By now just about everyone has heard about Channel 9. One of their video feeds is a featured feed inside of NewsGator Media Center Edition.
When development started for our Media Center edition, we picked up some MCE machines for development and testing. But things have been so busy that I never had a chance to watch a “real” video all the way through; we had some short test videos to test our system when a video completed, and I’m sure some folks around here had watched “real” videos, but not me.
So about a week ago, during a rare hour away from my desk, I plopped on the couch and watched a few of the complete Channel 9 videos in NewsGator MCE…and made a couple of observations:
1. Watching video clips on MCE was fun. Well, as fun as watching an interview with a ‘softie can be. :-) No, seriously, I rarely watch video on my PC, and almost NEVER work-related videos. There’s something about a tiny little window in Media Player that just doesn’t do it for me.
But on TV, it’s totally different. One click of the remote in NewsGator MCE, and it was full-screen. It was similar to watching an interview on the evening news. I could sit on the couch with a beer, and watch my choice of content. Press a button when I got bored, and go to a different one.
It didn’t feel like I was wasting time at my desk – it felt like I was watching TV, albeit with technical content. It’s a different emotional experience. Very different. And better.
2. Some of the Channel 9 videos (especially the wander-the-halls one with Chris Sells) did an amazing job of exactly what they were supposed to do. I felt like I was there. I felt like I was being introduced in person to these folks. Which was cool – probably 70% of the people in that particular piece, I’ve interacted with online in some way. Seeing the relatively informal video made me feel like I knew them better now.
Which is a double-edged sword. When I meet some of them in person, I’ll have to remember they haven’t met me. ;-)
Nice…a beer at work. I guess you can do that when your the boss ;)
Which is a double-edged sword. When I meet some of them in person, I’ll have to remember they haven’t met me. ;-)