We're constantly hearing predictions that soon--very, very soon--the internet will take over as the new way to watch TV. Veoh TV is a downloadable application that anticipates this change, making it easier than ever to watch TV and videos through the computer.
The marketers like to call Veoh TV a DVR for the internet, and it's something close to that. Once you download and install Veoh TV you can sort through channels and find shows and videos that you are interested in watching. Everything plays in full screen, so watching Veoh TV feels more like watching TV than watching internet video.
Veoh TV, Bringing Videos Together
Essentially, Veoh TV is a video aggregator. It doesn't offer new video content, but instead brings together video content available on the web and presents it in a clean, easy-to-use format.
One of the problems that I've had so far with watching TV on the web is that I don't always know what's available or where to find it. There are some services, like Blinkx, that are trying to become the TV Guide of the Internet, but in the end they will just point you to a website where you can watch a program. With Veoh TV, you can easily find programs that you are looking for and then watch them directly through the Veoh interface.
Veoh TV Makes Watching TV Easy Again
One of Veoh's biggest advantages is that using it feels more like using a cable box than using a web site. The screen is not cluttered with pop-up windows, ads or web links. Upon opening the application, you're offered a list of options (channels, favorites, library, etc.) that's easy to navigate.
Using Veoh TV, it's obvious that this application was designed to make it simpler to watch videos. And simplicity for the consumer will be necessary if watching TV online is ever going to catch on.
I sincerely believe that the networks have no real interest in making it easy for people to watch TV online. For example, if you want to watch the series Heroes on the internet, you could go to NBC.com and browse through the site to find the episode or episodes that you're looking for. NBC does a service to its viewers by offering these episodes free online, but it doesn't have much interest in making it simple for you to just watch Heroes. Instead, it wants you to get distracted by its other programming and advertisements while on the website.
Veoh has no such ulterior motive; all it wants to do is give you the program you're looking for. So, when you enter the Veoh application, you can click on Channels, then NBC, then Heroes, and you're given a list of the episodes that you can watch. When you choose a program it opens in full screen, without banner ads or logos vying for your attention.
It's so simple, it's beautiful.
More to See on Veoh TV
Veoh offers a lot more than just content from the major networks. The application is intended to be used for all types of internet video viewing, so you can watch clips from sites like YouTube, MySpace and most other internet video providers.
Watching Veoh feels a lot like watching a DVR, but it also offers many features not available from your cable provider. If you see a video that you like, you can visit the web site where the video came from, email the video link to a friend, mark the video as a favorite, or download the video to your computer.
And, while only certain videos from sites like YouTube are provided through the Veoh interface (featured videos, top rated, etc.), you can use the Veoh toolbar to save videos from any web site. When installed, the Veoh Internet toolbar opens at the top of your browser and you can click on it to download videos you want to save or watch later. It's like creating a YouTube Quicklist, but easier and for any video site on the web.
The Last Word on Veoh TV
Overall, I found using Veoh TV to be an easy, enjoyable experience. Its biggest flaw is that videos from sites such as YouTube look really lousy when they are blown up to full-screen, and Veoh offers no way to watch them in their native dimensions. And even this isn't so much a flaw of Veoh TV, but instead a drawback of internet video in general.
I'm not yet ready to cancel my cable subscription and get all my videos from the web, but I suspect that someday I will. Veoh TV has positioned itself in the forefront of this internet TV wave, and for now it's an essential application for people who want to watch video online from a convenient, consolidated service.
