Last100 put a post up yesterday on TV Guide’s new online video guide, so I decided to check it out myself. Given all of the video search sites available, I didn’t have high expectations for something novel, but I was suitably impressed. TV Guide’s layout is fantastically simple and gave me exactly the information I was looking for.
Example: a search on the show “My Name is Earl” brought up a list of videos available starting with full episodes followed by short clips. Each selection listed the price of the video (usually free or 99 cents), the date posted and the show’s network. If you click on a link, TV Guide then takes you to the URL where the video is housed. In this case, it took me to NBC’s site to watch a free episode of the show. Easy peazy.
In comparison, look at what a search for “My Name is Earl” brought up on two other sites. (Click on thumbnails) Not nearly as useful. (though LocateTV isn’t bad…)
Wow, what a thoughtful and detailed post! You really put a lot of thoughts and effort into this one. Can’t understand why cnet didn’t hire you.
Mari – I’m from LocateTV blog and would love to know what you think of the site in a bit more detail. For your My Name Is Earl post I thought you might have used the embed rather than a link, that’s what it’s designed for – to share the content with your readers. It’s found on the bar to the right of the results. Give it a try:
Cheers, Lottie