URLs4TV

by Chris Raley
Spring 2001

If you've surfed the Web on your TV very long, you've discovered that most Web sites do not look very good on its screen. This is primarily because many Web sites are text driven and much of that text is in small black letters against a white background. The scan lines on a large TV make this kind of text blurry and difficult to read.
We've focused this list on only those Web sites that play well on the TV screen. To qualify, these "couch-certified" sites must be intelligible from a distance of about 10 feet, require a limited amount of scrolling to navigate and include photos, graphics or sound. Here are a few places to go next time you put your feet up on the coffee table and hit the Web.

Disney
Category: Kids
www.disney.com

Another good Flash site is the Disney online Web page. There are enough activities on this animation driven site to keep your child busy for hours. Your child can read animated stories featuring Rolie Polie Olie, chat about favorite shows or play a variety of games. Navigation is easy on this site. When you land the mouse on the menu items the subcategories enlarge to a readable size. The site is bright and colorful and the big lettering should be easily readable.

The Blue Note
Category: Music
www.bluenote.net

Think you need to go to New York to hear jazz at the Blue Note? Not anymore! Now you can hear select concerts in your living room. On Blue Note's home page, click on "Live Online Events" to check out upcoming online concerts, or browse the archives. In the archives, the likes of Bill Evans and Terrance Blanchard are waiting to perform for you. On some selections, you have the choice between 28k or 56k audio and video. Also, in that section you can check out archived chats on video. With video looking good at full screen, this site is a must for the jazz enthusiast who can't afford a ticket to the Big Apple.

TBS
Category: Companion
www.superstation.com

Many TV companion Web sites seem to assume that viewers will look them up on a PC. But some look as though they are trying to attract PC-TV users and TBS is one of those. Its menu system is large and graphically based. It uses Flash to give you previews of highlighted movies and Shockwave for the games on the site. It also has sections for its TV features Movies for Guys who Like Movies and Dinner and a Movie, from which you can download video clips. Most sections, though, still have a lot of small print and we would like to see more streaming media. But overall, the site is a step ahead of most companion sites.

The Florida Ballots
Category: Humor
www.mikepatrick.net
www.bet.com/elections/florida_vote.html

Remember the election that would never end? Check out these Flash sites and revisit the Florida Super Tuesday fiasco with a little humor. Both of these sites use Flash animation to create or present some tricky ballots.

20th Century Fox
Category: Entertainment
www.ha3.com

This address will get you to a preview page of 20th century Fox releases on DVD and video. This friendly page offers previews of what's coming to your home players. On this site, you view streaming video clips on QuickTime and brief animated trailers. It's a simple, narrow focus page, but it's easily navigable and fun if you're into checking out, say, the new DVD box set of Planet of the Apes before you buy it.

Colin Baker Archive
Category: Art
www.interlog.com/~cwcjb/totalss.html

Here's another page for art enthusiasts with a contemporary bent: a slide show of the art of Colin Baker. This is a simple one shot deal, no navigation required beyond clicking on begin. Requires streaming support.

Art Commotion
Category: Art
www.artcommotion.com

Art commotion is a Web zine that focuses on Los Angeles area contemporary visual and literary art. This Web site is intuitive and should be easily couch-navigable. While the site has poetry and fiction the sections of most interest to TV surfers are the visual arts and spoken word sections.
Issue Two features spoken word performances by EL Rivera that you can hear on RealPlayer and a visual arts presentation in collaboration with MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) that displays the work of Yoko Ono.