What Internet TV Needs to Succeed
Sony is the latest to offer a device allowing viewers to watch Net video on their High-Definition TVs.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (June 15, 2007) -- Sony yesterday announced that next month it will sell a device that will allow some Sony High-Definition TV owners to watch web videos on the big screen.
The electronics giant will join Apple, TiVo and several other companies aiming to provide Net video on high-def sets.
Both Sony and Apple are correct that Internet video will ultimately become part of the television viewing experience. Many Americans will enjoy having the ability to call up a short video on a multitude of subjects and watch it on the big screen rather than on a PC.
In addition, the Internet's storage capacity is far greater than today's TV set-tops, potentially giving the viewer more programming options.
Swanni, you're absolutely right about this one.
MAny people will like this but they will use things like Comcast On Demand which trounces any of these options.
If and when Apple starts offering HD films for rent on the iTunes store, I will buy an AppleTV in a heartbeat. It's not worth a fraction of what it costs until that happens.
Sorry, but you are wrong about this:
2. The Internet TV feature must be part of the consumer's existing TV service...
Cable TV companies like Comcast have long over-hyped their services and failed to deliver HD content, or even good quality SD channels. HDTV owners are tired of poor customer service and marginal SDTV, unreliable DVR's with remote controls that don't work properly, poor software interfaces, obnoxious volume increases during commercials and junk channels few really want to watch and little HD content, even as prices have spiraled out of control.
Cable has taken its customer base for granted far too long and I believe hundreds of thousand of existing customers, maybe even millions, stand ready to abandon these service in droves just as soon as something better comes along via IPTV and inexpensive boxes like that AppleTV connected to home computer networks. Downloadable movie services and these can "set top boxes" will replace the soon-to-be old-fashioned DVR and allow us to watch content when and where we need it, on multiple devices like iPhones and iPods and notebook computers, and not just that new HDTV. We have ZERO loyalty to Comcast and other companies. Wait and see.
I agree that Apple does need to improve the quality of their downloadable movies, but this will come soon. The company is merely testing and ramping up their infrastructure and delivery system right now. It would be a mistake to think Apple isn't following a master plan.
While your post offers many insights you missed the plot with regard to the big picture. ALL video will be delivered via the internet within the next 3-5 years and it will ALL be free and advertiser supported. The big losers will be the cable and satellite companies unless they play in serving broadband or start up services like Joost. The big winners will be content owners and new peer to peer delivery vehicles like Joost.
Everyone is also wrong about devices like AppleTV, Tivo & Xbox. The companies know the video and service is not up to scratch yet. These boxes are trojan horses designed for the companies to get real world experience in the midst of this media shift. It helpd them position their content and brand to viewers for the future.
I would short all stocks from cable or satellite owners whos main source of income is from subscription, cable TV.
Comcast On Demand is a POS service designed to mask the fact that the company does not have the bandwidth to offer linear HD channels (and will not nationwide until 2009 or 2010). It's mostly cheesy, 4:3 SD content, not HD, and the age of 4:3 is over. Once you purchase an HDTV, you want widescreen and HD content. except of course for those old, classic movies...
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