It sounds archaic, but before the days of TiVo and DVR, there were the days of making sure you were home at exactly 8 p.m. to watch your favorite television show.

But now, even those television devices might seem outdated.

Online technology has improved by allowing viewers to watch all sorts of videos on the Internet, from movies to interviews to television shows, simply with the click of a button.

The increasing popularity of streaming videos online makes it easier to find quality shows that otherwise wouldn’t make it on television because the shows have a small, niche audience.

Online videos are not a new trend in technology.

Before he helped create the popular Saturday Night Live short ‘Dick in a Box,’ SNL cast member Andy Samberg and his comedy troupe, ‘The Lonely Island,’ created and produced an eight-episode series called ‘The ‘Bu,’ a parody of teen soap ‘The O.C.’ The episodes were only available for streaming at the group’s Web site and helped launch Samberg’s comedy career.

Streaming videos are not downloaded to a viewer’s computer, but the viewer must go to a certain Web site and watch the video online. This format appeals to the producers of streaming videos by making the content less vulnerable to piracy and illegal distribution.

As watching video online grew in popularity, some complaints arose. The picture can be shoddy, and load times are occasionally lengthy.

‘Computer screens don’t have as good of quality, and it hurts my eyes,’ said Dani Houghton, a junior biology and television, radio, film major.

But with computers getting faster and being equipped with improved technology, the troubles of streaming videos online have diminished.

With the rise of enhanced online technology, companies are already making a move to gain a larger audience with the Internet.

In the past year, Netflix launched a new program where its subscribers can stream full-length movies and television episodes on its website without downloading. Users simply hit a ‘Click Now’ button and the movie or show starts almost instantly.

‘I like that movies and shows are available both online and on television,’ said Alex Kruse, an undecided freshman in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. ‘I’d like it if it stayed that way because sometimes I just like watching TV and being comfortable, and sometimes I like the convenience of watching things fast online.’

Though watching movies online has become increasingly popular, television shows have been gaining momentum.

iTunes has added more television networks to its library with hundreds of TV shows available for download at $1.99 for a single show. Web sites like peekvid.com give users links to sites where other users have ripped, uploaded and hosted episodes of television shows.

Fearnet.com is one of the first Web sites to offer streaming video for a niche audience. The site hosts a myriad horror films and programs, available for free to registered users.

‘Watching streamed shows would probably be useful for people with laptops,’ Kruse said. ‘If networks started switching to putting their shows online, I would probably lose interest.’

The major networks are already taking advantage of streaming video. ABC puts up entire episodes of its hit shows, such as ‘Lost’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ online for streaming. The catch is only that the user must download ABC’s media player.

‘Broadcast and cable networks need to use a lot of different platforms that are available to them,’ said Bud Carey, a television, radio and film professor at Newhouse. ‘The Internet offers a way for networks to promote current shows and to get the word out about new shows.’

iTunes and the major network players allow users to pick and choose which episodes they want to watch and allow them to fast forward or rewind if they want to watch a certain portion of a show.

‘I think watching shows online will appeal to die-hard fans,’ Houghton said. ‘But if you’re just a channel flipper, then it probably wouldn’t be very useful.’

While streaming video has the potential to be helpful in launching specialty programs, the bottom line for television networks is revenue.

‘Watching shows online has the potential to expand audiences,’ Carey said. ‘But if people are watching online rather than on their TV sets, you must ask if one may eventually replace the other. But right now, the most important aspects for networks are advertising and promotion.’

Published on August 28, 2007 at 12:00 pm