Internet Served TV versus Cable and Satellite TV
by Loyd Case on January 20, 2010 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- IT Computing general
I've been using Dish Network for quite a few years now. Recently, I went through a forced upgrade to their latest ViP 722 high definition DVR. (I say "forced" because the older ViP 622 I had died, and Dish no longer supported the older unit. I didn't have to extend my contract, though.)
I haven't paid a great deal of attention to how rapidly IPTV services have been coming to the living room, built into consumer electronics devices. I've certainly used Hulu, plus the dedicated streaming services from individual "legacy" networks -- NBC and the like. I've also watched shows on Revision 3 and others of the new generation of Internet-only video.
About the only regular IPTV viewing we do here at the Case House as a family is the Netflix Watch Instantly service through the Xbox 360. Overall, that's been a pretty positive experience. We did have a couple of burbs, however. A few months ago, we transitioned from Comcast consumer broadband to Comcast Business. I mostly wanted faster upstream bandwidth, but we also encountered the dreaded bandwidth cap when using the Consumer service. What happened when we hit the cap was watching videos through Netflix in highly compressed, worse-than-standard def mode. Ugh.
But most of my internet TV viewing has been through the PC. Watching videos on a high performance PC is necessarily different than watching on a TV in the living room. PC users tend to be more forgiving than your average TV watcher. If you get a momentary pause as more data is buffered on the PC, you'll tend to accept it as routine. When that happens in the living room, there's usually a chorus of groans.
Nevertheless, we've seen a whole bunch of IPTV services integrated into consumer electronics devices in the last 18 months or so. Netflix Watch Instantly and Youtube have been the most common, but Amazon.com's service has garnered a few wins.
At the recent CES 2010 show, even more devices had Internet video services integrated -- even networks, like CBS, CNN, ESPN and others were integrated directly into devices. Companies like Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, Sherwood and others now have IPTV right in the box.
From what I can see, users will encounter a number of different problems. Network configuration issues will probably become a major problem. Most of these devices purport to work wirelessly, over 802.11n. My brother-in-law can't keep his run-of-the-mill Linksys router working. I can just imagine him struggling with streaming services on his TV.
There will also be the inevitable security issues, though no one seems to know what form that will take.
Internet TV services are also struggling with their business models. Hulu is already poised to start charging for their service. Will a TV owner with Hulu built in pony up the subscription fee?
On the other hand, these are very early services, and as the infrastructure becomes more robust, delivery and networking issues will gradually subside, though I suspect that will take years. What will happen to the cable and satellite delivery services then? One thing they do offer is content aggregation -- users pay one company for access to a variety of networks. Will customers want to manage a variety of different payments to different services?
Nevertheless, delivering video services over the Internet will gradually become one of the accepted delivery vehicles. Whether the cables and satellite companies can adapt will be interesting to watch.
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AgeOfPanic - Thursday, January 21, 2010 - link
I think they both are, but Hulu doesn't broadcast them in HD yet.Donkeyshins - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - link
Unfortunately, you then end up with a situation like we're starting to see in Oregon and Washington where Comcast is enforcing monthly internet bandwidth limits of 250GB (download). Woe to you if you exceed the limit...something you could easily do if you get all your TV content via internet.Iketh - Friday, January 22, 2010 - link
Im assuming they have bandwidth issues in these 2 states because of the amount of rainy days they get?gaiden2k7 - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - link
- Cable companies will be less evil as they will be only providing internet services.- TV manufacturers will be more competitive with their IPTV exclusivity contracts for major TV networks.
- Cell carriers will be more consistent as they all buy into GSM and provide service only.
- Consumers will buy their unlocked phones straight from the manufacturers and partners.
- New net neutrality laws would be pass down to ensure a smile on even the most data demanding 'sharer' out there...
Whoa, what a dream.
bfr99 - Friday, January 29, 2010 - link
Calling cable companies evil because they try to maximize their profits is equivalent to the RIAA calling music sharers criminals - just meaningless hyperbole.LaughingTarget - Monday, January 25, 2010 - link
You had me until net neutrality. That's a bad idea. Eliminate government supported market monopolies. That's the only way to solve the problem. Net neutrality is only a bad regulation to make up for flaws in other bad regulations.ap90033 - Monday, January 25, 2010 - link
Amen to that. Dont let Crooked Politicians fool you Big Government is always EVIL. Our founding fathers understood that...Fanfoot - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
Yeah cuz big Finance and big Healthcare and big insurance and big Automakers and on and on have been so great for all of us lately. Lets keep your crazy politics off this site, 'mkay?ap90033 - Wednesday, February 3, 2010 - link
You forgot BIG GOVERNMENT.. and please dont make me list all their wasteful spending, deficits etc.http://www.usdebtclock.org/">http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Big Corporations and Big Government are both Evil IMO...
ap90033 - Wednesday, February 3, 2010 - link
You forgot BIG GOVERNMENT.. and please dont make me list all their wasteful spending, deficits etc.http://www.usdebtclock.org/">http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Big Corporations and Big Government are both Evil IMO...