OldSpice has done a series of personalized commercials and posted them on YouTube. Simply go to this link and prepare to be amazed. Very funny, very clever and I have no doubt that I’ll be buying an Old Spice product very soon.

Got to go though. I have to create my new voice mail message!

I recently directed the music video for Hot Chip’s “I Feel Better.” Contractually, the video had to be hosted on EMI’s official YouTube channel, which disabled non-UK users from viewing it, limiting its audience by around 80%. Frustrated, I put it up on my own YouTube channel with no region restrictions, and at time of writing is just shy of a million views. EMI then remotely disabled embedding on my version, thereby limiting its audience again. If you’re in the business of promoting a band, why would you want to stop people watching their promotional video? (emphasis added)

What I liked about this article is that it isn’t just another geek railing about how business just doesn’t get it and old people are stupid. Peter is incredibly talented and is a content creator himself — and yet he pirates his own content too!

If you don’t know who Peter Serafinowicz, then here’s a couple of nuggets:

• Played “Sctanley” in the movie Couples Retreat and “Pete” in Shawn of the Dead
• Done some great voiceover work, including Darth Maul from Star Wars: Episode 1 and “The IT Crowd”.
• There’s a nice interview with him from last February on Boing Boing.
• And last, but certainly not least… wait for it… he freaking created “Look Around You“.

If you’ve never heard of “Look Around You”, then go bit torrent it right now! Just kidding. You can watch it on YouTube [link]

John’s been having a great run over the past year or so. He was on “Law and Order” in the episode Acid, which then lead to a role on “Bones” in The Superhero In The Alley. Before all that, he was on “Medium” in the episode Suspicions And Certainties, which was a brilliant role. It was very dark but VERY funny.

Of course all of these appearances are nothing new for John. He’s been very active for many years out in LA. Including starring roles on “Reasonable Doubts“, “Courthouse“, and the cult hit “American Gothic“, just to name a few. What’s different for me now is that John let’s me know ahead of time when he’ll be making an appearance, so I can be sure not to miss it.

So be sure to tune in tonight to CSI!

The plan was to leave the night of Thursday the 15th to get a head start on all the driving. High Point is an 8 hour drive, so instead of eating up all of Friday driving, we could break it up over two days and have most of Friday to browse the acres of furniture that High Point is known for. I also had to do my radio show for Computer Outlook that evening, and the day itself was crazy as ever with having to visit several client sites, shop for Holly, etc. Suffice to say that it I had a very busy day planned.

My second stop of the day was to my favorite caffinated watering hole Caffeine. They open at 7am and I was in the door shortly thereafter. My plan was to have some breakfast and get a little work done before my next appointment at 9am. I setup my laptop and sent my Tapwave Zodiac to go get my mail. Evelyn pulled a double espresso for me and Mark made my favorite breakfast dish of theirs – steak and eggs.

After a little chit chat to catch up on what they’ve been up to. I went to my table to enjoy a cup of coffee and go through my mail. I have a form on the weblog for people to contact me and my e-mail client flags them as urgent so that they don’t get lost in the deluge of my inbox. As I opened my mashby.com account, I saw that I had a “Contact Request”. As I went to open it, you can imagine my surprise when I looked at the address and saw that it was from John Mese. That’s right, I got an e-mail from John F**kin’ Mese!

It seems that John had found me while doing a Google search for when his episode of Law & Order was going to be re-aired and in the results was the article I did on my weblog. In his e-mail, John was very complimentary of the article that I wrote, although he said that he didn’t remember me, he did ask if I’d send him a picture. I sat there in Caffeine with my coffee in one hand, my Zodiac in the other and my mouth on the floor.

Now I’ve been meaning to reach out to John for some time now, but I didn’t have an address for him, or any method of contacting him directly. We do have a friend in common, so I had planned on calling her when I went to Baton Rouge the next month, but that was really my only option. What absolutely blew me away that HE reached out to ME.

I never even conceived that John would ever read the article that I wrote. I’m a small time writer publishing to a limited audience, so I had no grand visions that it would be read by anyone other than close friends. Case in point, I never would have written “He played some of the worst music I’ve ever heard in my life…”, if I thought that John would be reading the article. Thanks to Google though, he found it, read it, liked it and most surprising of all, took the time to contact me about it.

Sitting in Caffeine, I hit the reply button and responded. I sent him a link to a head shot that I had taken of myself a few years ago and also reminded him of a story from class in the hopes that it would trigger his memory. Much to my surprise, it did. In less than an hour, John replied again saying that he did indeed remember me, both by the photograph and the reminder of my final monologue I did in his class. Talk about flattered.

All throughout that weekend we e-mailed each other about what each of us have been up to and what we’re working. It was a great conversation and since then, we’ve continued to stay in touch. John has also offered some trivia about himself to add the to his profile, correcting a few entries I had made in error as well. Little did I know that by writing a little article about why I wanted to become John’s editor, would lead to actually being able to correspond with him one-on-one. When you connect the dots, it’s not so unfathomable, but at the same time it’s quite amazing.

I am continually amazed at how having a weblog can serve as a way to communicate with people. Sometimes it’s with people you haven’t talked to in ages and other times it can be complete strangers, but by putting a little something out there, your whole world can open up to new and exciting opportunities. Who knows, you might even get an e-mail from John F**kin’ Mese!

06. “Lost” (ABC)
My wife and I missed catching the first few episodes of Lost when it first began airing last year. It wasn’t until the Season 1 DVD came out that we were able to catch up and see what all the buzz was about. After the second episode we were hooked and now we never miss an episode and thanks to iTunes, I don’t have to.

“Lost” is the story about the survivors of a plane crash, who find themselves on an island. The real adventure begins once they discover that the island holds many mysteries and so do the survivors themselves. The hook that pulls you in and won’t let go is the way the story slowly draws you into the mysteries. Instead of big stunning revelations, the viewer peels away one layer at a time, much like layers on a onion. For this reason though, it’s really best to watch it from the beginning. Coming into the middle of Season 2 isn’t the best way to ease your way into the series. There’s a lot of strange things that occur and it’s best to experience them for yourself and not by word-of-mouth.

If you’re new to the series, be sure and watch the Season 1 DVD, or download the last season on iTunes for $34. It’s worth the effort.

07. “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO)
Since I don’t have HBO, I didn’t get into “Curb Your Enthusiasm” when it first began airing, so this is a show that I’ve had to enjoy via DVD. Now that I’m into the show though, I have to say, I could almost get HBO for this show alone – it’s that funny.

If you were ever a fan of “Seinfeld” and sorry to see it go off the air, then you need to get into this show pronto. Most of the crazy story lines and humor from “Seinfeld” came from the mind of Larry David and it’s him that this series is based on. If you remember the George character, as played by Jason Alexander, then you’re already familiar somewhat with Larry, because that’s who George was based on. With “Curb” being on HBO though, the gloves are off on the subject matter and the humor is just crazy funny.

“Curb Your Enthusiasm” is an eclectic mix between reality and fiction because Larry plays himself and there’s tons of guest stars that play themselves. Yet an actress plays his wife an several other actors play other characters, so you’re never sure until someone is introduced whether or not the actor is playing themselves or not. Regardless of the casting, Larry is in the middle of it and usually making choices that lead to hilarious results.

There are 4 seasons out on DVD and the 5^th is airing now, so if you have access to HBO, or *ahem* BitTorrent, then you just drop in anytime. Unlike “Lost”, you don’t have to watch it from the beginning.

08. “The Shield” (FX)
During the first season of “24″, FX began promoting a new show called “The Shield” starting Michael Chiklis. My first thought at seeing the promo was, “isn’t he ‘The Commish’?” I didn’t think much of that show, so I wasn’t all that interested in seeing Chiklis’ new show. Lucky for me though, the FX marketing paid off and I tuned into the first episode and I’ve been hooked ever since.

“The Shield” is a gritty, hard-hitting story of a dirty cop with good intentions. When we first meet Vic (Michael Chiklis), we quickly learn that he’s definitely not squeaky clean and he’s not someone you want to mess with. It’s a darker crime series than that of “NYPD Blue“, or “Law & Order” and my first impression of the series was that the storytelling was more about shock than substance. Based on other FX series, such as “Nip/Tuck“, I thought that the series was more about making you wince and cringe and less about solid storytelling and for the first season, that’s mostly what the series was all about.

Over the years though, “The Shield” has turned it’s attention more to the story and it’s characters and less to gore and violence. With the last season, season 4, the character development went into high gear with the addition of Glen Close to the cast. There were still plenty of things to make you cringe and jump out of your seat, but underneath it all was a beating heart of character driven storytelling. It was the best season yet.

Season 5 is set to start sometime in 2006. If you’d like to get caught up on previous seasons, you can buy them on DVD and take your time going through each season.

09. “Wire In The Blood” (BBC)
Many would argue that much of what is shown on television is crap. There are some standout shows, but on the whole, the bulk of what the networks deliver is junk. Thanks to Broadcatching, and some day IPTV, the landscape is changing somewhat in that we’re now able to see television from other parts of the world. There is a whole other world out there waiting to be explored and most of the content that I’ve seen from the BBC is fantastic! I’ve already talked about two BBC programs, Hustle and Extras and now it’s time for another gem.

“Wire In The Blood” is a crime drama which centers around clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Hill (Robson Green). Dr. Hill has the unique ability to get inside the heads of terrifying serial killers in order to solve the crime and capture the criminal. He is paired with Detective Inspector Carol Jordan, (Hermione Norris) and the two of them take the viewer on a thrilling ride which almost borders on the surreal, adding a strong measure of intensity.

The UK take on violence is a bit different from the US. It tends to be a little more reserved and not so graphic. Personally, I prefer the less graphic version, but this doesn’t take away anything from the creepines, or suspense from the show. If anything it heightens it!

Like most British programming, the seasons are short. In “Wire In The Blood”, there are only 4 episodes per season (6 for the first season). This may sound insane to American audiences that are used to 20+ episode seasons, but it is what it is. I like to think that having shorter seasons is one of the reasons that the shows are so good. Lower number of episodes = higher quality content.

Some UK shows are hard to get on DVD, but as luck would have it, both Season 1 and Season 2 are available through Amazon.com.

10. “Spooks” (BBC / A&E)
Clearly I’m hooked on BBC programming, because 40% of my top ten list comes from across the pond and “Spooks” comes in at number 10. The good news about this program is that unlike “Wire In The Blood”, “Spooks” is broadcast in the US as “MI-5” on the A&E channel. I figured I’d let you know this up front so that there’s no surprises at the end. Nothing like luring you in on a great show, only to find out you can’t watch it.

“Spooks” is about the British service MI-5, whose job it is to protect England. Most people are familiar with James Bond (aka 007), who is a member of MI-6. James Bond is a spy abroad. The folks at MI-5 are spies at home. Another way of looking at it is that MI-5 is much like the US FBI, but a lot more secretive.

OK, enough with the definitions, what the heck is this series about? Well, the series is about the anti-terrorism branch of MI-5 and the people that choose to live as a “spook”, or spy. Some might call it the British version of “24“, but it’s more than that. The series has a whole different feel to it and is less extreme for the most part and is more brains than brawn, because those who work for MI-5 do so in secret.

Now if you get very involved in characters and don’t deal well when they are killed off the show, it’s best that you don’t get hooked on this series. “Spooks” is known for sudden and dramatic exits of minor and major characters alike. So when someone gets caught up in something dangerous, you never really know that they’re going to make it out alive. This really cranks up the tension as you’re watching the program and can often keep you on the edge of your seat.

Season 4 just ended and can still be found at places like TorrentSpy , but you can get Seasons 1 & 2, and Seasons 3 of the US branded show.

That’s A Wrap!
So there you have it, my top ten television shows. These are the shows that I make sure to never miss and work very hard to make sure that I don’t. Hopefully you’ve found a show or two that’s new to you and you’ll give the show a chance. I would encourage you to try a show even if it’s in a genre that you don’t normally enjoy. I’m mostly referring to “Firefly”, but it applies to all the programs. Even if you don’t like Science Fiction, don’t let that stop you from watching. All of the shows that I’ve listed here are the best of their genre and are worthy of a viewing.

Just to recap the top ten, here they are.
   01. “Firefly”
   02. “Hustle”
   03. “Veronica Mars”
   04. “24”
   05. “Extras”
   06. “Lost”
   07. “Curb Your Enthusiasm”
   08. “The Shield”
   09. “Wire In The Blood”
   10. “Spooks”

01. “Firefly” (FOX)
This series was canceled in 2002, but to this day it stands out as my favorite television show. Created by Oscar and Emmy nominated writer Joss Whedon, who had created two blockbuster hits for FX with “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” and “Angel“, was asked to create one more show for them. What he came up with was “Firefly“. The network eagerly bought the show and then didn’t know what to do with it. They decided not to air the pilot, then dumped it into a crappy time slot and in the end canceled it. Idiots.

Lucky for us, the fan base for the show was legion and they were vocal. After the show was canceled, they started up a grass roots campaign to drive the sales of the DVD for the series and that got Universal’s attention who decided to continue the story with the first of hopefully 3 movies called Serenity. The series is great, the movie is great and it’s all shiny.

“So what’s the story about?” It doesn’t matter. Go buy the DVD and watch it. “But isn’t it Sci-Fi?” It is and it isn’t. It’s unlike any show that’s out there, so go buy it and watch it. “Yeah, but I’ve heard it’s a western too” It doesn’t matter. Go buy the DVD and watch it.

02. “Hustle” (BBC / AMC)
“Hustle” has a style all it’s own. It’s posh, it’s svelte and a whole heck of a lot of fun. Being a criminal never looked so cool and being able to dip your feet into the fantasy of being part of Mickey Brick’s team is what it’s all about. We know that the life of a long con artist can’t be this fabulous, but oh how we wish it was. Simply put, Hustle is what Ocean’s Eleven and Ocean’s Twelve wished they could be.

Throughout each episode, Mickey’s team plays out a long con which is often times quite complicated. It’s not until the end, when there’s a bit of a “reveal” and we’re able to see exactly how the con was played out. As a result, you’re engaged from the beginning to see if you can figure out what the gang is up to. Thankfully, there’s always a nice surprise at the end, so it’s always fresh and surprising.

“Hustle” provides high-style, tongue in cheek comedy with just a dash of realism to keep us coming back for more. Clever writing that doesn’t rely solely on gimmicks makes this series a standout among all the rest. Clearly the BBC has a real gem on their hands and in my book is producing some of the best television anywhere on the globe.

Lucky for us, AMC has licensed the series and will begin airing it in 2006 from the beginning. Good thing too, because the BBC hasn’t released a DVD version that will play in the U.S. So unless you’ve broadcatched the series, this is currently the only way to see it.

03. “Veronica Mars” (UPN)
I stumbled onto this show because of its star, Kristen Bell. I had just seen her in two episodes of “Deadwood” and her performance really impressed me. So when I saw that she was starring in her own series, I decided to tune in to check it out. I’m glad I did, because reading the premise didn’t really grab me. I’m not much for “The O.C.“, or any of those other teen dramas and that’s what “Veronica Mars” was billed to be, but it’s SO much more than that.

Bell plays Veronica Mars, a teenager whose father is a private eye and former Sheriff of the fictional California town of Neptune. Because of her upbringing as a Sheriff’s daughter, Veronica has a naturally inquisitive nature and the resources in which to conduct investigations. The first season dealt with the murder of her best friend and this season is revolving around the tragic crash of a school bus. The writing is tight and solid with very little fluff. The characters aren’t just cookie cutter stereotypes who pine about their troubles. The series does have a light-hearted feel to it, but there’s just a hint of darkness to keep things balanced and the viewer guessing what could come next.

If you didn’t see the first season, it doesn’t matter because the current story line doesn’t rely on the previous one. It’s one of those shows you can drop into and pickup the thread, but it may take a couple of episodes before you get your footing if you haven’t seen it from the start of the season. Don’t worry though, it’s worth it. If you like solid storytelling, you’ll like this show.

04. “24″ (FOX)
I’ve been hooked on “24” since the first season. It’s suspenseful, gripping and somewhat violent story line grabbed me from the get go, but what set the hook was the “real time” aspect of the show. Each season takes place in one 24-hour period. Each episode is one hour long and events occur in real time. So if it takes 20-minutes to drive somewhere, then it’ll take 20-minutes in the show to get there. It’s sounds like a simple device, but it’s quite effective because it really cranks up the suspense.

Kiefer Sutherland plays Jack Bauer, a member of CTU (Counter Terrorism Unit) who will go to any lengths to keep the United States safe. As his title implies, Jack’s job is to prevent terrorist attacks from occurring and, as a result, delivers some VERY exciting plot lines. “24″ is a wild ride that will leave you on the edge of your seat as you see to what lengths Jack will go to do his job. It’s Kiefer’s definitive role and if you like action/thrillers, then you don’t want to miss this series.

“24″ is set to begin it’s 5^th season in January 2006 and you don’t have to have seen the previous four, so tune in when it begins airing. However, if you want to play catch up, all previous seasons are available on DVD. Just don’t think that you’ll be able to watch a whole season in one sitting because it would take you 24 hours to do it.

05. “Extras” (BBC / HBO)
“Extras” is a new series from the comic genius of Ricky Gervais. Gervais’ claim to fame is the series “The Office”“, which originally aired in the BBC, but was brought to the states this year with a new American cast for the NBC network. The American version is OK, but It’s not as good as the original. That being said, I wasn’t a huge fan of the original series either. The comedy for the show was dependent upon uncomfortable humor – people being caught in uncomfortable situations, that sort of thing. Personally I find that type of comedy somewhat uncomfortable, so I found much of it hard to watch.

So often when someone has a hit, they tend to stick to what works and just do more of the same. With the huge success of “The Office”, it would be easy to simply re-package the concept, slap a new title on it and wait for the money to roll in. That would be the safe thing to do. That might not make for good television, but it would be safe. Lucky for us that’s NOT what Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have done.

For starters, it’s clear that our lead character, Andy Millman, isn’t the fop that David Brent was. Andy is sharp, quick and knows exactly what he wants – a line in a movie. With that motivation in mind, it’s clear that Andy will stop at nothing, to try and get it. He has no shame and it’s a good thing, because it makes what he does VERY funny.

Of course some of the same elements from “The Office” can be found in “Extras”, most notably the awkward, uncomfortable scenes. In “The Office”, it was Gervais that was the reason for the awkwardness. With “Extras” it’s the stars themselves that are the cause and it works SO much better. Having the stars make fun of themselves is brilliant.

Just to give a hint of the humor you can expect to find, here’s a small scene between Andy (Ricky Gervais) and Ben Stiller, who is playing himself:

Ben Stiller: Who are you?
Andy: (muffled) Nobody.
Ben Stiller: What was that? Who?
Andy: Nobody.
Ben Stiller: That’s right. Nobody. Yeah, and who am I?
Andy: It’s either Starsky or Hutch. I can’t ever remember.
Ben Stiller: Was that supposed to be funny?
Andy: You tell me. You were in it.

From start to finish, the first season of “Extras” was brilliantly funny. It typically takes more than one season for a comedy to really get it’s legs and be this good. Merchant and Gervais have hit the ground running and delivered a very funny new show. With the ever changing stars and new sets, this series should continue to be fresh and exciting and I can’t wait for the next season!

» Continue On To Part Two

So how is this different? Well, with this model, you would have a dedicated device connected to your television that would then communicate with your television provider to receive the content. Once received and purchased, you could then hit a button on your remote and watch the program. With the iTunes model, you can easily download the content, but you have the hurdle of getting it to your television. With a DVR that hurdle doesn’t exist. Sounds like an easier solution then, right? Well, it is and it isn’t.

Problem #1 – Content Is Carrier Specific
NBC has partnered with DirecTV and CBS has partnered with Comcast. So unless you’re very loyal to only one broadcaster, you’re going to have to choose which content you would prefer to download and pay for. In most cases, you’re already subscribing to either DirecTV or Comcast, so it’s really just a matter of new features being offered, but if you’re a DirecTV user and love certain shows on CBS, you’re out of luck.

Problem #2 – You Need New Hardware
If you already have a DVR, like a Tivo, then too bad because you’re going to have to buy another device in order to receive this service. I’m sure that there will be plenty of mail-in rebates to make the device free, or low cost, and who doesn’t enjoy mail-in rebates? If you don’t currently own a DVR, this may be the push you need to get one, but that raises and interesting quandry…

Problem #3 – You Don’t Record The Show
This is one of the more perplexing issues to me. If you have a DVR, then why do you need to purchase the content? Why not just record it when it airs. The primary reason for getting a DVR is that it makes recording all your favorite content so easy. In fact, it’s the ONLY reason to own a DVR, so if you have one and it’s recording your favorite shows, why would then pay the network for the content the next day? This makes about as much sense to as buying gas for your electric car.

Problem #4 – You Don’t Own The Content
OK, so technically you don’t “own” television content, it’s licensed to you and all that jazz. Whatever. To the average Joe, when you pay for something you own it. Call it what you will, but consumers expect to be able to have some freedom in the products and services that they purchase. So when I read the following from this Salt Lake Tribute article, I was a little taken a back

Both services will charge 99 cents per show, which will be shown commercial-free. The episodes would be available just an hour or two after they air on regular TV. In most cases, shows would be available for a week and then taken down when new episodes air.

Does this mean that the networks would delete the program you purchased? Or, does it mean that you’ll only have a week or two in order to make the purchase? The geekset over at Slashdot seem to feel that it’s video with an expiration date, but whatever the case, none of it sounds good.

So What Does This All Mean?
I guess that all depends on your frame of reference. If you don’t have a computer, or don’t like the idea of TV on your computer, then I guess the CBS/NBC deals sound like a good thing. They’re TV-centric so it would seem like it’s a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, from my perspective, the CBS/NBC deals don’t seem to have sure footing – there are simply too many hurdles to contend with. With having to buy equipment, deal with mail-in rebates and then only have the content semi-permanent seems like too much work. Too many hurdles to overcome.

Using iTunes is twice as expensive ($1.99 vs. .99), but it allows me access to content any time I want and then view it as I see fit. Sure, I still have a hurdle of getting it on my TV, but that’s the only hurdle I have to contend with and I don’t think that will last much longer. It’s already expected that a new Mac mini will be unveiled in January and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s designed to hook up directly to your TV. Once that hurdle is gone, there I see no compelling reason to choose the CBS/NBC model.

Ultimately what makes the iTunes model so much more appealing is the freedom it provides. Freedom to download when I want to and the ability to watch when I want to, and as long as I want to. Additionally, I don’t have to rely on my television service to provide the content, nor do I have to buy any additional hardware in order to access it.

I am happy to see that CBS and NBC are making steps, even if they’re the wrong ones. In time I’m sure things will evolve so that the process is easier and and more convenient. For now however, it certainly feels like one step forward and two steps back for NBC and CBS.

In case you missed the announcement, Apple released its next generation iPods and one of the new features was the ability to play videos. In addition, they announced that they were now making available for sale music videos and select television content from ABC and Disney. This was HUGE news, because it was the first step in what will probably become an avalanche of content. For now though, there’s only 3 shows from ABC (Lost, Desperate Housewives, and Night Stalker) and 2 from Disney (That’s So Raven, and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody), but with those two large networks signed up, it’s only a matter of time before other broadcasters belly up to the bar.

Now I could lose myself in the possibilities and the excitement of what’s to come, but given that the menu that is currently available for TV is fairly small, I think I’ll refrain. Why? Because it’s clear that the powers that be want to make sure that this model is viable. By releasing only three shows a piece, the broadcasters clearly want some proof before they go whole hog and provide more content. I was expecting to have to wait six months before the results came out, but Apple announced on October 10^th that they had sold over 1 Million videos in 20 days. Whaaa?!? :O

Now, keep in mind that this number included music videos as well as television shows. I would think it a safe bet that most of the content was music videos over TV for the simple fact that if you’re going to buy a single and the artist has released a video for it, why not just buy the video? Sure it’s $1 more, but you can listen to the song just the same, or view the video if you prefer. That being said, since television content is included in those numbers, it does prove the point that consumers are willing to purchase television that they can just as easily see for free.

This means that the networks may finally see the light and decide to release more content via iTunes and other networks may jump on board. Well, some are already making steps to just do that. CBS announced that they were considering iTunes. They’re still working out the deal, but the CEO definitely sees it as a strong possibility. In addition, the BBC announced that they too are looking at releasing all of their programs via download 7 days after they air. Not only that, but they’re thinking of doing it for free. Cue mashby’s happy dance

So it looks like the events that I thought were years away are actually happening today. Who would have thunk it? I’ve given the iTunes video a spin and I have to say that it works very well. I much prefer having the ability to download the content when I want it and having it on my desktop in under 30 minutes. I’m already using iTunes to manage my music, so having it manage my video content works great for me too. If more of my content becomes available, I’d gladly buy it versus using BitTorrent if for nothing else than for the ease of use.

Money aside, there is also a thriving brand of video content called IP TV that is helping to make downloadable TV more commonplace. IP TV is much like a video version of a podcast and it’s allowing just about anyone to create their own television show. You can subscribe to the content just like you would a podcast the only difference being that you’re watching video instead of listening to audio. The best part is that it’s free. So even if you’re not one to plunk down $2 per episode, you too can enjoy downloadable video. Personally, I’m subscribed to Digital Life TV, Tiki Bar TV and Systm. The quality of the productions is pretty good and I could easily see this content being produced for network television.

So there’s a lot of free content out there, which is great, but for those must-see shows, I’ll gladly fork up $2 a show. Does everyone want to pay for content? Definitely not, but I believe a larger percentage will choose paying for content over using alternative methods becasue it’s easier and it’s legal. It’s the same logic behind paying for music and it’s definitely paid off in spades for Apple and the music industry. Give the public a legal alternative and they’ll take it. Will there still be plenty of people using illegal methods, sure but in those demographics, there isn’t a lot of money to be made there.

Most of the illegal downloads are being done by teenagers for the simple fact that they don’t have the money in which to buy content. In high school and college, most of my music came from swapping albums and recording cassette tapes of them, or by taping the radio. That’s the very nature of being young, you trade your time for money (or lack thereof). Teenagers don’t have money, but they do have time, so they spend it trolling for the content that they crave. As you get older, you find that you have less-and-less time, so you begin to trade money for time and spending $2 is a bargin to buy the television show that you missed because of other commitments.

That’s exactly what I’ve done in buying episodes of “Lost”. I don’t have to worry about missing an episode, or remembering to set the VCR because I know that iTunes will have it the next day. “Lost” airs on Wednesday night and on Thursday morning it’s on iTunes ready for me to buy. Once purchased, I can watch it on my computer as easily as I can my TV. With so much of my time being spent in front of the computer, this isn’t a big deal for me. If I were to purchase one of the latest iPods, that content would sync with the iPod and allow me to watch it on the go. OK, I know what you’re thinking and yes the screen is small so I don’t see many people watching their favorite shows on the iPod iteslf. However, what I do see is taking that same iPod and hooking it up to the TV to watch my show. Now THAT’S easy to do.

In time I think Apple will release other products to make watching downloaded content on your television easier. With the interface that Apple created (FrontRow) with it’s new G5 iMac, there’s very little stopping them from coming out with a Mac Mini for the TV. Or they could even choose to release an updated version of the AirPort Express that would handle video in addition to audio.

Until then, living on the cutting edge of this technology is quite comfortable. No band-aids needed here.