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Free and legal Internet TV and movies: Coming soon.

December 2, 2008 in internet, new media, tv, web | No comments

I get my TV through an … err, alternative delivery mechanism. One that for me, makes more sense than channel surfing, remembering to program the PVR, or sitting myself down in front of our aging TV set at an appointed time and being subjected to idiotic commercials and the bombastic media hype of an industry in its death throes.

In the US, interesting developments in free online TV and movies have evolved over the last couple of years, from Joost to Hulu. Even YouTube is talking about streaming movies in the near future.

Unfortunately geo-blocking is preventing us from accessing much of this content in Canada, but the business model for content delivery will change here too, quickly.

Here’s an interesting podcast on why and how this will all come to pass.

Article link: Legal and Free: TV Shows and Movies on the Net

Podcast link: Listen

(via Bill St-Arnaud)

We (Canadians) have arrived, it would seem

December 12, 2007 in apple, itunes, tv | No comments

National Hockey League games are among the first programming to be offered through Apple’s iTunes video download service to launch Wednesday, Apple Canada has announced.

CBC: Apple launches video downloading in Canada with slate of TV programs
full story

Turn TV shows into podcasts

April 12, 2007 in internet, os x, tv, video | No comments

TVShows is a Mac OS X app that allows you to subscribe to torrent streams of your favourite TV shows. The application runs in the background. Whenever a new episode of one of your “subscriptions” appears, TVShow starts a download in your default BitTorrent application.

Pretty cool and it’s dead simple to use.

link: TVShows

Warning: the legality of downloading TV shows is sketchy at best

ArtsJournal video

March 22, 2007 in diversions, ipod, itunes, music, theatre, tv, video, web | No comments

‘Back in Ottawa after a quick trip West, and I feel oddly compelled to to keep postings here going, so here’s a ‘content quickie’:

ArtsJournal.com maintains a page of arts and culture videos culled from YouTube. Clips rotate through the page over the course of a couple of weeks and you can find some really great stuff. And those videos will lead you to other videos in the same vein, and, can you say, “where did the afternoon go?”

Currently featured are a wide range of clips; from Donald Byrd and Stan Getz in 1957 to David Sedaris on Letterman. Check out the hilarious Rachmaninov Had Big Hands clip.

Link: artsJournalvideo

Don’t forget about TubeSock if you want to move some of this video to iTunes, your iPod, or simply save them to your computer.

MiTube

February 5, 2007 in apple, applications, diversions, film, ipod, os x, tv, video | 2 comments

‘Back home after an absolutley wonderful trip to Costa Rica with family and friends.

On our way home we had a six hour layover in Atlanta. While Jacinthe was engrossed in her book, and Luca was busy with some rented DVDs, I was reminded what a great travel companion the iPod video can be. Time flew by as I caught up on episodes of 30 Rock, Rome, Studio 60 and the Henry Rollins Show ;-)

Recently, some friends and co-workers asked me about the best way of getting video on the iPod, especially given the Canadian version of the iTunes Store doesn’t sell TV shows or feature length films. So here are a few (Mac) applications I’ve come to depend on to get great looking video onto the iPod:

  • Handbrake (freeware): Converts DVDs directly to iPod compatible MP4 video files.
  • ViddyUp (US $9.95): Converts almost any video file format, such as AVI, to iPod compatible MP4 file format.
  • TubeSock (US $15): Grabs video clips from YouTube and converts them to iPod compatible file formats.
  • Also great for travel is MacTheRipper (freeware) which rips DVDs to your hard drive. Use it to move your movies to your laptop before a trip and leave the discs at home.

Star power

January 23, 2007 in film, podcasts, theatre, tv, web | 1 comment

A recent podcast of the first in a series of four NAC Celebrity Speakers sessions has, as anticipated, blown away the download record for single episode of any NAC podcast. The show features arts journalist Laurie Brown in conversation with actor/writer/producer/director Paul Gross (Due South, Men with Brooms, Slings and Arrows).

I suppose there will always be a bigger audience for a good looking Mountie, than there will be for a show on tuning in fifths.

 
 Celebrity Speakers: Paul Gross [60:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Upping the ante

December 28, 2006 in tv, video | 3 comments

In a preemptive strike on my usual resolutions for the new year — read more, listen to new music, watch TV less — our household (Luca included) has decided that we won’t immediately have our one-and-only television repaired for some months to come. The set refused to start up the other evening, and so it will remain for the time being.

Truth be told, we were only really watching Italian soccer on the weekends, and, with Juve in Serie B this season, where’s the fun in that?

So, that’s it. If suddenly I give you a papier mâché model of the Chrysler building, complete with inlaid tin foil work, you’ll understand.