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Although you can switch web-based players used by Hulu and other sites to run in full-screen mode, their quality drops, as you can see in this screen capture comparing the ABC/Move Networks streaming HD player (left) and Hulu's web-based player (right), both running in full-screen mode.
More lifelike detail and virtually no compression artifacts make Streaming HD, like broadcast or cable-delivered HDTV, a better-quality TV experience.
As we've chronicled here from time to time, Internet TV is more than a curiosity: it's become an increasingly important way to reach a media-savvy audience that likes to get its media online as well as via TV. And, as ABC's offering of streaming HD indicates, users are looking for more than a web-based version of Nick at Night vintage TV or a few clips from their favorite TV shows: they're looking for fresh, recent content.
The networks benefit by drawing new viewers to current shows, drawing fans to sample content before buying DVDs of their favorites, and making sure that they're not left out as eyeballs migrate from TV to the web.
You benefit by being able to watch TV on your PC while checking out the episode's details on IMDB TV or TV.com, making sure that you really want to buy that DVD set that's on sale this week at the electronics store, and proving that multi-shirking (the slacker's version of multi-tasking) is better than ever.
ABC, like other networks, continues to use the verable advertiser-supported ("sponsored by") model for its web-based content, and its player is designed to make skipping the commercials difficult.
In addition to Veoh.com, some other websites to check for the best in TV past and present include Hulu.com, Joost.com, Yahoo!, and AOL.
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(ABC logo courtesy Scotsavage.com; Ugly Betty wallpaper courtesy abc.com; LOST poster courtesy TVCrazy.net; Desperate Housewives wallpaper courtesy Entertainment Wallpaper.com; ESPN logo courtesy championships.wimbledon.org)
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