RSSNBC Direct prepares for its next beta
By Michael Hatamoto | Published May 30, 2008, 2:49 PM
Since last November, NBC has been developing a service separate from its Hulu venture for downloading shows after they've aired, and watching them offline. But the initial beta suffered setbacks, so now it's gearing up for a second try.
NBC is expected to launch its NBC Direct online download service sometime in the next two months, in an effort to iron out as many problems it can before launching the service publicly this summer.
In its second attempt, NBC Direct will allow users to download content using the P2P service Pando and now offers several episodes in 720p high-definition format. The service is free but has short commercial ads similar to those seen on TV. During the private beta 1, some testers reported some serious problems, such as downloading all ads and no show.
NBC Direct allows users to download their favorite television shows for up to one week after the show airs on television. Users have up to 48 hours to finish watching a single episode before the episode's license expires and must be renewed. Designed for Microsoft Windows users, NBC Direct has a built-in filter that stops the service from playing any copyrighted video clips that may be pirated.
The service will allow viewers to watch episodes of hit shows "The Office," "30 Rock," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." NBC initially had planned a larger catalog of shows when beta 1 first launched, and has not announced when more shows will be made available through beta 2.
Previously, the service only offered the most recent episode of each running series at any one time, meaning that folks coming back from long vacations, or that wish to pick up on a series they've only just now seen on TV somewhere in the middle, can't download from Episode 1 and start from the beginning.
Beta testers are still complaining of startup problems that often prevent them from even being able to install the program properly. Assuming users managed to get the program installed, some users discovered they were unable to play content, even with patches and updates.
The service uses Microsoft's DRM and currently works in Windows only. NBC plans to launch Mac OS X and Linux versions of the program, but has not given a target date.
Hulu is actually pretty nice (particularly with an adblocker going). Good quality playback without too much demand on bandwidth and pretty quick to browse through. There's a good library of content to keep busy with.
The networks all want to offer their own solutions though on top of the combined effort.
You won't see the sporting events up on the network sites for the simple reason that they are owned by the leagues after the initial broadcast.
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First time here to this site.
This caught my eye cause I think this is how in a few years we will get most of our shows.
Which is cool as long as it's hidef
I wonder how live events could be put in this format so if I miss game 7 of the NBA finals I could watch it the next day...
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hahaha so let me get this traight, they have a beta site that u might be able to download and instlall software from to watch 30 mins of adverts if your luky enough to get the software working at all, are you sure you dont have to pay anything :P what a croc, theres a few sites out there that you can allready dwn/ld whole series from or watch them streaming 1 episode after the other
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as usual NBC lags behind the rest....
they need to hire FOX to fix everything....
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Is "completely broken" a set back?
NBC has been trying to get their streaming right for quite a while, since about the time "Kidnapped" was pulled from the air. I think they're a bit confused but hopefully, by 2011, they'll get it right.
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Sounds horrible, won't be using such a service myself. Hulu on the other hand is epic, it just needs to be expanded to other countries already
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