Saturday, September 10, 2005
PBS Unveils NerdTV, First Downloadable Web-Exclusive Series From a Major Broadcaster
Posted by Jeremy Charette in "CONTENT" @ 08:00 AM
"Featuring PBS technology columnist and industry insider Robert X. Cringely's interviews with personalities from the ever-changing world of technology, NerdTV is now available for download from www.pbs.org/nerdtv. NerdTV's inaugural guest is original Macintosh programmer Andy Hertzfeld. NerdTV viewers are encouraged to download and copy the shows, share them with friends and even post them on their own Web sites -- all legally. This groundbreaking series will be distributed under a Creative Commons license, so viewers can redistribute the shows or edit their own non-commercial version. The 13 one-hour shows will be made available on a weekly basis after the launch date, and all previous episodes will continue to be available through the NerdTV Web site."
PBS gets it! Rather than fight the consumers, and assume we are all digital media pirates, they're going to give us what we want! After the shows air, they'll be available almost immediately for download in a variety of formats. Mpeg-4, with and without subtitles, MP3, AAC, OGG, as a podcast, and even as a good old fashioned text transcript. Soon they'll have a java based video player so you can view the show on their website without any plugins. PBS was among the first with HDTV, and now this. When will the rest of the industry catch up to PBS?
PBS gets it! Rather than fight the consumers, and assume we are all digital media pirates, they're going to give us what we want! After the shows air, they'll be available almost immediately for download in a variety of formats. Mpeg-4, with and without subtitles, MP3, AAC, OGG, as a podcast, and even as a good old fashioned text transcript. Soon they'll have a java based video player so you can view the show on their website without any plugins. PBS was among the first with HDTV, and now this. When will the rest of the industry catch up to PBS?
