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.
However, before Internet TV goes mainstream, two things must happen:
1. The quality of the video must improve.
Apple TV's current video picture is grainy and nearly unwatchable. It's a total embarrassment and it should disturb a company with Apple's reputation for quality. I'm told that Sony's Bravia Link will look better, but we'll see.
2. The Internet TV feature must be part of the consumer's existing TV service
This one is critical. Americans have set-top fatigue and they are not going to the store to buy yet another one just so they can watch a short video from the Internet on their TVs.
Now, I realize that both Sony and Apple will say their devices are not really set-tops. But it is in the mind of the consumer. It's another device that he/she has to connect to an already crowded back of the television. (Or, in the case of Apple TV, the consumer has to set it up somewhere near the TV so he/she can send the files from the PC to the TV.)
It's too much to ask people to do -- not to mention asking them for $300 to do it.
When Internet TV is a seamless service offered by your cable or satellite operator for a monthly fee (and no upfront equipment cost), it will begin to generate a serious audience in this country.
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Phillip Swann is
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