In2TV? AOL has your fix Jonathan Greene tips us off to an article in the New York Times about a new service called In2TV where Time Warner will release a changing selection of several hundred old TV shows each month.
The shows will be available on the internet for download and will have commercials that can’t be skiped and will be served up through some kind of file sharing scheme. Best of all it looks like HIGH QUALITY downlaods will be available as well:
“For those who want to watch on a big screen, AOL is introducing optional technology that it says will produce a DVD-quality picture. Even with a broadband connection, most Internet video looks grainy at full width on a computer monitor, let alone a big TV set. The new option, called AOL Hi-Q, will require the downloading once of special software, and the program may not start for several minutes, depending on the speed of the users’ connection.”
Suprisingly innovative from Time Warner. Very cool.
Is this the first step for opening up the entire archive of television past and a new way for studios to monetize otherwise worthless old locked up content?
Update: Henry Blodgett’s take here.