networks of television
DESCRIPTION
Guest lecture given at the University of Melbourne for the "History of Networked Media" subject.TRANSCRIPT
N E T W O R K S O F T E L E V I S I O N
H I S T O R Y O F N E T W O R K M E D I A # 7
L U K E VA N R Y N P H D C A N D I D AT E U N I V E R S I T Y O F M E L B O U R N E @ M Y S PA C E G H O S T U N I M E L B . A C A D E M I A . E D U / L U K E VA N R Y N
D E C E M B E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 3
W H AT I S T V ?
Technology (Kittler)
Text (Buffy Studies)
Device (Morley)
Protocol (Cubitt)
Industry (Mayer)
N O D E S
origins of television
the box in the corner
it’s not TV, it’s HBO
streams, torrents and clouds
researching network(ed) television
O R I G I N S O F T E L E V I S I O N
O N E
– PA U L VA L E R Y
“Just as water, gas and electricity are brought into our houses … so we shall be supplied with visual or auditory
images, which will appear and disappear at a simple movement of the hand, hardly more than a sign.”
W I L L I A M S O N T E L E V I S I O N
supply precedes demand
medium precedes content
“mobile privatisation”
F R I E D R I C H K I T T L E R
Optical Media (2010/2002)
Gramophone, Film, Typewriter (1999/1986)
Discourse Networks 1800/1900 (1990/1985)
PA U L A R M I N : P O R T R A I T O F F R I E D R I C H K I T T L E R , 2 0 0 5 ,
P E N C I L , 1 9 0 C M X 9 0 C M
A J O K ED A V I D F O S T E R W A L L A C E : “ T H I S I S W A T E R ”
specific messages
to specific people
!
then
!
variety of messages
to a general public
– F R I E D R I C H K I T T L E R
“Television was and is not a desire of so-called humans, but rather it is largely a civilian byproduct
of military electronics”
– E D W A R D R . M U R R O W
“This instrument can teach … but it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it's nothing but wires and
lights in a box.”
T H E ( B L A C K ) B O X I N T H E C O R N E R
T W O
T E L E V I S I O N ( S E T ) S T U D I E S
materiality of television at the foreground (Morley)
television as public-private threshold (Spigel)
architectures of television (Cromley)
“ambient television” (McCarthy)
inner workings remain opaque (cf. Cubitt)
– D AV I D M O R L E Y
“not so much a visual medium, more a visual object”
M A K E R O O M F O R T. V.
Suburbs
Leisure time
Entertainment technology
LY N N S P I G E L , 1 9 9 2
A M B I E N T T E L E V I S I O N
Public space
Waiting
Spectacle
A N N A M C C A R T H Y, 2 0 0 1
I T ’ S N O T T. V. , I T ’ S H . B . O .
T H R E E
content: niche, ‘quality’
economy: subscription, DVD
audience: elite
C A B L E S
Q U A L I T Y T E L E V I S I O NE M M Y N O M I N A T I O N S B Y C H A N N E L
D V D B O X S E T S
E C O N O M I E S O F T E L E V I S I O N
S T R E A M S , T O R R E N T S , C L O U D S
F O U R
O N D E M A N D
S T R E A M S
T E L E V I S I O N A F T E R T V
T O R R E N T S
A LT E R N AT I V E E C O N O M I E S
C L O U D S
C H A N G I N G P R O T O C O L S
Codecs
Bandwidth
Latency
C H A N G I N G P R A C T I C E S
B I N G I N G B R E A K I N G B A D
C H A N G I N G T E X T SC O M E D I A N S I N C A R S G E T T I N G C O F F E E
R E S E A R C H I N G N E T W O R K E D T E L E V I S I O N
F I V E
E N T E R I N G T H E G R AV E YA R D S H I F T
Tracing:
Humans
Devices
Institutions
Enrolments
M E E S E , W I L K E N , N A N S E N , A R N O L D ( 2 0 1 3 )
S O C I A L M E T R I C S
I N S E A R C H O F A U D I E N C E S
T E L E M E T R I C S
D A R R Y L W O O D F O R D Q . U . T.
D P W O O D F O R D . N E T
W H AT I S T V ?
Distributed Technology
Fractured Texts
Myriad Devices
Changing Protocols
Evolving Industry
L U K E VA N R Y N P H D C A N D I D AT E U N I V E R S I T Y O F M E L B O U R N E @ M Y S PA C E G H O S T U N I M E L B . A C A D E M I A . E D U / L U K E VA N R Y N
H I S T O R Y O F N E T W O R K E D M E D I A # 7 N E T W O R K S O F T E L E V I S I O N