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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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?jacobdrj - Thursday, January 21, 2010 - link
If only...That would all make the world a better place...
mckirkus - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - link
Boxee type things are starting to make their way into TVs. TV apps are starting to emerge meaning you can add new services as they appear. I just hope this goes the Android/open route instead of the Apple app store with proprietary apps for every TV.I think these beefed up media TVs have a good shot at acceptance if they start building Ceton style cable card tuners and DVRs into TVs. Why not add in a slot for a 2.5'' laptop HDD for DVR support? How about some Nvidia ION / Atom based brains for TVs?
I'm sticking with my HTPC because I like gaming too. But I'm a rare case and given the lack of ten foot interfaces for PC applications the death of the big fat HTPC seems imminent.
Fanfoot - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
I wouldn't go near a TV with this stuff built into it just yet. You think things have firmed up and are going to stop changing any minute now? Flash as it exists today is the be-all end-all and that new adaptive streaming stuff or HTML 5 or whatever isn't going to take over next? TVs are expensive. The internet changes constantly. If I'm going to put internet video on my TV its going to be with a little box that doesn't cost too much and I can throw out in a couple of years if need be. I can't afford to replace my HDTV that often.I'm thinking the new Intel Wireless HD tech is an even better way to do this--built into a future laptop (or perhaps an Apple tablet). And hopefully available for my current laptop in a USB dongle sometime this year. I use the laptop to navigate Hulu or whatever, pick the show, blow it up to full screen, then press a function key, and voila! Forget the whole Boxee/Hulu fight. Just use the Hulu desktop application or a standard browser...
The0ne - Thursday, January 21, 2010 - link
I just waiting for a more simpler and easier solution than an HTPC or my own computer running a cable to my 73" :)No worries about incompatibilities this way and no fuss, considering most of us here aren't technically challenge.
On the travel I copy and/or take my USB drive along and I have HD movies on the go :)
mckirkus - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - link
Prediction. The Apple TV launches next year (the entire TV including screen). They have the know how to support computers, displays, and have a knack for interfaces.It will run stripped down versions of ITunes, plus all of the stuff in their current media box and include a Blu-Ray player. Of course the IPhone will work as a remote. Will have Bluetooth and 3D support. Might be a Plasma if they partner with Panasonic given how thin they are these days.
It will cost your first born. /Rumor
sbrown23 - Thursday, January 21, 2010 - link
"Prediction. The Apple TV launches next year (the entire TV including screen). They have the know how to support computers, displays, and have a knack for interfaces."And the TV will ship with a heavy yellow tint, with customers returning them repeatedly and getting new ones with the same tint.
emeraldG - Saturday, October 16, 2010 - link
The idea among some is that internet financial loans lenders can lend to just about everyone, shielded from any harm that may come to them. Real individuals and real companies offer an internet unsecured loan or installment personal loan, not robots. The risks posed to the average payday advance store is actually less than for the average internet lender. Banks and credit card corporations face hardly any danger at all, thinking about the amount of legislation that covers them. Internet payday loan lenders have a lot more than the average bank or card company could manage.Alexsandro - Thursday, May 24, 2018 - link
I too went through a kind of forced upgrade, for the reason that my old connection was affected by external factors or there might be some problem with old wires. Though, I’m glad to upgrade now. And I strongly object to pay more than 29$ for internet connection, I do admit I did pay way more than that before subscribing to Spectrum in Louisville.http://mycableinternet.com//alabama/louisville/
rosesmith - Monday, July 2, 2018 - link
Research indicates that poor connection cost you one week per year of productivity. That’s not ignorable at least for a smart businessman (like me). Internet should be a tool to increase our productivity. Internet connection provided by <a href="https://mycableinternet.com/"> Charter Cable</a> is appreciable. I’m getting 100mbps that’s literally more than enough. Though, I’ve wasted a lot of my useful years sticking to the connection, slow as molasses. :/