Serious Timeshifting

So, with the repeats starting to outnumber the new television shows (they probably have two episodes left of some of these series, and they're waiting for sweeps week I'm sure...), I was in some serious need of some first run television. With Joost dead in the water for me at least, I decided to look online. I find YouTube good once in a while, but the short clips are never that satisfying, and one has to wade through a ton of them to find something decent. This led me to looking at the network's online offerings.

I was pleased to find that CBS had the entire season of many of their shows available online. I ad been wanting to watch one show in particular since the Fall, but the time is not convenient, and I've never seen an episode (Jericho). However, through the "miracle" of online video, I was able to view the season premiere, and now I'm hooked!

While not all of the networks have all of their shows online in the full screen, full season format, the smart ones do. This is their chance to cut directly into cable's digital cable with their on demand offerings, and deal directly with the consumer, selling their own, quite minimal advertising in the end. I'll write a comparison of what the networks are offering this season, but in the meantime, next time there's nothing new on TV, head online for the "new to you" content.

I've often wanted to be able to timeshift an entire season. I'm not sure how long they'll keep it online, so I might not be able to see all of the episodes before they pull the plug. However, short of being OCD with the VCR tapes and never going on vacation, or building a serious HTPC, watching online in this format is a viable option, and fairly practical.

--Jonas