People seem to want their TV with more features, like internet ready, apps, web browser etc. All these extra features are basically already there on computers. Now they want a combination. The connected TV will evolve.
Connected TV and voice remote control seems to be the direction TV makers are pushing their products to because it seems 3D TV fails to excite and gesture UIs are deemed to flop.
One new TV feature that does have most potential is connectivity. Sales of connected TVs are increasing (nearly 50 percent year-over-year unit growth in 2011) and connectivity is beginning to weigh into TV purchase decisions. The technology also has the benefit of timing, hitting the market as viewing habits shift online, content options offered by streaming services expand, and broadband adoption grows. Top-selling brands are currently offering Internet-connected TVs with streaming and apps. Research firm IHS iSuppli estimates the global Internet-enabled TV market will grow nearly 60 percent this year to 95 million sets, far outpacing the TV market overall, which is expected to expand by just 2 percent.
World smart TV sales surge article tells that Smart TVs (tellies with internet connectivity) accounted for almost 20 per cent of the televisions that manufacturers shipped in Q1 2012. Almost 30 per cent of them went into Western Europe, but the world’s biggest IPTV fans are clearly the Japanese: 46 per cent of the TVs that shipped there were smart devices. Also 30 per cent of Chinese buyers snapped up smart TV. More than 2.6 million smart TVs shipped into Western Europe, some 3.2 million into China and under 1 million units to Japan. Moe than 51 per cent of Sony TVs shipped in Q1 were internet connectable. Philips, Sharp and Panasonic scored 36 per cent, 28 per cent and 21 per cent. Still, it’s impossible to yet say how many of these devices are being used for their connected capabilities, but past studies have shown that a significant proportion of smart-TV buyers aren’t making use of the technology or even know what it’s for.
Besides the trend of adding Internet connectivity to TV there is a trend that people use smart phones and tablet computers while they watch TV. Tablets a TV friend: 85 percent of tablet owners use the device while watching shows. Broadcast moves beyond the TV set as 17% of consumers get network content on multiple screens article tells that that TV networks, on average, are reaching more than a quarter of their total audiences via mobile or Internet media, and 11 percent are digital-only consumers. Among news, sports and youth-oriented networks, up to 30 percent of the audience was reached through multiple devices during the five-week study. 61 percent of consumers used the Internet at the same time as they watched TV at some point during the study, and nearly half of those used Facebook.
Remote display technology lets users fully experience cloud content article claims that remote display technology helps bridge the gap between content and user experience. Often, the device where the content ends up is not the most appropriate type of device for viewing, sharing and experiencing it, and that’s just what the user wants to do. An effective way around this dilemma is remote display technology. Several different standard bodies have addressed these needs from different perspectives. The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), Wi-Fi Alliance’s Wi-Fi Display (WFD) and Wireless Gigabit Alliance’s WiGig are some examples of how the industry is addressing this need to wirelessly display content.
In Search of Apps for Television article tells that the same consumers who delight in navigating the iPad still click frustratingly through cable channels to find a basketball game. Their complaint: Why can’t television be more like a tablet? Already, apps for Hulu Plus, Netflix and Wal-Mart’s Vudu streaming service, among others, are built into Internet-enabled televisions. Devices like Microsoft’s Xbox 360 let viewers watch apps that mimic channels. New sets by Samsung and others come with built-in apps loaded with television shows, movies and sports. Apple has a video player called Apple TV with apps. A model built around TV apps could let viewers see their favourite content they want, and let the users to bypass cable subscriptions and all the extraneous channels they don’t watch. And therein lies the tension that has the television industry delicately assessing how to balance the current system with an Internet-based future that some feel is inevitable.
The missing link on smart TVs currently has been limited selection of TV programs that mimic the networks’ current fare, but I quess we will see quite soon streaming services that can directly compete against cable and satellite. Millions of Subscribers Leaving Cable TV for Streaming Services. Netflix and Hulu are convincing millions of cable, satellite and telco subscribers to cut the cord and dive into video streaming. 2.65 million Americans have already canceled TV subscriptions between 2008-2011 in favor of lower-cost internet subscription services or video platforms. It is expected that cable companies will try to respond to this by charging consumers an additional “pay per bit” fee on top of the cost of Internet service if one should drop their cable service. Convergence co-founder Brahm Eiley projects that the number of people opting out of TV subscription services will begin to slow in 2012 and 2013 due rising price tag for streaming rights.
It is rumored apple Apple iTV will launch in 2012 or 2013. Apple has been rumored to be working on a proper television set for some time, and it is expected that The Foxconn-Sharp Alliance is all about Apple’s Coming HDTV. OH NO: Apple TV Isn’t Coming Until 2013, Says Research Group article mentions that most analysts say Apple will release an Apple TV this year, but Asian research group CLSA said that it thinks it comes out in 2013. So far Apple’s presence in the living room has been modest, maxing out with the current Apple TV — a small set-top box that is hooked to owners’ existing televisions. HD Guru predicts that Apple will take smart TVs to the next level by providing the biggest and widest selection of TV programming, giving consumers the first real opportunity to “cut the cable.” It is expected that Apple to demo its smart TV OS at WWDC in June. If the rumors are true, Apple will release a television set later this year that it will tout as the most amazing boob tube ever invented. Apple’s TV will be able to access shows from a variety of online sources, including its iTunes Store and streaming services like Netflix and Hulu.
Maybe Apple Doesn’t Need To Make the TV of the Future. The revolution is already here in form of connected set-top-boxes. Apple Doesn’t Need To Make the TV of the Future tells that the revolution here today is called the Xbox. Microsoft has tried to turn its video-game console into your TV’s best friend. Late last year, the company revamped the Xbox’s interface, adding a voice-search feature through the Kinect motion-gaming add-on. Microsoft is going to bring full Internet Explorer browsing to Xbox 360 with Kinect controls. Microsoft also added dozens of entertainment services to its Xbox Live online plan, including Netflix, Hulu, ESPN, and on-demand video from cable and satellite services around the world. Xbox offers also access to videos from Amazon, HBO, Comcast, or many of the other sources. There’s also the matter of price: An Xbox console with a Kinect add-on sells for $250 and membership to Xbox Live’s Gold plan sells for about $40 a year. Xbox is an effective aggregator, pulling the Web’s competing video services into a single, simple interface. Xbox now used more for online entertainment than online gaming. But Xbox is not perfect, because you still have to choose between different content channels. What if you just want whatever you want, when you want it, on a single device that doesn’t ask you to belong to other paid plans? If Apple can deliver that well, then they have a good market position.
Google has shown to have will to take part in connected TV field. If you don’t succeed, try, try, again. Google TV, take 3 tells that a number major set makers begin to offer HDTVs that use Google’s Internet TV platform. Google TV allows viewers to access Google services such as searches and YouTube videos on their television screens. The TV makers have remained leery, given Google TVs poor track record in Sony TVs, the Sony Blu-ray player and the Logitech Revue, all of which failed in the marketplace in 2011. LG to launch second version of Google TV in USA. Google Introduces Tablet And Streaming Device article tells that Google just introduced Nexus Q streaming device. The Nexus Q is probably best compared to Apple TV, which acts as an interface between content on the cloud and on your devices (phones, tablets, etc.) and your television set and audio systems. Anyone with an Android phone can control it and stream media to it.
Blip sheds partners: No money in Smart TV article tells that dedicated set-top boxes for online video still have a relatively small user base. Some of the bigger CE makers may ship millions of units, but that doesn’t mean that TV viewers are actually engaging with their platforms, save for the occasional use of the embedded Netflix app. With that, Smart TV platform makers are caught in a bit of a bind: Without content, users won’t tune in — and without viewers, content providers don’t see enough value in their platforms.
It seems that year 2012 will be the final nail to the coffin on the old idea that consumers won’t accept premium content distribution over the Internet. Movie distributors make much more money from selling discs to punters than they do selling rental licenses to streaming companies, so there is common interest in them and shops to do something about this development. We thought ‘piracy’ was ruining their businesses, but perhaps it’s just nipping at their profits. A look at the market trends seems to indicate that online streaming services are overtaking conventional media distribution channels such as DVDs and Blu-rays. However, this doesn’t mean that optical media will die out anytime soon. Currently, a large number of consumers don’t have reliable enough Internet access to guarantee a good experience with premium streaming services.
When people get used to get their entertainment from on-line source what to do with the physical media like DVD and BlueRay? Online video is overtaking physical sales article tells that movie watching Americans are spending money on video streaming and downloaded film services than in stores. There will be 3.4 billion legal and paid for movies watched in the US this year, around one million higher than hard copy sales. The total number of movies consumed from services that are traditionally considered ‘home entertainment’ grow by 40 percent between 2007 and 2011, even as the number of movies viewed on physical formats has declined. So-called ‘piracy’ horror stories do not seem to be ringing true.
Warner, Sony commit to UltraViolet in UK article tells Warner Home Entertainment has revealed that all its future Blu-ray Discs will tap into Hollywood’s UltraViolet cloud-based movie locker to provide punters with downloadable copies of films they buy. Buying a movie on a UV-enabled disc gives you free access to the film for streaming and downloading. The system encompasses a host of DRM mechanisms to ensure that any given gadget like connected TVs, media players and such – can access the movies you’ve bought and play them. Walmart offers $2 digital copies of your DVDs article tells that US retail giant is to offer punters digital copies of each of their DVDs and Blu-rays for $2 (£1.27) a pop. Every digital copy is delivered through Walmart’s online streaming service, Vudu. Vudu will tie into Hollywood’s UltraViolet cross-company DRM and cloud-based film storage platform. UltraViolet is all about encouraging folk to buy movies rather than rent them, as many on-line video sources encouraging us to do. The carrot is the flexibiliy to access content you own on almost any device, and to buy from multiple providers without compatibility concerns. The Walmart scheme will encourage folk to gain digital copies without resort to ripping discs or resorting to Torrented pirate copies,
Now a good chunk of video and audio traffic is transported on broadband networks end-to-end in a digital format. When will we be able to stream bluray quality to our homes over an affordable internet connection? Given that a bluray based 1080p movie is about 15GB in size, to stream that amount of data to your house in 2 hours would require an internet connection of about 17Mb/s. The network infrastructure will need an overhaul in 2012 due to the increasing amounts of high-definition video and other traffic.
195 Comments
Tomi says:
Television is no longer manufacturers’ vision of a passive device, but it is loaded games and applications. A South Korean Samsung smart TV models convened for the first time the game utilizing the motion sensor in Finland in cooperation with the Bonfire Entertainment.
The home on the couch can be reached by centrifuging angry birds against their own motions. Special game controller is not required. In the second movement while activated bird super powers.
50 megabytes in size game can be downloaded from Samsung Apps service for Smart Interaction technology, equipped with the 2012 models, which are 7 – and 8-series LED-TVs and 8-series plasma TVs TV may have to update the latest software version.
Samsung plans to expand the motion detection using games and applications continue to embroider.
Source: http://www.3t.fi/artikkeli/uutiset/teknologia/angry_birds_linkoaa_televisioon_liiketunnistimella
Tomi says:
Microsoft’s forthcoming Xbox 720 console after the plan is to transfer the content to play a second time and the necessary equipment in whole network, a cloud service. Nowadays the music and media files are already largely online. In the future, there could be found in heavy torque demand media devices. Microsoft’s plans for consumers is doubtful whether the Internet can play in one of the terminal with the light. The plan, it appears that Microsoft collects your monthly payments will also be entertainment services directly to consumers for their own coffers. Reversing the first steps have already been seen, for example the Office 365 service.
Xbox-cloud service would be in the future (2015 and forward) in use on all Microsoft operating system equipped with devices by hand, including telephones. Microsoft made the same “wide platform” concept, which is a practice common software platform for all major consumer devices, such as a TV, a PC, mobile phones and padeille, Windows 8, acting as a pioneering role in this direction. Terminal output sold to consumers continues to reflect the equipment suppliers by licensing the operating system and services as part of their hardware solution.
Source:
http://www.norvestia.fi/blogi/bloggarit/mika_huhtamaki/?495_m=728
“leaked” Xbox game console concept plan (Gameinformer: XBox 720, Concept Plan)
http://www.gameinformer.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Components-SiteFiles/images-news-xbox720/xbox720doc.pdf
Tomi says:
NBC insults viewer intelligence, says Olympic Opening Ceremony is too ‘complex’ for online audience
http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/28/3197834/nbc-insults-viewer-intelligence-olympics-opening-ceremony-complex-online
The 2012 Summer Olympics have finally kicked off, and while NBC has been boasting about the digital options it’s offering US sports fans, the broadcaster offered no live streaming of the opening ceremonies, instead funneling viewers towards its tape-delayed primetime broadcast this evening. NBC has now defended the decision to the Los Angeles Times, telling the paper in an emailed statement that the ceremonies “are complex entertainment spectacles that do not translate well online because they require context, which our award-winning production team will provide for the large prime-time audiences that gather together to watch them.”
Of course, as a strict business decision NBC’s choice makes sense.
however, we can’t help but wish NBC had decided to go all the way
Tomi says:
Video calling a TV without a PC
Logitech TV Cam HD camera works with any high-definition television with an HDMI connection. The camera has a built-in Skype application and the wireless and wired Ethernet connection for internet access.
Couple of hundred euro-priced Logitech camera will help to establish free video calls to any Skype calls with video enabled devices such as smart phones, tablet devices, smart TV or computers.
Source:
http://www.3t.fi/artikkeli/uutiset/teknologia/videopuhelut_televisioon_ilman_tietokonetta
http://www.logitech.com/webcam-communications/webcams/tvcam-hd?geo=FI
Freddy says:
nice
Tomi says:
Mars Landing Broadcast on Ustream Outperforms Cable TV, Company Says
http://mashable.com/2012/08/08/mars-curiosity-ustream/
New stats from Ustream suggest that more people are forgoing television for online sources when it comes to getting news, the company says.
More than 3.2 million people tuned in to the live streaming platform to see Sunday night’s landing of the Mars Curiosity rover, according to spokesman Tony Riggins.
“More people tuned in to watch the NASA Mars landing coverage on Ustream than many of the top cable news networks during Sunday primetime,” he told Mashable in an email.
Riggins said that at its peak, Ustream had 500,000 concurrent viewers across all streams watching live. The platform had broadcasts spanning NASA HDTV, NASA JPL and NASA JPL 2
Ustream also lets viewers interact in real-time over its “social stream,” via mobile phones, tablets, streaming players and smart TV.
Tomi says:
How To Watch Internet TV Across International Borders
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/08/08/1957244/how-to-watch-internet-tv-across-international-borders
“Living in the U.S., one of my greatest regrets is that I can’t watch BBC video with iPlayer. If I were living in the U.K., I’d feel the same away about not being able to watch shows on Hulu.”
But, with a Web proxy or a virtual private network (VPN) and an IP address in a country where the content is available, you can watch these shows. Technically, it’s easy to set your browser up to use a Web proxy or VPN software.
It’s usually pretty simple to do that in any browser and operating system.
This is informing people that their is technology that enables users to bypass the restriction.
Of course sometimes you can just set the X-Forwarded-For attribute in your browser to an IP address inside the country. A fair amount of web servers are set up to blindly trust it. A lot cheaper than a proxy when it works.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cable Trumps DSL, Fiber Trumps Cable?
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/other/4391886/Cable-Trumps-DSL–Fiber-Trumps-Cable-?cid=Newsletter+-+EDN+Today
DSL to cable as the primary (and for most folks, exclusive) broadband provider. You might think that broadband-plus-video services bundles would provide price motivation for the transition, but as Malik’s August 1 piece also points out, this doesn’t seem to be the case. In fact, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and DirecTV all saw video services subscription decreases in the most recent quarter
More seeming evidence that the migration away from cable television isn’t indicative of a broader pay-TV-discard (i.e. “cable-cutting”) trend comes from AllThingsD, which notes that the combination of fiber-delivered television services growth and typical Q2 turmoil caused by seasonal home sales (and consequent customer moves from one residence to another) near-exactly compensate for the cable television business loss. To that point, you might think that the telecoms would welcome potential DSL service business loss, due to the opportunity to up-sell customers on fiber services instead. According to Ars Technica, in fact, Verizon exactly fits that description. However, the retention promotion AT&T offered me suggests that it’s not following the same up-sell strategy.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Windows Media Center: So Close, And Yet So Far
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/brians-brain/4391622/Windows-Media-Center–So-Close–And-Yet-So-Far
I actually suspect, though, that Apple’s disregard for the media center is intentional. The market is admittedly a niche, no matter how cool I and other Media Center fanatics think it is, thereby explaining why it’ll be a paid upgrade in Windows 8 versus a bundled default.
As my experience shows, a robust implementation of the concept requires a lot of work; specifically, I’d suggest, a self-managed program guide database, whereas I’m pretty sure that Microsoft still relies on imperfect third-party data sources. And whereas I’ve got the time, patience and technology curiosity to research and implement fixes for the myriad errors my initial setup attempt uncovered, the vast majority of folks would bail straightaway.
Tomi Engdahl says:
BBC Delivered 2.8PB On Busiest Olympics Day, Reaching 700Gb/s As Wiggo Won Gold
http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/12/08/14/229241/bbc-delivered-28pb-on-busiest-olympics-day-reaching-700gbs-as-wiggo-won-gold
“The BBC has revealed that on the busiest day of its London 2012 Olympics coverage it delivered 2.8 petabytes worth of content, peaking when Bradley Wiggins won gold, where it shifted 700Gb/s. It has also said that over a 24-hour period on the busiest Olympic days it had more traffic to bbc.co.uk than it did for the entire BBC coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2010 games. They revealed they had 106 million requests for BBC Olympic video content, which included 12 million requests for video on mobile devices across the whole of the Games.”
The story of the digital Olympics: streams, browsers, most watched, four screens
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2012/08/digital_olympics_reach_stream_stats.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
The popular American movies and TV shows from Netflix offering arrives in Finland by the end of 2012. Rumor has it that Netflix would start in Finland in mid-October.
Netflix’s approach has been since the beginning of a fixed monthly fee, and the ability to watch content from a variety of terminal equipment. In practice, the content is viewed with a PC or Mac computers, TVs, game consoles and mobile devices though your Internet connection. It is expected that price in Finland will be around the same price range as in other European countries. For example in Ireland Netflix will cost 6.99 euros per month.
Service revenue has prompted vigorous debate, as the pay-TV content market is heating up in Finland.
Source: http://www.iltalehti.fi/digi/2012081515956302_du.shtml
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix Watch Instantly streaming coming to Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland this year
http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/15/netflix-watch-instantly-streaming-scandinavia/
Netflix mentioned during its most recent earnings call that it had identified an attractive European market to launch its streaming video service in during Q4 2012 and now we know where that is: Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. There’s no word yet on pricing or which devices the service will be available on.
Now the world’s leading Internet subscription service for TV and movies, Netflix has been streaming to millions of U.S. members since 2007, adding Canada in 2010, Latin America in 2011 and the UK and Ireland in early 2012.
Upon launch, broadband Internet users in the Nordic countries can subscribe to Netflix and instantly watch a wide array of Hollywood, local and global TV shows and movies; many with high definition video and Dolby Digital Plus surround sound.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Startup Boxfish, which aims to index all of the content spoken on broadcast television, today introduced the first consumer-facing practical application of its technology in the form of the Boxfish Live Guide for iPad. The startup, which was originally based in London but relocated to Palo Alto in early 2011, is hoping that its iPad app will help users do more than just channel surf when looking for live broadcast content.
What the iPad app provides is a smart TV guide, one that understands when content is trending (i.e. what subjects are being talked about most in newscasts, etc.), can be configured to notify viewers when certain topics come up, and also lets viewers create custom categories and lists to see fresh content related to those topics as it arrives. It’s a little like having a Tweetdeck or HootSuite for broadcast television
Since Boxfish uses a combination of straightforward language recognition and natural language processing, it does more than just index every word spoken on broadcast television in the markets it covers, it also has the power to weight results and judge context, going beyond just recognizing words.
That’s a powerful proposition for those whose livelihood is broadcast TV, and Boxfish has already attracted some interest from major media partners, including Direct TV and TiVo, where the iPad app will have set-top box integration at launch in select markets. Other talks are underway, according to Dowling, and the goal is ultimately to become the discovery layer on all broadcast TV.
Source: http://betakit.com/2012/08/14/boxfishs-ipad-app-brings-the-twitter-model-to-broadcast-television
Tomi Engdahl says:
Movies on a monthly fee – Netflix and Viaplay enter Finland
On Wednesday, a U.S. service Netflix announced it would expand during the autumn in the Nordic countries, including Finland. In the past month Viaplay a paid service, while Viasat launched plans to expand its services.
Viaplay service has already been able to watch movies, sports and TV shows can be considered a broadband connection over a fixed monthly fee.
In Viaplay service most of the films have subtitles in Finnish.
Netflix does not yet confirmed this.
Watching TV is changing, when the broadband connection to be considered over the TV channels can be followed on Mac and Windows computers, iPad tablet. Netflix and Viasat services will also be available on several connected smart TVs.
Source: http://www.3t.fi/artikkeli/uutiset/teknologia/elokuvia_kuukausimaksulla_netflix_ja_viaplay_suomeen
Tomi Engdahl says:
YouTube Re-Imagined: 505,347,842 Channels on Every Single Screen
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/08/500-million-youtube-channels/
YouTube rolled out a new app for the PS3 yesterday. This might not sound like a big deal, but the new app is just the first salvo in a war for your living room, one powered by an all-new channel-driven YouTube.
The old YouTube you knew (and maybe loved!) is gone. It’s been replaced by something that’s a lot more like a play-anywhere, device-agnostic, multi-channel network. It’s becoming a cable network for people who don’t have cable.
It wants you to stick around and see what comes next. It wants you to start watching on your phone as you head home from work, pick up again on your TV as you relax in the evening, and then nod off to its content while you’re lying in bed, as it streams from your tablet.
YouTube is becoming a backdoor to let Google into your living room
“The benchmark for what makes mass-market television has changed,” says Shishir Mehrotra, YouTube’s VP of product management. “Cable has run out of space. If you’re going to broadcast content to everybody whether or not they watch it, you can only afford to broadcast a few hundred channels. But if you move to a world where you can broadcast on demand to only whoever wants it, now you can support millions of channels.”
YouTube is moving away from videos and into a world of channels
Google also ponied up $200 million to create and promote new channels
YouTube is taking its channels absolutely everywhere it can. It wants you to think, “What’s new on TV?” and then turn to your favorite channel on YouTube to find out.
But YouTube also has two problems, and they’re both very big. First, it has to get you to notice the channels. Second, it has to be able to show you the channels, no matter where you are.
YouTube’s current apps on the iPhone and Apple TV and many other devices won’t preroll ads, something a lot of content creators require.
“Our view is that everything we’re doing needs to work seamlessly across screens,” says Mehrotra, YouTube’s VP of product management. “The biggest device in your house — and probably the most expensive device in your house — is the one thing that doesn’t get the web and online video. We believe it’s just a matter of time.”
If YouTube’s future apps are HTML-based, it won’t have to rely on manufacturers to update them. It wants the internet-connected TV you buy in 2012 to have the greatest YouTube experience possible in 2015. But to do that it had to make big changes on its back end.
“First we needed to get the technology in place, we’ve got that now. And now we’re making the switchover to HTML5 — much as we have in mobile phones and tablets,” says Varella. “We’re trying to create an ecosystem not by deciding what content is most entertaining, but by being the platform that says, ‘If you create it, we distribute it.’”
“We want to make sure that you can watch whatever it is you want to watch, wherever you want to watch it,” says Varella.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple’s New Front in Battle for TV
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10000872396390444233104577591713616924328-lMyQjAxMTAyMDEwNTAxODU3Wj.html
Apple Inc. is in talks with some of the biggest U.S. cable operators about letting consumers use an Apple device as a set-top box for live television and other content, according to people familiar with the matter.
The talks represent Apple’s most ambitious crack at infiltrating the living room after years of trying.
Apple doesn’t appear to have reached a deal with any cable operators. One obstacle may be the reluctance of operators to let Apple establish a foothold in the television business.
Technology companies have long eyed the television market as their next big territory. But its gatekeepers—the television distributors and media companies—have been reluctant to let them in, worried about ceding control the same way record labels and wireless carriers have done in the past.
Sales of Apple TV have been picking up, but are still small. The company sold 1.3 million in its quarter ending June 30, up 170% from the previous year.
In a recent earnings call, Mr. Cook said the company believes the device “will lead us somewhere.” The box offers programming purchased from iTunes and some streaming apps like Netflix Inc. But it doesn’t offer the conventional channel lineup available through cable and satellite operators, limiting its usefulness.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Yes, Apple Is In Discussions With Cable Operators, And Everyone Has Known This For Months
http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/15/yes-apple-is-in-discussions-with-cable-operators-and-everyone-has-known-this-for-months/
So there are plenty of reasons why this isn’t news, and isn’t particularly earth-shattering, but here’s why it would make sense:
Cable companies know that users are already buying Apple products like iPads and the Apple TV anyway, so why not build apps for devices that they already own, or may want to.
The current generation of set-top boxes sucks, and they could most likely build a better user interface on an Apple device with an open SDK, and update and iterate on it more quickly than some legacy piece of shit from Cisco or Motorola.
Cable companies would rather have the consumers bring their own devices, rather than having to pay for crappy set-top boxes themselves and leasing them out to subscribers.
Maybe the reason we’re all talking about this is that it finally sort of shuts the door on Apple’s long-rumored plans to build its own over-the-top TV service.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix introduces post-play feature to keep you watching TV for hours
http://thenextweb.com/media/2012/08/15/netflix-introduces-post-play-feature-keep-watching-tv-hours/
Netflix is introducing a ‘post-play’ feature that makes it easier for users to watch several movies or TV episodes in a row, the film & TV streaming company announced today on its official blogs.
In practical terms, the ‘post-play’ experience lets users minimize credits and fast forward to the next episode
At the moment, it is now available on the PS3 and on the Web, though Netflix says that it is coming soon to additional devices
Tomi Engdahl says:
No medals at Olympics for 3-D TV
http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4392130/London-Olympics–For-3-D-and-UHDTV–not-even-a-Bronze?Ecosystem=communications-design
London 2012 is probably the first Olympics where multi-screen viewing has become the norm among many consumers.
“Digital output, online and on mobile phones, is likely to exceed traditional TV footage for the first time at London, registering more than 100,000 hours of coverage,” said IOC officials earlier this week. This is despite TV coverage exceeding that of Beijing 2008 by more than 40,000 hours, at 100,000 hours.
Tomi says:
The U.S. plans to offer HBO Finland hd-quality video though Internet. The programs can be viewed with smart phones, computers and tablets.
- Through the Web, but there are other channels will be, says HBO Nordic board member Juha-Pekka Louhelainen Digitoday online magazine .
HBO’s site can be viewed for a fee, for example only for individual programs.
Source: http://m.iltasanomat.fi/inf/infomo;jsessionid=410C1CA115A462788BC88C4E5DC6509C?site=ilta-sanomat&view=osatdigi&feed:a=a_digi&feed:c=is_digi&feed:i=1288492460705
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple’s TV Vision: Sharing, Full On-Demand, Icons
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10000872396390444375104577593693481339210-lMyQjAxMTAyMDEwNjAxODY3Wj.html
TV Device Interface Would Simplify Programming; Company Faces Hurdles With Cable Operators
Apple Inc.’s vision for a new device that can be used as a set-top box includes features designed to simplify accessing and viewing programming and erase the distinction between live and on-demand content, people briefed on Apple’s plans said.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based company proposes giving viewers the ability to start any show at any time through a digital-video recorder that would store TV shows on the Internet.
Another significant feature of the Apple set-top device is likely to be its user interface, which could resemble the navigation icons on Apple’s iPad.
Apple’s device also may create space on the TV screen for social media features, such as sharing TV shows through services like Twitter Inc., the people said. Apple also wants users to be able to access content from the device on other Apple products like iPhones and iPads.
In recent weeks, Apple also has approached entertainment companies, which own television content, with an outline of what it wants the new device to do, distributing, in at least one case, a document outlining its capabilities, one of the people said.
Cable operators’ existing rights over TV content would likely not be sufficient to allow some of Apple’s proposed new services, the people said, particularly the Web-based DVR idea.
Plenty of hurdles remain. Apple doesn’t appear to have any deals with operators to sell the device and getting them on board is likely to be challenging. The relationship between Apple, cable companies and content owners remains tense.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple’s rumored set-top box said to include cloud DVR, interface similar to iPad, social features
http://thenextweb.com/apple/2012/08/17/apples-rumored-set-top-box-said-include-cloud-dvr-interface-similar-ipad-social-features/
The report that we commented on yesterday, about Apple’s vision for a set-top box that took the place of your cable box, has been expanded on with a new article today in the Wall Street Journal. Additional details include that Apple wants it to include cloud-based DVR functionality and that its interface will resemble the iPad’s.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Recently, much has been said that the traditional media blusters leave Netflix feet in Finland. “The big online audience” is definitely the opposite view
Expectations seem to be such that, with all the movies and TV series, such as the Pirate Bay through to find, would be immediately available to Netflix.
In reality, however, Netflix has to negotiate with the owners of the content (ie, “the Hollywood studios’) with the contents of the distribution in Finland where our local media.
That’s why I predict that the Finnish version of Netflix will be a great disappointment to those who expect to find from all your favorite movies and TV series. It will most likely suffer just the same area constraints, release windows and pricing of premiums, like all other similar services in Europe.
Source: https://kfalck.net/2012/08/18/netflix-ja-leffojen-nettijakelu-suomessa
Tomi Engdahl says:
Thoughts On Apple’s Latest TV Efforts
http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/18/apple-tv-deep-thoughts-by-jack-handey/
The general response to this latest round of news around its TV efforts is that Apple has adopted a sort of, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” philosophy toward the industry. And that’s mostly true. But it’s also reportedly pushing technology which could still be considered a little too disruptive.
One other thought about this whole “too much disruption” thing. I don’t think anyone — not Apple, not the cable companies, not the content owners — see this new hardware as a set-top box replacement. You’ll still have at least one big, ugly, shitty box sitting in your living room.
Still no actual “Apple TV”
And finally, the big underlying theme here is that the actual TV that Apple has been rumored to be building for damn near forever, will remain unbuilt, at least for now. And why not? Apple is selling more Apple TV units than ever, and pretty soon it could be partnering with cable TV operators to get their content on the device. But it’s far from fully baked. Before Apple gets serious about building a high-profile device like a TV set, it’s probably going to want to get the kinks out first.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Yle is a significant Finnish contents house.
It’s “Yle Areena” and “Yle Elävä arkisto” can be used freely for teaching in Finland.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/yle+areenan+ja+yle+elavan+arkiston+tarjonta+opetuskayttoon/a829953?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-20082012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
PR Win: Netflix Announces 1M Streaming Subscribers In UK And Ireland
http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/20/netflix-pr-uk/
Today the company announced it has hit 1 million subscribers for its video streaming service just seven months after launch in the UK and Ireland. That’s pretty impressive, by any measure, but it’s also somewhat old news.
1M subscribers is a big number by any measure, especially when you consider how much free content is available through the BBC’s iPlayer television streaming offering, and the muscle of entrenched players like cable operator Virgin Media and BSkyB, which has recently launched its own streaming-only offering.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix puts end to fumbling, penetrates Scandinavia
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/21/netflix_scandinavia/
it plans to launch its online movie service in the fourth quarter in the four countries of Scandinavia – Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. It confirmed that the cost of doing so will mean that it makes a small loss for the fourth quarter. Once again the offering will include both local and global content offerings.
The Scandinavian region has about 25 million people in about 11.3 million TV homes, and once it launches there, Netflix will find that much of the content it acquires can be recycled in the Baltics, and parts of central and Eastern Europe. This is because Scandinavian pay TV operators ViaSat and Telenor are also strong in those countries with Scandinavian content.
Netflix added 1 million customers in the UK in just six months, despite being up against the Amazon-owned LoveFiLM, which also offers online DVD rental in the UK
If Netflix successfully adds 50 per cent more territory with the move into Scandinavia, it could easily overtake LoveFilM in another six months and certainly by the middle of 2013
Netflix began streaming in the US over four years ago and has managed to acquire 24 million US streaming customers, with another 3.6 million in Canada, the UK and Latin America.
There are other online movie services in Europe, as well as some online DVD rental services, notably in France, but none that have over 1 million remaining subscribers, and the biggest block to Netflix gains are TV Everywhere services from the pay TV community, which just reached 130 million homes in Europe
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sky’s Now TV goes live on Xbox 360
Available at no extra cost
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2200276/skys-now-tv-goes-live-on-xbox-360
UK TV BROADCASTER Sky’s TV and video streaming service Now TV has gone live on Microsoft’s Xbox 360, the company announced today.
Customers who have already registered for the online TV and video streaming service, which launched last month to compete with Netflix and Lovefilm, will be able to access the service on the Xbox 360 at no extra cost.
Now TV streams Sky content such as Sky Movies to 3G and broadband connected devices across PC, Mac, Iphone, Ipad, selected Android smartphones and Youview.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple’s Secret Weapon To Kill Ads And Dominate TV
http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/08/22/apples-secret-weapon-to-kill-ads-and-dominate-tv/
Apple dominates music players, online music, smart phones and tablet computers. Steve Jobs’ dream was to dominate the TV business, too.
There is no shortage of speculation, rumor or innuendo about iTV.
until recently I did not find anything in the rumor mill that will help Apple dominate the TV business in the same way it dominates other businesses.
Yesterday Apple was granted patent number 8,249,497 for ad skipping technology.
In simpler words, Apple iTV would detect a commercial and automatically replace the commercial with a different show or other content, and then go back to the original show when the commercial is over.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony pushes patent for interactive TV ads
Makes a play for commercial gaming
http://www.reghardware.com/2012/08/23/sony_pushes_patents_for_interactive_tv_ads/
Sony has aspirations for television commercials with interactive network games, recently published patents reveal.
The Japanese firm wants its games consoles to detect when an advert has an interactive segment, which could then be turned into mini-games playable against other viewers glued to the box.
Of course, these games would have to be pretty short, playable “within a fixed time period commensurate with traditional spot television advertising.”
The patent was filed in 2009 and was only made public this week
Tomi Engdahl says:
Illegal and free nettistreamit threatening TV stations sports broadcasts.
More and more sports fan chooses online stream instead of pay-TV in Finland. The reason is clear: online stream transmission is free.
URHOtv the substantive Director Markku Korhonen admits that nettistreams are an economic threat to TV channels.
- For sure they are, but I do not know how big and important.
Net-streams sending procedure can be done legally or illegally.
Watching streams is legal in Finland, but sending done by other party than TV channel is illegal.
Illegal online stream sender is guilty of copyright infringement. Penalties vary the severity of the offense. If a party is guilty of large-scale streams to post and share, the sentence can be up to two years in prison. Posting a single sporting event in the small fines.
To the dismay of pay TV channels the network is full of illegally transmitted broadcasts. There are many websites on sharing free tream online broadcasts (both legal and illegal).
Source:
Sota sporttilähetyksistä, Iltalehti Digiuutiset
http://m.iltalehti.fi/articles/s/vapaaaika_2012082315984111_320.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft’s Election 2012 hub on Xbox Live heralds the interactive TV future
http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012/8/23/3263278/election-2012-hub-xbox-live-microsoft-interactive-tv-polling
Microsoft wants to push election engagement forward by using its Election 2012 hub on Xbox Live as a proof-of-concept for the future of television and the future of polling. The 2012 presidential election may already be integrating technology in unprecedented ways, but the hub furthers that trend.
Microsoft hopes the hub will “show the world what interactive TV can be” and prove that “it’s available now,” said Jose Pinero, senior director of marketing and public relations for Microsoft
The hub will be available to all Xbox Live users, but any video content that comes from apps restricted to Gold subscribers
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony NSZ-GS7 Google TV internet player
http://www.reghardware.com/2012/08/24/review_sony_nsz_gs7_google_tv_internet_player/
Google and hardware BFF Sony will be hoping the second time’s the charm for their latest joint foray into the living room. The first Google television adventure floundered in the States, scuppered by hardware complexity and inadequate software. This time around we have a simpler set top box proposal, the NSZ-GS7, and the Google Play store to back it up. What could possibly go wrong?
Verdict
Overall, Sony has produced a powerful, well-equipped internet-enabled media player here, and the applications dedicated to the Google TV OS are slicker than a Brylcreemed ferret. But the fact is Google TV’s open internet still looks pretty barren when compared to the playing fields available behind the closed doors of Panasonic’s Viera Connect portal or Samsung’s Smart Hub.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fox asks court to ban Dish’s ad-skipping features
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/26/us-fox-dish-lawsuit-idUSBRE87P0EU20120826
Fox Broadcasting Company is asking a court to put a stop to two features on Dish’s new digital video recorder that let consumers skip commercials because it is hurting the TV networks’ business.
Tomi Engdahl says:
After meeting with Apple execs, analyst expects no television solution any time soon
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/08/24/message-from-apple-execs-no-tv-solution-any-time-soon/
The company’s prospects for a near-term TV breakthrough appear to be bleak
Apple is certainly capable of misdirection — of sending a “go slow” signal to analysts when behind the scenes it’s quietly racing full speed ahead. But in this case the message Cue gave Hargreaves matches published reports about Apple’s negotiations with cable TV companies. Both suggest that Apple’s much-rumored breakthrough in television — whatever form it takes — is likely to come later rather than sooner.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hisense taps Google TV set-top box market with $99 Pulse
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57501378-93/hisense-taps-google-tv-set-top-box-market-with-$99-pulse/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=title
Latest device to jump on the Web giant’s TV platform plans to offer double-sided remote with touchpad and QWERTY keyboard.
Google TV seems to be garnering more interest from hardware makers.
The latest company to partner with Google is Chinese hardware maker Hisense, which announced a set-top box called Pulse today. Like other Google set-top boxes, the Pulse will offer access to content on YouTube, Netflix, and Pandora and comes preloaded with Google TV apps like Chrome, Google Play, and Search.
The Pulse will feature a double-sided remote control with a touchpad and dedicated Netflix button on one side, and a QWERTY keyboard on the other for Web search. The device will also feature a variety of connectivity options, including HDMI, USB, and built-in Wi-Fi. It will also support H.264, MPEG-4, and AVC formats and resolutions up to 1080p.
“This box effectively bridges the gap to the latest in home entertainment, without the need for expensive hardware upgrades,” Hisense Marketing Director JoAnne Foist said in a statement. “Compared to other streaming devices, the Hisense Pulse with Google TV allows consumers to experience a new level of smart content discovery and viewing recommendations.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pay TV giant Hulu becomes victim of its own success
Latest rumour of CEO’s departure heralds end of stormy honeymoon
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/28/hulu_rumours_do_not_bode_well/
As the offspring of Disney, News Corp and Comcast, Hulu’s differentiator has been its range of popular TV shows, about twice as many as Netflix and far more from the current season. Netflix does have more premium movie content, but Hulu’s loss of exclusive current season content rights for Disney and News Corp channels would appear to rip its business model apart.
This all goes back to Hulu’s inception in October 2007 as a foil for Google and YouTube, which were seen then as a big threat to the big studios and content houses. Hulu was conceived as a focal point for its owners to exert greater leverage in rights negotiations for online distribution, rather than as a viable business proposition in its own right. In one sense Hulu has since become a victim of its success, tangling with the emerging online business models of its parents. With their focus on content they are most interested in maximizing their carriage rights from all sources, rather than giving them away free without restrictions on Hulu. They have lost their fear of Google, reducing their need for a single portal for negotiations, and as a result Hulu is no longer necessary for them and has become almost a thorn in their sides.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sonera expects, broadband TV, skip the current rate, as well as the antenna and cable viewing figures in three years.
HP’s forecast is that next winter’s hot sales products are the PC and a television with Internet access.
It is not surprising, therefore, that Sonera’s consumer broadband and TV, Senior Vice President Jussi Salminen sees the results of the study is the increase in Demand. This is a great Sonera and still growing business.
“Finnish people have become more active media users who want to watch their choice of TV programs than when they most need. On-demand viewing to hook more viewers and the corresponding software library, time shift, and video rental services, ”
“Multi-tasking” themselves up as 18 to 24 years of age respondents hanging the TV content and other social media with one eye. Older people were not so much.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/sonera+kehua+retostaa+tilaustollon+voimaa/a833093?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-29082012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
HBO Go: a multi-platform means of watching your favorite shows
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/other/4394977/HBO-Go–a-multi-platform-means-of-watching-your-favorite-shows-
As a continuation of the streaming content theme, last week I decided to try out the HBO Go application, which is available on a diversity of hardware platforms. So far, I’ve activated the service on my iPad, several computers (via several web browsers), as a native application on my Xbox 360, and on my Roku HD digital media receiver
Native applications for the Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii are not (at least yet) offered, but since a PlayOn plugin is available, you can always employ a Windows-based computer intermediary to accomplish the through-game-console playback objective, albeit with a one-generation transcode loss of quality.
I used a friend’s pay TV credentials to get going, in a manner very similar to the earlier Olympics validation process. After entering my friend’s online account username and password, I was prompted to set up a HBO GO account. Subsequent activation of a particular playback device involved either directly entering the HBO GO account login credentials on it (for the iPad and computers) or, in the case of the Xbox 360 and Roku HD, using a separate computer to go to an activation page and enter a multi-digit activation code generated by the playback device and displayed on the connected television.
HBO isn’t seemingly yet ready to cut out the pay TV service provider intermediary and sell subscriptions directly to consumers in an OTT (over-the-top) fashion, but my experiences suggest that it’s technically capable of doing so whenever it makes fiscal sense.
The cable Internet speed test I just did measured ~19 Mbps downstream and 1.5 Mbps upstream rates, which generally seem sufficient to deliver smooth and otherwise high quality HD playback performance.
One other item of note; HBO GO does not currently support either tethering a mobile device to an external display and using the latter as the video playback monitor, or wirelessly streaming content from an iOS device to a TV-connected Apple TV digital media receiver using AirPlay (AirTunes audio-only streaming works fine, but video streaming does not) … unless you jailbreak the mobile device,
Tomi Engdahl says:
If Content Is King, Multiscreen Is The Queen, Says New Google Study
http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/29/if-content-is-king-multiscreen-is-the-queen-says-new-google-study/
New research out from Google, working with market analysts Ipsos and Sterling Brands, puts some hard numbers behind the often-noticed trend of how people in the U.S. are using a combination of phones, tablets, computer and TVs to consume digital content.
While each of these has a significant place in our consumption today, their real power lies in how they are used together — in combination, 90% of all of our media consumption, or 4.4 hours per day, is happening across all four (which doesn’t leave much room for paper-based books and publications; or for radio). This not only has implications for how content is designed, but also for how companies like Google will continue to hedge their bets across all four screens.
The study also found that although a lot of attention is being focused on smartphones and apps, this device is not only the smallest screen in our world, it’s also used for the shortest bursts, at 17 minutes per day session, compared to 30 minutes on tablets, 39 minutes on PCs and the 43 minutes watching TV.
But, while smartphones may have the shortest sessions be used the least overall, they are the most-used when it comes to on-boarding to a digital experience — or sequential device usage, as Google calls it.
That effectively means that while your total content experience perhaps doesn’t need to be designed for a smartphone experience, at least the initial part of it should be, and that part should be integrated with how that content might be used on other devices — so, for example, watching a film first on a phone and then finishing it on a TV, or starting a shopping experience on a phone and finishing it on a PC.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nearly half of people researched in Finland are watching television with laptop according to Sonera research conducted by TNS Gallup survey.
More than half of Finnish is interested in making their own everyday life easier for ancillary services, such as program library and time-shifting services.
TV can be viewed via the internet in addition to a mobile phone on a laptop or tablet.
“Media use, changing the rhythm of Finnish homes has brought more equipment: laptop, mobile phone and tablet,” said TNS Gallup’s research director Tiitta Vaulos.
In the actual television viewing, there have been a great change. Although nine out of ten still watch television the TV unit to the transmission time, one in six watches the programs stored.
According to the survey 91 per cent of the living room watching TV.
Also home to watch television in other areas: 40 percent watch TV in the bedroom, home office and 16 per cent of 12 per cent in the kitchen
Source: http://www.3t.fi/artikkeli/uutiset/teknologia/kannettavasta_tuli_monelle_kakkostelevisio
Tomi Engdahl says:
HBO cuts the cord for international launch
Nordic region won’t need pay-TV subscription to get net
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118058484
HBO will make the Nordic region the first market where its programming will be available to consumers without requiring that they have a pay-TV subscription. The move sets HBO up to go head to head in competition in those countries with Netflix.
Unveiled in a press conference Thursday in Stockholm, HBO Nordic AB will launch in mid-October.
In addition to the standalone launch of HBONordic.com, HBO Nordic AB will be available for less than 10 euros per month or as an add-on to basic pay-TV subscriptions in the region
An HBO spokesman made clear that this launch does not reflect a strategic change for the company in any of its current markets. “Each market is unique and HBO approaches each one with what we consider to believe the best business model specific to that territory.”
What’s different this time around is that Scandinavia is a market where HBO doesn’t have to protect an entrenched business model as lucrative as the one in the U.S., where a standalone product would jeopardize its deals with distributors from Comcast to DirecTV. HBO’s digital offshoot, HBO Go, has been available only to current HBO subscribers — a decision that has drawn plenty of criticism in the blogosphere.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why Johnny can’t stream: How video copyright went insane
Deploying 10,000 tiny antennas makes no technical sense—but the law demands it.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/08/why-johnny-cant-stream-how-video-copyright-went-insane/
Suppose I could offer you a choice of two technologies for watching TV online. Behind Door Number One sits a free-to-watch service that uses off-the-shelf technology and that buffers just enough of each show to put the live stream on the Internet. Behind Door Number Two lies a subscription service that requires custom-designed hardware and makes dozens of copies of each show. Which sounds easier to build—and to use? More importantly, which is more likely to be legal?
If you went with Door Number One, then you are a sane person, untainted by the depravity of modern copyright law. But you are also wrong. The company behind Door Number One, iCraveTV, was enjoined out of existence a decade ago. The company behind Door Number Two, Aereo, just survived its first round in court and is still going strong.
This is the story of Cablevision, the companies that followed in its wake, and how we got to the strange place where wasting resources on thousands of tiny antennas made you legal—but where using one antenna broke the law.
Hope for the rebroadcasters, however, came from an unlikely place: the cable industry.
Recording TV and watching it at one’s leisure has the potential to wrest control of the viewing experience away from the wire and put it in the viewer’s hands. The cable response—straight out of a business-school textbook—has been to embrace the threat and get into the DVR business.
The boffins at Cablevision, a New York-area cable company, had an even better idea. They proposed sucking the DVR out of the set-top box and moving it up into the cloud
The transmission from NBC to Cablevision’s RS-DVR was a (public) performance; each transmission from an RS-DVR to its user was a separate (private) performance to an audience of one. The RS-DVR was legal.
Quietly stepping over the arrow-strewn bodies of its predecessors, Aereo filled its Brooklyn data center with dime-sized antennas—80 on each circuit board, with 16 boards to a rack. When a user is logged in, Aereo designates one of the antennas as “hers” and starts recording the chosen channel to a unique copy on a hard drive, Cablevision-style. Then, just like with Cablevision’s RS-DVR, she can stream the stored video over the Internet.
If copyright law made sense, copyright owners themselves would offer TV streaming on the Internet. But copyright law hasn’t made sense for years, and Aereo embraced the madness.
A complex legacy
The post-Cablevision cases are almost comically formalistic about technical details. Instead of looking at the front-end user experience, they focus on the back-end hardware and software.
This technological formalism has real costs and real benefits for all concerned.
imagine being a cloud computing customer facing the risk that one judge could consign your files to Davy Jones’s locker.
Perhaps we can think about the problem of copyright on the Internet another way. Instead of asking which back-end technologies are legal, it might make more sense to ask what it is legal for users to do with computers on the front end.
Tomi Engdahl says:
TV manufacturers LG, Toshiba and Philips are trying to dodge Nokia and Research in Motion’s downhill in a new joint project.
- There are many platforms, and it creates a lot of friction. Everyone is trying to get a foothold in the market, and in the presence of gamblers such as Apple and Google, the fragmentation of the market is a threat. Therefore, it is important to work on a common platform, Toshiba’s director Olivier van Wynendaele said.
Boehm found that consumers do not want to routinely use a variety of interfaces, but turn to easy solution familiar from smartphone familiar.
- (Apple and Google) can decide to de facto standards contrary to public opinion in the market, because they have so much power in the market, Boehm said.
Source: http://www.digitoday.fi/vimpaimet/2012/08/31/televisiovalmistajat-puuhaavat-nettiliittymaa/201236854/66?rss=6
Tomi Engdahl says:
more information on HBO Finland
HBO will be available to both traditional cable television channel that the IPTV-based services. The consumer can choose the option that suits him best.
The programs can be viewed on Windows, Mac or Linux computers, game consoles, and Android as well as iOS-based tablets.
IPTV service is not tied to specific operator. Although Sonera report the availability of HBO to its IPTV service as part of, the viewer can also be done with other Internet operators as a service.
subscribers have access to all of HBO’s programming archive
HBO application comes pre-installed on the Samsung smart TVs, blu-ray players, tablets and smartphones. Can be used also with other devices as.
HBO Suomi Twitter
https://twitter.com/HBO_fi
Source: http://www.digitoday.fi/viihde/2012/09/03/lisatietoja-suomessa-aloittavasta-hbosta-tekstitys-laitesidonnaisuus-kaapeli-tai-iptv/201236954/66
Tomi Engdahl says:
IFA2012:
Samsung introduced technology that allows to view the living room television image on tablet screen when you go to the kitchen.
Source: http://www.3t.fi/artikkeli/uutiset/teknologia/ifa2012_koteihin_lisaa_langattomia_laitteita
Tomi Engdahl says:
Warner Bros. Takes Another Crack at Flixster — And UltraViolet
http://allthingsd.com/20120904/warner-bros-takes-another-crack-at-flixster-and-ultraviolet/
But it is interested in promoting UltraViolet, the cloud/locker system that many of the studios are promoting, which is supposed to give you access to whatever movie you buy on whatever device you want.
After a long run-up, UltraViolet devices and titles finally hit the market last fall, and so far even its most ardent defenders have a hard time arguing that it has much traction. That may never happen, since it’s supported by a coalition that doesn’t include Apple or Disney.
But Amazon has signed on to UltraViolet, at least in theory. And Warner Bros. in particular has been vocal about promoting the system, which it thinks will convince consumers to keep buying copies of movies instead of renting them.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IEEE 802.11ac will deliver very high throughput for streaming multimedia devices
consumer products supporting high-definition video streaming based on 802.11ac have come to market beginning in the first half of 2012. Following the introduction of these first consumer products, 802.11ac-based laptops and tablets will become commercially available, and the BYOD trend will compel enterprise networks to support 802.11ac.
Source:
http://www.cablinginstall.com/index/display/article-display/8130970848/articles/cabling-installation-maintenance/news/wireless/2012/august/white-paper__understanding.html?cmpid=EnlContractorSeptember52012
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finnish HBO’s subscription service is performed in cooperation with Urho Digital Services. Streaming platform is built by Qbrick company.
Source: http://www.digitoday.fi/bisnes/2012/09/06/suomen-hbo-pyorii-urhotvn-tekniikalla/201237239/66?rss=6
Tomi Engdahl says:
Get rid of the Conax forgetting: DNA wants TV broadcasts smoothly on the iPad
Multi-Screen technology would allow the continuation of transmission, even if the terminal was changed.
DNA is testing with system provider Conax encryption with multi-screen technology that allows television content can be viewed smoothly across the terminals.
- The same content can be viewed on a TV in living room, bedroom, iPad, and iPhone at the bus stop
Source: http://www.digitoday.fi/viihde/2012/09/06/eroon-conax-sahlayksesta-dna-haluaa-tv-lahetykset-sujuvasti-ipadiin/201237234/66?rss=6