One of the most interesting features of Radio-Canada’s Beijing 2008 website (the official national broadcaster for the Games in Canada) is the twelve live streams on its audio-video zone. They were splitted from the broadcasting centre in Montreal, and directly re-transmitted on the web, geo-localized for Canada. The “wall” of video previews below the video embed allows you to browse between the channels.
Perhaps what’s cool about these steams is the total absence of commenting on the eleven other feeds not currently being used for traditional television broadcast. On Sunday, I watched 3/4 of the USA-China game on channel #5, without hearing any of the commentators, emphasizing on the crowd’s reaction, and even what the players were saying/cursing on the court (and also the bad Chinese pop).
On Friday, I watched rowing competitions, baseball, softball, then a few judo matches. Without the commentators’ voiceovers, it almost makes you feel as if you were in the crowd in Beijing. I have a feeling that this is what the future of media tends towards: empowering audiences with omnipresence through one’s television screen (or computer monitor).
Click on this (if you are living in Canada):
http://pekin.radio-canada.ca/audio-video/
This is definitely one of the ground-breaking features coming from Radio-Canada.ca during these games (with daily interactive clips Les jeux dont vous êtes le héros) that CBC.ca or other larger media corporations just won’t offer.