[opendtv] Re: Users as Toast: The Blocking of Google TV

  • From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 17 Nov 2010 07:08:13 -0500

At 5:37 PM -0600 11/16/10, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:
I didn't know that the material was also viewable from PCs, so that part works for me. What doesn't work is that, much like other similar platforms, the Apple TV STB is limited to the sites it can use. Same problem our new LG BluRay player has.
If you go to the trouble of making a browser for a TV set or a TV STB, why limit the browser to just a vendor-selected set of web sites? If the device is trying to create a simpler viewer experience, a more clever design would perhaps provide some pre-installed sites (browsers always seem to have their default set of bookmarks set up in PCs too), then allow the owner to change these at will. Would it make the device any more expensive to make? I don't think it would. 

I think Bert needs a little history lesson here.
Apple TV has been a hobby. It has evolved from a variety of hardware and software projects that Apple has engaged in over the years to determine what consumers are looking for in a convergence appliance (i.e. TV and Computer).
Apple TV is sold as an iPod; a device to display the content available through the iTunes store on a widescreen, progressive scan TV. In this respect Berrt could be forgiven for thinking of it as part of Apple's "Walled Garden" ecosystem. It does not provide a browser for surfing the Internet, although the most recent version is capable of running iOS and thus a web browser; these features may be added via a future software upgrade.
If you want an Apple product to connect to your big screen TV that can run a full web browser you should buy a Mac Mini. This is a Mac that is sold without a display, keyboard or mouse. It provides a simple upgrade path for customers with a PC who want to use their existing display, keyboard and mouse. It also works quite well as a Media PC for the big screen, providing an HDMI port that supports up to 1920 x 1080 resolution and digital audio. When connected to a TV you can us a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and/or the new Apple Magic Trackpad.
To the best of my knowledge, the congloms are not blocking content to Mac Minis.
Even before the introduction of Apple TV, Apple provided software for the Mac to allow viewing of content on TVs. All Macs in recent years can provide analog composite and component outputs. Many of these TVs were older interlaced models, so the GUI had to be dumbed down to deal with interlace and the smaller screen sizes. Apple offered software called Front Row, that provided a very simple user interface with large buttons and simple scrolling menus. This software became the basis for the original Apple TV GUI.
Apple TV DOES NOT use a browser interface. The interface is comparable to what you will find on most cable/DBS STBs and remotes. There is a simple remote with a four buttons (up/down right/left) surrounding a select button, a menu button and a play pause button. The on screen graphics are all optimized for the lean back TV viewing experience. The GUI for third party services from the Internet, like You Tube and Netflix, are generated by the Apple TV software; they do not use the browser based interfaces provided by the You Tube and Netflix websites.
Apple TV also supports the viewing of slide shows from connected Macs and PCs, Flickr and MobilMe, and can play video content stored on devices on the in home network. When iOS 4.2 is released it will be possible to stream content from iOS devices to the new $99 Apple TV box.
So at least for now there is little similarity between Apple TV and Google TV, which is a browser based GUI for the big screen TV. That being said, I expect that future software releases will turn the new Apple TV box into a TV web browser that can also run apps like an iPhone or iPad. But it may be better to think of Apple TV as a simple "smart" box to get content onto the big screen, while most of the interaction will take place via iPod Touchs, iPhones and iPad. These devices provide a superior user experience for interactions, and can support applications such as multiplayer games on the big screen. 

Bert asks a very important question:
"If you go to the trouble of making a browser for a TV set or a TV STB, why limit the browser to just a vendor-selected set of web sites?" 

There are several answers to this question.
In the case of Apple TV as it exists today, Apple must create front end software to interpret the data from the website and create a GUI compatible with the simple remote. If Apple decides to put a full browser on Apple TV in the future this issue will be minimized.
In the case of ANY browser running on a big screen TV the current mouse and keyboard interface can be cumbersome and difficult for someone sitting on a sofa or recliner. Many elements of existing web pages do not display well on a big screen TV. You can get around some of these issues by forcing the browser to display text in larger sizes, but the experience is not optimal. This is analogous to what has happened with browsers for mobile devices. Many web servers now detect the capabilities of the device that is requesting a page and deliver an optimized version - this may be a webpage configured for a mobile device, or sending an h.264 encoded video to an iOS device instead of a Flash encoded video. The same thing is likely to happen with devices connected to a big screen TV, especially for web portals that are serving content to those TVs. That is, there will be GUIs that are optimized for the lean back viewing experience.
The issue of access to various websites is primarily a business decision. Clearly the media conglomerates are trying to control how their content is accessed via the Internet. They are somewhat comfortable delivering some of their content to lean forward PCs. But they are scared to death about delivering content to Internet connected TVs. The congloms are blocking access to some devices and demanding that the companies that are developing these product enter into agreements that replicate the walled gardens they now use to deliver content via the MVPDs. 

Bert concludes:
Limiting the box to just an IP stack and a browser, for Internet TV, makes a lot of sense. I'm not sure I understand why limit beyond that, other than to gain control over the buyers.
We agree that a TV should have the same open, unfettered access to the web as any other device. Obviusly the congloms do not share this opinion. And it is also clear that companies like Apple and Google and Sony are trying to create products that optimize the experience of viewing Internet content on a TV. Gaining control over buyers is NOT necessarily a bad thing. It is just good business to create products that consumers desire. It is what companies do AFTER they get control of a market that matters; especially when they dominate a market.
At least for now, I do not view Apple and Google as the bad guys. But I do acknowledge that the potential exists for them to use their market power to grow and maintain that market power. 

Regards
Craig


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