You may have noticed something new at www.cnettv.com over the past few weeks. We've been letting a small portion of our daily visitors test out the new CNET TV 2.0 beta and provide their feedback. Well, today the test is over, and we are opening the floodgates. All visitors will now get the new CNET TV 2.0 beta.
We've been working on this for many months and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, or, worst case, at least surprised. We've redesigned and rebuilt TV 2.0 largely based upon your feedback. I'd like to highlight some of the key updates to help you get acquainted with TV 2.0.
Consistent CNET look and feel
The first thing you'll probably notice is that CNET TV has lost its black background. This was probably the hardest decision we had to make in the redesign process, but in the end we felt that having a header and navigation consistent with the other CNET sites you're already familiar with would make for an easier user experience.
New channels
In CNET TV 1.0, our channels had catchy names that just never caught on. In CNET TV 2.0, we've renamed our channels with easy-to-understand titles and provided subcategories to allow you to find exactly what you're looking for.
Promotion of hot videos!
When we asked our users what kind of video they want to see, we heard the same answer over and over again. They want to see the "hottest, coolest, latest, and most interesting" videos. Since this is a bit different for everyone, we've carved out a good chunk of space on our home page to display a wide array of the "hottest, coolest, latest, and most interesting" video. These change all the time, so you can come back frequently and never get bored. (I'd suggest 20 times a day, if possible.)
But hey, you don't have to believe us about what the best videos in our library are, we've added a list of the most popular videos of the past week sorted by most user views. You'll find this on the home page on the far-right side.
Product metadata
We can only squeeze so much content into a video, but that doesn't mean we don't know a whole bunch more about the products we review. To solve this, we've added metadata tabs. On the video view page (the one you get to by clicking on any promotion on the home page), you'll see a series of tabs directly under the video. These provide a summary of our editor's full review, user opinions, specs, and even the latest prices.
But wait, there's more!
I've only outlined a few of our new features; you'll have to do some exploring to find the rest. And if you're wondering why this is still beta, it is because we have a bunch of features left to add. In the near future, look for true full-screen support, video podcasts, RSS feeds, and more exciting features that I'm not allowed to divulge.
I hope you enjoy the new CNET TV and I'd love to hear any feedback you have, just click the big feedback button on the right side of the page.
- Justin
