Wired.com: Revision3 Wants to Kill Your Television

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/index.blog?entry_id=1563275' target='_blank'>http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/index.blog?entry_id=1563275</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Details have emerged about tonight's Revision3 announcement. According to a Revision3 spokesperson, we're going to see the launch of a full-fledged network -- an internet TV channel with wide distribution through iTunes, BitTorrent and some unannounced partners. The aim of Revision3 is to improve upon the traditional cable television model by delivering original programming to not just the television (via set-top boxes), but all platforms, including desktop PCs and mobile devices...The re-vamped network will kick off with a new logo, a new look and several new shows. The "fall lineup" includes new shows like "PixelPerfect with Bert Monroy," a how-to Photoshop program, "Mysteries of Science Explained," a informational science show that plays as a comedy, and "NotMTV," a show focusing on independent music. These new shows will join the current Revision3 line-up of weekly tech news show Diggnation, cooking show Ctrl+Alt+Chicken and the tech gadget review show InDigital. There are also some shows being planned around partnerships with electronic music magazine XLR8R and the Sony/BMG music behemoth."</i><br /><br />An interesting concept, and in truth someone needs to make the first steps, even if the next decade is littered with the corpses of companies that try to figure out this industry. Mobile/IP TV is about both the hardware and the software though, and it's hard to beat the simplicity of just turning on the TV to see what's on. I really enjoy watching downloaded videos on my Xbox 360, but the experience is anything but fast or streamlined - videos take a long time to download even over my 10 Mbps cable modem connection, you can only queue up six at a time, there are no simultaneous downloads, and there's no automated way to get new videos pushed down to you. Still, the first steps have been made, and I believe in 2007 we'll see even more steps toward Internet video on our TV sets...and I guess where I'm going with all this Xbox 360 talk is that Revision3 sounds cool, but I'd want to see a way to consume the content on my Xbox 360. We'll see - HD video over an IP network is no small feat, and it's certainly much easier to focus on small-device video.

[Felix Torres]

Original programming for net-based distribution?
Sounds a lot like the old MSN shows.

Hope the market is better prepared this time around.

[jickbahtech]

Fair enough on TV's simplicity winning out, but Videos "pushed" to you is easy. Why manually download when you can BitTorrent?

OK, that might be a little much for some people (and "file sharing" still scares some who might think its illegal). I've been using Democracy for about 6 months now and love it. It treats Podcasts like a Tivo, even down to deleting them after a set number of days. It's still technically a Beta, but its been very stable on machine. Run it at night while you sleep, and wake up to all your "shows" waiting for you. I'm currently subscribed to the h.264 version of TWIT. HD on demand (with a slight delay :wink: ).
That and there's some GREAT stuff out there to subscribe to. Along with Revision3 stuff, I would also RUN (not walk) to Ask a Ninja, and Hope is Emo. A 5 minute clip of AAN is so much funnier than 90% of whats out on TV.

check it out:
http://www.getdemocracy.com/

[Jason Dunn]

Fair enough on TV's simplicity winning out, but Videos "pushed" to you is easy. Why manually download when you can BitTorrent?

Because my Xbox 360 doesn't offer that option. ;-) I don't have a PC hooked up to my TV set, so my options are rather limited at the moment. Democracy looks cool though, I'll check it out.