TV
Virtually everything is smaller, fuzzier while watching TV online
AMERICAN-STATESMAN TELEVISION WRITER
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
The prime-time TV schedule, once committed to memory so we could keep track of our favorite shows, long ago lost its hold. Digital recorders and, increasingly, online options have unchained us from the tube at designated days and times.
The broadcast networks, which initially resisted releasing us, now provide free multiple viewing options. After most series air on TV, the networks run ads promoting the show on their Web sites. The next day, viewers can catch the previous night's installment.
Fox.com, where you can see shows such as 'The Simpsons,' has the best video quality.
My trip down the Web version of 'Desperate Housewives' Wisteria Lane had its own drama.
If you missed Sunday's "Desperate Housewives" on ABC or Monday night's "K-Ville" on Fox, no problem. Tune to www.abc.com or www.fox.com for the latest installments. Or if you just want to see them again, go right ahead.
TNS Media Intelligence, a research company that provides information to advertisers and media outlets, says about 16 percent of viewers with Internet access at home watch some TV shows online. That's not exactly a widespread phenomenon, but the percentage has nearly doubled from a couple of years ago, so it's definitely catching on.
Why are some people watching shows in a smaller, less glorious format than their big-screen high-def TVs?
People say they primarily do so for convenience and for the ability to avoid commercials, according to the TNS study. Commercial breaks do exist online, but they're minimal compared to broadcast episodes. An hour-long show runs about 43 minutes on the Web, while a half-hour sitcom takes a mere 22 minutes. Ads and promotional spots rarely run more than 15 to 30 seconds, and the number of breaks are few.
Most people who watch online, the study found, are catching up on a missed episode. They're not necessarily choosing to watch TV on their computers instead of their TVs.
If you're among the majority of couch potatoes who have not yet taken advantage of this handy online option, you should know that not all network Web sites produce equal quality or convenience. Your intrepid TV reporter spent several hours over a couple of days, trolling the four major networks' Web sites to watch full episodes of prime-time series.
For convenience — and especially for those of us who cannot remember where shows have shuffled around the schedule ("Scrubs" has been moved eight times!) — TV on the Web can't be beat. But I wouldn't choose to watch online instead of on real TV. No way.
The biggest online negative is picture quality. I know this can depend on which Web browser you use, so I used two, Safari and Firefox, with a Mac hard drive and 16-inch-wide Dell screen. And it can depend on which media player you use and whether your computer is ancient or new. Older, slower computers can't handle video as well as newer models.
First stop: ABC.com for the most recent episode of "Desperate Housewives." It was posted by date and easy to find. Screen size options range from mini (3 inches by 1.5 inches) to normal (5.5 inches by 3 inches) to big (8 inches by 4.5 inches) to full-screen (however big your computer screen is). The bigger the screen size, the fuzzier the picture. The video was a little choppy, and the episode took longer to load than shows on the other networks' sites.
Next stop: CBS.com for a look at the sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" and the drama "CSI." When I clicked on the most recent episodes, I had to download Flash Player both times, and the video quality was jerky. This was by far the worst of the lot, and the screen size option, besides full-screen, was an old-fashioned square 5.5 inches by 4 inches, instead of the more modern wide-screen shape.
Next stop: NBC.com for the latest installments of "The Office" and "Bionic Woman." Good screen options, from "normal" (7 inches by 4 inches) to "large" (9.5 inches by 6.5 inches) in addition to the full-screen choice. The video fares pretty well, even on the largest screen, but NBC's downfall online is that episodes on the menu are numbered but have no dates, which makes for frustrating searches. Most of us know when we missed something, not what number it is or what title it has.
Final stop on this tour: Fox.com, which has by far the best online video quality. No jerky movement, no fuzziness. And there are four screen-size options. Episodes have both dates and titles, for easy searching. I breezed through episodes of "King of the Hill" and "K-Ville" in no time.
Watching a full episode of a missed show is a lovely convenience, especially since it takes less time. But seriously folks, bigger is better, and I'll take my TV on the big-screen set. Unless I forget, and then I'll check out the free online option.
