Olympics Online Coverage Still In Learning Curve

NBC is offering a nearly endless supply of Olympics coverage online, a laudatory move but one with its share of hiccups, writes Robert Bianco in USA Today. NBCOlymics.com provides live feeds of dozens of events—many of them obscure—for free. But the broadcasts lack much of the polish found on TV, and viewers are often on their own trying to figure out what's what. "You've given us more," Bianco says to NBC. "Now give us better."

The webcasts require users to download a Microsoft video plug-in, and those who want to watch in high-def need Vista. The online video itself is prone to glitches and annoyances—crashes when moving between videos, and repeated advertisements every time one switches to a new event. In addition, webcasts are delivered with only rudimentary, text-based commentary. (More 2008 Beijing Olympics stories.)