By Matthew Palmer
Sputnik7 is one of the growing number of sites offering independent
streaming content, organizing itself like a network broadcast. Opening
the "Video Stations" part of Sputnik7 gives you a well-designed
applet to, in essence, watch television. There are fives "stations"
in all, some of which show independent short films, anime, or music
videos. There is also a way to request programs and watch it on a
separate station for registered members. The content is compelling
enough where I can imagine people keeping it on for several hours.
Within the Video Stations page, you can also chat, rate the movies,
and buy the CDs or videos.
There are a few technical features to the site that enhance the experience
and could set Sputnik7 apart from similar streaming services. The
Video Station is set up to operate in real-time (although there is
a separate Video on Demand portion of the site where you can download
movies individually). The applet downloads most of its data in the
beginning, so you can quickly switch between stations. This may sound
like a simple, common-sense idea, but many other similar services
have an annoying delay. When I'm listening to Internet radio, I usually
keep it on one station because changing the station can take 30 seconds.
So even there are hundreds of radio stations on the Web, I usually
can only tolerate listening to a few of them because of the loading
time.
A small detail that makes a large difference in the type of experience
I have with streaming video is the picture size. This is mostly a
matter of technology and bandwidth, but it does change the way people
interact with the media. Sputnik7 allows you to view videos full screen
(although, you have to temporary exit full screen mode to switch stations).
However, the option doesn't also go the other way. It is acceptable
for a television to be a self-contained, one "window" system
because of the sit-back environment people use it in. The office-like
environment around most people's computers is very different. It means
that I also want the option of keeping the video at a smaller size,
but having it always visible. As Sputnik7 operates now, I can do several
things within the Video Station window, but if I want to surf another
part of their site or other sites, I either need to exit the window
or open a new window on top of it. An always-on-top window would integrate
well with Sputnik7's idea of a continuous broadcast. I don't need
to continually choose new videos to play (because it's done for me),
so I can focus on other online tasks.
The content of the visual and music videos is well suited for online
distribution. Users can submit their own independent productions,
and mid-level productions (like They Might Be Giants) are also shown.
Sputnik7 made a good choice by offering anime, as most of their audience
is most likely younger, more experimental viewers. The eclectic and
independent spirit of the videos are a refreshing change from network
and cable television.