My square eyes are now widescreen

[andrewducker]

[Poll #1656749]

A quick definition for the non-technology-minded:
If you're watching it on iPlayer or via any website, or via Video On Demand, then you're streaming. If you download a file to your computer to watch whenever you feel like it then you're downloading.
Oh, and VHS tapes, for the purposes of this poll, count as shiny disks. You are also banished back to the Second Millenium.

Comments

[andlosers.livejournal.com]

Also, the context of a TV channel is likely to change. Think user curation.

[bart-calendar.livejournal.com]

Yes, but the desire to click buttons on a remote to see what is on right now, rather than downloading or recording of otherwise DVRing won't go away.

The boomers have spent 50 plus years scrolling through their TV to see what's on. That's too ingrained a habit to change.

[andrewducker]

Although a decent interface helps a lot. The cable TV interface we have is a simple scrolling block of programs (a bit like this.

At the moment you press up/down to choose a show, and you can also scroll right to choose a show in the future to record. The new interface (due any month now) also allows you to scroll left and choose a show in the past - and then will automatically use Video On Demand to show it to you.

Simple enough that even old people can use it.

[andrewducker]

As in YouTube channels?

I can see those being a nice niche, like public Spotify playlists, or last.fm telling people what you've watched recently.

[matgb]

Is bascially what I'm thinking. Channels as we know them today won't exist, but everyone will be creating their own channels, similar to Spotify &c.

Lots of people will simply subscribe to a channel created by a friend of trusted source and watch their stuff, some will create bespoke lists, etc.

[andrewducker]

What do you mean by "their stuff"? And how would I watch it? I can see shared recommendations working, but spotify playlists are 3 minute bursts of songs - I'm not goign to watch a bunch of different shows in the order that you recommend them, that'd be barking.

[matgb]

OK, just thinking it through.

TV production company makes show A that I like, and announces show B I might like, and that it'll release an episode a week, or fortnight, or whatever.

I subscribe to it and put it on my channel. You, as a man of taste, subscribe to my channel.

Thus, if you want to watch something on TV, you look at my channel to see what's on that you haven't seen yet. If there is, you can watch it either by show or by broadcast date.

I've already, for example, shared OPML files of my podcast subscriptions to a few people, I'm guessing there will be easier ways to do that over time.

Some people will put effort in to finding out new shows and deciding whether they want to subscribe or not. Others will simply want to turn on t'telly (or equivalent entertainment device) and watch something.

I suspect some of the big channels will continue to exist in some way or other, so many many UK people will subscribe to the BBC Comedy channel, or Dave, or similar. But they won't exist in their current broadcast form.

[andrewducker]

Aaah, so as a recommendation system, not a channel as we know it today. Yeah, I'll go with that.

I'm sure that brands like the BBC will continue to exist, particularly the ones that commission/produce shows.