This week saw the dawn of the first episode of MacBreak, which has taken on the face of the first true independent television show that is published under the guise of a podcast. This is a relatively major development, regardless of previous weekly, near 30 minute video broadcasts such as CommandN thanks to not only the hosting talent but also the behind the scenes backing which the show has brought.

Many people are talking about the show and it’s hosts Leo Laporte, Amber MacArthur, Alex Lindsay and Emery Wells; but few are talking about what it says for the future of web based media. Of course, with their connections and experience there are many positives on paper which have long pointed at a great production; however, this hasn’t become the case.

MacBreak has long had the backing of Pixel Corps, a media based “guild” that provides high quality media and is currently specializing in web distributed content such as TWiT (This Week in Tech). With the specialists, equipment, studios and knowledge that Pixel Corps brings to the table, the tech minded presenters of worldwide fame should have little trouble getting out a quality show on time, on a regular basis; but this is not what is transpiring.

Over the past months there has been very little in the way of development from the MacBreak team with only promises of “coming soon” being posted on their website and forums (which have since been removed) and a handful of short “MacBreak Minutes” coming mainly from those outside the mainstream tech presenting team. With such little in the way of information it has been expected that the first show would be some kind of special and really impress beyond the publics already soaring expectations.

The first show was released last week through the iTunes Music Store and was not advertised on the website MacBreak.com, but rather on the so-called “sister-site” TWiT.tv. No where else was there any indication that the first episode was available and this remained until just yesterday when the main site was “updated” to release this information only. It’s an interesting way to get the word out; not telling anyone.

Of course the news spread like wild fire among the tech and Mac communities and soon everyone was draining the life from the Apple servers to see for themselves what the first show brought, and I have to say that that was also a bit of a disappointment. Using rather short and simple intro graphics, no OSD graphics and very little in the way of production values for the show. Overall the camera work achieved nothing but migraines, the sound quality was appalling and the news was weeks old (which isn’t a terribly good idea for a show designed for a tech community which is well structured and always on top of the latest news, especially in it’s beloved environment).

That said, and with all the negatives aside, I don’t want to sound like I am mindlessly bashing MacBreak or the people/companies involved. I am well aware of the circumstances under which the film was shot (on the show floor of one of tech’s biggest conventions), the time made available to the main players and the high expectations of the audience. It’s a tough cookie to crack; hitting the nail of event the best TV shows at a minimal cost and with a final file size downloadable by the masses on a shoe string budget of financing and donations. I look forward to the next show which will no doubt bring about a more familiar feel with a digital set in a stage studio which promises not to produce any symptoms. Still, I wish I had been a little more impressed.

Could this however prove a point that Apple among many other supporters of citizen based media have been making for years? Could it be that media designed, created, and distributed by the masses, to the masses could actually outweigh the media that professionals are struggling to get right? More and more we are seeing shows such as the One Minute Tip, the MacCast and TikiBar TV registering much higher subscriber (especially long time subscriber) figures than the likes of the BBC, CNN or other major traditional media players as well as putting out professional shows, on time, and regularly. Now we are seeing a not-so-traditional media player, one designed for todays market produce a show easily rivaled by people sat in their bedrooms late at night with no more experience than the local paperboy.

It’s a fact that people are getting better and better at knowing what they want, and better and better at knowing how to deliver that to other like minded folks. Some large corporations such as Apple, AOL and Google are picking up on this idea and bringing podcasting, vidcasting and blogging to the mainstream, giving people the tools, services and support to create such an uprising; but how long can this last?

My point here is not about MacBreak, or any of it’s rivals. I believe MacBreak will deliver on all it’s promised between the lines and it’s competitors will continue to do so; but what part will todays mainstream media content providers play in the future of productions just like these? Ad free, distribution and subscription cost free, publicity free and royalty free shows which do nothing but deliver the content people want and do so without causing coffee breaks of complaints about commercials, corporate bias and content lacking are not readily on the agenda of these “players” in todays market.

However, just as blogging and podcasting have come back to bite the industry in the ass, it’s more than possible that non-commercial video will also; so what are they going to do about it?

[Editorial Opinion: This article is the ub grounded opinion of it's author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the website owner or any other contributor to the website or podcast.]