Demand for internet access at the TV

Active-TV Ecosystem Developers,

The Issue: PC users have experienced internet video, now they want it on the TV.

Background: The living room PC has limited acceptance, but networked TVs and networked STBs are emerging to accomplish the task.

Behind the Scenes: Active-TV technology and TV-web formatting solve the technical and cost constraints in enabling living room TV access to internet video.

In the New York Times article Internet Meets Large Screen, personal efforts to converge the internet and the TV are described. The biggest obstacle remains “finding the right hardware”. This refers to finding a living room appliance which does not have the cost, heat, noise and maintenance requirements of a PC connected to the TV; But allows viewing of internet delivered video. This problem is solved with networked TVs and networked Set-Top Boxes (STB) supporting active-TV technology.

The article goes on to say “the standard graphical desktop interface is hard for couch dwellers to use” – referring to PC-web pages not being suited to TV viewing. This is solved with TV-web formatting. TV-web is normally formatted with large fonts – if any text is required – and does not require a keyboard or mouse. Correct TV-web formatting eliminates the reported “constant challenge” of “juggling computer settings to make fonts readable”.

The benefits of Hewlett-Packard’s networked TV approach, MediaSmart TV, are described as enabling access to PC video “without bringing the pain of the PC into the living room”. However, MediaSmart TV like, Apple TV, do not support completely “open” access to TV-web formatted channels. Apple TV enables access to video from Apple’s web site or Apple portal.

Steve Perlman is quoted in reference to the emergence of a suitable TV-web format, “when that happens, you’ll see an utter transformation of the business”. Well it is starting, and active-TV technology is enabling TV-web to reach living room TVs via home networking. I don’t think at all that “broadcast stations will all turn off”. They will likely use the same technology to support and build audience interest in popular broadcast shows.

Feedback, corrections and comments welcome.
Daniel Mann

Adding a TV-web channel to a TV's channel list

Active-TV Ecosystem Developers,

The Issue: Can adding a TV-web channel to ‘TV favorites' be as easy as PC browsing ?

Background: TV-web channel developers are leveraging the naming and formatting conventions of Media Center and RSS syndication to ensure easy and consistent access to TV-web channels.

Behind the Scenes: A simple web-accessed button enables users to manage and gain access to new TV-web channels.

Whereas it is easy to add a PC-web page to the list of favorite or frequently used web pages -- as simple as clicking on ‘Favorites --> Add to Favorites --> OK’ in your Internet browser -- how is a TV-web channel added to the list of channels viewable on the TV ?

There are several methods available; I will present one below.

TV-web channels have a URL just like PC-web pages, but they are identified by icons, not text strings. As an example, let’s look at the Honda TV channel built by Honda U.K. and their media agency, Zype. The Honda TV-web channel is accessed over the internet and formatted for viewing on an active-TV enabled and networked TV or STB. Honda has several uses for the technology. Below is a TV screen-capture of the Honda TV-web channel.



[Note that Honda TV is formatted for a 16x9 widescreen TV, and unlike some channels, does not automatically adjust for viewing on a 4x3 TV.]

The Honda TV channel allows home users to view 'Honda TV' on their TVs. Included in the channel line-up are short 20 minute documentaries about current Honda car models, including news updates from Auto shows, as well as behind-the-scenes stories and new car videos.

Aside from attracting consumers to check out the latest offerings from Honda, active-TV technology has sparked what is being called “Dealer TV”. In-showroom TV-web channels can present model and ownership information to those visiting the showroom. Moreover, Honda U.K. can use TV-web channels to simultaneously broadcast training videos and corporate messaging to its dealer network. This approach is likely suited to other retail settings besides Honda.

Active-TV technology has followed the rules for TV-web channel addressing first set-out by the Media Center PC. This makes it particularly easy for active-TV enabled TVs to view TV-web channels originally intended for Media Center supported platforms. A TV-web channel can be viewed on a living room TV via an Xbox360 operating as an Extender. At the TV, the channel listing will be included under the More Programs menu. To get the channel to appear under the TV menu, it must first appear in the networked Extended-PC’s file system at the location C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories\Media Center\Media Center Programs. [There are other methods which are not covered here]

Digging into the technical specifics for this example, the PC file entry for Honda TV is named Honda.mcl looks like this:

<>
href="http://www.smarthomedesign.co.uk/honda/honda_home.htm">http://www.smarthomedesign.co.uk/honda/honda_home.htm
name="Honda TV"
thumbnailImage="http://www.smarthomedesign.co.uk/honda/images/honda_call_to_action.jpg" >
< / application>

MCL stands for Media Center Link. The MCL files contains three important lines which identify the URL for the TV-web channel, the name of the channel and the URL for the thumbnail image or icon which appears in the TV menu. The image used by Honda TV is shown bellow:



To make things convenient a simple mechanism is needed for installing the necessary MCL file. Such conveniences exist for accessing an RSS video or music feed via Apple iTunes. PC-web pages with the button are used to automatically add a conforming Pod stream to the iTunes listing. The button is used to connect popular syndication readers to a feed source. Similarly, the active-TV technology button can be used to add a TV-web channel to the channel listings.

Once a podcast has been added to the iTunes listings, the podcast can be accessed in a living room via a networked Apple TV. Similarly, a visitor to a Honda PC-web page, can select the button to have the Honda TV web channel added to the TV-web channel listing. Hence, when the user moves from their PC to their TV and examines the channel listings, the Honda TV icon is visible.

[The code used with the simple active-TV example above, has only been developed to support Windows XP platforms using Internet Explorer.]

Just one method for simply adding a TV-web channel to the channel listings has been described. The method is useful when a channel is discovered from an associated PC-web page. There are already mechanisms for adding a new TV-web channel which is discovered while watching an existing TV-web channel.

If you don't have a active-TV enabled TV or STB, but want to see how it looks on a TV, then download the evaluation software from active-TV technology collaborator MediaMall. They have put together a bundle of active-TV technology software which enables the PC to emulate the TV operation. The demo assumes a Windows XP or MCE PC, and no use of corporate domain networking. Navigation is via the left-right arrows and F12 is used for 'back'. The bundle uses their example menu system, but like PC-web pages, the appearance is easily changed or branded and other companies are also working on alternatives UIs and extensions.

Feedback, corrections and comments welcome.
Daniel Mann

Glasnost TV versus Closed Service TV

Active-TV Ecosystem Developers,

The Issue: Video entertainment upstarts plan on using internet distribution to reach an audience.

Background: Established video broadcasters unlikely to grant free access to the living room TV.

Behind the scene: active-TV technology is capable of granting video distribution to the highly-prized living room audience via a multi-purpose application of the familiar Set-Top Box.

A frequently reported digital convergence analysts, Rob Enderle, implied in a recent article that active-TV technology “is licensed to third parties” by AMD. In fact, AMD does not license any active-TV technology. More correctly, there are several companies offering active-TV technology components. A Set-Top Box (STB) or TV developer is able to select from a variety of suppliers, depending on the particular set of features they wish to enable. In short, there is no single supplier of active-TV technology.

Interestingly, Enderle goes on to say that active-TV technology is “far more complete than Apple TV” and also “AMD has less control over the finished product”. I agree. In fact, since AMD does not license any of the technology, it is difficult to see how it would have any control over other companies’ active-TV based product. Enderle’s statement about active-TV being “complete” likely refers to its neutrality and accessibility when delivering video to the TV.

Active-TV technology tries to bring the openness of the PC-web to TV-web channel viewing. This is described as “painfully complex making this offering more difficult to sell even though it may actually provide one of the better values”. As PC users know, accessing the familiar PC-web can be complex; there are few regulations and imposed standards or quality assurance, but it is open to everyone. Active-TV technology brings these same problems and benefits to TV-web viewing.

Active-TV technology has been described as a step towards glasnost TV via networked-delivered video. It is also a relatively inexpensive approach, as it utilizes an already familiar or available ecosystem of components. However, its openness does not bring any assurances of TV channel quality. In fact it is so open that anyone who can build a blog or a PC-web page can also build their own TV-web channel. The currently closed Apple TV approach is much more restrictive, but Apple can better control the quality of the accessible video materials.

The informed Enderle goes on to described active-TV technology “as the most opposite to Apple’s, harder to use and not as attractive or as well marketed but with massive amounts of content including over-the-air broadcast support and no lock-in to any one content provider or hardware company. Call it maximum flexibility with the possibility that one of the licensing vendors will create an ease-of-use experience and market it so that its technical advantages over Apple TV could result in stronger sales numbers.”

Barriers to reaching the TV

For a long time I have heard the question (particularly in the US), why should the established broadcasters open their network (or associated STBs) to channels from other sources. It is suggested that executives at established channel suppliers, or even the IP-TV start-ups led by MBAs, want control over the video and any associated advertising. They may allow TV-web channels to enrich the content they already offer, but glasnost TV only suits the end-user.

Active-TV technology can equally be applied to closed systems; where video and TV-web channels are only accessible from a service provider’s portal. This principle could equally be applied to PC-web access, but there is no history of filtering URLs to restrict PC-web access. There is a long history of technical and marketing barriers to video entertainment in the living room. Will the freedom of PC-web access finally come to the TV? Or, will the old closed-system rules continue to survive the introduction of active-TV technology and the streaming of internet video to the living room?

My answer is that PC users are going to get a taste for PC-web video from companies like: Vmix, Veoh, UGO, Joost, Brightcove, NarrowStep, Babelgum and many more. Once users have experienced the freedom and variety of unrestricted TV-web channels, it is going to be hard to keep them satisfied with service from only self-serving portals. Users are initially going to experience TV-web channels from low-cost active-TV enabled TVs, Set-Top Boxes and networked game platforms – such as the Sony Playstation 2 - all quite easily purchased in retail stores. There are sufficient numbers of companies who just want to make money from selling an attractive hardware platform. Using active-TV technology immediately makes these boxes increasingly attractive and solves the hardware developer’s problem of demonstrating access to interesting video material.

Other approaches

As to other approaches to bringing internet-based video to the home viewer, a recent NY Times article describes a new IP-TV Box, which uses peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing to deliver video more efficiently. The Vudu box does not support active-TV technology, and works with a video portal service. The expected box cost is close to that of the Apple TV. These systems are closed-service systems, but as Odyssey’s Donatiello quoted in the NY Times states “You have to get the content to the television.” A PC-in-the-living-room approach has been largely rejected by home users. Digital Media Adapter (DMA) alternatives, such as Vudu and Apple TV, have yet to gain widespread acceptance. But the important objective is to deliver video to the living room and as the NY Times states “Steve Jobs at least, understands that”. Closed system boxes do allow the user to view video on the TV, but only video from the box providers approved sources. They don’t allow for widespread competition among TV-web channel suppliers. They are also not typically not multi-function boxes, which leads to cost and consumer acceptance issues.

Beyond a PC audience

YouTube is the video sharing site most talked about. It is famous for its short-format video. Now there are other companies like Joost who seek to make their mark in the same space. A critical differentiator may be support for increasingly longer-format and higher quality video from professional or semi-professional creators. This will put increasing pressure to make the same video available at the TV and not just the PC. The leaders in this new space may be those who first gain user approval at the TV location. There is a need for an open approach which enables TV-web channel developers to compete for viewers at the TV location, without having to first be granted approval from established broadcast suppliers or their STB providers. Active-TV technology provides this significant step towards glastnost TV.

A recent Wired article states the Joost vision as “universal TV, running on a hybrid P2P platform”. They also plan to exploit PC-based P2P video transfer efficiencies; But this is just PC-web, since without access to living room hardware such as Apple TV or an active-TV STB, there is no reaching the TV. To their credit, the Joost founders have successfully applied Skype’s VOIP technology to open-up a difficult to penetrate phone service business. Wired states an old Silicon Valley saying: “don’t bet against the internet”. And anticipates the Joost (Skype) founders might retort with the following corollary, “don’t bet against the Vikings”. Active-TV technology, interestingly, has every bit as strong Viking roots as Joost.

Ecosystem technologies

There are other emerging technologies helping to connect the home PC with the internet and a networked-STB. Orb software enables internet video to be transferred via a PC to the living room TV. Interestingly, it could also be used to send video in the other direction, out from the STB, in very much a Sling box manor. As discussed on the web, this is useful technology; particularly when distributing videos to portable player devices or micro-browser platforms like the Wii. But the TV UI is built by the Orb software. This can enable TV access to YouTube video, but the limitation is that the TV UI is not provided from a remotely access TV-web URL. Orb recently announced support for an active-TV enabled networked STB from Scandinavian based STB developer, Futarque. The Orb software and TV UI are browser based. In the Futarque case, the Orb TV UI runs on the PC and active-TV technology delivers the TV UI to the networked STB location.

Also of interest is TVersity which is currently working on an active-TV formatted TV UI for video streams distributed via RSS feeds. Like, Orb technology, there is also support for video reformatting before sending-on from the PC to the TV. This useful technology allows a user to subscribe to a TV-web RSS feed. At the TV, the latest video supplied by the RSS feed appears in the TV-web channel listings. Again, this is useful technology when forwarding video to a cell phone or PSP, but it does not give complete control over the TV-web channel’s User Interface (UI), which is possible via a TV-web channel directly formatted for active-TV. An interesting combination of these technologies would be a networked accessed active-TV UI which is also continually updated from an RSS video feed.

A low-cost and glasnost solution

There is a struggle by large and small companies alike to gain a significant position in video delivery to the home over the internet. This is fueled by the widespread acceptance of broadband service and home networking. Cost, technical and marketing barriers and partisan interests have focused current efforts on video sharing at the PC via PC-web. Active-TV technology is ideal for now moving the struggle to the living room TV location, or to any TV in the house.

Feedback, corrections and comments welcome.
Daniel Mann

AMD collaborates with active-TV technology

Active-TV Ecosystem Developers,

AMD Inc. clarified its digital entertainment position earlier this year at CeBIT in Hannover. AMD’s press release has the sub-headline: “Active TV Solutions Enable Internet Video On Your TV, Courtesy Of Your PC”.

Their announcement introduced a branding campaign, “AMD LIVE! Ready”. Described as an “easy way” to identify entertainment appliances which network, or interact, with a PC. The LIVE! Ready logo does not appear to be exclusively associated with any particular technology, but makes use of whatever methods are utilized by the various networked appliance offerings.

One technology included under the AMD LIVE! Ready umbrella is active-TV technology. AMD’s intent to collaborate with other active-TV technology developers is clearly indicated in the press release. The active-TV technology approach is not owned by AMD, but its acceptance among entertainment appliance developers is likely the reason why it is singled-out for mentioning in the press release sub-heading.

AMD’s position is further clarified by their active-TV program manager Graham Kinahan, during a video interview. Also in the interview is Christoph Buenger, CEO of Scendix, one of the active-TV UI developers.

Josh Martin of the Yankee Group is quoted in a Red Herring review of AMD’s announcement: “It’s clearly a shot across the bow of Intel and their ViiV program,” he said. “At the core of it all, it is a battle to move content from the PC to the TV, and that’s not an easy task.”

ViiV is both a branding and technology development from Intel. The ViiV technology, like the Microsoft Extender technology, is used to form ecosystems of networked PCs and entertainment appliances. Like active-TV technology, they all support formatting and distribution of TV-web channels from the Extended-PC to the TV or Set-Top Box (STB). The Apple TV approach is very similar, but the current range of network-delivered TV channels is limited by Apple (No doubt this ensures an Apple-level of quality).

The AMD LIVE! Ready logo does not appear to ensure access to TV-web channels over the internet. Only networked devices supporting active-TV technology, or something similar, can accomplish this.

An important difference so far seen between the active-TV technology approach and ViiV, or Extender and Apple TV, is the integration into the familiar STB used for normal broadcast TV reception. This results in a multiuse network-enabled Set-Top Box, rather than a single-use Digital Media Adapter (DMA). Placing broadcast reception in the STB or TV (where it already exists) has many advantages over adding a TV tuner card into the PC. Integrating TV-Web into the STB or TV, brings the TV experience together into an integrated UI, and sets the stage for the future as the lines between traditional broadcast TV and TV-Web continue to blur.

Current entertainment appliance buyers are not familiar with a DMA; they typically don’t want another IR remote; they don’t want to rewire their house, and they have a limited number of input connectors available on their TV. Integrating active-TV technology in to Digital Video Record (DVR) STBs, enables the user to time-shift viewing or watch network-delivered TV-web channels on-demand, without the home network bandwidth being used to transport broadcast video. There is more on this topic, such as the importance of overlay TV-web in support of advertising, at the active-TV technology blog.

Also announced at CeBIT was BroadQ’s active-TV software for the Sony Playstation 2 (PS2). A review by Wolfgang Gruener titled “AMD gets cozy with the PS2, puts YouTube on your TV”, said it nicely: “Active TV is basically just software that aims to enable devices that are in your living room anyway to connect to your PC and from there to the Internet.”

BroadQ software will enable the PS2 user to view more than just the YouTube TV-web channel. It supports access to all active-TV conforming channels, such as those from Veoh, vMix and many more. Active-TV platforms support the most open and flexible range of TV-web channel formats. This is why they can be used to view channels originally built for viewing via ViiV or Microsoft Extender and Xbox-extender.

The PS2 must be in a home network and in communication with a PC running in the background BroadQ’s active-TV support software. There was a lot of web-discussion about the recent Google-Echostar collaboration. However, there are over 45 million PS2s already connected to the TVs in the US and over 25 million in broadband enabled US homes, significantly more than the installed base of EchoStar STB users. The BroadQ software can make it very easy for large numbers of existing users to easily gain access to new TV-web channels – and experience new forms of TV advertising.

Active-TV technology is not simply trying to "move content from the PC to the TV". Yes, this is supported and I believe BroadQ’s QTV TV-UI was developed in collaboration with Scendix; But, a TV-web video stream can flow directly from a home router to the networked TV or STB. The PC is only used on the occasions when the TV UI requires reformatting. This task is simply handed off to the PC’s browser engine, where it is quickly processed before TV viewing commences. The PC will also step-in when the TV encounters a video format which it can not directly process. In this case, the PC will perform the necessary video transcoding.

In Computer World AMD is quoted as saying “the viewing experience is best with a multi-core processor such as the Athlon 64 X2 chip” . This is likely at the root of AMD’s objective. That is, improving multi-core PC valuation by demonstrating its role in supporting networked home entertainment appliances; Principally, the ability to format and distribute the TV UI used by TV-web channels. AMD’s collaboration with active-TV technology developers is able to help them achieve their objective.

Feedback, corrections and comments welcome.
Daniel Mann

EchoStar and Google Partner for TV advertising

Active-TV Ecosystem Developers,

The Issue: Google wants to expand is PC-based advertising role to include TV advertising.
Background: Google applies its PC advertising analysis skills, along with automation improvements to place conventional linear-TV advertising using current EchoStar STB infrastructure.
Behind the scene: active-TV technology uses new generation of networked TVs and STBs to deliver, more innovative and PC-like, TV-web in support nonlinear-TV advertising.

Google has a significant position in support of PC-web advertising. Recent announcements add to reports that it wants to expand its position to include TV advertising (a $60B per year business).

Through web access information, cookies and other browser provided information; Google can help place PC-web adverts that are relevant to the PC user. Like all browsing information, the adverts are delivered over the PC’s internet connection. The Set-Top Box and advanced TV market is entering the initial adoption phase for the networked enabled STB and TV. Consequently, Google can not yet use IP networking to deliver TV adverts to an existing and large TV audience.

EchoStar is marketed as Dish Network in the US and has 13.1M satellite subscribers. (The press release linked below, also indicates Google are collaborating with some smaller cable TV operators.) The Google press release states “Advances in set-top-box technologies make it possible to report aggregate statistics on how many times an ad was viewed and whether it was watched through to the end.”
The return path for a satellite STB is normally the telephone. Typically, late at night the STB will dial a reporting center and transfer information about its daily activity. This information will be passed by EchoStar to Google in what is described at “aggregate, anonymized set-top-box metrics”.

Google inserts adverts into the broadcast stream. This is conventional linear TV advertising. Likely using PC-web back-end advertising support technology Google already has in place, and access to return-path data, Google will “automate” the process of inserting linear TV adverts. The objective is to make adverts more relevant to the target TV viewers. Google’s experience in analyzing PC-web behavior may help in analyzing TV viewer behavior.

There is no push-red style TV interactivity indicated in the current press release. A STB supported by more advanced middleware such as from http://www.emusetechnologies.com/ or the like, would enable Google to support more advanced form is TV advertising.

Active-TV collaborators have used the IP path to support new forms of TV advertising. Red Bee Media (BBC Broadcasting spin-off) has publicly demonstrated push-red style interactive advertising using overlay TV-web, an active-TV technology. At last November’s BIMA (British Interactive Media Association) award ceremony, Red Bee won Best Use of Interactive Television for their Boots Christmas i-ad.

With active-TV technology, TV advertising is not in the linear broadcast stream, but supplied over the internet. However, the advertising can be synchronized to the broadcast TV schedule. A push-red style semitransparent TV-web image is overlaid on the broadcast image. User interactivity normally results in video redirection to an IP delivered TV-web channel stream which contains the advertising material.

The active-TV technology approach to TV advertising significantly differs from the current EchoStar-Google approach in that it does not require advert insertion into the linear broadcast stream. However, it does require adoption of a networked TV or a networked STB. Use of the IP path rather than the broadcast path for advertising support, does result in a more open approach. Those wishing to play a role in TV advertising can find it hard to make deals with closed STB service providers.

The relative openness of PC-web and TV-web technology, is better suited to supporting competition among advertising suppliers. In the retail STB and advanced TV market, purchasers are interested in free-to-air broadcast shows and, increasingly, access to free video sharing or other interesting TV-web channels. The role of the search-engine may remain a PC-web activity and not TV-web, as there is little interest in having a keyboard attached to a TV. It is more convenient to use, as necessary, a laptop PC in the same room as the TV. This may diminish the role of the search-engine in support of TV advertising. However, combining analysis of PC-web and TV-web activity may be the most powerful tool in making TV advertising more relevant.

Feedback, corrections and comments welcome.
Daniel Mann

EchoStar and Google Partner on New TV Advertising System http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/echostar.html

Google Announces TV Ads Trial http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/annc/tv_ads_trial.html

MHP and OCAP too expensive ?

Active-TV Ecosystem Developers,

The Issue: Expensive STB technology continues to struggle to gain purchaser acceptance.
Background: low-cost MHEG technology has more market approval than relatively expensive MHP or OCAP.
Behind the scene: active-TV technology avoids significant STB cost adder, thereby improving prospect of market acceptance.

A press release from the recently formed organization to promote MHEG, IMPALA, provides some impressive Spanish market data in support of its objective.

MHEG (Multimedia and Hypermedia Experts Group) is a standard requirement in UK DTT Set-Top Boxes (Digital Terrestrial Transmission – DVB-t). Use of MHEG technology is also spreading to other markets.

MHP (or OCAP in is US form) makes use of more complex Java-based technology. This results in a more expensive STB. Applications built to the MHP format can be more complex than MHEG media applications, but the additional STB cost has met with considerable consumer resistance.

The active-TV technology approach supports even more complex applications than MHP, but avoids the extra STB cost by using the computational resources of a home networked PC or laptop. This can be mostly invisible to the PC user. A laptop user can be accessing the PC-web while a TV “user” uses the hone network to simultaneously access TV-web applications. Active-TV technology result in a different set of user trade-offs; But importantly, the cost of the STB is little affected.

MHEG and MHP technology are applied in “closed” STB systems. They normally don’t require or support internet connection. They were developed before widespread video sharing on popular PC-web sites. They were not intended to be bring the openness of PC-web video sharing to the TV via a TV-web-channel. This is achieved with active-TV technology. MHP emerged in the mid 90s as a means for 'closed system" broadcaster to produce the same TV user interface across STBs supplied from multiple vendors.

Feedback, corrections and comments welcome.
Daniel Mann

[From IMPALA press release http://www.impala.org/newspress.php ]

In the last quarter of 2006 in Spain, 437,000 DTT receivers (set-top boxes, integrated TVs and PC-enabled DTT cards) were sold, but only 514 were MHP-enabled. (Source: the DTT Association, Impulsa TDT). The main reason seems to be that MHP set-top boxes are significantly more expensive, costing from €120 or more, compared to around €50 or less for standard receivers.

For comparison a UK DTT set-top box including MHEG-5 middleware costs around €50. Overall, there are more than 3.3 million DTT boxes in the Spanish market, of which 2.7 million were sold in 2006. The very low penetration of MHP-enabled receivers in Spain and other countries makes it very difficult for broadcasters to build any viable commercial business models for interactive services.