Active-TV Ecosystem Developers,
A 566 day Time Warner experiment reported below, determined that 99% of PC users don’t want to watch cable-TV service on their PC. The experiment delivered TV over the internet to a network home PC.
So what is the role of a PC in support of living room video entertainment? Some in the PC industry still say there is a role for the PC-in-the-living-room, but it is hard to build a business with reports of less than 1% consumer interest.
The article says: “cable-system operators and programmers can breathe a sigh of relief. As a result of this test”. But it is not good news for those trying to position the PC as an “alternative” to conventional cable-TV platforms.
Active-TV technology follows the evolutionary Extended-PC approach. It enables living room viewing of TV-web channels without a PC-in-the-living-room. The cost of creating a TV-web channel is low. Active-TV enables TV-web channel access via a networked STB or networked TV. Adding network support, adds little to the cost of the TV or STB; and it does not destabilize TV operation or add to TV “maintenance”.
Active-TV technology addresses the interest of the 99% of TV users that don’t want a PC in-the-living-room, but want new IP-delivered TV-web channels.
Feedback, corrections and comments welcome.
Daniel Mann
Time Warner Ends ‘Unscalable’ Trial
[quote] Let’s say you could watch 75 channels of cable television on your PC. Would you? No. At least 99% of the time.
More at http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6413047.html?display=Search+Results&text=time+warner+ends
Active-TV Technology for iPhone and iPod touch
Navigate YouTube
active-TV technology for PC
Windows PC based home network
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Veoh internet TV deal
Active-TV Ecosystem Developers,
At the AMD booth at CES 2007, a new TV-web Channel from Veoh was publicly demonstrated for the first time. An Extended-PC and hybrid-STB using active-TV technology was used for the demo. The article linked below describes Veoh as an “internet TV operator”; however, until the introduction of the TV-web channel, they supported a PC-web site (http://www.veoh.com/).
The article describes Michael Eisner’s investment in Veoh and his plan to expand its entertainment services, and ties with the established Hollywood industry.
Feedback, corrections and comments welcome.
more at http://www.ft.com/cms/s/c2595e40-a680-11db-937f-0000779e2340.html
At the AMD booth at CES 2007, a new TV-web Channel from Veoh was publicly demonstrated for the first time. An Extended-PC and hybrid-STB using active-TV technology was used for the demo. The article linked below describes Veoh as an “internet TV operator”; however, until the introduction of the TV-web channel, they supported a PC-web site (http://www.veoh.com/).
The article describes Michael Eisner’s investment in Veoh and his plan to expand its entertainment services, and ties with the established Hollywood industry.
Feedback, corrections and comments welcome.
more at http://www.ft.com/cms/s/c2595e40-a680-11db-937f-0000779e2340.html
Friday, January 12, 2007
Apple iTV and active-TV mentioned in Business Week
Active-TV Ecosystem Developers,
After promoting “big monitors attached to powerful multimedia PCs”, BusinessWeek reports that technology companies have “finally unveiled the Internet-connected TV set-top boxes that are the key weapons in their bid to control the living room”
This type of STB is also known as Hybrid. The BusinessWeek article linked below is long and does not go into STB details; but they have got the idea of a STB supporting TV-web channels.
The article refers to Apple TV, AMD (active-TV technology), Microsoft and Sony, all heading in the TV-web direction. The reporter seems to have missed the important point that the Apple, AMD and Microsoft platforms at least require some support from a networked PC (or Mac). That is, the hybrid-STB delivers the new TV-web channels, only when it is combined with an Extended-PC. Native support for TV-web channels has not yet been achieved by a low-cost STB. Also, the PC stores a lot of additional content which is consumable at the TV location.
It is also interesting that the reporter does not see the clear similarities between the Apple TV and the old Microsoft MCE Extender. Also missed, is the fact that Intel also tried the approach with ViiV. It would appear that the Extender and ViiV marketing teams did not get across the message: “familiar STB (thin-client) with TV-web channel support”. However, Apple TV and active-TV has made better progress, or got off to a better start.
more at http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2007/tc20070111_281751.htm?chan=technology_technology+index+page_today%27s+top+stories
After promoting “big monitors attached to powerful multimedia PCs”, BusinessWeek reports that technology companies have “finally unveiled the Internet-connected TV set-top boxes that are the key weapons in their bid to control the living room”
This type of STB is also known as Hybrid. The BusinessWeek article linked below is long and does not go into STB details; but they have got the idea of a STB supporting TV-web channels.
The article refers to Apple TV, AMD (active-TV technology), Microsoft and Sony, all heading in the TV-web direction. The reporter seems to have missed the important point that the Apple, AMD and Microsoft platforms at least require some support from a networked PC (or Mac). That is, the hybrid-STB delivers the new TV-web channels, only when it is combined with an Extended-PC. Native support for TV-web channels has not yet been achieved by a low-cost STB. Also, the PC stores a lot of additional content which is consumable at the TV location.
It is also interesting that the reporter does not see the clear similarities between the Apple TV and the old Microsoft MCE Extender. Also missed, is the fact that Intel also tried the approach with ViiV. It would appear that the Extender and ViiV marketing teams did not get across the message: “familiar STB (thin-client) with TV-web channel support”. However, Apple TV and active-TV has made better progress, or got off to a better start.
more at http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2007/tc20070111_281751.htm?chan=technology_technology+index+page_today%27s+top+stories
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
active-TV technology brings YouTube to the TV
Active-TV Ecosystem Developers,
Recent active-TV developments make it very easy to build a TV-web channel. Active-TV platforms support MCE and ViiV TV-web Channel formats (Microsoft called these spotlights and now calls them on-line media). However, active-TV can support TV-web channels conforming to even less restrictive formats. This will make it possible for an Extended-PC or Extended-Notebook, networked with a hybrid-STB, to format a YouTube TV-web channel.
A user of the YouTube PC-web site selects their favourite video, later to be viewed on an active-TV enabled TV. Using a PC dialog box like the one below:
the active-TV will be told the YouTube user-name to be used when retrieving favourite YouTube video at the TV. The YouTube favourites are listed as a YouTube TV-web channel at the TV UI menu. Entering another persons YouTube user-name would allow viewing of their video.
Support for a YouTube TV-web channel is a new, and hopefully valued, feature for the active-TV enabled STB or TV.
Recent active-TV developments make it very easy to build a TV-web channel. Active-TV platforms support MCE and ViiV TV-web Channel formats (Microsoft called these spotlights and now calls them on-line media). However, active-TV can support TV-web channels conforming to even less restrictive formats. This will make it possible for an Extended-PC or Extended-Notebook, networked with a hybrid-STB, to format a YouTube TV-web channel.
A user of the YouTube PC-web site selects their favourite video, later to be viewed on an active-TV enabled TV. Using a PC dialog box like the one below:
the active-TV will be told the YouTube user-name to be used when retrieving favourite YouTube video at the TV. The YouTube favourites are listed as a YouTube TV-web channel at the TV UI menu. Entering another persons YouTube user-name would allow viewing of their video.
Support for a YouTube TV-web channel is a new, and hopefully valued, feature for the active-TV enabled STB or TV.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Sony Chief say Consumer Electronics dying!
Active-TV Ecosystem Developers,
A Sony adviser says: “people want to use the TV as a portal to the net”. I doubt he means the TV should display PC-web; more likely he means the TV should simply be connected via IP to the internet. He describes this as the “next stage” for convergence and the consumer electronics industry.
One solution is for a TV, or STB-like appliance, to support a standalone micro-browser using CE4HTML formatted TV-web – Sony and partners are developing this, along with other approaches. However, it is hard for the embedded microbowser approach to offer the same TV-web processing capability across lots of different hardware platforms. This difficulty would be less of a problem if TV-web does not incur the rapid developments seen in PC-web; such as new browser plug-ins and HTML extensions.
Reliance on active-TV style browser projection from and Extended-PC, limits the STB’s standalone ability to process more complex TV-web; but it does result in a common, consistent and powerful platform for processing TV-web formatted channels.
Feedback, corrections and comments welcome.
more at http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=34943
A Sony adviser says: “people want to use the TV as a portal to the net”. I doubt he means the TV should display PC-web; more likely he means the TV should simply be connected via IP to the internet. He describes this as the “next stage” for convergence and the consumer electronics industry.
One solution is for a TV, or STB-like appliance, to support a standalone micro-browser using CE4HTML formatted TV-web – Sony and partners are developing this, along with other approaches. However, it is hard for the embedded microbowser approach to offer the same TV-web processing capability across lots of different hardware platforms. This difficulty would be less of a problem if TV-web does not incur the rapid developments seen in PC-web; such as new browser plug-ins and HTML extensions.
Reliance on active-TV style browser projection from and Extended-PC, limits the STB’s standalone ability to process more complex TV-web; but it does result in a common, consistent and powerful platform for processing TV-web formatted channels.
Feedback, corrections and comments welcome.
more at http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=34943
Monday, October 16, 2006
Dell to offer AMD Live!
Active-TV Ecosystem Developers,
More confirmation in the linked material, below, that ViiV’s utility in support of digital convergence is not understood. The problem is hampered by Intel, and its collaborators, not introducing ecosystem clients able to gain consumer approval.
Intel ViiV does not have a simple consumer-message, such as adding TV-web to the already familiar STB.
As one Industry watcher put it: ” The PC Industry MBAs have so far, after many years of trying, not managed to manufacture consumer-consent for their convergence platforms. Their approach has not conformed with the fashionable term ‘consumer-led’, maybe not even technology-led, but there is clearly a significant element of corporate-ambition-led.”
Alternatively, the active-TV approach is not lead by the PC Industry alone, but is a combining of the best of the PC industry (Extended-PC) with the best of the STB (hybrid-STB) and established video entertainment platform industry. As well is equal involvement from TV-web channel developers and overlay TV-web formatted TV advertisers.
Feedback, corrections and comments welcome.
more at http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/multimedia/display/20061012083451.html
Dell Drops Intel Viiv in Favour of AMD Live!
What's a Viiv, and will you care come Christmas? Intel (INTC) sure hopes so.
more at http://businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2006/tc20061016_479218.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_technology
More confirmation in the linked material, below, that ViiV’s utility in support of digital convergence is not understood. The problem is hampered by Intel, and its collaborators, not introducing ecosystem clients able to gain consumer approval.
Intel ViiV does not have a simple consumer-message, such as adding TV-web to the already familiar STB.
As one Industry watcher put it: ” The PC Industry MBAs have so far, after many years of trying, not managed to manufacture consumer-consent for their convergence platforms. Their approach has not conformed with the fashionable term ‘consumer-led’, maybe not even technology-led, but there is clearly a significant element of corporate-ambition-led.”
Alternatively, the active-TV approach is not lead by the PC Industry alone, but is a combining of the best of the PC industry (Extended-PC) with the best of the STB (hybrid-STB) and established video entertainment platform industry. As well is equal involvement from TV-web channel developers and overlay TV-web formatted TV advertisers.
Feedback, corrections and comments welcome.
more at http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/multimedia/display/20061012083451.html
Dell Drops Intel Viiv in Favour of AMD Live!
What's a Viiv, and will you care come Christmas? Intel (INTC) sure hopes so.
more at http://businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2006/tc20061016_479218.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_technology
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