TV.com Tests 1080p Content Online

After fighting tooth and nail for years to keep their content off the Internet, TV networks are now ramping up the competition with one another to bring their content online to as many consumers as possible, as quickly as possible.

TV.com, a relatively new television content service owned by CBS Corp.—designed to compete with the NBCU/Fox content on Hulu.com and ABC/Disney's shows on ABC.com by offering content from any network or syndicator giving its permission—has begun beta-testing an HD online gallery that offers repurposed network programming in 1080p resolution. (However, most of the 1080p content now being produced is restricted to Blu-ray Disc titles.)

The enhanced HD video on TV.com is supported by an Adobe Flash player upgrade, which CBS says can support 1080p. Most of the offerings feature shows that already have aired on the networks (including some programming like "The Simpsons" that was recently pulled by Hulu for contractual reasons).

Older PCs typically cannot handle 1080p without service upgrades (instead, the streaming video looks more like a slide show), although audio is often unimpaired, albeit way out of sync.