I was chatting with one of my blogging buddies who mentioned I should check out The 4400. We had caught the first season on DVD and enjoyed it, but I heard or read something that implied the later seasons weren’t as good - and we moved on. However, he said he’s enjoyed all of them… So we’re going to give it a shot and before we miss more episodes, I headed on over to tivo.com for some online scheduling action.

As you can see from the image above, I was hit with a survey. Before getting into the nitty gritty of it, they asked why I was visiting the site. Apparently I gave the wrong answer because the survey abruptly concluded. Bummer.

So what could tivo.com use? We had an interesting suggestion the other day for some badge creation tools that hook into our units and display our top Season Passes and such. I think we could even go a little simpler by displaying our model(s) — though, they should be customizable. Everyone wants to brag about the size of their hard drive, right?

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So I’m about a week late on this one… But over the weekend I was exploring the new video search site VeZoom and stumbled on a Kevin Smith QA session from the San Diego Comic-Con. Which got me thinking - I should go back one of these years. I had a blast the last time I attended and, since it’s mostly of-topic for ZNF, I wouldn’t have to “work.” A few hours later I’m poking around Xbox Live Marketplace (since Gamefly is still pretty slow - more on that later), and discover all kinds of (mostly WB-related) Comic-con video on my Xbox: Panels, trailers, and interviews (by Major Nelson). Sweet!

In other Xbox 360 news, Microsoft just launched a “Registration, Warranty, and Repair Service” website. Let’s hope I never need it.

Though the studios just enlisted AT&T to go after their file-sharing customers and Azureus is being sued in France, I wonder if BitTorrent has some legitimate value for the content owners/creators. (Sure, BT can be used to share non-copyrighted media - but let’s be serious.)

Here’s the situation: My buddy Jason told me to check out Traveler, so I set up a Season Pass on TiVo. Only problem was, the third episode was airing and TiVo didn’t find any repeats of the earlier shows. Now what? I visit ABC.com and discover they have the first and third episode available for web streaming, but they’re missing the second (and now the fourth). Considering Traveler is a serial, I can’t miss any episodes. So off I go to pay the iTunes tax of $2/show only to discover they don’t offer it. Xbox 360 Video Marketplace? Microsoft doesn’t have a deal with ABC. All I (and ABC) am left with is BitTorrent - I downloaded the still-buggy FoxTorrent and headed off to The Pirate Bay. And guess what… BitTorrent helped make me into a live ABC television viewer. Not to mention I’m now pitching their show to others. Will it be enough to save Traveler?

In order, here’s how I watched the first four episodes:

1. ABC.com - The interface can be a bit tedious at times, but hey it’s free and works on Macs.
2. Xbox Media Center (XBMC) - The Xvid download looked nice on my HDTV.
3. TiVo Series3 - Timeshifted HD.
4. ABC - The series is so good, I’ll watch it live going forward.

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Here’s an interesting tibit I ran across: Cartoon Network is working on some sort of Adult Swim content/gaming mashup for web and consoles.

The Mega Series is a custom application accessible through a console browser and a PC browser. Once the application is built, the interface will be customized for the Flash capabilities of each distribution platform — including PC, PS3 or mobile phone — creating a VOD and gaming experience

Could be cool. Though it sounds like Xbox 360 (no web browser) and iPhone (reports of no Flash) owners will be left out. Guess we’ll find out in early 2008.

Jericho actor Brad Beyer (aka Stanley Richmond) had an interesting conversation with OnMilwaukee.com:

The biggest problem with our show is that so many people were watching it on the Internet or Tivo (which doesn’t count toward Neilson ratings), so I think the fans are now aware to watch it when it’s on.

Doh! I thought this was some rogue comment in the saving of Jericho, but after reading more from CBS execs (on Brent Evans & PVRWire) it’s clear they blame DVR usage and plead:

Please watch “Jericho� on broadcast television.

While I’m pleased to see the show renewed for at least 7 more episodes, I think CBS is a bit misguided on this point. If they need a larger audience, they can help themselves by not scheduling directly opposite American Idol and taking a 2+ month mid-season hiatus. Prior to the nutiness, I would have also suggested advertising - but they’ve gotten a ton… 25 tons to be exact. And it wouldn’t hurt to figure out how to track time-shifted viewing. DVRs aren’t going away. Quite the opposite: Their penetration and usage will continue to increase.

Forrester Research just released the results of a survey showing that consumers don’t care that much about a la carte channels and wouldn’t be willing to pay very much for the privilege. I might not have agreed a few years ago, but here’s why my opinion has changed:

1. Better shows on more cable channels
   ESPN and Comedy Central used to be the only networks I watched on cable, but now I regularly tune in to FX, TNT and the SciFi network at the very least.
   
   
2. On-demand viewing
   By ordering Netflix DVDs or downloading shows from the Web, I can get access to almost any content I want. If I wanted to drop my cable subscription, I’d virtually be able to get a la carte viewing through other distribution sources. (ESPN being the big exception)

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While I didn’t agree with CBS’s initial plan to kill Jericho, one of the few new shows I enjoyed, I’m glad the nuts had their say:

The network apparently has been impressed by the display of viewer passion, which included the delivery of 50,000 pounds of peanuts to its New York offices. In the season finale, a character replies “Nuts!” to a demand that the beleaguered town of Jericho surrender.

“You got our attention; your emails and collective voice have been heard,” [CBS Entertainment President Nina] Tassler wrote, and seven episodes have been ordered for midseason 2007-08. “In success, there is the potential for more. But, for there to be more Jericho, we will need more viewers.

In originally declining the renew Jericho, dwindling viewership was to blame. However, those numbers don’t exist in a vacuum: CBS put Jericho on a several month hiatus over the winter months and lost a good deal of momentum, they competed directly with American Idol during the spring, and in general television viewing is down. Probably making it premature to kill a good property that could have legs.

I give credit to the Internet community of fanatics who helped CBS rethink their decision. And I give credit to CBS for keeping an open mind, ordering additional episodes, and rerunning the series this summer to attract new viewers. Now about Smith…