http://www.osnews.com/story/18033/Interview_Damian_Kindler_on_Sanctuary_ Exploring the Future of Computing en-us Copyright 2001-2009, David Adams adam+nospam@osnews.com Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:44:08 GMT http://www.osnews.com/images/osnews.gif http://www.osnews.com http://osnews.com/thread?245571 http://osnews.com/thread?245571 as long as it doesn't get published in a DRM-crippled format. That wouldn't be an evolution...

No DRM.
Ok let's see. If true then it's a huge step forward.Edited 2007-06-06 01:03 Wed, 06 Jun 2007 00:54:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (mmu_man) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245573 http://osnews.com/thread?245573 Ummm...


"It's out now..."

And yes, it is HD non-drm. Wed, 06 Jun 2007 01:18:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (ThawkTH) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245574 http://osnews.com/thread?245574 I went to the official website to watch an official version of the episode, but nothing was there but a 5 month old trailer... (and a website that reminds me of Myst 1)

Update: it looks like rather than host a free low quality version on their website, they make people hunt for them on other video sites. The wikipedia entry says the first four episodes will be on Youtube. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctuary_%28web_series%29 ) Wed, 06 Jun 2007 01:35:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Luminair) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245575 http://osnews.com/thread?245575 I directly link to the first webisode on Youtube, so I don't understand why you had this adventure -- although I agree with you that it's not easy to find these links from the official site. Wed, 06 Jun 2007 01:38:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Eugenia) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245577 http://osnews.com/thread?245577 Nice, still have to see it though, their *web*site isn't really one and insists on installing a flash plugin to do anything (yes, even on XP where I do have v8 or so installed). It would be so wonderful if they used web standards instead of proprietary stuff... I'd even propose helping them Wed, 06 Jun 2007 01:42:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (mmu_man) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245579 http://osnews.com/thread?245579 The webisodes are located here:
http://www.sanctuaryforall.com/pages/Store.php

They cost $2.25 each or you can pay for a bundle deal.

You have to register on their site first. Wed, 06 Jun 2007 02:11:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (tonestone57) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245581 http://osnews.com/thread?245581 Their website requires Flash version 9.0.28.0 ( or better ) to function. Wed, 06 Jun 2007 02:17:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (tonestone57) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245583 http://osnews.com/thread?245583 Interesting stuff, thanks for posting.

I wonder where this approach is headed in terms lowering cost of entry. Perhaps in ten years or so we'll have loads of small, low budget niche shows to choose from? Wed, 06 Jun 2007 02:22:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (rhyder) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245584 http://osnews.com/thread?245584 Maybe the Indie scene will be the first to go there. Undoubtedly the big studios will follow suit, but in the beginning, Indie movies can find a good point of entry. There is a neat site that sells indie movies btw: http://www.bside.com/ Wed, 06 Jun 2007 02:25:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Eugenia) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245586 http://osnews.com/thread?245586 Usually when a TV show is on Youtube it is 24 hours away from the lawyers taking it down. So having a sketchy video on Youtube and no recognition of this on the official website is why I went on the adventure to find out WTF was going on.Edited 2007-06-06 02:38 UTC Wed, 06 Jun 2007 02:38:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Luminair) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245587 http://osnews.com/thread?245587 Yeah, I agree, they should put some links up... The first four episodes will be/are uploaded on YouTube legally. Wed, 06 Jun 2007 02:42:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Eugenia) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245612 http://osnews.com/thread?245612 Is it just me or is releasing 8 episodes that are only 15 minutes each and each spread 2 weeks apart and cost over $2 per episode (OK, less if you buy the lot in one go) quite a bizarre and costly way to sell a programme?

Yes, I realise it cost a lot to make, but getting drip-fed high-priced short episodes across the space of over 3 months is a sure way to encourage disinterest in your offering. Basically, they're offering the equivalent of a 2-hour sci-fi movie for up to $16 (not far away from the cost of a DVD) as a download-only option that you'll have to wait 14 weeks to see completely (and hand-join the parts [e.g. avimerge] to avoid any gaps :-) ). Doesn't sound too great when you put it that way - maybe they will offer the whole thing as one big download later on at a cheaper price once all 8 episodes are out there? Wed, 06 Jun 2007 06:44:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (rklrkl) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245621 http://osnews.com/thread?245621 This will eventually have to work like every other future media distribution: persistent tracking of what properties a user has bought, and then 24/7 delivery of any mediums they want the property in. So any episode of this that you buy would be remembered by the website which gives you assorted download file formats, including streaming. And if you end up buying every episode, you're naturally also given access to a full length version of them.

If a show was popular enough, it could pay its way with micropayments per-watch or advertisements. Wed, 06 Jun 2007 09:10:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Luminair) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245632 http://osnews.com/thread?245632 It's $22.5 for the HD download in two bundles. And if you add-in the cost of a couple blank DVDs and a DVD case, and maybe a couple DVD labels and ink, then it is even more.

I find it far too expensive for two hours of download-then-burn-yourself video, especially bearing in mind that the intro and credits are probably included 8 times over, so there might be a lot less than 2 hours of real content in the end.

If there were 16 episodes at the same price it would feel like a whole season for a cartoon like Dexter's Lab, or Dragon Ball or whatever, and it would be a lot more palatable. Wed, 06 Jun 2007 11:17:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Lobotomik) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245710 http://osnews.com/thread?245710 I tried it and it is an interesting show. But as others have pointed out it gets expensive very quickly. I prefer to watch things on my TV rather than my PC. So, you have to re-encode it from QT to a format supported by your DVD player. On my PC that takes a longggg time.... After that experence I don't think I will be buying anymore. But, it is an interesting idea, and the show itself appears interesting. Wed, 06 Jun 2007 17:48:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (DFergATL) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245776 http://osnews.com/thread?245776 > you have to re-encode it from QT to a format supported by your DVD player.
I watch TV on my PC as I don't have a tv set, but eh...
Maybe they could provide mpeg2 files or better dvd images... Wed, 06 Jun 2007 23:31:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (mmu_man) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245777 http://osnews.com/thread?245777 > Their website requires Flash version 9.0.28.0 ( or better ) to function.
That's why I highlighted the fact that is was not a web-site. Wed, 06 Jun 2007 23:33:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (mmu_man) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245798 http://osnews.com/thread?245798 Purchased the non HD bundle today after seeing this on OSNEWS. Went to the website and it is interesting. I paid and saw that it was in my library waiting for download and when I get home and login nothing is in my library and I can't download anything. I have sent notes to the shop, info, and support ids without success. All hardware and software on both a windows machine and mac machine are current and meet the requirements of the website.

Anyone else have this experience? Thu, 07 Jun 2007 02:03:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (wizzard) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245826 http://osnews.com/thread?245826 Maybe it set a cookie on the other machine you used to purchase the episodes?

I'm guessing they don't want people to create an account, pay for the webisodes and then go over to their friends, log in and download them.

Could be a safety measure to prevent you from sharing? Just my guess.

Try logging into your account from the machine you used to buy them from and see if they show up. Thu, 07 Jun 2007 05:53:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (tonestone57) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245827 http://osnews.com/thread?245827 You're right mmu_man

Sanctuary site is what I'd classify more as a multimedia site from looking at it. ( because it uses flash, sound, pictures and animation ).

I also believe that true websites are those with little or no flash.

I can't deal with sites that use lots of flash. These type of sites are not OS friendly with anything except the mainstream 3 ( Windows, Linux, OS X ). Thu, 07 Jun 2007 06:01:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (tonestone57) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245853 http://osnews.com/thread?245853 Agreed. I like the model used by RoosterTeeth (RedVsBlue, The Strangerhood, etc) a bit better - flat subscription fee for the season (for hi-res episodes), with DVDs available at the end of each season. Thu, 07 Jun 2007 09:34:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (StephenBeDoper) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?245888 http://osnews.com/thread?245888 Already did that - thanks. This am the site is sort of down as it requires you to login. They must be having some problems. Thu, 07 Jun 2007 13:41:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (wizzard) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?246564 http://osnews.com/thread?246564 They seem to have fixed everything and I got my downloads. Their support is great. Sat, 09 Jun 2007 14:49:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (wizzard) Comments