Burbank (CA) - NBC has announced that it will begin offering free ad-supported downloads of its TV shows next month.
The TV network will launch a service called NBC Direct, which gives users the opportunity to download full episodes from a select set of shows. The catch is that it will contain commercial breaks just as if it was being broadcast on TV.
As should be expected, the service will carry some restrictions. The videos can only be played back using NBC's proprietary software on a Windows-based PC, and they become inactive a week after being downloaded.
Other similar free video-viewing services are typically offered via streaming media, and in most cases users do not get to watch entire episodes. Being able to download the full program means the quality will be better and can be viewed when the computer is offline.
NBC says it is working on a Mac version of the service as well as an option to transfer the videos to portable media players. For now, though, the only date is for the PC software, which the network says will be available some time next month.
The TV network will launch a service called NBC Direct, which gives users the opportunity to download full episodes from a select set of shows. The catch is that it will contain commercial breaks just as if it was being broadcast on TV.
As should be expected, the service will carry some restrictions. The videos can only be played back using NBC's proprietary software on a Windows-based PC, and they become inactive a week after being downloaded.
Other similar free video-viewing services are typically offered via streaming media, and in most cases users do not get to watch entire episodes. Being able to download the full program means the quality will be better and can be viewed when the computer is offline.
NBC says it is working on a Mac version of the service as well as an option to transfer the videos to portable media players. For now, though, the only date is for the PC software, which the network says will be available some time next month.