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 Engdahl says:
Microsoft’s SmartGlass For Android Reviewed
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/12/10/28/1954252/microsofts-smartglass-for-android-reviewed
“Microsoft has released their much anticipated SmartGlass application for Android, allowing the Linux-based mobile OS to act as an input device for their Xbox 360 game console.”
“a possible future where consumer electronics are no longer crippled by the artificial barriers of manufacturer or operating system.”
An Unlikely Union: Microsoft SmartGlass for Android Review
http://www.thepowerbase.com/2012/10/an-unlikely-union-microsoft-smartglass-for-android-review/
Despite some concerns and doubts from the community early on, Microsoft has finally released its SmartGlass application for Android. For those who aren’t acquainted with the technology, SmartGlass allows various PC and mobile operating systems to directly control the Microsoft Xbox 360 game console. Users are able to control most aspects of the Xbox interface (and select games) right from their device, reducing the need for the traditional controller or media remote.
The application is certainly not perfect, but does hint at an intriguing future where consumer devices will communicate with each other beyond the traditional barriers of manufacturer or operating system.
SmartGlass for Android is an initial release, and as such you can’t be too critical with it. But there are a couple of very annoying things which simply can’t be ignored, even at this early of a stage.
Conclusion
SmartGlass for Android is admittedly a very promising product. The very idea that you can control your Microsoft game console with your Linux-based mobile device is thrilling, and you can’t help but wonder if we may yet see the day that the artificial limitations placed on our consumer electronics will start to be lifted. What’s next, an Xbox that uses PlayStation controllers?
But the app, at least in its current form, is plagued by enough problems to make using it a lot more annoying than it should be. The SmartGlass app feels like a square peg in a round hole: if you push hard enough, it will sort of work.
Tomi Engdahl says:
While smartphones have reached critical mass, tablets are poised to do the same soon. As a form factor, tablets simultaneously take a step toward the living and the workplace. For consumers, these devices are multimedia machines, offering a glimpse into how consumers might one day accept connected television.
Source: http://blog.flurry.com/bid/90987/The-Truth-About-Cats-and-Dogs-Smartphone-vs-Tablet-Usage-Differences
Tomi Engdahl says:
Studying smartphone versus tablet usage differences not only provides insight into how developers should consider form factor when designing app experiences, but also how digital distribution could disrupt the living room. As we imagine a world of connected TV, tablet usage gives us the best current-day hint of that world to come. Tablet users are older, more female, and we can surmise, more affluent.
Source: http://blog.flurry.com/bid/90987/The-Truth-About-Cats-and-Dogs-Smartphone-vs-Tablet-Usage-Differences
Tomi Engdahl says:
YLE Areena finally got the iPad, “poor-quality picture making requires skill”
There was a special reason for the delay of iPad YLE Areena Apple table application: Apple tablet video applications requires also a very low-quality version of the video, which consists of YLE’s been “surprisingly difficult”. There are three alternative to three picture quality for which the application selects the best available network
YLE Areena was previously available on iPhone and Android apps. Through the application it is possible to watch and listen to YLE Areena published content.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/yle+areena+tuli+vihdoin+ipadille+quothuonolaatuisen+kuvan+tekeminen+vaatii+taitoaquot/a851839?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-30102012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mark Cuban: Apple TV Is a Pipe Dream
And why the HDNet founder thinks that may be a good thing
http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/mark-cuban-apple-tv-pipe-dream-144848
Adweek: Do you think Apple will try to “blow up cable” by taking all of its cash and inking a ton of huge deals with programmers?
I think there is zero chance of that happening.
If Apple just rolls out a nice set-top box with a cool user interface, is that enough to make any waves?
Yes. This would be the smart approach. Having a set-top box that uses a TV-ready version of iOS that changes the paradigm for user interfaces would create a platform from which Apple could sell content and integrate new options.
If Apple indeed looks to totally disrupt TV, what happens to the so-called over-the-top incumbents like Xbox, Roku, TiVo and Boxee, as well as connected TV manufacturers?
They will have challenges. A key feature will be [the way Apple handles] authentication and programming guides.
Why has everybody struggled to break up the TV cartel? Google, Microsoft and Apple have all encountered major challenges.
It’s expensive. TV is a cash-commitment business. Billions in cash up front per year is a huge commitment.
Tomi Engdahl says:
EFF: TV networks use ‘craven’ tactics against streaming service
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57542351-93/eff-tv-networks-use-craven-tactics-against-streaming-service/
Startup Aereo’s free broadcasting service remains the target of television networks as they try to shutter it based on copyright infringement.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is backing startup Aereo, which is embroiled in court with broadcasters and television networks over copyright issues.
Broadcasters and television networks, including ABC, Fox, Univision, Disney, CBS, and NBC, argue that Aereo should be treated like a cable system and therefore be liable for broadcasting fees.
“Just because Aereo’s system sends TV signals to customers doesn’t mean that Aereo needs permission from the broadcasters,” EFF Staff Attorney Mitch Stoltz said in a statement. “Personal TV transmissions don’t violate copyright — it’s a private use that copyright law doesn’t reach. This is just a craven attempt by TV executives to profit from technology that they didn’t think of first.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
TV-Kaista has been almost the only successful pure Finnish content service.
TV Kaista allows it’s users (for a fee) to record and watch domestic TV channels through the internet.
TV Kaista did do not have permission from media companies for its operations.
Now prosecutor brought long time “expected” decision to bring charges to TV Kaista.
According to prosecution TVkaista has provided its users with video on demand service in the entire eight television programs available. Programs that have been watched and stored in web service, two weeks after the TV broadcast.
In practice, therefore the service is closest to the recorder set-top box, which is not located in the home.
“TV-band is an example of how the consumer services have been developed in the usability and quality better and at the same time competitive. Direction should be a prosecution plaintiff positive, “says Pirate Party Vice Pasi Palm Grove.
Now, MTV3, Sanoma, IFPI, Teosto & co. it will in all probability Games off the field – and the winner will be the HBO and Netflix, who will take over the market from Finnish dinosaurs.
Could the way TV Kaista build the service be legal?
For example, in the United States courts have accepted the argument that “the length of the yard does not matter,” ie, is the same whether the hard drive at home or at a service provider’s premises. In addition, the same decision is left room for reasonable technical service with respect to implementation – for example, the recordings did not have to make each user separately for the hard disks, if the file system hurts them packing.
Sources:
http://blogit.tietokone.fi/lexoksanen/2012/10/24/pelastakaa-tv-kaista-kansanliike-kokoon-tuskinpa/
http://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/TVkaistan+johto+saa+rikossyytteet/a1305609479079
http://piraattipuolue.fi/2012/10/tv-kaistan-syytteet-poyristyttavaa-haikailua-mustavalkoaikaan/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Validate multiscreen cloud-based content delivery in the DTV landscape
http://www.edn.com/design/test-and-measurement/4398885/Validate-multiscreen-cloud-based-content-delivery-in-the-DTV-landscape?cid=EDNToday
‘One size cannot fit all!’ best describes the testing and validation complexities arising in the digital TV (DTV) space today. The deluge of smart devices in the market – smartphones and tablets – has rechristened TV to embrace the multi-screen viewing or TV everywhere (TVE) concept, providing viewers’ absolute control on the choice of digital video content from anywhere, anytime, on any device.
Today, unified control of TV, video on demand (VOD) and over the top (OTT) based services through multiscreen cloud based content delivery (MCBCD) solutions is being deployed, changing the existing landscape of broadcast and Internet solutions that operate in silos. But, ensuring reliability, scalability, and availability (RSA) for these end-to-end converged MCBCD solutions to enable seamless shifts in time, place, and quality across traditional and non-traditional screens is not easy.
The magnitude of the challenge increases manifold with the transforming nature of multi-screen cloud based content delivery deployments. A mixed validation approach designed with a system and component level view in validation would help service providers overcome this roadblock.
Tomi Engdahl says:
There could be a major legal battle in Internet TV in Finland.
Around twenty companies offer services that allow to record TV programs and watch them through Internet. Most of them are Internet service providers, and biggest of them are Elisa and TeliaSonera.
“None of the companies have no permit for this operation. This is a significant issue because those TV services are worth 100 million Euros every year”
TTVK thinks that copyright law does allow copying (music, TV programs, movies) in personal use, but does not allow the copying process to be performed by third party. The companies offering those service have different view on the legal issues.
TTVK has sent a written order to those companies to stop those services, and now plans to start legal actions in court: Last week case against TVkaista started.
Source: http://www.kauppalehti.fi/etusivu/lihava+riita+muhii+netti-tvssa/201211295463
Tomi Engdahl says:
Operators: Set-top box is in our server
Network Storage does not violate the copyright, consider the Finnish telecom operators. According to them, it is the consumer on the right of the copyright law. The consumer can do legally available TV programs copy for their own use.
They would be willing to pay for set-top boxes like the remuneration fee for set-top-box hard disks. In the top box will have to pay the compensation fee. It would be logical that similar cloud services and storage space would be paid a fee.
Source: http://www.itviikko.fi/uutiset/2012/11/02/operaattorit-digiboksi-on-meidan-palvelimella/201241261/7?rss=8
Bee Pangborn says:
Scrap a worthless computer. Computers are full of valuable metals (ex. tower cases are usually made of steel and/or aluminum, plus the CPUs, RAM, motherboards, and PCIs all contain gold). If possible, amass a good pile of these parts (offer to take outdated computers off the hands of a building or school doing considerable upgrades or find junked computers in the fee ads, for example) and sell them in bulk, which will make you more money. Don’t scrap good computers; what you get for the scrap probably won’t be as much as you get for components in working order
Tomi Engdahl says:
Xbox team’s ‘consumer detector’ would dis-Kinect freeloading TV viewers
http://www.geekwire.com/2012/microsoft-diskinect-freeloading-tv-viewers/
The patent application, filed under the heading “Content Distribution Regulation by Viewing User,” proposes to use cameras and sensors like those in the Xbox 360 Kinect controller to monitor, count and in some cases identify the people in a room watching television, movies and other content. The filing refers to the technology as a “consumer detector.”
In one scenario, the system would then charge for the television show or movie based on the number of viewers in the room. Or, if the number of viewers exceeds the limits laid out by a particular content license, the system would halt playback unless additional viewing rights were purchased.
The system could also take into account the age of viewers, limiting playback of mature content to adults, for example.
The patent application, made public this week, was originally submitted in April 2011.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Is “Cloud TV” coming to Microsoft?
http://www.liveside.net/2012/11/05/is-cloud-tv-coming-to-microsoft/
Microsoft has made a number of moves recently to bring its devices and services into the living room, extending and expanding its Xbox offerings to far more than hard core gamers (although this is somewhat of a banner day for those gamers with tonight’s release of Halo 4), renaming and expanding Zune Music and Zune Pass to Xbox Music, and beginning to integrate “2nd screen” technologies with Xbox SmartGlass.
Now, according to a set of postings on Microsoft Careers, posted on October 31st and November 1st, just a few days ago, it looks like Microsoft may be heading further down the path to control the living room as it develops something it’s calling “Cloud TV”
“We’re looking for a Software Engineering Manager who is passionate about leading a team that is building awesome client applications for a new Cloud-based TV platform.”
We could make lots of guesses about what “Cloud TV” might be
Tomi Engdahl says:
Digital television, broadband and mobile devices to alter the proliferation of digital markets in Russia and Russian consumption habits. Changes in the market in Russia by opening opportunities for content and distribution channels specialized for Finnish companies, survives FinNode report.
Russia has more than 60 million internet users. More than half of people shop online.
Digital media content development and distribution of a large market in the country, which is fueled by, among other things, faster network connections, smartphones, tablets, and digital televisions, as well as the increased popularity of legal content distribution.
“The Russian digital market has opportunities for Finnish companies that produce digital content, or to have the tools of content processing and distribution. Most promising and fastest growing markets are the digital TV, internet gaming, and digital content distribution,” says Finpro consultant Mikhail Mahalov Moscow’s export center.
Source: http://www.tietokone.fi/uutiset/venajan_digimarkkinoilla_sauma_suomalaisille
Tomi Engdahl says:
Judge denies move to ban ad-skipping DVR
Court Dishes it to Murdoch’s Fox
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/08/us_judge_denies_injunction_against_ad_skipping_dvr/
US satellite broadcaster Dish Networks can continue providing its subscribers with a DVR capable of automatically skipping adverts, a US District Court judge has ruled.
Judge Dolly Gee in the Central District of California court this week refused News International’s Fox Broadcasting subsidiary a preliminary injunction to prevent Dish shipping its Hopper Whole-Home DVR to punters.
Push a button on the set-top box’s remote control and it’ll automatically bypass ads during playback, but only when the content is viewed more than a day after broadcast. The Hopper will record primetime shows and save them for up to eight days.
Fox said it was “disappointed” with the ruling
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google TV brings music and movies to Europe on November 13th
Available in the UK, France, and Germany
http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/9/3621672/google-tv-play-content-uk-france-germany
Google blessed American Google TV owners with the ability to buy or rent content from Google Play last month, and now it’s extending the same courtesy to international devices. The company has announced that Google Play Movies and Music will be available on the set-top box in the UK, Germany, and France starting from November 13th. It’s not clear if the content selection on Google TV devices will be the same
Tomi Engdahl says:
What’s Going to Kill the TV Business?
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/11/whats-going-to-kill-the-tv-business/264949/
Two things: The rising cost of making television and enough cord-cutters abandoning the cable bundle to blow up the business model. The first trend is happening. The second one isn’t.
A small clutch of media companies owns 95% of the channels you watch. This oligopoly has the power to dictate terms to the cable/satellite companies that you pay each month. These cable/satellite providers are legally obligated to offer less popular channels alongside must-have networks like TBS and ESPN. That bundle costs the average household about $80,
This model isn’t written into stone
There are lots of reasons why TV hasn’t gone the way of music and newspapers in the Age of Internet.
First, HD video is much harder and more expensive to transport than a music file or article page.
Second, networks have learned from the music industry’s collapse to cling furiously to their rights.
But the most important reason why cable TV hasn’t changed is also the simplest to understand. It simply hasn’t had to. It’s making too much money.
What’s going to kill the TV business, or at least challenge it, isn’t Apple designing the perfect remote or Microsoft designing a superior guide. It’s two things.
First is the rising cost of entertainment, which is happening right now.
Combined with a second trend — the accelerating exodus of attention away from television — the TV business might really be in trouble. But this second trend is still more of a projection than a reality. One hundred million households still pay for a bundle of networks. That number isn’t really going down. With the pace of household formation tripling in the last year, it could even go up.
The number of cord-cutters — households that have replaced the bundle with over-the-Internet video like Netflix — is in the low single-digit millions. TV-providers have even found a hedge against cord cutting. They’ve become Internet-providers and expanded overseas to make up the revenue they’re not making here.
Cord-cutting is a marginal trend that could sneakily turn mainstream, creating an innovator’s dilemma for TV and cable. But not yet.
Tomi says:
Online viewers start leaving if video doesn’t play in 2 seconds, says study
http://gigaom.com/2012/11/09/online-viewers-start-leaving-if-video-doesnt-play-in-2-seconds-says-study/
Better connection speeds and more content means media companies are turning to video as an important revenue source. But to succeed, they must reach viewers fast. Here are some facts and graphics from a new study that shows how long viewers will wait.
A new study reports that faster internet connections have made viewers more impatient, and that people begin abandoning videos if they don’t load within two seconds. Every second of additional delay results in approximately 6 percent more viewers jumping ship. This chart shows how about 20 percent of viewers are gone after five seconds but that viewers are slightly more patient for long-length videos
Janetta Pinkney says:
Thank you for this! I loved it! Yes Positive thinking IS BETTER than negative thinking! you at least stand a chance! There are NO Successful Cynics!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Infonetics: MoCA to become ‘de facto wired technology’ for home video distribution
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2012/11/infonetics-moca.html
In a recent report, Infonetics Research forecasts a cumulative $46 billion to be spent on consumer home networking devices over the 5 years from 2012 to 2016. The market research firm found that consumer residential gateways sales grew 12% in the first half of 2012 (1H12) over the second half of 2011 (2H11).
Most notably, sales of MoCA set-top boxes rose 33% in 1H12 over 2H11, reports the firm.
“MoCA set top boxes and adapters continue to show sustained growth in North America, where DirecTV, Dish Networks, and a growing list of cable companies are rolling out whole-home DVR and video gateway services.”
“While we’re still in the early stages of MoCA device growth, we expect MoCA to become the de facto wired technology for video distribution to devices in the home. Going forward, multiscreen video will be a key driver for MoCA.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google TV: Now faster and easier
http://googletv.blogspot.fi/2012/11/google-tv-now-faster-and-easier.html
Last year, your Google TV received an update which added Google Play and simplified the entertainment discovery experience. Our next update makes finding whatever you want on Google TV even faster and easier. The update starts to roll out this week to LG devices and to other devices thereafter.
Voice Search: Simply speak to watch anything
Instantly access the power of Google TV, simply by using your voice. Just speak to watch TV shows and movies, start playing a YouTube video, open applications, go to websites, do a Google search, and much more. Say “CNN” to go right to the channel, or say “Homeland” to see all the live and streaming options to watch the show.
PrimeTime: A guide that works for you
Last year your Google TV added the TV & Movies app to help you browse 100,000+ movies and TV episodes available to watch. Now called PrimeTime, the app makes it even easier to find your favorite content
YouTube: Making it easier to watch on Google TV
The world watches 4 billion hours of YouTube per month, but it’s not yet as easy to watch YouTube on your TV as it is on your computers, phones, and tablets. YouTube and Google TV are changing that. With the updated YouTube app for Android and Google TV, your devices automatically pair so you can play any YouTube video from your Android phone or tablet on your TV with just one button. What’s playing on your mobile device looks even better on your Google TV.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hands On With Spotify For The Browser: Speed Sizzles, But Discovery Fizzles
http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/15/spotify-browser-review/
It’s speedy, and for a streaming music service like Spotify making the jump from desktop software to the browser, that’s of the utmost importance. This is just an early beta of what will rollout next year,
Tomi Engdahl says:
Judge drops TV ad-block block: So how will anyone pay for TV now?
The future could be a lot grimmer than ad breaks
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/09/ad_block/
The US ruling that automatically stripping out the ads doesn’t cause TV broadcasters irreparable harm might be legally accurate, but logistically it’s nonsense and a decision we might all live to regret.
Dish Networks provides the ad-stripping feature, called “AutoHop”, to programmes watched a day after broadcast, but claims to be simply automating a process which users now perform manually and which can’t, therefore, be illegal.
Fox, on the other hand, broadcasts channels in the expectation that viewers will sit through the ads that pay for the programmes – even if some of them don’t.
Fox will appeal against the dismissal of its request for an injunction against Dish Networks, but it looks likely the TV network will have to resort to copyright infringement and breach of contract for restitution. Of course, both of these avenues are only available thanks to Dish’s use of a cloud-based PVR and neither addresses the underlying problem of how to pay for television once viewers stop watching the adverts.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix CEO: Amazon Losing Up to $1 Billion a Year on Streaming Video
http://allthingsd.com/20121116/netflix-ceo-amazon-losing-up-to-1-billion-a-year-on-streaming-video/
Reed Hastings says that, one day, Amazon will provide real competition for Netflix.
But the Netflix CEO says Jeff Bezos will have to spend a lot of money before that happens: Hastings says Amazon is losing between $500 million and a $1 billion a year as it acquires streaming video content rights.
Hastings says he generated those numbers based on the value of the content deals that Amazon won when the two companies competed head to head. He says he thinks Amazon’s costs are split evenly between its U.S. operations and Europe, where it operates the Lovefilm streaming service.
Last month, Netflix said it was on track to spend $2.1 billion on content over the next year.
In the U.S., Amazon rents and sells digital movies and TV shows on a one-off basis via its Amazon Instant Video service. It also offers a large catalog of titles for free to customers who pay $79 a year for its Prime shipping service, and recently began testing an option that lets customers pay $8 a month for Prime
Netflix charges $8 a month for its streaming service.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Digital Home Devices to Offer Increased Opportunities for Embedded OEMs
http://rtcmagazine.com/articles/view/102788
The much touted digital home may have started off with lighting and thermostat controls, but it is rapidly expanding to more advanced security, energy management and lifestyle enhancement applications and beyond as the ecosystem grows.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Disney Pulls Plug On Online Movie Service
http://www.deadline.com/2012/11/disney-pulls-the-plug-on-disney-movies-online/
The little-known Internet movie service will close as of December 31
Launched in 2009, Disney Movies Online let users buy and rent films from the vast Disney library, including Pixar offerings. It also allowed users who bought Disney DVDs or Blu-ray discs to stream movies online; it did not allow movies to be downloaded for offline use or be watched in a non-browser format.
didn’t generate the number of users that was expected and the service was costly to run
“The digital environment is rapidly evolving and Disney Movies Online does not have the flexibility that many users today demand”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Comments found at http://www.deadline.com/2012/11/disney-pulls-the-plug-on-disney-movies-online/
“The digital environment is rapidly evolving and Disney Movies Online does not have the flexibility that many users today demand”
Well whose fault is that?
It sounds to me like someone with a corner office is trying to blame the audience yet again.
With so many successful models out there for streaming content on the Web, the fine folks of the “Mighty Mouse” couldn’t come up with a sure fire way to sell a product that sells itself, and always has.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Another Big YouTube Bet: Time Warner Leads $40 Million Maker Studios Round
http://allthingsd.com/20121120/another-big-youtube-bet-time-warner-leads-40-million-maker-studios-round/
Here comes more money for YouTube videos. But these dollars don’t come from YouTube: Time Warner is leading a big round of financing for Maker Studios, a startup that specializes in creating and distributing clips for the video giant.
Last week Variety reported that Time Warner was considering an investment in Maker.
But while lots of video makers were happy to take Google’s money to finance their productions, many of them have privately complained that Google hasn’t done a great job of promoting their clips to viewers and selling them to advertisers. Sources say at least some of Maker’s new round will go toward building out the company’s direct sales force.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft ‘Xbox TV’ device due in 2013 with casual gaming and streaming
A set-top box to compete with Apple TV and others
http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/21/3674802/xbox-tv-set-top-box-casual-gaming-streaming-2013
Microsoft is building an Xbox set-top box. Multiple sources familiar with Redmond’s plans have confirmed to The Verge that the company plans to introduce a low-cost alternative to its Xbox console, designed to provide access to core entertainment services. The move will allow Microsoft to further increase its presence in the living room, providing consumers with a choice between a set-top box or a full next-generation Xbox console.
We’re told that the set-top box is part of a two-SKU strategy for Microsoft’s next-generation of Xbox hardware that will be unveiled in 2013, with a release date ahead of the holiday shopping season. The device will run on the core components of Windows 8 and support casual gaming titles rather than full Xbox games
Tomi Engdahl says:
35 years old Finnish children TV program “Pikku Kakkonen” has made an application provides the play with little co-host.
Applications are available for iOS and Android devices for free.
Yle says that the Android app has been tested only on part of the Android devices. The company invites comments on compatibility.
Source: http://www.digitoday.fi/viihde/2012/11/26/pikku-kakkonen-tuli-tablettiin-ja-alypuhelimeen/201242719/66?rss=6
Olinda Achter says:
Video streaming is very very cool. i alway watch streaming videos. :
Tomi Engdahl says:
The world’s largest entertainment and media industry players belonging to Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes said Business Insider Ignition conference organized by the wish to see Apple television.
He says that Apple has the tools to solve problems in the field of television: be able to develop a sensible way to visualize and navigate in the channel jungle
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/mediajatin+johtaja+apple+voisi+ratkaista+tvn+ongelmat/a860705?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-30112012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
BitTorrent connects to 20 smart TVs
http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2012/11/20/bittorrent-connects-to-20-smart-tvs/
BitTorrent has reached deals with 20 CE manufacturers, bringing both legal and pirated content into the living room.
Speaking to Multichannel News, BitTorrent CEO Eric Klinker confirmed that the company’s deals are for TV models that will launch, as early as this holiday season, in Europe and Asia. “You may not see them as much in the US,” he said.
Hakan Kutlu, deputy general manager responsible for marketing at Vestel said during the show: “Consumers want all types of personal media and internet content in their living rooms and the TV remains the most desired device for consuming this digital media, regardless of source. BitTorrent certification helps our TV line meet this consumer demand and ensures that Vestel products remain at the forefront of technology innovation and adoption.”
BitTorrent, which is funded by venture-capital firms Accel Partners, DCM and DAG Ventures, is using peer-to-peer technology to bring content to viewers. Its business model rests on advertising income and in licencing deals with web services such as Microsoft Bing and Ask.com and now CE manufacturers.
The name is infamous with many entertainment companies as BitTorrent technology is also used for illegal distribution of pirated material, but Kinkel said his company is not responsible and he has no idea of the extent of illegal usage. “We have no idea. It’s like asking Chrome [Google’s Web browser] how much pornography there is on the internet.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Net-Connected Televisions Will Let Users Stream Both Legal, Illegal Video Content
http://www.multichannel.com/ott/bittorrent-inks-deals-20-tv-set-makers/140281
Consumers using Internet-connected TV sets from some 20 manufacturers will soon be able to stream video content — including both legal and illegal material — downloaded via embedded BitTorrent software, with the click of a remote.
BitTorrent has reached deals with 20 consumer-electronics manufacturers, according to CEO Eric Klinker. He declined to identify them.
BitTorrent clients once consumed as much as 40% of global Internet traffic, but the company has seen its share of overall usage decline as video-streaming services like Netflix have taken off. In addition, the company claims, its introduction of a new protocol into the BitTorrent client — designed to give priority to other applications — has reduced the amount of bandwidth the application’s estimated 150 million-plus users consume in aggregate.
BitTorrent’s share of usage declined from 19.2% of peak-period aggregate traffic in 2010 to 12.0% in 2012, according to bandwidth-management equipment vendor Sandvine. At the same time, BitTorrent traffic increased 40% from 2011 to 2012, the vendor found. By 2015, BitTorrent will shrink to less than 10% of total traffic, Sandvine predicts.
Klinker said that in response to the network-neutrality issues, BitTorrent implemented a new best-effort protocol in clients starting in February 2010, which senses congestion on the network. “It essentially lets BitTorrent gets out of the way of every other application,” he said.
BitTorrent, along with Microsoft, formed a working group within the Internet Engineering Task Force to document the “uTP” protocol, and the IETF has now approved the protocol as a draft, Klinker said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple’s ITunes Would Be One of World’s Biggest Media Companies
http://go.bloomberg.com/tech-blog/2012-12-03-apple%E2%80%99s-itunes-would-be-one-of-world%E2%80%99s-biggest-media-companies/
A closer look, however, reveals that Apple not only has a significant media business, it’s bigger than most major media companies — and possibly at their expense.
By itself, Apple’s iTunes (which was just updated) and App stores, which hawk everything from movies and music to books and newspaper subscriptions, make more money than The New York Times; Simon & Schuster, which publishes the best-selling “Steve Jobs” biography; Warner Bros. film studios, which owns the popular Batman film franchise; and Time Inc., the largest magazine publisher in the U.S.
Combined.
Apple’s media storefronts took in more than $8.5 billion for the fiscal year ending in September. Put together, the revenue of the above-mentioned media companies only adds up to $8.2 billion for the same period, about $300 million less than Apple.
To be sure, a fair amount of those sales include apps unrelated to entertainment or media. The company doesn’t break out those sales versus media or entertainment purchases, but the primary draw for consumers has long been iTunes’s ever-growing media library, which started with 99 cent song downloads and now includes $455 annual subscriptions to the New York Times.
The irony here is that the maker of the best-selling iPad and iPhone doesn’t make any content. Instead, it relies on the media industry’s willingness to sell their precious movies, TV shows, newspapers and books through Apple in an arrangement that’s allowed the iTunes and App stores to outpace the very companies supplying them.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Disney Switching To Netflix For Exclusive Film Distribution
http://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/12/12/05/059221/disney-switching-to-netflix-for-exclusive-film-distribution
“When Disney films leave the theater and head for TV, they currently go through the Starz channel first. That’s going to change in 2016. Disney has signed a deal to give Netflix the first crack at its animated and live-action films. Even if you’re not a fan of either company, this is a bit of a big deal; Disney is ditching a traditional pay-TV service in favor of online streaming.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Disney anoints Netflix as its exclusive distributor starting in 2016
http://arstechnica.com/business/2012/12/disney-anoints-netflix-as-its-exclusive-distributor-starting-in-2016/
If you’re a Netflix subscriber and you have kids, you’re about to make those kids happier. Netflix and Disney just inked a new deal, making the former the exclusive American subscription TV service for “first-run live-action and animated feature films from The Walt Disney Studios.”
This marks the first time that a major Hollywood studio decided to side with a digital distribution rather than a traditional TV provider. The deal is also a high-water mark for a company that some were speculating was ripe for takeover as recently as last month.
“These movies, if you’ve got young kids—[now] you’ve got to have Netflix,”
“Disney is really careful, really disciplined about the value of those deals,” Dan Cryan, an analyst with IHS, told Ars. “The fact that they have chosen to go with Netflix is interesting both in terms of how much money Netflix is prepared [to put] on the table and how much money Starz is not prepared to put on the table.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix and The Walt Disney Studios Announce Multi-Year Premium Pay TV Window Agreement in the United States
http://www.bloomberg.com/article/2012-12-04/ahra6BoYSPuQ.html
Beginning with its 2016 theatrically released feature films, new Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios and Disneynature titles will be made available for Netflix members to watch instantly in the pay TV window on multiple platforms, including television, tablets, computers and mobile phones. Also included in the agreement are high-profile Disney direct-to-video new releases, which will be made available on Netflix starting in 2013.
Tomi Engdahl says:
2012: an epoch-defining year for home entertainment
Analogue telly out, 4K Ultra HD in… and more besides
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/12/05/2012_a_defining_year_for_home_entertainment_kit/
2012 may have confounded Mayan predictions of global catastrophe, but it certainly proved an epochal year for home entertainment technology. The past 12 months have seen seismic changes to the living room landscape, with analogue TV finally running out of steam, the first sighting of a higher resolution future and a wholesale move to “smart” connectivity.
2012 has also been the year that Wi-Fi Hi-Fi finally became a mainstream proposition. Surprisingly, the driving force hasn’t been Apple with its AirPlay tech, but wireless audio pioneer Sonos.
The DVR scene also deleted its doldrums during 2012, with a selection of nifty internet-connectable digital TV recorders, the best of which was YouView
If there’s been a defining trait this year, it’s “smart” connectivity: TVs, Blu-ray players, AV receivers – if your latest toy doesn’t have an Ethernet port or Wi-Fi built in, then it’s most definitely of the wrong vintage. This trend has fuelled an IPTV gold rush, which has seen BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Lovefilm Instant and numerous other cloud-based services pouring into devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Web Video, on Your TV, That Looks Like TV
http://allthingsd.com/20121206/web-video-on-your-tv-that-looks-like-tv/
There are now lots of ways to get Web video onto your TV.
But in lots of cases that stuff still looks like Web video — clips you’re not supposed to watch for more than a couple of minutes at a time.
So here’s another attempt to blur the line between Web video and “real” TV: Net2TV, a new service that takes Web clips and tries to create TV-like “channels” designed to be watched from your couch.
Sound familiar? YouTube is embracing the “channel” concept too, because Google thinks that’s the best way to get TV-like engagement and ad dollars.
But YouTube is always going to be a freewheeling site, designed to be consumed on lots of different screens.
Net2TV’s take is much more focused: The company is only interested in getting stuff onto TV screens.
It takes clips made by Web video producers like CBS Interactive and Discovery’s Revision 3* and stitches them together into something that should resemble a “real” show. Then it moves them to a clever app designed for Web-connected TVs, which lets you see previews of the shows instead of static screenshots.
Right now, the Net2TV shows will appear on all of Philips’ Web TVs, and the company says it has other deals in the works. The plan is to generate money via ads (the programs themselves are free), and split the proceeds between the content owners, Net2TV and the hardware guys.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The enduring Apple TV Fantasy
http://www.mondaynote.com/2012/12/09/5175/
We all want TV Done Right, free of the Soviet Era set-top box, UI and opaque contracts. We imagine Apple will put all the pieces together. But what’s desirable and “obvious” might not be so simple or soon…
“When I go into my living room and turn on the TV, I feel like I have gone backwards in time by 20 to 30 years,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told . NBC’s Brian Williams “It’s an area of intense interest. I can’t say more than that.”
These words — and similar ones in a substantial Bloomberg interview — launched yet another round of frenzied speculation about the mythical Apple TV.
Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster insists that an Apple TV in 2013 is a sure thing. “It will be the biggest thing in consumer electronics since the smartphone“. (Of course, Munster has been saying this every year for the last three years…)
Speculation aside, Cook has one thing right: The set-top box experience does place one back in time by 20 to 30 years:
– We still can’t order channels à la carte or search the program grid. For the latter you have to go to your tablet. And forget about the former.
– You can’t buy your own set-top box; you have to rent it from your carrier. For STB makers, there’s no incentive to build a better product.
– Add in the contorted rights and packages games played by the content providers and you end up with today’s mess.
The solution? Channels, shows, special events should all be presented as apps. Click, pay, and play, with standard fare for free. Catch the 6 pm news when you get home at 9:30; watch two programs side-by-side with Android 7 or iOS 9, all on your screen of choice: smartphone, tablet, PC, or TV.
Second, I simply don’t believe Apple will make, or even wants to make, a TV set. To realize the dream, as discussed previously, you need to put a computer — something like an Apple TV module — inside the set. Eighteen months later, as Moore’s Law dictates, the computer is obsolete but the screen is just fine. No problem, you’ll say, just make the computer module removable, easily replaced by a new one; more revenue for Apple…and you’re right back to today’s separate box arrangement. And you can spread said box to all HDTVs, not just the hypothetical Apple-brand set.
If carriers and content owners can be tricked, bribed, sued, or otherwise made to see the light and wisdom of higher revenue per subscriber, the TV Done Right will descend from Heaven in the form of a next generation Apple set-top box, not a TV set.
A more serious interpretation: Apple’s CEO is indicating that he’ll continue to invest talent and money until the TV obstacles are finally surmounted. In other words: “Join us and ride the wave that will sweep away the competition”.
Speaking of the competition, Sony is trying to break free from its profitless HDTV past by building a new 4K TV business.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Barnes & Noble signs deals with HBO, Sony and others to launch Nook Video service for tablets in the UK
http://thenextweb.com/media/2012/12/10/barnes-noble-signs-deals-with-major-studios-to-launch-nook-video-service-for-tablets/
Barnes & Noble has signed deals with major worldwide studios to launch its new Nook Video service for its recently launched Nook HD and Nook HD+ tablets in the UK.
The company has agreed deals with BBC Worldwide, HBO, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, STARZ, and Warner Bros. Entertainment to offer digital films and TV shows, but will also become the UK’s first Ultraviolet retailer, allowing customers to enjoy their DVD and Blu-ray purchases in digital form.
Films and TV shows are available to rent or download, which is different from the unlimited streaming services that other companies provide, and prices are pretty high.
Ultraviolet availability is also a notable first for the bookseller. Now, when Nook owners buy an UltraViolet-enabled film or TV show, they are able to redeem a digital copy of that same purchase.
Like its rivals, Barnes & Noble is already in talks with other “leading studios,” and expects to announce more deals in the near future.
Tomi Engdahl says:
YouTube Brings Guide Interface To Tablets, With Updates To Its Android App And Mobile Web
http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/10/youtube-android-app-mobile-web/
YouTube has been making a ton of updates to its UI lately, but the video-sharing platform isn’t quite ready to call it quits just yet.
The big change is the addition of a Guide for navigating through videos from channels that users have subscribed to, as well as allowing users to discover new channels that they might not already know about. That will be added to the new YouTube Android app, as well as the mobile web site optimized for tablets, like the iPad.
The update comes just a few days after YouTube launched a redesign of its website, seeking to provide easier access to channels. And the whole channel push is coming as the company seeks to provide more professional content, like that which it’s invested in through its Original Channels initiative, as well as through growing multichannel networks like Machinima or Maker Studios.
The end goal is to make the programming experience on YouTube more TV-like, providing more content that people can watch in longer, uninterrupted viewing sessions.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix’s ISP rankings confirm the expected: Google Fiber is ‘the most consistently fast ISP in America’
http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/11/netflix-isp-ranking-google-fiber-streaming/
Like there was ever any doubt, right? Netflix — which serves up over one billion hours of video streaming to some 30 million members per month — owes it to itself to keep track of which ISPs are killing it, and which simply need to be killed. Now, the outfit’s finally ready to begin publishing its findings, ranking America’s major Internet Service Providers based upon “actual performance across all Netflix streams.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
WSJ reports Apple has tested TV designs — don’t get too excited
http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/12/wsj-reports-apple-has-tested-tv-designs-dont-get-too-excited/
After CEO Tim Cook dropped a nugget about TV being an intense area of interest in interviews a few days ago (the exact same thing he said in May), now the Wall Street Journal is reporting rumors from suppliers that it has, for several years, tested designs in concert with companies like Sharp and Foxconn.
Unfortunately, for reasons ranging from studio licensing agreements to DRM to a lack of access to pay-TV provider data/content, it’s very difficult to do with the level of polish and control of experience Apple would like. Microsoft and Sony are spending billions of dollars on their Xbox 360 and PS3 just to grab a foothold in this market, with varying levels of success, while Google’s TV project has experienced even tougher growing pains.
until the various regulatory and/or commercial gatekeepers to premium content in the living room change their minds about how the TV business works, it remains just as unlikely that we’ll ever experience the products of Apple’s tests for ourselves
Tomi Engdahl says:
CBS boss reveals why the company is ‘against joining Apple TV’ (or Hulu)
http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/03/cbs-boss-reveals-why-the-company-was-against-joining-apple-tv/
While responding to analyst questions about why CBS isn’t on Hulu, Moonves mentioned the network did not join in “Apple TV” for the same reason: because it (like Hulu) was an advertiser split.
As we’ve discussed at length on the podcast, any efforts to remake how the TV business works won’t get far without content, and so far CBS and its fellow studios have not been interested in playing ball. Why is that? According to Moonves, current deals (with cable and satellite, for example) are worth “hundreds and hundreds of millions” in guaranteed cash payments, and rather than seeking a share of advertising down the road, he thinks a “guaranteed revenue stream is a good way to go.”
negotiating a new business model for home video may be even harder to crack than designing the perfect UI.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple Tests Designs for TV
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424127887323981504578174532274021230-lMyQjAxMTAyMDEwMjExNDIyWj.html
Sales of Apple’s current TV hardware, a $99 set-top box, are picking up but are still small. The company sold 1.3 million in the quarter that ended in September. The device allows users to access some Internet video on larger screens but doesn’t offer traditional channel lineups. Apple has struck deals with video providers such as Netflix Inc. and Hulu LLC to offer apps for the device.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ReVuln – The TV is watching you
http://vimeo.com/55174958
In this video we demonstrate one of our 0-day vulnerabilities affecting Smart TV, in this case a Samsung TV LED 3D. Smart TV can be used to browse the internet, use social networks, purchase movies and do many other things. This demo shows how a vulnerability for such devices can be used to retrieve sensitive information, monitor and root the device itself remotely.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Redbox Instant streaming plan takes on Netflix
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/redbox-instant-streaming-plan-takes-050608344.html
DVD kiosk operator Redbox is launching a challenge to Netflix’s streaming-video supremacy.
Later this month, Redbox will offer an unlimited streaming-video plan that includes movies from Warner Bros. and pay TV channel Epix, along with four nights of physical DVD rentals, for $8 a month, or $9 a month if customers want Blu-ray discs.
The offering is a direct attack on Netflix Inc. and is priced even lower than the $10-a-month DVD and streaming plan that Netflix abandoned a year ago. The lowest price plan from Netflix that combines DVDs-by-mail and streaming is now $16 a month.
The new service, called Redbox Instant by Verizon, is “targeted squarely at movie lovers,”
subscribers could stream movies such as “The Hunger Games” over computers and certain connected Blu-ray players and Internet-enabled TVs. For now, video game consoles will not be able to play Redbox streaming titles.
Epix CEO Mark Greenberg said the expansion onto Redbox will help grow its customer base since Redbox’s customers tend to be younger than its current subscribers.
“We’re expanding the pie by adding more people to the mix. I think that’s healthy,” he said.
Greenberg said he’s indifferent to whether subscribers get Epix movies from Redbox Instant, Amazon, Netflix or through their TV providers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Aereo streaming joins forces with Bloomberg TV
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559143-93/aereo-streaming-joins-forces-with-bloomberg-tv/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=title
The oft-maligned television streaming service is now offering its first cable channel — with permission from that broadcaster.
Despite major TV networks claiming Aereo’s illegitimacy, the streaming service now has an official cable TV partner: Bloomberg.
Aereo struck a deal with Bloomberg TV today to allow streaming news, according to The Wall Street Journal. Reportedly, Aereo will pay Bloomberg TV for its content, but the terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The service has been hit with a number of lawsuits, from nearly every major TV broadcaster in New York, including Walt Disney’s ABC, CBS (the parent of CNET), Comcast’s NBC Universal, and Telemundo. The network operators claim Aereo could kill the broadcast TV business.
A federal judge earlier this year denied a request by the major TV networks to prevent Aereo from rebroadcasting their programs over the Internet. However, at an appeals court last month, a panel of judges seemed far more skeptical of the service.
The lawsuits against Aereo are still up in the air and the company continues to grow its service. In October, it expanded its streaming service to all major Web browsers. And, according to the Journal, Aereo is planning to launch its service in roughly 15 new cities early next year.