The Next Big Tech Battleground: the TV
Linked by Eugenia Loli on Sun 18th Jul 2010 09:32 UTC
Multimedia, AV I'm a couch potato. There, I've said it. I love sitting down and watching sci-fi movies, like any good geek would. And this is an (almost religious) action that hasn't changed for many, many, years. But I feel that we're in for a surprise soon. The way we watch TV and access content is about to change. TV watching will at last arrive into the 21st Century, and the technology giants will be there to duke it out for the reins of this new industry.
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by JayDee on Mon 19th Jul 2010 02:28 UTC
JayDee
Member since:
2009-06-02

Mr Jobs has a good point. The cable and satellite companies own the TV experience and won't let anyone take it from them.


Actually from what I understand, Google TV works with your current TV provider. They even have a partnership with Dish Network which allows the Google TV box to directly control your DishNet receiver. To me, GoogleTV will be almost like a TiVo box on steroids.

Each TV manufacturer must include with every new TV model shipped this small (standard, upgradeable?) hardware piece that also has a network-upgradeable firmware.


Not all customers are interested in having internet connectivity in their TV's. I see this everyday at work. Some customers come in and pick the cheapest TV they can get. They don't care that for $150 to $200 more, they can get the ones with the additional features.

The software included must be compatible with all the other new TVs in the market. And it must run applications -- similar, if not exactly the same, to the ones you can find on your smartphone. The reason why all TVs must run the same platform is that if each manufacturer goes with their own incompatible implementation this will never take off. You can't have AIM with video support via your TV's webcam on one TV, with only MSN Messenger support on another TV.


Very good point. This would also increase the number of available applications for the consumers. Samsung, for example, has an app store for their TV's and Blu-Ray players however the number of available apps is very low.


Of course, the two front-runners for this revolution are Apple with their iOS operating system, and Google with GoogleTV/Android.


I highly doubt Steve Jobs will license iOS to TV manufacturers. He would probably prefer to create his own brand.


But I personally believe that for either company to get ahead they must ditch "the box".


I believe from a consumer point of view, the box is the best way to stay up to date with the technology. A consumer is more likely to change the box than the TV as most people rarely change their TV sets.

People don't want to buy yet another box (aside their PS3, XBoX, Wii, AppleTV, WD TV, TiVo, Comcast etc.) to shove it somewhere in their living room too. What people want is something that comes with the TV and works out of the box.


Most new Blu-Ray players have internet connectivity nowadays. I am sure Sony will add Google TV to it's players very soon. This is one box that will not be seen as an extra box as TV's with included BD players are very rare.

People don't want to think in terms of "a box that's separate from Comcast's". They want to think in terms of "I don't need Comcast anymore, my TV can do miracles and serve me the content I want, all by itself".


The point of Google TV is to supplement traditional media with the internet, not replace it. Although you could if you wanted to.

Sure, people don't buy new TVs often, so baking the hardware/software solution inside an HDTV will make the whole idea more difficult to take off


I rather prefer Google's choice to give the user more options. It will become available integrated in Sony TV's and BD Players as well as Logitech boxes. As more people become accustomed to the system, your idea of including it into every TV will be easier but for now, not all customers will appreciate the additional cost.

The reason I decided to respond is because, although I like your ideas, I don't think they are feasible for the moment. Some customers just want to watch OTA television and don't even own computers, let alone have access to the internet (Although this could also be because my store is near a retirement community). These are the same people who don't see the advantage of LED vs LCD, believe in all the misconceptions of Plasma TV's, don't like the idea of paying extra for 3D or Internet Connectivity. Forcing that system on them would be a tough sell.

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