Viewers have been able to keep up on their favorite shows at the respective network websites for a while now. NBC was the first to offer a full screen mode for their player, but ABC is now claiming that their version is closer to high definition. They’re calling it a broadband “HD player.” One thing is for sure, it looks awfully nice.
CBS’ InnerTube system uses Real Player, while NBC’s video content is Flash based. Neither provides great visual quality. ABC uses a player by Move Networks, which offers a much clearer picture quality. There’s no indication on whether it runs at 720p, so claims of “high definition” are dubious at best. But it’s clear that ABC has the superior product. According to Broadcasting & Cable, Move Networks, partially funded by Disney’s venture capital arm, is also allowing Fox and The CW to use their program.
While Move’s system allows for greater amounts of data to be transferred by streaming the data from standard HTTP servers (unlike Flash which uses the Flash Media Server), the quality is only approaching HD. As technology advances we should be able to access high definition streaming programs in just a few years. Kudos to ABC for being a frontrunner in providing quality content to their consumers over numerous devices. Now, if they’d only develop a way for the creators of ‘Lost’ to give me a clue as to what’s up with John Locke.
