The Lure of Internet TV

• Get programming when you want it.
• Fast forward to the spots you're interested in and skip ads
• Don't have to make trips to the Video store

TV is big business. How will the financial model change. Today's model:

Internet TV

• More choices -> fewer viewers per program -> Ads worth less.
  However, lower ad costs will allow smaller companies to advertise.
• Instead of one fee for your Cable TV company you will have more providers (Netflix, amazon, hulu, ...). More choices means it will be more difficult to pick the best. If there are some things on each you want, will you end up paying more? I.e. nickel and dimed to death. It may be worth it for the convenience of on demand viewing. (Pull vs Push)
• Cable companies, which are charging you for TV and Internet now may limit bandwidth (Maximum Gb per month) and charge more for people who have dropped TV and using more Internet bandwidth for things like movies.
  See Netflix is a bandwidth hog. Who will pay? (Hint: You.) at Money.cnn.com Nov. 2010

Streaming Internet Audio/Video to your TV

At "Is it time to cut the cord on cable TV?" USA TODAY 1/3/2011, they say:
Most of the content legally available on the Web now is old, requires a subscription or rental fee or comes from broadcasters who already also offer their shows for free.

• Apple last fall relaunched its Apple TV box, which feeds Internet video to the electronic hearth. The company's now cutting deals with studios including Disney and Fox for Apple's iTunes to rent episodes of some recent TV shows for 99 cents apiece.

• Google has introduced Google TV, a service that helps people find TV programming on the Web, including videos on Google's YouTube. The major networks are blocking their shows from Google TV, at least for now.

• Netflix and Hulu are signing agreements with studios and program producers as the two vie to become the Web's leading subscription service for streamed movies and TV shows.

"Somebody who uses Apple TV only could be spending easily $100 to $120 a month just (renting shows) for a few hours a day," says TiVo CEO Tom Rogers. That's why most people who are attracted to Web TV think of it "not as a substitute, but as a supplement" to pay TV.

Cable companies say that if they begin to lose pay TV subscriptions, they'd probably have to charge more for broadband.

Above are excerpts see the whole article.

At "How to Ditch Your Cable Provider Without Giving Up on TV" - Popular Mechanics, May, 2009 they say:
Most major networks and cable channels offer a deep reservoir of content that can be streamed over the Internet. CNN's site posts video feeds of breaking news, and ESPN has partnerships with various Internet providers around the country to offer its ESPN360 live sports streaming service. New episodes of popular TV shows such as Lost and 24 are usually up on network sites within a day. NBC and Fox have teamed up to create the site hulu.com, which has so many shows and movies available for streaming that it is beginning to resemble a separate network itself.

There are several ways to get Internet video onto your TV.
1. Many new HD TVs have direct Internet connections. However applications have been reported to be sluggish because of underpowered processors.
2. Some new computers are coming with HDMI outputs to connect to TV.
3. Most new Blu-Ray disk players are coming with Internet access.
4. There are also several stand alone Internet to TV boxes.
Note: This was prepared the first week in Jan. 2011. Many new announcements in this area are expected at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas starting Jan 6.

Dec. 2010

Blu-Ray Disc players (See Blu-Ray in products for price and other specs)
Most of these likely correspond the services on the HDTVs with Internet from the same manufacturers.
Sony BDP-S570	x	x	x	x		x	x	x	x
LG BD550	x		x	x	x					x	x	x
LG BD590	x		x	x	x					x	x	x
Samsung BD-C6900	x	1.	x	x	x								x
Panasonic DMP-BD85	x		x
Sony NSZ-GT1	x		x	x
LG BD570	x			x
Sony NSZ-GT1	x		x	x										x
Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3)	x	x	x	x		x								x

1. Hulu Plus available via Samsung Apps
Note Hulu Plus was relatively new at the end of 2010, so there may be new deals.

See Netflix vs Hulu Plus below
See demo for Hulu Plus on Roku at hulu.com/plus#devices
and www.hulu.com/watch/193798/hulu-walkthrough-hulu-plus-on-roku

Other Services:

Web Video:
YouTube
vimeo (video sharing)
Revision3 (Technology, news, culture, movies)

Pictures:
flickr | picasa
Facebook photos

Music:
Pandora
Napster: Samsung TVs
Sony BMG Myplay Sony

Other:
Weather Underground
Skype: Phone Panasonic, Samsung.

Stand alone set-top boxes
Box	Price	CNet score	wi- fi							Other
Roku XDS *	$100	4	y	x	x	(1)	x	x	x
Apple TV	$99	3.5	y	x		x			x	720P only
Sony Network Media Player SMP-N100	$125	3.5	y	x	x	x		x		slacker
Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3)	$325	4	B/G	x	x	x	x	x		Web browser, Blu-ray player
Microsoft Xbox 360	$150	3.5	ad	x
Nintendo Nintendo Wii	$200		y	x						no HD or HMDI
TiVo Premiere	$299		y	x		x	x	x		Blockbuster
WDTV Live Plus	$149	3.5	y	x		x	x		x
Boxee Box	$199	3	y	x	x	x	x		x	QWERTY remote2, web browser
Logitech Revue	$300	3	y	x	x					QWERTY remote, web browser GoogleTV

Xbox LIVE provides movies and some sports events from ESPN.

Some companies have names for their Internet TV architecture (software/firmware) in devices like their HD TVs and Blu-Ray players. e.g. BRAVIA® (Sony) and NetCast™ (LG), Viera Cast (Panasonic). These should not be confused with services like Netflix and Hulu.

1. Apparently there is a way to get YouTube on the Roku, but it is not as straightforward as others.
2. QWERTY - A standard computer style keyboard.

See:
digitaltrends.com
Google TV vs. Boxee vs. Roku vs. Apple TV - Internet TV Devices Compared

Mobile Devices
Apple iPhone
Apple iPad
Apple iPod touch
ANdroid Phones (comming)

PlayOn - PlayOn is software that you install on your Windows PC. It allows you to use your Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, iPad or other supported device to access feeds from content providers like Hulu, Netflix, Comedy Central, CBS, YouTube, MLB.tv, your personal media, and more. PlayOn is both browser and media server software, built into one.

Five Best Sites to Stream TV at LifeHacker.com
Hulu, SurfThe Channel, SideReel

The Best Websites to Watch Streaming TV Shows, TV Series and Movies - woorkup.com
Hulu, TVGorge, FanCast, CastTV

Streaming 1080p HD video takes 15-28Mbps. A hard wired wireless-G router will be good, but for wireless you may need a dual band Wireless-N router.
See: Wireless Networking bandwidth - configuration

BRAVIA® (Best Resolution Audio Visual Integrated Architecture) - A sony name for it's high-definition LCD televisions, projection TVs and front projectors and for the PlayStation 3. It is also a service allowing internet TV thru the Internet. Sony also has a BRAVIA box ($200) that allows non-BRAVIA ready TV's to use the Internet TV service

DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance)
It defines a standard for moving movies, photos, music and other media from device to device. DLNA servers can store media in one location, and, without any setup or configuration, can stream the media to DLNA compliant players,

Dolby AC3 - AC3 (Audio Codec 3, Advanced Codec 3, Acoustic Coder 3)
Allows 5.1 channel output.

DTS - DTS is a series of multichannel audio technologies owned by DTS (Digital Theater Systems), Inc
DTS-HD is high resolution audio. See Blu-ray Audio Codecs Explained.

DSP/ASSP - Digital Signal Processing / Audio-Specific Signal Processor (or Application-specific standard products). Used with a CODEC to decode digital audio.

EDID - Extended display identification data - A data structure provided by a digital display to describe its capabilities to a video source (e.g. graphics card, Set-top box).

GTV - Google TV
Brings Android, Chrome, and Flash to your TV with devices running the android OS controled by a full keyboard.
As of December 2010 the Sony NSZ-GT1 and Logitech Revue were the only devices supporting GTV.
A Dec. 2010 Wall Street Journal article says that due to bad reviews, google has asked hardware companies to put off announcing new products until a new version of the software is available.

HDMI - (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) - The standard specification for cables connecting your player, network, computer or cable service to your screen (HDTV or digital PC monitor) or Home Theater System.
Has audio and video.
HDMI cables with ethernet are now available for about the same price and work even if you are not using ethernet. Future interfaces may require it.

LPCM - Linear pulse-code modulation - Digital Audio encoding common on Blu-Ray discs.
An upgrade to Dolby Digital and DTS audio used with DVDs.
See Blu-ray Audio Codecs Explained.

make.believe - a new Group-wide brand message that unites Sony's communication initiatives across electronics, games, movies, music, mobile phones and network services.

NetCast - LG's architecture for Internet TV

VOD - Video on Demand (Amazon)

Articles:
"How to Ditch Your Cable Provider Without Giving Up on TV" - Popular Mechanics, May, 2009
What You Need to Know When Buying a Web-Connected TV | Product Reviews | Wired.com November 23, 2010
"Is it time to cut the cord on cable TV?" USA TODAY 1/3/2011
Searching for the Future of Television MIT Technology review Jan/Feb 2011

Links:
Blu-Ray Disk Players
Dual band Wireless-N routers.
See: Wireless Networking bandwidth - configuration
Internet-tv at TVnewsRadio.com
Why the Future of Online Video Is in Serious Trouble [OP-ED]
"Is it time to cut the cord on cable TV?" USA TODAY 1/3/2011
HD Media Player Battlemodo: Apple TV Killers
roku - Gizmodo (11/17/10)
Video Box Battle Royale: Who Should Be Your TV's New Best Friend? (9/28/10)
What the hell is going on with TV? - Fortune Tech
Sources for TV Over the Internet | eHow.com