Overview of Video Production CHAPTER 1 1.2 DEFINING THE NEW MEDIA there is always a question about what "new media" is. it is a term we hear frequently. when the european Broadcast Union recognized that its members did not understand the definitions, it worked with those members to define the term. the organization's basic question was, how can we distinguish tele- vision from the new media? the organization adopted two basic terms: linear service and nonlinear service. television is considered a linear service--that is, the broadcasting of a pro- gram where the network or station decides when the program will be offered, no matter what distribution platform is used. Although there are many new distribution platforms (satellite, broadband internet, iPod/PdA, and the cell phone), if television uses the platform, it is a linear service. on the other hand, the nonlinear services equal the new media, which means making programs available for on-demand delivery. for instance, video- on-demand can use any platform. it is the demand that makes the difference. FIGURE 1.3 Most people's experience of web video is characterized by the tiny, pixilated windows familiar to YouTube users. But tomorrow's web users 3 Mobile phones, computer tablets, and computers are