META-CC.net
Meta-CC seeks to create an open forum for real time discussion, commentary, and cross-refrencing of electronic news and televised media. By combining strategies employed in web-based discussion forums, blogs , tele-text subtitling, on demand video streaming, and search engines, the open captioning format employed by Meta-CC will allow users to gain multiple perspectives and resources engaging current events. The Fox News Channel in the U.S. will be archived as our initial source material, but the system we are developing is adaptable for use with any cable news or television network.
Meta-CC's system will separate a single video stream from the cable news source's line-21 closed caption element. The decoded text from the captions is used to create an archive of possible topics for debate/discussion, and cross referenced online to provide similar news stories from alternative news sources. As users view the captions and video, they may add their own search terms and additional online resources to the database. This information, combined with the topics being gleaned in real-time from the closed-caption stream, is used to create a news ticker superimposed upon the original video source, containing alternative commentary to the audio/video portion of the station being archived.
As the archive grows, so do the different divergent topics and resources presented to the user. While responding to a particular news story, the Meta-CC engine may present a user with a list of alternative sources for information about that particular topic, along with portions of the archive deemed relevant by the engine to the present conversation.
Meta-cc is in its infancy; as the project develops, additional features such as web-based remote channel switching, video archiving, and on-demand streaming of archived content will be implemented.
Meta-CC is a work in progress. If you would like to be notified about additions and updates to the site, and receive an alert about our initial launch at the end of October 2004, please join our mailing list by sending an email to metaccATconglomco.org.
Meta[CC]: Another fine CONGLOMCO project!