NBC Direct

Dave And Thomas blogged NBC Direct is the Peacock's answer to Internet video and if you are a fan of NBC shows like The Office and Heroes, be prepared to get a little angry. The good news is you can now download various NBC shows to your computer. And it's free. Kinda. Free like giving an army recruiter you home phone number. First and foremost, you cannot get these shows onto you iPod. Second, it's only available to PC users with IE only.

That pretty well locks me out. I rarely use IE

Third, and this is the most annoying, you must download a crap-load of software to play the videos.

If it does not get in the way, that is OK

NBC Direct is sorta like the Real Player or the old AOL. It gets into your computer and wont' let go.

If it is as bad as AoL, don't touch it with a ten foot pole.

And we'll bet that it sends a nice stream of data back to NBC, too. Did we mention the shows are only good for 48 hours after download?

That sucks. I much prefer my video card that lets me capture programs off cable.

It looks like NBC Direct is good for a pinch if you need to catch an episode. However, it won't be replacing our DVR anytime soon. And, with the writer's strike going on at the moment, it doesn't do much good with all those shows on hold.

I agree with Graywar who commented It isn't hard to make me buy digital content folks. Just stop demanding limits on my stuff after I pay you for it.