November 26, 2008
Watching TV Series Online actually does come with a price
As I've mentioned before, watching TV series online on video sharing websites is not as smooth going as one might think. Some streams are agonizingly slow, stutter or the worst, cut off the last few minutes of an episode. Most of these sites advertise too, many an animated manner which actually distract you from viewing the video. Even more annoying, the pop up that locks down the video until you complete a survey.
But there's yet another new way video sharing sites are cashing in. Interrupting the video you are viewing if you exceed a specific time limit (72 minutes). A message appears suggesting different payment methods to continue "enjoying unlimited use", or offering the alternative of waiting 53 minutes to continue watching
Of interest, the time limit set at 72 minutes - yes, people actually watch online video for that long - and uninteresting, or more to the point offensive, the concept of making viewers pay a ransom to keep watching.
Again, stop me if you've heard this before, but many non US viewers would gladly pay to watch TV series online through official channels. Hulu, when will that be?
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