subject: What Is Web Tv And How It Works [print this page] So what is web TV and how can it help you out? Well, there are lots of choices of web TV programs, things like Hulu and youtube, but I don't want to spend time here telling you all about those kinds of websites. Instead, let's talk about what web tv can do for you and how the technology behind it all works.
We'll start by discussing the short videos that are everywhere on the Internet today. Basically, the way this works is that someone creates a video, sometimes using a web camera, sometimes a proper video camera and of course, clips from TV shows.
Once they have their material, they can then upload it directly to their favorite web TV site where it is usually available in the form of a flash video (flash is usually not downloadable, which is why they like to use it - it makes you come back to the site again and again). Or, they can also turn the video into something a little more special.
All kinds of editing can be done to it to make something really cool, where they can have different effects, or they can put different words into character's mouths (although if it's not done carefully, they end up with something that looks like an old Japanese movie, where you hear a scream and five seconds later, the guy is shielding his face while Godzilla reaches out to snack on him).
Another possibility is the sites with professional web tv video. In essence, what these places do is to purchase the right from various studios to show the material online. You can watch all kinds of stuff, including the latest hit TV shows, web only tv shows, movies and clips.
Unfortunately, the networks have treated this the same way they treated the music business when it first started moving to MP3 files and they have all kinds of odd restrictions on the content. It can expire any time, meaning you can't rely on being able to see that A-Team episode forever.
Often, the web tv services only allow you to watch TV if you are in the United States (and they can tell based on information your computer broadcasts known as an IP number. This basically means every computer on the 'net has a specific number and they can see whether your number is American or not).
The last possibility is streaming web tv. In essence, what these services do is to show you live shows as they are happening. Some of them have full channels to see while others will only let you see special events.
