Copyright 2005 Jim Edwards It will happen! TV and the Internet
will eventually merge into one giant multi-media ?melting pot?
that includes everything from live footage and old reruns to
garage videos posted by your next door neighbor?s kid. Just like
cable TV fractured network TV, the Internet will enable everyone
with a voice, a video camera, and something to say to fracture
cable TV even more. But the real TV revolution on the Internet
will only happen when marketers stop trying to copy TV, with its
commercials and outdated modes of revenue generation, and start
copying the ?pay-per-view? and ?infomercial? models. One company
at TVexe.com has started offering television broadcasts from
around the world via Internet streaming. The free software (with
optional one-time $25 upgrade) allows you to stream TV feeds
from around the world to your desktop through a broadband
connection. The picture rates a ?C+? on the quality side, but,
just like Internet telephony 6 years ago, you can expect the
quality to improve quickly. If they can keep costs down long
enough to figure out how to make money, this company will likely
succeed because they provide programming that?s virtually
impossible to get anywhere else. But, for the rest of us
?mortals? who want to stream our images, video, and audio across
the Web, trying to provide ?live TV? broadcasts spells the kiss
of death in both time and money. For the vast majority of
companies doing business online, it will prove virtually
impossible to get a meaningful number of people to show up to a
website at ?8:00 P.M. Eastern? for tonight?s live ?TV?
broadcast. But what will work online is adopting the
?pay-per-view? model found in hotels where you watch the program
you want, when you want. Offering website visitors video content
they can download, start, stop, play, pause, and view on their
own schedule holds the key to online ?TV? success. I hate to
make this overly simplistic, but bottom line: an effective
online ?TV Station? only needs a basic website and the ability
to allow ?viewers? to download or stream video files. All of us
get two basic options when it comes to creating content to
deliver from our ?TV Station? website. First, you can do ?screen
capture? video, which combines video of the action taking place
on your computer screen with your voice as narration, to create
excellent instructional content. You then allow viewers to
download this ?TV program? from your website either free or for
a free. Two programs enable you to do this quickly and easily:
?Screen Cam Generator? from http://www.ScreenCamSoftware.com and
?Camtasia? from http://www.TechSmith.com. Your second option
involves using full-motion video, either from a web-cam or a
camcorder. The content most easily gets published online either
as a WMV file (Windows Media Video) played with Microsoft?s
Media Player, or FLV file (Flash Video) played with the free
Flash ?plug-in? found in most Web browsers. Regardless of which
option you choose, remember: unlike traditional TV, successful
models of ?TV-style? content online will empower the viewer to
watch when and where they choose.
About the author:
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist, author, speaker
and information publisher. Jim Edwards publishes a NO BS
multi-media newsletter that teaches "real" people how to make
"real" money online at http://www.IGottaTellYou.com
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