefits than traditional television does. It also offers a variety of options and formats. You can watch two basic types of broadcasts through Internet TV: live broadcasts or on-demand videos.
Web sites like wwiTV compile lists of live broadcast channels. If you want to catch up on the news in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for instance, simply click on Argentina -- channels are usually grouped by country -- and browse through the list of available broadcasts. Some TV networks also play live, streaming feeds of their programming on their official sites. Either way, it's like watching live TV on your computer screen. You can't pause, back up or skip through parts of the broadcast that don't interest you.
On-demand videos, on the other hand, are usually arranged like a playlist. Episodes or clips are arranged by title or channel or in categories like news, sports or music videos. You choose exactly what you want to watch, when you want to watch it. Comedy Central's official site, for example, features the Motherload, which lets you browse through prerecorded clips from programs such as "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report." Although it's not live television, you don't have to worry about networks taking down clips because of copyright issues.
In addition to the two basic broadcast categories, there are three basic fee structures for Internet TV:
Free: Aside from the fee you pay for Internet connectivity, many Internet TV sites or channels don't cost anything. Many of these free sites are supported by advertising, so banner ads may show up around the site, or short commercials may play before you watch videos. It may seem a little bothersome to wait for video, but it's the only way for the Web site designers to make money and offer quality content for you to watch. Plus, the wait is never too long -- ad lengths can range from a few seconds to 30 seconds, which is still shorter than most commercials.
Subscription: This works just like your cable bill. You typically pay a monthly fee for a certain number of channels or on-demand video. Prices are constantly changing since Internet TV is in its early stages, but subscriptions can cost as little as $20 and as much as $120, depending on the number of channels you want.
Pay-per-view: Pay-per-view videos or podcasts can cost nothing if the site is free, and major networks generally charge between $3 and $7 for downloads and rentals.
The most popular ways to watch Internet TV are available in a variety of formats and costs. Joost, a free peer-to-peer program, offers shows from MTV, Comedy Central, CBS and Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim." Apple released the Apple TV in March 2007, and the device allows you to wirelessly transmit movies and TV shows from iTunes onto your television screen. Microsoft's Xbox Live Video Marketplace, on the other hand, lets Xbox 360 users download and rent movies and TV shows onto the system's hard drive.
There are two things that make Internet TV possible. The first is bandwidth. To understand bandwidth, it's best to think of the Internet as a series of highways and information as cars. If there's only one car on the highway, that car will travel quickly and easily. If there are many cars, however, traffic can build up and slow things down. The Internet works the same way -- if only one person is downloading one file, the transfer should happen fairly quickly. If several people are trying to download the same file, though, the transfer can be much slower.
In this analogy, bandwidth is the number of lanes on the highway. If a Web site's bandwidth is too low, traffic will become congested. If the Web site increases its bandwidth, information will be able to travel back and forth without much of a hassle. Bandwidth is important for Internet TV, because sending large amounts of video and audio data over the Internet requires large bandwidths.
The second important part of Internet TV is streaming audio and video. Streaming technology makes it possible for us to watch live or on-demand video without downloading a copy directly to a computer.
There are a few basic steps to watching streaming audio and video:
A server holds video data.
When you want to watch a video, you click the right command, like "Play" or "Watch." This sends a message to the server, telling it that you want to watch a certain video.
The server responds by sending you the necessary data. It uses streaming media protocols to make sure the data arrives in good condition and with all the pieces in the right order.
A plugin or player on your computer -- Windows Media Player and RealPlayer are two popular examples -- decodes and plays the video signal.
Although Internet TV promises quite a lot, the concept doesn't come without criticism. Users with slow Internet connections may have difficulty getting data fast enough. Many complain that the video quality pales in comparison to HDTV screens, and Web sites have difficulty providing sufficient bandwidth. Peer-to-peer software may offer a possible solution, since it spreads out the amount of available information across lots of computers instead of putting all the pressure on one server.
Internet TV could eventually change the way we get our news and entertainment. People who are enthusiastic and knowledgeable about certain subjects but don't have a contract with a major network can produce their own shows if they have the right technology -- you can read more about what it takes in How Podcasting Works. Since video recording and editing technologies are becoming more accessible to the public, it will become easier to transmit user-generated content from all over the planet.
Listening to Podcasts
It is very easy to listen to a podcast. Once you master a few simple steps and search techniques, there are virtually no limits to what you can hear.
To listen to a podcast:
Go to a podcasting site.
Click on the hyperlink for each podcast you want. You can listen right away on your computer (Windows, Mac and Linux support podcasting) or download the podcast to your portable media player.
You can also subscribe to one or more RSS feeds. Your podcasting software will check the RSS feeds regularly and automatically pull content that matches your playlist. When you dock your portable media player to your computer, it automatically updates with the latest content.
Since the advent of MP3 technology, other audio file types have been created that support different sizes and capacities of streaming audio. These include AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) and WMA (Windows Media Audio). No matter the format of your audio, there is free technology available to make listening possible, such as Windows Media Player, Apple Quicktime, VLC media player or Winamp.
Now that you know how to listen podcasts, the next logical step is to learn where to find podcasts that pertain to your interests. The iTunes Store is one purveyor of podcasts. Also try consulting directories like The Podcast Network or The Podcast Directory, and you are likely to find a listing that intrigues you.
You'll probably find any variety of podcast you want on the Web, but if you can't seem to find what you're looking for, you can create your own podcast with relative ease. Virtually anyone with a computer and recording capabilities can create his or her own podcast. Podcasts may include music, comedy, sports and philosophy -- even people's rants and raves.
Creating Podcasts
Recording a podcast is almost as easy as listening to one. Here's how the process works:
Plug a microphone into your computer
Install an audio recorder for Windows, Mac or Linux (free software for audio recorders includes Audacity, Record for All and Easy Recorder V5).
Create an audio file by making a recording (you can talk, sing or record music) and saving it to your computer.
Finally, upload the audio file to one of the podcasting sites (FeedForAll has a tutorial on how to upload a file).
After recording your podcast, you will want to promote it. FeedforAll and Self Seo offer advice to guide you through this endeavor. Their recommendations include informing the public on how to access and listen to your podcast, advertising your podcast's availability with an eye-catching graphic, writing a press release to notify the public of your podcast and creating a niche group of devoted listeners and assessing their responses to your podcast through installation of a feedburner link. A feedburner link keeps tabs on the number of times your podcast has been linked to and any new comments that your listeners have made. This link can be set up through Feed Burner. Tailoring your podcast to your listeners' feedback makes for happy listeners who will, in turn, do the heavy lifting of your promotional work for you.
Several companies are creating new gadgets to improve users' podcasting experiences. San Francisco-based Odeo offers a service that creates custom playlists of podcast files, which can then be downloaded onto portable audio players. Griffin Technology makes a device called Radio Shark 2, which sells for about $50 and can be programmed to record music and radio programs.
Some experts say podcasting still has a long way to go before it catches on with the masses, but its growing popularity is undeniable. It's possible that podcasting will eventually become as popular as text blogging, which grew from a few thousand blogs in the late '90s to more than 7 million today. Some podcasts are already providing thousand of downloads a day, and they're not just entertaining their listeners -- they're also doing business. We'll see how companies are creating and using video podcasts in the next section.
Video Podcasts
Video podcasts -- also called videocasts, vidcasts and vodcasts -- combine the audio component of podcasting with visual media. This technology provides a forum for a wide variety of video podcasters, including filmmakers and artists, vloggers (video bloggers), and even those who just like sharing their videos.
Video podcasting is also helping build business, especially in the sales and marketing sectors. Through video podcasts, businesses both large and small can advertise their wares and services in a modern, cost-effective way. In the past, big businesses had better access to expensive studios where sophisticated advertisements were produced, but now even the smallest businesses can create high-quality media with just a camera, editing software and the Internet.
You watch a video podcast in much the same way as you would listen to a podcast.
To Watch a Video Podcast:
Locate a video podcast a directory or search engine, like Videocasting Station, Vodstock, and Open Media Network.
Download the video podcast to your portable media player or click the hyperlink.
Just like you do with your favorite podcasts, you can use an RSS Feed to download the latest updates of the video podcast.
Creating a video podcast naturally requires more effort than creating a podcast because you're adding the element of visual media. Therefore, video podcasting also requires some extra components, including a video camera, editing software, video encoder and video host.
To Create a Video Podcast:
Film your video.
Upload your video to your computer.
Using editing software, add special effects and graphics or correct any problems in the video.
Determine whether your video will be streaming or downloadable, and use a video encoder to format it in a manageable file size for online viewing.
Find a host for your video podcast. Make sure that the host can accommodate your video's bandwidth.
If your host does not provide an RSS feed for your video podcast, create one yourself.
Lastly, promote your video podcast just as you would a podcast.
The podcasts and video podcasts you find online range from the amateur to the streamlined and sophisticated. They are a testament to the accessibility of this technology for listeners and creators alike. Anyone can -- and clearly anyone will -- podcast.
