In yesterday’s post, I spoke about how Apple should work on its TV strategy.
One of the ideas that have been floating around is that Apple will unveil an HDTV set with iTunes and a TV App Store.
After all, Google already announced Google TV that includes a set-top box and connected TV sets with Google software built-in. So can Apple’s TV product be far behind?
Today’s poll question is:
Recently, I was thinking that the concept of “owning the screen” is a smart strategy to go after.
For example, let’s look at Apple. They are redefining smartphones, and now introduced the 4th screen, the iPad. So it’s just a matter of time before Apple goes after the other two screens: PCs and TVs
Apple does well selling computers, but I think it should go after the TV screen next. It has a much brighter future than PCs. Now that Google showed its hand with Google TV, I expect Apple to make a move to TV in the near future. It’s not inside knowledge from Apple, just a hunch. Plus a few articles appearing on the blogosphere that say this may be forthcoming (check the links down below).
Now that Apple is dominating the mobile and tablet “screens”, it can go after the hardest screen of all: TVs.
TV’s aren’t just for watching TV. Television sets are just the biggest screen in the home now. Although many people say consumers don’t want the Internet on their TV, I think they’re not looking at the future.
How will Apple do it? Will it be a version of its Mac Mini? Or Apple TV? Or some new product? Some people are even saying Apple will release its own line of Internet-connected HDTVs. I’m not sure, but I think going with retail, like a set-top box is a difficult market in the U.S. Getting Apple products and services embedded into connected TV sets seems like a better way to go, with less risk. Google will test the market with Google TV this Fall, so perhaps Apple can afford to sit a wait for a bit.
But it’s clear that Apple’s TV strategy should be far more serious and less hobbyist. Apple investors don’t want the company to sell products that are for hobbyists. They want mass consumer adoption and blockbuster sales. Can Steve Jobs deliver? Can Google? Or will another company emerge?
Many people have been saying that the Internet is going to replace TV. Others say that TV cannot be replaced because of the business structures and technology in place today favor the current system of Service Providers and content owners.
For a few months, Boxee CEO Avner Ronen has taken the side of the Internet as disruptor of TV. Meanwhile, Mark Cuban, CEO of HDnet, said that TV won’t be changing anytime soon. At SXSW, Avner and Mark had a debate called “Battle for TV” which I didn’t catch live, but I did read some of the blog posts.
However, I think people are missing the point. It’s not TV vs. the Internet. It’s TV and the Internet.
Google TV has already showcased this–they are putting together the best of the the Internet and TV into one seamless interface. They aren’t trying to limit what can be viewed, either. Google TV will open up the full Internet, with its Chrome browser that supports Adobe Flash.
Google’s vision seems to make sense, even though it is an untested consumer product. The Internet is all about on-demand content. It’s also especially great at breaking up content into smaller pieces, like news clips, TV shows or anything other is posted on YouTube. So putting together on-demand (Internet) with live shows (regular TV) is a great way to round out the next-generation TV.
In the future, the Internet can be used as a delivery platform for on-demand TV content. Today, the Internet is already being used by many people to watch YouTube, NetFlix, Amazon, iTunes and Blockbuster. And for live shows, like breaking news, sports and live reality shows, TV still works great.
Think about it: The Internet isn’t great for live content. Where do you go first when you hear of a breaking news story and want to watch a live video feed? Your trusty TV.
Where do you go when you want to watch TV on your own time? Or watch clips? You go on the Internet and watch a clip on Huffington Post. Or perhaps go to ABC.com or Netflix and watch something on-demand.
Mark Cuban said recently: “The future of television is television.”
My response: “The future of television is Internet-connected television.”
So let’s not fight about TV vs. the Internet. They aren’t competing against each other. They’re just trying to find a great way to work together in a seamless way on your TV set.
Posted in Google, IPTV, Internet video, TV, VOD 
Tags: Boxee, Google, Google TV, HDnet, on demand, SXSW, TV vs. Internet, video on demand, VOD, YouTubeGoogle is reportedly ready to announce its “Google TV” strategy this week during their I/O 2010 event in San Francisco. I wish I could be there to ask some questions, but it seems like it’s made for developers primarily.
The most interesting things to glean from reports this week is that Google is working with Intel and Sony. What this means is that the solution will be built into the TV, I believe. Since they did not mention a set-top box vendor, it seems that they are first starting out with Connected TVs from Sony. Previous news reports indicated that Google might release a set-top box, but I’m guessing it’s more of a platform. They would have to partner with a set-top box vendor in order to make the box and help sell it in retail.
I guess Google TV is going after a few different distribution methods. At its core, Google TV will be about a platform for TV. Interactive TV. Or what they call Smart TV. Google wouldn’t be in the space if it didn’t want to play in a big way. Other companies to look out for in the TV space include Apple and Microsoft.
First, Apple. Sure its Apple TV box hasn’t received great reviews, and has been relegated to a hobby, but don’t rule out Steve Jobs yet. After taking over the mobile market and redefining the tablet market, Apple has a lot to gain going after a TV platform strategy. Apple already has content deals with Hollywood. And who else sells more TV and movie content online than Apple? Surely not Amazon or Blockbuster. Apple already has iTunes and thousands of apps. It seems like just a matter of time before Apple goes all in on TV.
Next, is Microsoft. You may be wondering, what is their strategy with TV? Well, Microsoft has actually been involved with interactive TV for a long time. In fact, its Mediaroom IPTV solution is number 1 in the world based on number of active subscribers using the system. Microsoft has created an interactive TV platform that is popular with users and IPTV Operators but tends to be more expensive than other IPTV solutions. Microsoft unveiled Mediaroom 2.0 with support for Over-the-top video in order to deliver TV to Xbox 360s, PCs and Windows smartphones.
Overall, I really have some high hopes for Google’s announcements tomorrow. Here’s my dream list:
In sum, I want Google TV to be the perfect all-in-one solution for Internet video and movie services. It should an over the air tuner, hard drive, Wi-Fi and lots more. Can Google deliver?
A few days ago, I ran across an article that showed off the world’ first Google TV set, made by People of Lava a Swedish firm. It is an Android-based TV that comes with everything available for Android like all of its apps. Of course, it also has all the latest Google properties like YouTube, Weather, and Google Maps.
People of Lava's Scandinavian TV
In addition, People of Lava said they have integrated other TV apps like Twitter and Facebook. There’s also the full Internet experience via a web browser (using WebKit).
The Google TV comes with a wireless keyboard and pointer mouse, USB, and an Ethernet port to connect to the Internet. (A wireless option is available through a dongle connected to the USB.)
The biggest downside is that it’s not available yet, and there’s no information on when it’s coming. At this point, it seems more like a proof of concept than a real product. Crunch Gear says that the 42″ TV will sell for about $2,500, but I couldn’t find any other pricing info.
Nevertheless this is an important step. Putting Android/Google on the TV may actually work. Android’s market share in the mobile space is increasing rapidly in the last few months, so that would translate to the TV platform. That means that developers don’t have to code new apps for the TV. Out of the box, Google-enabled TV sets can use Android applications.
All the buzz in the IPTV world now is interactive platforms. Vendors are desperately trying to replicate the success that Apple has had with its iTunes app store. Many have released their own app store platforms (Accedo, Verizon and others) and other IPTV middleware vendors have begun to open up their APIs so third party developers can start creating apps.
Right now it’s too early to know who will win in the TV app space. There are no standards out there and too many options.
Just a few days ago, I tried to access my YouTube favorites on my Tivo HD and found that it works again. I can log-in and see all my favorites. I wonder if this had something to do with YouTube’s recent redesign. Or maybe Tivo sent out a software update.
Either way, I’m glad that it’s working again. Unfortunately, my YouTube playlist still don’t appear. I get a message saying that the playlist is empty, when I know that I have a few dozen music videos saved on it.
Another downside, which I haven’t mentioned previously, is that the YouTube favorites don’t go back very far. I can only access about 40 of the most recent videos I’ve favorited. I actually have closer to 400 favorites. So it’s frustrating not to be able to see all of YouTube on my TV–I don’t want a hobbled version. I want the real three screen YouTube experience.
YouTube on Tivo isn’t perfect, but at least I can go back to accessing my favorites. Perhaps I’ll have to wait until Google TV to get all of YouTube on my TV.
On Thursday, I went down to downtown San Francisco to take a look at Panasonic’s traveling road show. They were demonstrating new 3-D TV sets, and the new Viera Cast Internet-connected TVs.
I was very impressed with the quality of the 3-D but my main interest was in Viera Cast, which allows viewers to access YouTube, NetFlix, Picasa and other sites from their TV sets.
What are Internet connected TVs? Simply put, they are TV sets that can connect directly to the Internet (via an Ethernet port or even Wi-Fi) and access certain web sites or even applications. Sony, HP and others already have this in their line of TVs. And no doubt all TV manufacturers will have connected TVs in their product portfolio.
Although 3-D TV may make the most headlines and have consumer appeal, I think the real story is with connected TVs.
As this website said:
“Would you rather see an AVATAR in 3D at home…than have your home TV connected wirelessly to 1500 apps that feed your home network?”
At the demo I saw last week, in order to access the Internet content users just have to press a button on their remote control and the Viera Cast home page pops up. Sadly, the demo wasn’t live (no Internet connection!) so all I saw was recorded demos. But the most interesting app available on Viera Cast was Skype. I saw a quick video of what it looks like, and I was excited at the possibilities. Skype on an HDTV really does look like The Jetsons.
Users just need to buy a USB camera, and connect it to the back of the TV set and then start up Skype. Apparently, Skype works just like on your computer–free calls to other Skype users and charges for calls to mobile or landlines. However if you have a Skype subscription, this can be a great way to stay in touch with far-away family.
The downside about Panasonic’s connected TV is that it doesn’t come with built-in Wi-Fi. You have to buy a separate USB dongle that connects to the back of the TV. Having just an Ethernet port is OK, but I think consumers don’t want to lay out Ethernet cable into their living rooms. I think cost of Wi-Fi chips may be one barrier, but they shouldn’t add too much to the cost of an already expensive TV set.
Hitting that Viera Cast button on the remote was easy and using the apps was intuitive. These are important considerations when it comes to TVs, since everyone just wants something you can turn on and use without a manual.
You may not have heard or seen of Connected TVs, but I think that they will be included with most, if not all, of TV sold in the next few years. Last year, iSuppli predicted that Internet Connected TV sales would grow sixfold by 2013, from 14.7 million in 2009 to 87.6 million by 2013. I haven’t done any research into this area but if all TV manufacturers have Connected TV capabilites in the future, then this forecast seems reasonable.
Consumer electronic manufacturers are also putting Internet connectivity inside Blu-Ray DVD players, but I don’t think this will be a popular way to get to the Internet. Blu-Ray hardware and DVD sales have been slow, mostly because of the popularity of Internet content.
I think there will be a big battleground for these Internet connected TVs. These TV manufacturers are clearly trying to replicate the popularity of the Apple iTunes ecosystem on the TV. But there are many companies, including Yahoo, Microsoft and even Google preparing to battle for the connected living room.
If Apple can dust off the disappointment of its Apple TV product, and release a compelling living room solution, they already have a huge headstart.
Posted in Apple, Blu-Ray, HDTV, Home Networking Tags: Apple, Apple TV, Google TV, Panasonic, Viera Cast
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