Connected TV and its implications for you
With the entrance of Google TV, Yahoo! Connected TV and Apple TV, it has never been a more exciting time for the family in their living rooms! And of course brand new opportunities for software developers to exercise their chops.
History
Not more than a century ago in 1925, a scottish inventor by the name of John Logie Baird gave the first public demonstration of televised images in motion at Selfridge's department store in London. Along with many other inventors of his time, they were instrumental to bringing TVs to the masses.
By July 2 1928, the first regularly scheduled television service in the United States began. From 1928 to 1934, home TVs became reality but it was not until after the 2nd world war that demand and sales began skyrocketing.
In the seemingly parallel world of computing, personal computers became popular in the 1970s. In 1974, public access to the internet became available and personal computers can now talk to one another.
From the early 80s, the creation of ever-smaller scales for mechanical, electronic and optical components gave rise to mobile variations of the personal computers - ranging from laptops to PDAs to the modern day smartphones and tablets.
Convergence + Interoperability = Opportunities
In this brand new world of smart phones, laptops and Internet-enabled TVs, the brave will prosper.
The advent of cloud servers and cloud technologies means that a technically competent team of software developers can collaborate with content owners to host and deliver proprietary videos, images and other content on-demand - without worrying about scalability issues initially and focusing on scaling servers and software later on.
Consumers browsing, searching and consuming these content can interact with their TV (ala Web 2.0-style) using apps on mobile devices (phones) as remote controllers and more.
Flingo.tv and Flingo.org (their open source) library is a great example of how laptops and mobile devices could leverage on internet/cloud technologies to seamlessly synchronize content with the 40-inch screen in your living room.
Implications for Content Owners
The problem is we have a short window in which content owners (networks, producers, publishers, etc.) can establish the habits that will favor them in the long run. Imagine chatting with your friends across the world while watching the latest episode of CSI or Dexter together? Perhaps this is something content owners should collaborate with developers to facilitate?
If content owners don’t catch on quickly, they’ll miss this chance to drive actual live viewership and instead, technology innovators will focus on widgets that deliver other benefits that aren’t content-centric.
I personally think weather, horoscope, and personal ad widgets — while of interest to specific subgroups — will never catch on on the TV to the degree that content-specific widgets will.
Why? Because people watch TV to watch TV, not read the news or scan personal ads. That’s what the PC or the tablet-type devices (iPad, Samsung Tablets) are for.
Some Fundamental Differences
The traditional TV is essentially a large screen designed for group entertainment in the living room, i.e. chinese new year gatherings, christmas gatherings. Groups of friends and family members entertain themselves together with a movie or with wii games or the microsoft xbox.
On the other hand, the mobile phone provides a private, personalized experience while the computers and laptops provide work, word processing, office capabilities
User Interface Innovation Galore
We live in the golden age of cloud, mobile technologies and screens. With the TV Screen liberated by the internet and no longer subject to the monopoly of TV stations, what are YOU going to do to help change the world and make the world a better place?
If you are a content owner, tell me what content you would like to share with the world?
If you are a software developer, tell me about your interesting implementation ideas!
And if you are simply an avid TV fan, share your thoughts on what you would like to see in this brand new age of the connected TVs?
Category: Connected TVs
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