TiVo and DirecTV extend deal
Satellite provider DirecTV and PVR-manufacturer TiVo extend their commercial agreement for three years.
The agreement will allow existing DirecTV customers using the TiVo digital video recorder to continue to receive maintenance and support from DirecTV. As part of the agreement, TiVo and DirecTV also said they wouldn’t sue each other over patent rights.
News, though, is that TiVo is on the losing end of the deal, as DirecTV is not likely to license any TiVo-owned material. Also, TiVo’s DirecTV customer base is dwindling at a rapid rate. Pretty soon, I would think PVRs would be best coupled with Video-on-Demand systems, and not to store/record pre-programmed cable/satellite shows like with TiVo’s present deal with DirecTV. A new business model and concept is needed, perhaps?
ABC to offer shows online
Related to our earlier post on Disney’s publishing video content online, ABC.com is likewise about to launch a new version of its website, where readers can view shows online. Akin to Disney’s system, ABC will publish its archives, and shows will be available the morning after broadcast. Shows are ad-supported, and users have a choice of plain ol’ ads or the more interactive ones.
Do note that the Disney and ABC websites are both published under the “go.com” banner, which is a web portal owned by the Walt Disney Internet Group, and contains content from ABC News, ESPN, Movies.com and Familyfun.com.
A new version of ABC.com will launch April 30, featuring episodes of several popular shows that users can watch online. They’ll be able to pause, fast-forward and rewind — but won’t be able to skip the three built-in ad breaks. They will, however, be able to choose if they want to see a normal video ad, or a more interactive one, like a game. Shows will be available the morning after they’ve aired, and eventually ABC will store archives of episodes so users can watch an entire season.
Of course, this is still a step behind IPTV–as this is more aptly considered under “Web video.” But it’s a good step towards eventually showing everything via the Internet.
Disney to offer free TV shows on the Internet
Disney Entertainment has announced that it will offer certain titles in its lineup of popular TV shows on the Internet for free. The two-month trial will involve shows such as Desperate Housewives, Lost, and in the following months, Commander in Chief and Alias, which have cult followings in traditional TV. While Disney already has deals with other online distribution outfits, such as on Apple’s iTunes Store (versions for the iPod video are available for download), the company intends to venture into other revenue and distribution models.
The shows will be available for viewing/downloading on the Web a day after broadcast on the ABC network. Archives will be available, so that viewers can watch past episodes of the shows. However, users might be disappointed with the inclusion of advertisements, which cannot be skipped nor deleted. Also, viewers outside of the US will be unablet to access the shows online due to copyright restrictions–in some countries, Disney either licenses out the rights to some shows to other companies, or do not own the rights to shows that it puts up on its cable and TV networks in the States.
Along the lines of this new venture, Disney is also launching Soapnetic, a high-speed Internet TV service, on April 17th, for Verizon broadband subscribers.
Freeview in a thumb-sized package
The Inquirer reviews the MSI Mega Sky 580 USB TV Tuner. The tuner basically lets your desktop or laptop computer receive freeview television signals. The USB tuner comes with the Presto PVR software that lets you record shows at programmed times. The included software also has a plethora of features, such as screen capture, picture-in-picture, and even HDTV support. You’d need at least a Pentium 4 processor running at 2 GHz or better to enjoy decent resolution and framerates. And if you want to watch and record into the PVR simultaneously, the Inquirer recommends a dual-core processor.
A very worthy nifty gadget, which comes just on time for the world cup. Pick them up before they are gone. I sincerely hope that MSI has more than enough in stock. Watching goals on your computer while working might not be work efficient but at least, you will be at your desk, not in the company canteen. But for it to gather more marks, I thoroughly expect the next Mega Sky to solve some of the problems I have encountered and to offer more functionality, even if it means a higher price.
SmartPhone with Free TV reception
Here’s something for our friends addicted to watching TV. The Modeo DVB-H is a SmartPhone capable of receiving and displaying free TV signals.
Modeo, the US company evangelising the DVB-H digital TV standard Stateside, is to offer a Windows Mobile 5-based smart phone capable of receiving and displaying such broadcasts. The handset, manufactured by Taiwan’s HTC, will go on sale in the second half of the year, the company announced yesterday.
The phone contains an Nvidia GoForce 5500 graphics processing chip, to be able to display the digital DVB-H broadcasts. Modeo doesn’t indicate in the spec sheets whether the phone is able to save shows onto memory, though.
UK’s BSkyB to offer broadband
British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) has announced plans to go into the broadband business, thereby raising speculations that it will be offering television content via IPTV.
Aiming to take on market leaders BT, AOL, Wanadoo and NTL, the broadcaster said it would be launching the service in the second half of this year.
Responding to press speculation that it will be offering cut-price deals, BSkyB said it was not giving out any pricing details at this stage.
The company has not yet confirmed, though, whether it intends to offer IPTV, but given today’s trends in digital TV and content distribution, this is very much likely.
Skipping commercials is good for advertisers
Techdirt reports on various studies on behaviors and information retention related to televiewers skipping commercials, particularly those who own digital video recorders, such as the popular TiVo. It’s a widely-accepted practice to fast-forward through advertisements, but one study seems to conclude that DVR owners seem to remember advertisements as much as those that watch free TV. This must be because of the subliminal effect of having to watch a commercial zip through your eyes in fast-forward, or perhaps the concentration required in scanning the scenes being fast-forwarded to the start of the actual show itself.
Is Web Video the Future of TV?
CNN reports on the merging of the Internet and TV, and concludes that we’re nearing a point where the preferred mode of distribution for video content would be over the Web–it’s nothing like how it was imagined in the early dot-com days of the 1990’s.
From independent producers like Mondo Media to big media companies like MTV, and even kids who post videos on community sites like YouTube.com, the World Wide Web is becoming a sort of worldwide TV network for audiences seeking offbeat entertainment not shown on mainstream television.
… this new wave of Web video is fueled by the rising number of people with high-speed Internet access which makes video watchable on PCs. Moreover, younger audiences are increasingly accustomed to watching video on PCs and laptops.
I’m personally not too optimistic about this all. I just don’t get why some people are so enthusiastic about being able to view videos on the Web. In reality, it’s really crappy and slow, no matter the speed of your broadband connection or your computer’s processor. And then there’s no really interesting content people would want to watch, unless you’re a techie (think DIGGnation, Digital Life TV, TWiT). It’s like that because there is still no standard means by which video content can be delivered via the Web.
There are early attempts at compressing videos good enough for Internet delivery, such as the .H264 MPEG-4 standard. But until these protocols and standards are finalized, and all video-producing websites adopt the standards, then we’ll be stuck with a hodgepodge of different technologies. This means one website will offer different quality and speeds as compared to another. And most sites just offer crappy Flash or Swf versions of videos at very small resolutions with very low refresh/FPS rates.
As for content distribution, the mainstream media people are still, well, for mainstream media. There isn’t much of a business model from Internet video content, anyway, at this point. Consider that not everyone has broadband access, and that not everyone is keen on watching shows online. We still haven’t hit that sweet spot in the convergence between home entertainment and computing. So people would rather watch videos and shows on their television sets, and not on their computer screens. There’s the cool factor of video-on-demand, of course, but showing crappy 5-minute imagery on your computer would prove to be very uncomfortable. I’m a geek, and I love tech podcasts, but I seldom have the patience to download high-quality video versions (takes half a day in my speeds). What more if I were just your everyday, ordinary person?
To me, the point when the Web has turned into a world-wide TV network is when most of the civilized world already has IPTV set-top-boxes or IPTV-ready television sets, and could just surf for shows or subscribe to shows on their television sets, right in the comfort of their living rooms. Otherwise, we would just be fooling ourselves with overhyped video-on-Web systems that are likely to be unsustainable.
Majority of Brits unaware of switch to Digital TV
A survey conducted by consumer rights advocacy group Which? has determined that a great majority of televiewers in the UK are unaware of the impending switch to DTV.
Four in ten Britons do not know that the analogue signal will be switched off sometime between 2008 and 2012. Also, only seven per cent of respondents knew what was happening in their area.
This outcome is despite the UK’s having the greatest uptake of digital-ready television sets in the world, with about 70% of households having a compatible unit. However, the status quo is still with most households receiving analogue television signals. This is likely due to the fact that one can only receive digital broadcasts with a set-top box or a digital cable subscription.
I, for one, would think that the average consumer could care less about whether his/her television signal is digital or analogue. What matters to most people is that they get any television signal at all, and that they get good programming. So at this time, unless you’re a TV geek, you’re not likely to appreciate the difference. That is, until high-definition TV services kick in (and providers are abou to start in a few months, with some launching services next week). When digital gives you something more, you’re bound to go for it.
High Def TV available to Sky TV subscribers in UK next week
Good news to Sky TV subscribers who are just itching to get high-def content on their sets. Sky has announced that its high definition service will be available to the public by this coming Wednesday, 12th of April.
Subscribers would have to pay £299 for the set-top box, though, and pay £10 monthly on top of their existing subscription fees. This seems quite expensive, but do remember that the set-top box also has personal video recorder (PVR) functions, particularly featuring a 160GB hard disc for storage. This capacity can save up to 30 hours of high-def content or about 80 hours of standard-definition programming. A 300GB version is rumoured, but no details are available yet.
Of course, it’s assumed you already have an HD-ready television set to enjoy it all!
The Register has a rundown of shows to be shown in HD, particularly those you might want to watch out for (yes, in case you’re a TV junkie or a sci-fi geek), such as:
- Doctor Who Weekend
- Hypnosurgery Live
- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
- Stardate: Mysteries of Venus
- Forensic Detectives
Bring out the popcorn!