Category: standards for television

Is Linear TV, Recorded Shows on A PVR and the odd Blu-ray Film Enough for Most People?

Posted on by tvangelist

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.

Consumers Must Drive Standards-WHAT!?

Posted on by tvangelist

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!

Tivo Enters Gilette v Wilkinson Sword Razorblade Race (With Tuners)

Posted on by tvangelist

Th Madness of TV …5 Tuners and 2 Terrabytes of storage – Watch 1 programme while recording 4 others – store 300Hours of TV in HD (WHY?) … There is not enough time to watch it all and live your normal life!