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Buzzwords S1
Television is a Dying Art& You Have to Watch This!!!
Vocabulary 2
Grammar Points 2
7
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Vocabulary
English Definition Class
webcast a media file distributed over the noun
internet
to record to make a permanent record of verb
something for future reference
to allow to permit; to give permission verb
to introduce to present for the first time verb
Vocabulary Sample Sentences
We're working on putting a webcast together.
I won't be home so I'll have to record tonight's
episode.
I cannot allow you to speak to me that way.
The new iPhone was introduced to the public last
week.
Grammar Points
2
The Focus of This Lesson is Webcasting and the Death of the Television.
First, there was TiVo, the digital video recorder that was introduced to the public in 1999. TiVo
allowed television fans to record their favorite shows for future viewing without the use of a videotape
or any other analog recording technology. After about six years on the market, TiVo was integrated, or
added, to digital cable boxes, which allowed users to use the same device to record television shows as
they did to access cable television channels. TiVo became quite popular, and users enjoyed the
"freedom" that the device gave them; no longer did they have to be in their homes to watch their
favorite television shows during airtime. They could simply record the show in high digital format and
watch it at any time-and even skip the commercials! Today, however, the wonders of TiVo have been
replaced with the wonders of webcasting and streaming video websites like YouTube and Hulu.
Webcasting has become "big business." The word "webcast," is a combination of the words,
"broadcast," and "world wide web." A webcast is a media file (music or audio) that is sent to many
viewers and listeners over the internet, much like a radio delivers a song or a television delivers a
television show. In fact, some radio stations "stream" their output to internet users, allowing the users
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to listen to the station just as they would on a standard radio. Also, some television stations stream
some of their shows-sometimes short clips, and sometimes entire episodes-on their websites.
Sometimes television stations "simulcast" special programs, such as presidential speeches, which
means that they show these special programs on their websites as the shows are being broadcast on
television. Why? It has become increasingly popular for people to spend lots of time on their
computers. To hold consumers' interest, television networks must be mindful of this fact and do
whatever they can to keep consumers interested in television.
One website that's been getting more and more popular recently is Hulu. Hulu offers streaming video
of TV shows and movies from a group of television networks. Viewers can log onto Hulu and select
the shows they want to watch, whenever they want to watch them. It's a television lover's dream!
Are you a television fan? Do you ever use sites such as Hulu, or watch webcasts of your favorite
shows online? What do you think about the digitization of television?
3
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