LAS VEGAS " Is the growth of web-connected TV sets in viewers" homes a
destructive force, or will it just build viewership as new business cases
develop around them?
The consensus seems so far to be that such devices " whether they are integrated
Internet TVs or just monitors made smart by their connections to game systems,
Blu-Ray players, OTT devices like Roku or Boxee or whatever else will be
disruptive additions to the business.
This morning"s Super Session at the National Association of Broadcasters Show in
Las Vegas attempted to explore first just what a connected TV was " and then
whether or not they"ll be a value-destroying force in electronic media.
Right off the bat, Intel"s GM, retail CE products, Wilfred Martis, who"s in
charge of Intel"s digital home group (so everything to do with TVs, Blu-Ray
players or over-the-top devices like Boxee) dumped the "connected TV" moniker
for "Smart TV", partially because research showed consumers didn"t quite
understand how a "connected TV" was any different " especially if it was already
connected to cable or satellite.
"Anything can be connected, but unless you do something interesting with it,
it"s not very useful... The experience is smart TV," he said.
Besides, he added, it"s not about the TV anyway. It"s about the experience for
viewers who, in growing numbers, want whatever content they like to be available
on whatever device they like. "Most young people say... If I"m going to sign up
for your content, I want it on any damn device I own."
"They expect now to be able to find anything like how they would use a search
engine," added Comcast"s Richard Buchanan, VP and GM content services, "and to
look at it anywhere on whatever device they happen to be with at any given
time."
Comcast"s Xfinity branding (which also features a killer iPad app) is an attempt
at providing that to their customers " albeit only with on demand, not linear
TV, content.
So then, it was asked, is cable TV then just another app for the "smart TV", be
they regular big screens, or phones or tablets? "Will the cable set top box be
gone at some point?" asked moderator Will Richmond of Broadband Directions.
"In general, all experiences are becoming "app-ified"," said Buchanan.
"(Xfinity) is enabling customers to find what they want, to record if they"re
not home, to look at it and share it or experience it with their friends."
However, Xfinity is enabled by EBIF (Enhanced Binary Interchange Format), the
interactive cable standard that makes it work with all deployed cable set tops "
meaning customers don"t need to get anything new, or wire in any additional
gear.
However, Susan Panico, who is senior director for the PlayStation Network,
disputed that, calling her company"s service "a bit of a Trojan Horse for media
convergence in the living room." The PlayStation Network lets PS3 users (and
Panico called them primarily male and in the 18-34 age group) not only do
real-time online gaming, but also watch movies and TV shows. And it doesn"t
require a set top box, other than the gaming console, just a broadband
connection.
It may not lead to outright cord cutting, but they are seeing "cord-trimming,"
where customers pare back their cable subs to basic cable and Internet only,
said Panico.
Source: Cartt | April 11, 2011
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