“Study the past if you would define the future.” – Confucius
Author: tvangelist
I am oft deceived by the very egotistical, megalomaniac, control-freak natured behavior of many people at work and in business and I do wonder what it is that drives them (power and money in the main). I like nice people, friendly people who want to work cleverly and as a team. How rare it is to find such folk in today's dog-eat-dog world. After working hard since the age of 16 which equates to 50+ years of graft ... that could mean that I might have something to share that has value ... but most people don't want to listen. Be nice, not nasty as life is finite.
tweetTV – Growing Business in the Social Media EPG Arena
tweetTV is reinventing the TV guide to make it social, interactive, and more useful.
The unique social TV guide shows users how the TV programs on their TV rank in real-time social popularity, and and facilitate deep filtering for users to find TV programs that match their interest based on genre, network, social popularity, and more. The unique “tweet rooms” for TV programs help users have real social interactions with other people who are watching the same program they are, filterable by friends, cast/crew, experts, and more. They also provide a rich content experience for people to see related content to their favorite shows while monitoring and participating in the social conversation. By September, they will have 3 different versions of our website- tweetTV for laptops, tablets, and smart phones.
Have you heard of Wahooly? If Not Here Is Some Info …
Wahooly.com, is a group of socially-connected individuals that together, help launch startups.
At Wahooly, you’ll have access to the latest and greatest startups plus the ability to promote, improve, and engage with those companies for a piece of the action. Web Page: http://www.wahooly.com or here is the Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/wahooly
The Art of iPhonography
More Dual Screen Reports
Research: Dual screening is commonplace http://advanced-television.com/index.php/2012/09/27/research-dual-screening-is-commonplace/#.UGSfufa3DIA.twitter
Is Linear TV, Recorded Shows on A PVR and the odd Blu-ray Film Enough for Most People?
I recently discussed the world of TV amongst my entourage one afternoon during a BBQ party at home. In the main, my guests stated that they watch either DTT, Satellite or an IPTV service (Cable does not exist in these parts), also the odd DVD or Blu-ray for stored media. I showed them (mostly the men) my set-up at home which is a FTA STB for French Terrestrial, a Satellite+PVR, also a Blu-ray and an IPTV service in the front room – All via a single screen via an HDMI splitter – AppleTV and WebTV in the den through a projector, an IPAD for WebTV. The first questions were … why do you have so much TV in the house and do you watch it all? The answer is a sort of ‘because’ and ‘it’s not really that simple’: For IPTV, I have no real choice as it is a bundle from Orange … however I have not turned on the STB since over a year…I still pay 3 Euros/month rent – Duh! The satellite is because we have a multi-language family so I need access to other language programmes. The den is because we wanted a system with an ad-hoc (pay-as-you-go) movie channel and AppleTV seemed the way to go, at the time. They looked bewildered at all the kit!
If I had my way the’ sum of the whole’ would be a huge Gateway that would take all the inputs and then send them to ‘slave devices’ in the home…which is ‘on the way’ in the market-place, but not from Orange as they have not followed Bouyges or Free who offer a combo (media-centre) devices; the Orange IPTV service has in fact have simply chosen to go for a new interface in 2012 from Orca Interactive (who they now own) which will be a huge step out of the 1990s interface they presently have; but not enough to make me watch the content. I would actually like to use the iPAD and some Companion Screen interactivity but that is a long way off in this region!
My friends … who range from both retired and working businessmen, to engineers, artists, artisans, restaurateurs and more – a diverse crowd … are amazed at my explanation of what is available in Digital TV … this is because normally watch several programmes – thier favourites, and are suprised by the odd new show they fall upon…they have what they need, which is actually basic linear TV!
However for people like me, and there are others, we need the industry to solve the complex modern digital TV system offering (something that is not tied to a single operator): It needs to cater for diversity in a ‘multi-service’ environment, it needs to be intuitive i.e. easy to navigate and switch between devices that can offer multi-content in a TV Everywhere scenario. However is it really possible to have an extraordinary Viewing Experience and Simple Navigation system when you have such a diverse number of providers and a principal screen of 42″. It would seem unlikely. From what I have seen the business of TV is fragmented, cluttered and simply getting more and more complex as Google and the rest try to usurp traditional broadcasters.
We finished the party and cleared up settling in front of the TV with a ‘digestif’ – We searched and searched the late-night channels eventually falling upon the recorded shows on the PVR – Raymond Blanc and the delightful show the ‘Hungry Frenchman’. With our friends we had talked of many things that evening, including the demise of quality content, and it was an interesting insight into the reality and perception of the common man. I did lend out a couple of Blu-ray disks too.
Companion Screen Interactivity Avoids the Marriage of Many Brides
We have entered the 2nd phase of the Companion Screen business with Synchronisation being the next step in the equation. The DVB organisation has need of a chairperson for the new DVB-COS (Companion Screen) group that will look to standardise the communication protocols between the Companion Screen and the STBs/Connected TVs. This in itself is a very touchy subject as raised by the iTV Doctor in his recent post and he mentioned a Company already offering such protocols. This may see another IPR issue at the DVB but that is another story…Lets concentrate on Companion Screen issues – As we have progressed through the business of Interactive TV it is clear that there needs to be a marriage of many brides (parts) to make it successful. The list is something like this: Content-Technology-Broadcast Media (DTT, DTH, Cable, IPTV, WebTV) Receiver Hardware and of course Tools and Services. It has been rare that we have seen them come together in a global sense. We have tried many times, with a variety of solutions. The pockets or Islands of interactive (UK’s MHEG5, Italy’s MHP etc…) have managed in a small way, however the marriage has not been so successful overall which has resulted in multiple attempts to engage in Interactivity over and over again. The latest attempt in the old world is of course HbbTV which moves into the arena with another ’embedded’ product that requires some genuine engineering intervention by a variety of people, content needs to created, tools and testing for compliance and conformance are needed – The wedding party is a long affair, it may yet again all end in tears.
Companion Screen on the other hand can synchronise with TV and in some new technology cases does not need certain members of the party to engage in a technical sense, as is required in embedded systems. There are technologies that allow for the full synchronisation without the need for touching the transport stream or the STB. These systems work on a SaaS basis using the ‘Cloud’ as the connectivity channel. The reason I mention this particular form is that this makes the business of Interactive Second Screen easier. If you work with the Content producers and the Broadcasters on Content and cut out some of the middlemen this eliminates one of the barriers for interactivity to flourish. The old chicken and egg – Broadcaster = I wait till the population of receivers is sufficent until I broadcast interactive. Consumer = I will not buy an interactive STB because their is no content! Remember those days? They are still here! A Companion Screen is already in the home…it was bought for other purposes but can be used for TV. Broadcaster/Operator CAPEX reduced immediately.
The OPEX aspect for the Broadcaster is also in a sense reduced as they make use of already installed video servers and server side equipment used in the delivery of catch-up TV. Yes in Companion screen new content formats need to be created to make use of this new system, but we can see that this is on its way. So very soon we will enter a 3rd phase where bespoke Companion Screen Content will appear. The BBC RnD are working on this and there is a call for content in a wider sense as this new marriage starts its honeymoon period.
Consumers Must Drive Standards-WHAT!?
I am sorry but it is impossible to hear what Consumers want because most of them have no idea. When you had a fibre optic transmission standard created it was to make it easier for equipment manufacturers to achieve economies of scale, consumers are not implicated. When the DVB designed their TV standards it was for equipment manufacturers to achieve economies of scale and thus bring down the cost of the equipment for both business and eventually the consumer. The specialists inside those Companies are in a way a sort of ‘customer’ who thinks about making things easier for the masses. The Consumer might have an opinion if asked about Equipment Battery Chargers or Mobile Phone Chargers as that is a very “in-home’ nuisance…but even there it is not done because the equipment manufacturers also want to differentiate and make more money on ‘peripherals’ because Cameras are pretty standard across the board. The EU eventually forces this to happen…Asking someone (consumers) about Standardising for Connected TV or Cloud Services and what they want “in the cloud” is already assuming that they know what the “cloud” is…People are not “technologists” in the main, that is reserved for a small percentage of us who actually think that the rest of the world thinks like us – and how wrong we are- often! BECAUSE They don’t!…and the old adage of “One man’s meat is another man’s poison” is particularly poignant here…Consumers have very different ideas about life on a family by family, town by town, culture by culture, country by country basis. What we see in the request for Consumers to be Involved in Standards Decidions is a reflection of the last statement above: There are ALREADY TOO MANY STANDARDS SETTING BODIES all working on the same thing but with different ideas that merely ends up with multiple standards all trying to achieve the same thing – Why? Because we are human beings and we are territorial and egotistical and incapable of peace and harmony (in the main) and especially when it comes to Technology Standards we are very, very BAD!
BT and BBC Open Supermarket Chain
So Sainsbury Supermarkets will offer a TV service … So does Tesco and Dixons as does Apple and Netflix and Love Film and Virgin, BT and of course there is YouView trying tp patch up UK TV fragmentation to no avail. My first question is why do the Regulators allow this nonsense? If the BBC or BT or Virgin ever ventured into selling stuff in Supermarkets they would be vilified in the press and laughed at by the public! However Supermarkets can make money selling TV content just like all the other mainstream broadcasters and wannabees as they feel free to trample on expert’s toes?…Yes lets all tread on each others toes until there is a complete breakdown and we all have to go back to basics! P.S. is there a Sainsbury’s Funeral Parlour – If Not Why Not in order to bury the TV industry…
The Amazing Insight of TV Executives
I saw a twitter post headline: A Sony executive stated, “We are living in a world of connected devices”. No shit Sherlock! Earth shattering statements of the most banal kind making headlines! Are we getting desperate to make noise in the twittersphere by offering up such exposure to such wonderful insight!
Tvangelist 