Anga Cable show once again highlighted the conundrum of connected TV where Companies are filling the screens with unrelated applications. Unrelated that is to the TV Shows or Advertising. The NDS Facebook app (like all the other Facebook offers everywhere else) took over the entire screen thus negating the TV aspect. These Apps simply convert your TV into a PC Monitor in effect… It will certainly irk the broadcasters and advertisers knowing that their precious content is lowered to “uninteresting” if application distraction is that simple. And then whose Facebook account, Mum, Dads, Kids…The Dogs? Clutter and more Clutter!

I am still of the belief that TV is for Entertainment and PC or Smartphone is for Communication of which Facebook is in my opinion categorised as. Monetising it still remains a mooted point.

There were some nice widget use on many TVs but the overall fragmentation of these offers remains a key inhibitor in many of the attempts at attracting buyers. After all it is TV that is actually for sale and where the CE profits lay.

HbbTV had a smattering of airtime but it is clearly handicapped by its use of old technology in modern day STBs. Why in 2010 would you put a single instance application presentation engine (no better than MHEG5 or DVB-HTML) in a hightech sophisticated fast STB Multimedia environment. Running video is fine from a browser or link but that is an HTTP connection and that is just not rocket science. Interactivity is moving on but not in Connected TV and HbbTV is touting itself as “Web on the TV”….quite simply what the industry has being and should avoid mixing with TV. Clever use of Internet in a TV environment is best served with TV Shows as the enabler to value added services…with advertising having its pride of place. Its business that we are in!

The overall ANGA show was OK but there seems to be a plateau reached in all possible services now from Analogue to 3D and anything in-between…Where next? Perhaps after the hype of widgets and the connected clutter we will see the age old quedtion returning – How do you monetise it and manage to create a positive ROI.

The Recent announcement of Connected TVs is quite an interesting view into the TV business of today. The CE manufacturers are packing computer-like features into their TVs with the hope to boost TV sales. If you were to rationalise and reflect on past CE exploits in this field, you would realise that it would make more sense for them to offer a “Media Centre” bundled with a Flat screen. Secondary TVs ( the multi-room route) would be connected by WiFi or Powerline as slave devices. The sensible aspect to this strategy would be that the upgrade, addition of memory and external hard drives/peripherals etc. would then be possible. The cost of technical support of such packed Connected TVs is an interesting discussion never broached. who do you call when you no longer have access to the things you want?

An android powered TV has been shown in the press with Googlemaps etc. Googlemaps or any other (they are not exclusive in this application) is only useful if you can then print to a wireless printer as 90% of map searches results in a paper map so you can take it in the car. No not everyone has a GPS for coordinate input before all you tekkies shout out.

Granted, video related applications are good and give choice. But what if your Internet goes down (and it does) do you still get TV? Do you still get good content available? There seems to be a blinkered view that we all have always on, sufficient bandwidth Internet. This is not a given. Many people have given up on Open Internet connected sites such as YouTube because like the Internet of old they don’t accept waiting in front of a blank screen that announces “buffering, buffering”. If you have no issues you are a member of the privileged few.

IPTV is only 6% of all PayTV subscriptions whereas Satellite, Cable and Terrestrial make up other the 96%. We should see by this that Broadcast is still a dominant force in the delivery of TV programming. No matter what the CE manufacturers believe TVs will not be IP only devices for decades. A STB or Media Centre allows you to have much more effective management of your home network. This also allows for upgrade and innovation. One camp heads for Home Gateway the other for Connected TV.

Those of use who are not drugged by the Connected TV hype realise that the Gartner Hype Curve “Trough of Dissillusionment” has yet to be reached by this technology as all technology devices before it. Dont get me wrong Connected Internet devices will be part of the mix but they will need to be futureproof and a CE manufacturer wants TV sales. Software and Apps always outgrows hardware (a PC is Memory stuffed so has lots of margin) so when an Application gets too big for your TV to handle will you go out and replace it. Not likely. A connected Media Centre gets my vote as it is merely an extended STB which is already mature, future proof but Broadcast focused.

The IPTV World Forum show was buzzing with booths and vendors and typically the Olympia being an intimate venue meant that everyone could see everyone else and gauge visits to competitive stands.

In my opinion “technologically speaking” it was too much of a “fragmented offering of multifaceted ways to offer video on a TV screen”. Each similar solution focused 80% of the time on the managed network with the addition of OTT services, or it was CE and STB Equipment manufacturers showing off their retail box software.   The problems of the industry were highlighted by all players fighting to gain a foothold as the leading company in this market.   SMALL AND LARGE COMPANIES: ESPIAL, NOKIA SIEMENS, MICROSOFT (Media room) and others were present especially those small to medium IPTV end-to-end players and if Twitter was to be believed Dreampark is the world’s leading IPTV player…Aren’t we all!

ANT showed the very retro looking ZDF portal (using HbbTV) that ironically resembled ZDF’s MHP portal offering of 2004. We thought that it was supposed to be going forwards but it just shows that Public Service Interactive is not driven by innovation but rather by cost; especially when it is delivered for free.   Innovation was not really there – there was no wow-factor in HbbTV.  Another example of lack of innovation was at Rovi who showcased the now clunky looking American Grid EPG – It was an open stand and they had a procession of CE Manufacturers all looking gloomy – I wonder why?

There was a smattering of niche players for Browser based STBs – What it did show that in HTML everyone “believes it is easy to do”….BUT nobody is really offering a solution to the main problem of Multichannel TV today which the fight to control the remote control. Each offer at the show was very much showing a SINGLE service perspective i.e. ONE ADDITIONAL OTT OFFER or SET of OTT SERVICES to the Consumer – even if that service was a complex looking SEESAW (New VOD Portal) from the UK (On the Amino STBs).

CONTROL OF THE REMOTE: Delivering video, controlling it, combining it and all the other back office elements involved are very complex and customers care not a dot about that.   They actually want simplicity and our industry is not heading that way. This is a very clear reminder to the Broadcasters that they have all but lost control of the Remote Control unless they act quickly…The Operator have time to maneuver BUT they too are being attacked by OTT services.

MULTISERVICE GUI: A 32inch flatscreen (average size in the UK home) is designed to enable video and audio and the industry is cluttering it up with PiP, Banners, Portals, Tickers, Search engines, Transparent Overlays, Messaging etc. However the reason this is a problem in IPTV is due to the OTT element – Multiple Companies trying to populate a single screen…It just does not work! That is the problem nobody can solve as IPTV, OTT, Connected TVs, Broadcasters and Operators all want the Consumer business.

APPLE LIKE: We see a growth in the GUI trying to replicate the APPLE experience (THE KT DEMO AT ALTICAST IS ABOUT THE BEST I HAVE SEEN TO DATE) … The other issue is that equipment limitations ask us to cut down the software (make a light version), limit the API calls and streamline whilst trying to offer very, very complex Multimedia to the TV.

SIMPLICITY: One of the best products from a vendor at the show for simplicity was Kaon’s WEBTUBE STB which is really an Android Samsung Mobile Phone with TV connectivity. Connected to a spare TV input you have access (via the Webtube wifi) to your broadband connection. There is FULL web access through a simple interface – including widgets for youtube etc. There is no need for web browsers on your STB and also this device gives access to “unmanaged OTT services” if you so desire. The fascinating thing about this device is that at the press of a button on the remote control you get instant full on internet to the Screen…no booting of the PC and a very, very quick solution to WWW on the Television.

COLLABORATION IS THE ONLY WAY: All in all the show was a “Browser War” and “GUI Festival” but again I re-iterate that nobody showed how “all the parties with a vested interest in owning the remote control” could actually work in harmony. Because they Cannot at this point in time! (Only KT+Broadcasters and SKYLIFE + QooKTV have shown collaborative effort to make a sensible Consumer offer) . This is the hardest path to see happening in EMEA – Collaboration may come but only when it is all too much of a struggle to be independent and grow.

HTML APPEARS TOO EASY (ON THE SCREEN): For years we have said that it is not good enough and it cannot do what MHP can do and this is never tested side by side (except in the lab)…”Single Application” presentation engine software is outdated and outmoded but hey if you hide it well enough and make it pretty nobody will notice right?…..In fact the IPTV WF showed that there is an even greater problem which is that if it is all too easy to do, then many can do it.   There is a proliferation of complex browser solutions and browser based MEDIACENTER Products – There is another proliferation of BROWSER BASED STBs and iDTVs (Connected TVs) and it is all very fragmented as each chooses a DIFFERENT Browser and different Style or Different Content approach.

STANDARDS AN ISSUE: It is difficult to see how the industry can build a standard Browser and offer a GUI that is ubiquitous: This is a REVENUE DRIVEN MARKET and ALL companies are looking for that WINNING POSITION! Many think that they have a head start.   Do I think that a web based browser will win in TV land? Well I had to ask because I do not believe that “on it’s own” it can be a solution: The answer from those I asked who have based there future on a browser told me “of course”: BUT what I also learnt was: “as long as it’s theirs”.

FUTURE: There will be another round of disruption in “Interactive TV” as we have to get over this re-kindled Browser mess – HYBRID is the only words used to describe the future of Interactive TV: That MUST contain OTT services. Eventually consolidation will come around 2011-2014 as the market tightens and the failure of WEB-BASED solutions will feel the chaos that is the Internet. There is a long way to go and the market turmoil allows for experts to come through…but not repeating the past as we are today.

http://informitv.com/news/2010/03/21/skywarnsbbc/index.php

There ia a SocialTV seminar on where people are banging on about Twitter and Facebook and all those other Social Media things that we are supposed to be doing WHILST we WATCH TV.  Well I am not sure about you but I am not able to WATCH a TV show and Type on my laptop and send an SMS or Tweet without being distracted from the show.  If the Content of the show is good enough you would just do what is supposed to be done, and that is why it was bloody well made in the first place – You would WATCH IT!   OK instead of “Ad Breaks” lets introduce the “Twitter Break” so you can all jump off (sorry lean forward)  and Tweet the details of the fab show to your followers (who the majority in my case will be stuck because they dont live in the same country as I do and will not be able to get to see the show I am watching anyway – hurrrumph!) … unless of course they can get it free on the Internet … then YOU (I)should stop your (My) PayTV subscription and wait until someone (I) recommends you (me) a show and we can then get it for free on the Internet;  hang on a minute…besides if it is already released that is…and if not you could always peer to peer and pirate it…Then if I haven’t paid to get any content and none of you have paid then we can only see the “free stuff” which means we need “Ad Breaks” back otherwise there is no funding to make shows… and then we will all be tweeting about the demise of quality programmes…and we could make that a reality TV show called “Dude Where’s My Content” or “I’m a Twitterer Get Me Offa Here”…Check out Tracy Geist and her expert advice – http://www.v-net.tv/Video.aspx?id=67&pge=1

In the world of Multimedia and Digital Television why are Broadcasters continually fooled by the technology gurus and those who would build a better mousetrap each week.  For the last 5 years, technologically speaking, there is virtually nothing we coulod not do in Digital TV  for Advanced Services even down to Email and Home Banking and now Twitter, Google and all that other Social Media access; and Widgets etc… Yet most (not all) European DTT Broadcasters did not committ to putting up “Advanced Services” when they could have.  Many CTO’s and COO’s are now having dificulty making sense of business models today because they left it too late to join the fray…and technology is leapfrogging technology before any chosen technology deployments can take place.   They thought it better to delay and take no risks!  Firstly the Telcos started to steal eyeballs now the Broadcasters are being threatened by “Connected TVs” from the CE manufacturers and OTT Services (those not going bankrupt) and they (The Broadcasters)  do not hold the trump card anymore.    I have warned them for years in my quest to offer those advanced services;  but they wouldn’t committ and now they are paying the price as their market share diminishes and they are held hostage by the CE Manufacturers they once relied on to bring TV sets to the market…Those that have chosen to enter the 21st century in good time have control over their markets!   It is so painfully obvious that if you rest on your laurels in today’s high tech world you will be left behind…The nemesis of the Broadcasters is the Internet which could mean that they really may be doomed as they do not control that either the Telcos do and they have already made their intentions clear in IPTV…Well done the UK and taly and a few others for their foresight.

When most retail TV devices are almost identical except for the casing and colour how do the CE Manufacturers differentiate…By offering On-Line Services via the Internet.  What we call an OTT offering.  Why then does my Orange IPTV Portal for my managed ISP connected Orange STB run VOD and Streaming Video well but my YouTube (Open Internet) connection from another Non-Orange device NOT work sufficiently well enough to view video.  Buffering, Buffering, Buffering – Frustration, Frustration, Frustration – It is plainly obvious that they do not want me using the bandwidth for non-Orange content.  Methinks it is illegal but it is plain to see “chez moi”.  If Orange content was worth the effort I would potentially use it…but it isn’t…Philips may be offering its Portal and Films but if they don’t control the wires to the house then you will here a revival of “I can’t get no satisfaction and I’ve tried and I’ve tried and I’ve tried”.

IBC 2009 Paper from NHK on why Java is better than HTML for Digital Terrestrial TV – Quite honestly if we simplify the choice  for Digital TV software we might see better penetration for value added services and reduce fragmentation.    Technology is becoming our master not our slave or we are slaves to the technology that is trying to enter the Digital Multimedia world despite whether it is relevant, capable and fit for purpose.   Take the spat regarding Apple and Flash…Apple don’t have to support a software it if they dont want to especially if they have an alternative.  There is competition throughout this Multimedia industry and it is so fragmented I do not believe that we will have a homogenous solution until we live a life of hell for at least 10 years or more and the software is brought to task then we come to our senses.   Software evolves and old technology built for other systems years ago does not always work no matter how many programmers you throw at it.   I have an iPhone and cannot watch Flash Video Content…so I dont…no loss really as its all about free content that people have suggested to me and not that important!  It is generally content supposedly funny with some idiot performing stupidly in front of a camera…something that I can live without quite frankly.

In TV land Adobe’s attempt to enlarge its market over and above the WWW is commendable as it tries to be a TV centric software … What else does the boss want but more sales and more revenue and a larger market – the stock market demands it too – We are all under this pressure to enlarge our markets everywhere.   However in this case the problem that Adobe is faced with is that it has to make a dumbed down version or “light” version of its software as do many who want to enter the TV world.   Fat PC built software products need to be slimmed down and therein lies a massive problem.  STBs and TVs have naturally been much less powerful than any PC and as a consequence have needed different “embedded software” with a variety of profiles for the slower and multitudinous chipsets for STBs etc.  This naturally led to the likes of  the JVM (a Virtual PC within the system) for such underpowered devices.  A clever way to boost  a systems performance in a software manner.  The Japanese Broadcaster NHK presented a paper at IBC 2009 (the initial link on this post) on this very subject and stated that after 5 years of HTML experience in Terrestrial Broadcasting it was clear that a virtual machine driven STB is the best solution for an interactive value added service.  We have known this for years but those who have alternative software will push and push and push again to gain more market share playing of their prowess in the WWW as Broadband speeds increase and Chipsets get more powerful.    They have all fallen short time and time and time again and still remain in beta or test phase as far as actual markets are concerned whilst Java Embedded software resides in millions upon millions of receivers.  All HTML or FLASH STB projects to date have failed (yes failed) and it is not faster chipsets or lots of memory that will fix that – Certain software is just not fit for “alternative” purpose and that is a fact!

Will their be Flash ouside of the WWW (or within for TV viewing) … probably as with HTML it appears unstoppable but it has massive consequences in terms of performance, stability, flexibility and scalability and there will always be TV Receiver  limitations which will mean that it will always be an uphill battle to enter and stay in the market.  So why do we insist on going backwards  (politics quite simply) Apple does not want to support Flash that is quite significant but yes more business-political than technical.  The political Java v HTML war now appears to be matched by Adobe v Apple –  “encore  voila”  history repating itself and adding more complication and more frgamentation to the market…What a tangled web we weave in Digital Multimedia.

Larry Ellison recently claimed that cloud computing is already here and that his Company is already in cloud computing.  Just like many other industries and especially in technology we have to re-invent phrases or explanations for things we do.  Why?  I believe it is becasue certain things just are not fit for business but we push on with trying to make them work.  It takes years and keeps us all occupied.  The time-to-market aspect in digital TV is such that technology leapfrogging is commonplace…For example in Digital Television and TelcoTV the word Convergence has disappeared to be replaced with Hybrid (same theories, same desires and wants from the functionality)…And suddenly all the technologies that have been tried and have failed under “Convergence” will today mysteriously be the saviour in “Hybrid”.  Interesting thing is that human beings have a superb penchant for forgetting the past and denying the truth if it suits their present need.  So we have an  iPad from Apple which was called what before under Microsoft?