By Jason Tan
It was a cooling winter afternoon in Shanghai, and I started to feel bored after visiting most of the tourists spots in the bustling city.
The Internet in my room was running at snail speed as usual, but surfing the Web was a good pastime nonetheless as my French housemates didn't have TV at home.
I logged onto the Web, trying to track down a recent China TV series to see if I could download and all of a sudden -- I bumped into bulges of Chinese video sharing portals.
These Web sites stream videos from the popular series "Ugly Betty", "Desperate Housewives", to reality show Amazing Race, and also include Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong movies and dramas!
Some of the videos were just recently broadcast in the US and not even hitting Malaysian airwaves yet. And most importantly -- they are free!
I chose to click onto Xiaoli site to kick start my Korean drama "Coffee Prince", reportedly quite a hit in South Korea and was recently shown over Taiwanese and Singapore TVs.
Within the next week or so, I managed to finish the 17-episode drama, plus a special episode on the production notes.
In between, I squeezed in the first eight episodes of "Ugly Betty" Season 2 (who wouldn't love Betty and wonder when the plain-looking girl will transform into a charmer? For your information, this season will only premiere on 8TV on Feb. 5).
I also watched first seven episodes of "Desperate Housewives" Season 4 (a new neighbor with a secret past has again descended onto Wisteria Lane. I just love seeing the new twists and suspense, plus the gossips in the neighborhood.)
In case you wonder, resolution of the pictures were not top notch, but good to get by fitting my 12-inch notebook.
The video buffering wasn't a big distraction either as when I was watching the first part of an episode, I would click open the second and third parts the same time to let the buffering complete before seeing them.
These portals made my days in Shanghai and I only hated the fact to discover them too late.
Indeed, video sharing portals are sprouting in China thanks to the stringent movie and Internet censorships.
Each year, China only allows 20 foreign films, including Hollywood blockbusters, to be screened in local cinemas. Cable networks like the StarWorld, HBO and Cinemax, are definitely out of reach for the general public.
Munching popcorns at theaters is therefore not a viable option for most in view of the limited choices, but the good thing is -- pirated versions of latest uncensored Hollywood flicks boasting top DVD quality are accessible across Chinese cities, and each piece costs as little as 5 yuan (RM2).
In last November, an uncut version of Ang Lee's erotic thriller, "Lust, Caution", swamped Chinese Web sites after 22 minutes of graphic sex scenes were cut by China's State Administration of Radio Film and Television.
According to CCID Consulting, China's leading technology researcher, online video business is making waves in China with audience estimated at 78 million.
Tapping onto the trend, Western venture capitalists have poured US$120 million into the industry since 2004.
Tudou -- barely up and running in 2005 -- is now China's largest video sharing Web site, serving more than a billion minutes of video traffic per day, which is around 30 percent more than its US counterpart YouTube.
These Web sites -- also include Youku and Sina, among others -- are not only gaining momentum in the mainland, but also attracted overseas surfers.
China puts the blame on the rampant copyright infringement of these portals as an "international crime".
Just this month [January 2008], a Chinese public-security ministry official asked for international help in copyright enforcement, noting that many infringers use Web sites hosted outside Chinese jurisdiction, making the authorities hard to enforce the law.
International cooperation is needed to curb the piracy, the official said.
China has also announced on tougher restrictions on what surfers can get on videos.
Come January 31, online video postings will be limited to state-owned or state-controlled video providers. Clips that contain violence or sex or are considered "detrimental to the nation's security" will be deleted immediately.
The regulation mainly targets content uploaded by amateurs and experts believe TV and film clips will largely remain untouched.
Despite the authorities' efforts, these sites are already sweeping the Internet industry by storms and hooking too many netizens in the world.
With those free-of-charge contents available 24x7, who would to wait for TVs to finally show them?
No comments:
Post a Comment