The best thing about online video is getting to catch up on the stuff I missed on regular TV. Case in point: last night’s speech by Michelle Obama. Naturally the Dems have made a video of the speech available online, so I thought I’d track it down this morning. The experience was pretty cool: beautiful picture, no stuttering, links to other videos and the live event schedule. But there were several things that could have been better.

First some tips on the obvious stuff:

1. Don’t cut off the end of Michelle Obama’s speech in the middle of a sentence. This is not rocket-science video editing.
2. Please add a “close” button when the video is in full-screen mode. Don’t make me figure out I have to hit escape or at least Alt-Tab to get to a different open application. (This bugged me about Joost when I first tried it.)
3. If you’re going to have a collection of videos, make them all available in the on-demand video gallery instead of making recent highlights only accessible from a link on the front page.

Then there’s the less obvious stuff that would still make the online video experience better:

1. Give me a transcript (or link to one). I know that kind of defeats the purpose of online video, but sometimes I don’t have time to watch a whole speech. Give me the option of scanning the text too.
   
2. Create links to the speech from obvious places, like the regular DNC site. There is no direct link to Michelle Obama’s speech from the DNC’s front page, only from the front page of the DemConvention site.
3. Give me some video I can embed on my site. Don’t want to lose control of the messaging? Fine. Choose some good sound bites and just make those clips embeddable.

The DemConvention site is far from the only place to get online video of this week’s events, so many of the above nitpicks can be avoided by choosing another news source. Still, as the official online home of the event, I’d like to see the site make some video improvements. At least the obvious ones.

Two recent events have put the video download Battle Royale on hold… 1) Ben wants his Apple TV back – and who can blame him, I’ve been sitting on it for months. 2) Sony finally entered the fray with a Playstation video store, and I don’t own a PS3. Maybe I’ll get to it, maybe not.

But here’s what I will tell you: Today, the most enjoyable set-top box movie download experience is provided by Vudu ($300). The interface has a few quirks, but it’s quite efficient at navigating their large selection of nice-looking content and playback is often instantaneous. And for awhile, the software updates were fast and furious – which I appreciate. I believe Apple TV offers more HD content and makes it available perhaps sooner than Vudu. Apple TV is also cheaper ($230) and provides a variety of functionality (photos, music, video podcasts) plus iTunes beats everyone in the amount of television content available (for purchase). But for whatever reasons (probably starting with the remote), I just don’t like it. Meanwhile my Netflix box ($100) sits in the closet, waiting for a day when more current releases and/or high(er) def movies are available – via Netflix, or someone else.

My ideal solution would see TiVo and Amazon (or CinemaNow) pull the trigger on HD video rentals. I’d rather use my primary television accessory for the majority of my television viewing functions. Which is why these guys largely compete with the cable companies (PPV/VOD), rather than each other for mindshare (and revenue). And for a large percentage of the population, price is a factor – an existing cable box is much more economical than a Vudu.

I’m only bummed I couldn’t deliver on providing the much-requested head-to-head HD video quality comparison. In many cases the differences are subtle and difficult to definitively identify by swapping cables on the same television. (Not to mention, it’d be different cables – my Xbox 360 predates HDMI support.) I was hopeful of doing some side-by-side comparisons at my old office where they’ve got some Westinghouse flat panels lined up. But the timing hasn’t worked out. The downside of a day job (mostly on the other coast). Perhaps CNET’s John Falcone can round up a few folks on his team to pull together a professional and comprehensive comparison for us?

I’m impressed with the D-Link DSM-330 DivX Connected HD Media Player’s interface and ease of use and the playback quality for formats supported out of the box. There is a market for this type of device, similar to Apple TV, and there’s compelling online content that will appeal to many with this media extender. Unfortunately that online content is relatively scarce. A bigger issue is the default restriction to only DivX video or MP3 and WMA audio, which limits this product to those who either already have encoded the bulk of their collection as DivX or who take the time to “hack” the unit to stream other formats. In talking with a DivX representative, I’ve learned that they are planning to provide additional format support. In fact, the next version of the server software will support Flash video support, which should help quite a bit with online content in particular.

I can recommend this device with qualifications. If you have a large DivX collection or are just starting out and like the concept of all video on DivX then this is definitely a very desirable media extender for you. If you don’t fit into that category, I still encourage you to consider the device for it’s nice interface and strong potential for online video and other online content. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Read the rest of this entry at Brent Evans Geek Tonic »

A short while ago I speculated that Verizon would be offering VOD content around the Olympics. A day later the news came out that NBC U and Verizon had indeed done a deal, with on-demand clips and event replays coming to both FiOS TV and V-CAST.

Right now on FiOS TV you can already get several free Olympics features. They’re not bad either. Check out the gallery of FiOS screenshots I took yesterday. (Thanks, Heather!) Note: Dave also spent today up at VZ headquarters in Basking Ridge. More FiOS photos to come?

As I’d suspected, TiVo support for YouTube is indeed hidden within the 9.4 software update. Series 3 and TiVo HD subscribers should start seeing the application show up as early as tomorrow (Thursday), though the rollout will be completed over the next few weeks. And in some form of meta-irony, I’ve shot a brief video of YouTube on TiVo… on YouTube. For good measure, I also brought up the new SDV Tuning Adapter and TCP Remote screens on my Series3.

I’ve confirmed the YouTube content is indeed H.264 – thus marking the first time TiVo is rendering anything other than MPEG-2. (And why Series2 customers are out of luck – sorry, your hardware doesn’t support additional codecs.) In pressing TiVo on the issue of codecs, I also learned the forthcoming CinemaNow movie rentals will be provided (to both Series2 and Series3/TiVoHD units) as MPEG-2.

I can’t say I’m a huge YouTube fan (and I don’t like Mentos), but I’m impressed with the breadth of this app and the seamless playback. However, what I’d really like to see them do with the new H.264 capabilities is provide access to a much larger library of video podcasts without requiring TiVo Desktop Windows PC transcoding or TiVo to broker indivudal content deals before providing server-side transcoding. I know I’m not the only one waiting for Tekzilla…

Expect TiVo’s YouTube press release tomorrow AM, which is also when the tivo.com/youtube informational page will be activated.

There was general outrage last month (except from Dave) when word came down from NBC that it won’t show any live Olympics coverage if it’s set to be televised in the evening. That might not be a big issue if there wasn’t such a huge time delay between Beijing and the US. But as it is, we’re likely to read scores and text highlights long before we can actually see Olympic action from half way around the world.

Or so we’ve thought.

One industry insider (my own Deep Throat) says talks are ongoing at NBC about the possibility of posting teaser coverage online during the day. With the success of other sports events on the Web, NBC has to know there is huge revenue potential in making live or nearly-live highlights available for daytime viewing. The network says it’s not having any trouble selling ad spots. Why not expand the audience?

Of course the big issue here is that NBC doesn’t want to cannibalize its primetime TV viewership. I don’t know why it’s worried. Show me a clip of the latest 14-year-old phenom on the uneven bars during the day, and I’m still going to tune in at night to see her take on the balance beam.

Here’s hoping NBC’s interactive folks win the day on this debate. The summer Olympics only happen once every four years. I want all the coverage I can get. And, assuming I’m not alone, that translates into big bucks for NBC.

I waited until the last minute to book this trip to NYC and find myself in possibly the only Holiday Inn Express that charges over $400/night. To soften the blow, they’re providing free MLB.com audio streaming via the (also gratis) wired Internet connection. I generally forgo in-room network connectivity, opting instead for my travel router and 3G card – Fortunately (ha), the room’s located in an AT&T dead zone giving me the opportunity to discover this streaming media perk. Though, as a Slingbox owner and football fan, I don’t find it very compelling.