| Television Shopping Online |
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 While others talk about just how and when the television and the Internet will converge, television shopping channels have made their move. In an efficient and effective way, they have seamlessly married these two mediums.
A quick look at the online versions of HSN.com All of these television merchants allow you to watch their live television programming through the Internet. On a dial-up connection, this type of television viewing is choppy and slow, but on a high-speed cable or DSL connection you can watch just as you would watch television. Not only do you get to see live TV, but the screen also shows information about the current item and, of course, provides a hot link to allow ordering the item. Each station approaches their Internet television slightly differently, so you may want to look at all of them. ShopatHomeTV even has online broadcasts of six different archived programs so you can see what you may have missed on television. For the clearest transmission and the best on screen information, check out QVC. Believe it or not, on my cable Internet connection, I was able to resize the windows and watch all four of the above live shopping shows on my computer at the same time. Interestingly, the audio of all four came through the same speakers, so I actually heard all four at the same time. Since I have two monitors hooked up to my computer, as I write this, I am working on my word processing program on one screen while watching all four television networks at one time on the other monitor. Impressive Web SitesNot only has television shopping embraced live Internet transmissions, but these shopping stations all have impressive Web sites. QVC.com features over 800,000 products, and the others are not far behind. The quality of these Web sites is remarkable. HSN and QVC are especially well designed and constructed. Each has unique features, like online assistance, one-click purchasing and online only specials. All are continually improving. QVC has recently revamped their entire site with a clean new look. The shopping channels have not only made it easy to purchase online, their Web sites have become community centers for their customers. There are online pictures and information on the show hosts, chat rooms, and bulletin boards. Virtual Models
HSN has recently added a unique virtual model. You can use the model provided or with a few clicks, you can produce a model with your proportions and coloring. Then enter the virtual dressing room and use your model to try on HSN clothing. Update the size, change the outfit’s color, or add shoes and accessories. You can even rotate the model to see how the outfit looks from all directions. If you want to try this out, just surf over to HSN.com Wouldn’t you know that shopping would be at the forefront in bringing television and the Internet together? Even if you don’t want to buy anything, you may want to check out these online shopping meccas. They have done wonders with shopping so far, and I have a feeling that the best is yet to come.
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