NBC announces full mobile versions of hit TV shows
By Brian White 
posted March 15th 2007 4:05PM
posted March 15th 2007 4:05PM
In a first for a U.S. television studio, NBC said that it would permit customers to purchase prime-time TV shows at will and on demand to play on their cellphones, similar to Verizon's new offering. Maybe the old guard of television sees how media viewing and takeaway content is changing, eh? Anyhoo, efforts so far for viewing television and movies on cellphones screens have faltered, probably due to the limited and short-length content out in the market today. As usual in the mobile video market, NBC will be making hit shows like "The Office" and "Heroes" available through mobile multimedia pioneer MobiTV, and will allow customers to buy full-length episodes for $1.99 each up to 24 hours after the television show airs. A key feature we think here will be the on-demand ability to let consumers stop viewing and resume from the same point later on. That is, unless you can stomach all 23 minutes or so of a 30-minute sitcom on that 2 inch screen all at once.
Why bother paying $2 for a DRM'ed to hell version of the show which is only playable on the tiny ass screen when you can download the full, HD quality version for free from torrentspy.com - use any number of free programs to convert it to your iPod, WM phone, Zune etc.
These evil companies aren't getting a single cent from me until they give up slapping the consumer in handcuffs as soon as the customer walks in the store.
...Isn't the phrase "full mobile versions" a bit oxymoronic? Wouldn't "full-Length mobile versions" be a more applicable?
I've tried the so-call mobile broadband to watch streaming news and talk shows. The picture and sound quality are not good as I expected. For $1.99, it's worth to kill some time via MobiTV. But watching a full episode of "Heroes" on a tiny 2 inch screen, no way. Tivo it and watch on a 50 inch HD TV instead.