What’s New (and some more questions answered)

Notice anything different? It may not be Extreme Makeover worthy, but we’ve redecorated our developer’s blog and wanted to share a few more frequently asked questions and answers.

“Why do I get the out of the US message when I’m in the United States?”
We use a variety of methods to approximate your geographic location. Since the Internet is ever evolving there are several reasons you may get this message, but the two most common are: 1) you are close to a border, in which case you can ask your ISP to verify that it is using U.S. IP addresses; and 2) you are using some type of proxy server, which you might also want to verify with your ISP. We are constantly working to improve the accuracy of our automated systems and we’re even designing a system that will allow you to submit your address for manual review - but in the meantime, it is worthwhile to check your settings with whomever you get your internet access from...

“Why can’t I use the player on Linux, older Windows versions, and other systems?”
We use a special plug-in to deliver the highest quality video and a reliable playback experience, meaning every platform takes additional time to support. This has to be balanced against creating new features users are asking for…and we’ve got some really good ones coming soon! We are however always looking for opportunities that will enable you to enjoy ABC video in as many places as possible…*wink*

“Why do I have to Click-to-Continue after advertisements?”
We’re striving to create a new platform that’s well suited for watching TV over the Internet. Our interactive ads are important because they allow advertisers to offer a unique experience instead of a one-size-fits-all message and it might be equally troublesome to automatically return you to programming if you’re exploring an Ad.  That said, we will be implementing “User Preferences” that will provide more individual control over the viewing experience, and we’ll see if we can slip in something for Click-to-Continue.

Thanks for reading, hope you like the new design, and stay tuned for some new blog contributors. If I can pull them away from Winning Eleven (soccer game).

Seth (Sr. Developer)

Frequently Asked Questions

Once again we have been remiss when it comes to using our little geek soapbox here on ABC.com.  I guess the team prefers writing code more than writing words!  Actually, the truth is that we have a pretty serious soccer tournament underway on the office Xbox and it’s been quite the distraction.

But to prove to you that we are in fact listening to and taking into account your feedback, we wanted to provide some, hopefully, insightful answers to a couple of common questions.

Why do I have to install something to watch?
This one’s easy.  When you pick up your telephone, it just works, right?  And when you turn on your TV, that just works too.  Well we want to make sure that when you come to watch ABC shows online, that it just works.  We don’t want you to have to have to tell us what type of Internet connection you have, we don’t want your video stopping and starting all the time, we don’t want you to have any of those issues that used to be pretty common with video on the Internet.  We do want to make sure we can provide the high quality video experience that both you and the shows deserve.  So, to do that we’ve chosen a video delivery technology that currently offers the best way to get video to you – and it requires a little install.  But don’t worry, all it does is make sure you can kick back and watch your favorite show when you want.

Why can’t I watch the shows outside of the U.S.?
This one’s a bit tougher, but pretty interesting.  Contrary to popular opinion, the main reason we can’t allow use of the Player outside the U.S. is not because of the advertising, but actually because ABC doesn’t always own the rights to stream television shows in foreign territories.  For example, LOST is aired on Sky One in the U.K., and it has the distribution rights for that territory.  I should also mention that, in many cases, foreign territories might be a season or more behind the U.S. as well.  So as much as we’d love to, the foreign rights holders would probably be awfully upset if we just opened up our player internationally!  Bummer..

Look for more responses to your questions in the near future.

Okay, back to the soccer tourna.. umm.. I mean back to work.

HD Streaming Has Arrived!

It's been a while since the last post, but for good reason!  Since we added Vista support, the team has been hard at work on enhancements to the player to improve things like compatibility (across all supported platforms), playback stability, video quality, etc.

But the improvement we're most excited about is the addition of the new HD channel!  It's currently a beta release and there are some minimum computer requirements you'll need to satisfy to get the best experience (those requirements are listed in the player).  But, if you do, the quality is really superb and hopefully it's a big enough sampling of your favorite shows to keep you excited as we wait for the new Fall season (there are some really cool new shows on the way).

As always, please submit Feedback and let us know how we're doing.  We're definitely listening.

Enjoy the HD Streaming!

HD – Streaming Soon to a Monitor Near You

Can you believe it was barely a year ago when we first launched and 700x394 resolution video was about as good as it got for streaming video with great picture quality?  Neither can we.  Especially in light of the recent announcement about our plans to deliver HD resolution (1280x720) video beginning this summer.

Anyway, having watched several test streams encoded by our chief video guru, I can tell you that the picture quality is absolutely stunning. But, don’t take my word for it; we snagged a couple screenshots for you.

Umm.. the fact that one of them is Evangeline Lilly, who plays Kate in LOST, is purely coincidental.  I swear.

Vista Support is Here!

Told you we were listening!  We've been busy working out the kinks in the installation process for Vista and we think it’s finally ready for you all to give it a try.

As always, send us some Feedback and let us know how it works out.

News, Announcements, Deep Thoughts...

News, definitely.  Announcements, for sure.  Deep thoughts? Well, two out of three isn’t bad.

Welcome to the Developer’s Blog!  Owned and operated by some of the folks behind ABC’s Full Episode Player.  Being the computer, Internet, and digital media geeks that we are, we’ve spent a fair bit of time over the past year (our anniversary was on May 1!) paying pretty close attention to what you, our users, have been saying in your blogs, news articles, feedback emails, etc.  So this is going to be our way to give you feedback on your feedback, make announcements, write about new or upcoming features, or just share stuff that we think is cool and you might too.  Of course, there will be some shameless self-promotion in here too, but probably not too much – after all, there are folks much better at that than us techies.

So, with that said, thanks for being such loyal and vocal users.  We love working on a product that people have really embraced.  We’ll continue to listen to your feedback and promise that, as users ourselves, the user experience will always be a top priority.

The ABC Digital Media Technology Team