• eddstarr88
    • 1 year 9 months ago
    • Posts: 6887
    		 The days of Cable vs. Satellite vs. Over-the-air may be numbered.

    Yes, there's a battle going on for the next direction to internet television and the players are the usual corporate giants that may not have everyone's best interest in mind.



    One development from last year is AEREO.
    Aereo is an antenna that converts over-the-air signals to digital, then feeds that signal to any online gadget - from smart phones to flatscreen TVs. Aereo prices are lower than most cable system bundled offerings and you can select only the content you want to watch.




    Another new player is Intel. There plan is for internet TV to be fully interactive TV. Intel is making deals with content providers and I'm guessing that prices will be higher than Aereo.

    Intel on The Verge...



    So how much money are you prepared to spend for entertainment? Will there still be a place for watching TV that doesn't watch you back?
    The Eldorado is dead. Long live the Eldorado.
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    • bassman21
      • 1 year 9 months ago
      • Posts: 4553
      		 I don't think it will ever take over. Over the air signals are too sporadic and often times require a large antenna high in the air. I get customers everyday that want to switch to satellite because they can't get reliable reception with an off air antenna. Most apartment and many HOA's will not allow a large TV antenna. In the country it can be an issue with distance. In the city it can be an issue with multipath signals from things like buildings. We used to see multipath as ghost images or bars in the analog days. Today it causes tiling and picture freezing.
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      • stake n sheak
        • 1 year 9 months ago
        • Posts: 1774
        bassman21 wrote:
        We used to see multipath as ghost images or bars in the analog days. Today it causes tiling and picture freezing.

        This is what pisses me off. When the digital signal is good, it looks 10x better than analog. But when the signal is distorted, it's 1000x worse.

        But this isn't about OTA. The first product involves it but this is more about internet. And with that I think it will catch on. After all, the conventional players are already doing it. AT&T's U-verse and Comcast's Xfinity both use internet protocol to deliver their television signals as well as phone. What they're not doing is taking advantage of that to offer new or differentiated content. What can really be done with that? I don't know now. But Intel is providing a tech platform that others will be able to use for whatever crazy stuff they can come up with. This could be neat.

        Or it could be boring. "Interactive" sounds nice but to tailor program offerings to who's in the room? No thanks. Recommendation engines have yet to do anything that looks useful to me. And of course, I'm not interested in custom advertising. Although, I would like the option to say, "don't show me any car commercials!"

        I have a feeling in 10 or 20 years, the difference to today will be pretty wild. But getting there will be gradual and we won't notice along the way until the history books tell the kids how flat and one-way TV used to be.
        tangspot2 wrote:
        Mrs. stake you say some nasty on my threads. Dirty bitch
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        • stake n sheak
          • 1 year 9 months ago
          • Posts: 1774
          		 One thing I would hope to see happen with this is the extension of the long tail. We should start seeing even more niche content in various subjects and formats. For instance, with computers, episodic content can already be divorced from the requirement of the half hour (or multiples thereof) running time and hard time slots. Maybe it will become easier for shows like The Edge of Farming (of which each episode is about four minutes) to be more accessible on "TV" instead of just "the internet". And the on-demand model of delivery will obviously benefit, too. With those aspects, maybe television can become truly interactive and we will start seeing user generated content grow even more. Again, it's already all over computers. But when the space of UGC can extend more easily for more people into the living room, it will.

          Ultimately I expect this to grow into a simple case of every TV having a stripped-down computer bolted to it, as disappointing and simultaneously promising as every "small future" development like those we discussed in the Jetsons turn 50 thread. I like my dedicated devices, but everything is moving more towards integration, and all devices doing all things. Televisions are already coming with Facebook and Angry Birds built in. I feel this benefits companies more than consumers.

          One thing that could really make it more interesting for me, is the appearance of a completely new interface for viewing (and creating) media. What will this look like? The computers in Minority Report, perhaps. And what about the corporate landscape? Will we be able to break away from 5 big companies controlling 90% of media?
          tangspot2 wrote:
          Mrs. stake you say some nasty on my threads. Dirty bitch
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          • eddstarr88
            • 1 year 9 months ago
            • Posts: 6887
            		 My dream of "free" TV is over.

            All the old stuff I've enjoyed talking about on RJ from the last 50 years of my life cost me nothing, (not counting the purchase price of the TV and the electric bills, lol).

            The future of TV seems tied to the internet but I don't want corporate ads taking a hit from my bank account every 10 minutes. And I don't want a "smart TV" watching me just to sell junk.

            Every new development costs too much. Wish I was made of money, maybe.
            The Eldorado is dead. Long live the Eldorado.
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            • bassman21
              • 1 year 9 months ago
              • Posts: 4553
              		 One thing that might hurt the future on television over the internet is ISP's limiting how much we can download. Most internet providers including those that advertise "unlimited" allow no more than 250 gigs a month. If you go over this they will charge extra, cap your speed or threaten to cancel your service. 250 gigs is a lot, but if a family of 4 is streaming TV everyday it can become an issue.

              Some things I would like to see is live chat on TV and movies, access to the IMDB/TV.com through our TV (linked to the show) and the ability to automatically record a movie or TV show with an undetermined air date. On Demand with every TV show and movie is my ultimate dream, but there is too much legal bullshit for that to happen anytime soon. Right now youtube is our best source, but so much gets deleted. I mean I can understand if this content is available on another website, but more often it isn't. They have gotten really good with music and even movies being readily available, but hopefully TV shows will be next.
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              • eddstarr88
                • 1 year 9 months ago
                • Posts: 6887
                		 Ya know, there are a lot of players in the entertainment biz and they all seem to want to know all about us - as viewers. That's all we need is content tailored to our income and zip code. That will be the end of me.

                I like your vision Billy, the ability to access IMDb as a viewing companion with links to actors/directors/producers for supplemental content, if you like.

                But the future of TV seems to be shaping up to be just another money grab.
                The Eldorado is dead. Long live the Eldorado.
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