[opendtv] Re: Valve's Newell: How PCs Will Take Over the Living Room

  • From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2013 08:57:54 -0500

At 9:48 PM +0000 2/18/13, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:

Craig Birkmaier wrote:


 Correct. But only a few are using a PC to access this content.
Only because the Apples, the Intels, the Rokus, the Sonys, the LGs of the world are forcing this inane state of affairs, right? It's hardly difficult to design a proper Internet TV device. And to keep it costing much less than something which embeds a complete PC. 

Forcing?

Don't you know that Apple TV is just a hobby?

;-)
No Bert, these companies are not forcing anything. They are providing a low cost way to stream content from the Internet to a TV. As you say, it is not difficult to design a low cost device to do this. A PC is neither low cost, easy to use, or secure in this environment. I would agree that the current capabilities of these devices is limited; as is the content that they are allowed to access. 


 > Not sure where this 1980 thing is coming from. I guess you are referring

 to the archaic UI for most TVs.
Not at all. I'm referring to the fact that "everyone" seems to assume you need dedicated hardware to get rights to content. Still today, when we're talking Internet distribution of TV content. Look how Intel and Apple get the BS hype from the trade press. Everyone fawning over these companies, waiting for a messiah to deliver them from their shackled misery. 

"everyone" seems to assume you need dedicated hardware to get rights to content

Really?
How is is that virtually ALL of these boxes work with Netflix and Hulu (or Hulu Plus). Neither of these portals have a dedicated device? And were you aware that you can also access iTunes from the PC connected to your TV and rent/buy commercial free content?
What everyone is waiting for is the ability to pay only for the content they want, and a UI for the TV that makes everything in our connected world work together in a seamless manner.
In case it's not obvious yet, the congloms can easily retain their dual revenue streams without having to depend on colluding with hardware companies or with the old proprietary MVPD model. What's more, the congloms show signs of knowing this, and yet the trade press is still hyping up hardware company/TV studio collusion as the necessary solution.
Yes, it is quite possible that the congloms will simply go direct, bypassing the MVPDs and all of the portals they are selling content to today. The only catch is that they need to collude with one another to make all of this seamless. Which is what the analyst encouraging us to invest in the congloms was predicting. 

Regards
Craig


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