Is Vizio’s tablet, a step towards a universal TV interface?

Looks like some of the items on my 2011 wishlist are already in the pipeline. At the Consumer Electronics Show going on in Las Vegas, several newfangled products have been demoed and displayed that seem to address some of the five ideas we listed. The first one that caught my eye was Vizio’s announcement of a tablet device. The 8” tablet has WiFi built-in, a front facing camera and a unique three speaker configuration that provides stereo sound in both landscape and portrait modes. Most exciting is its built in infrared sensor that allows it to function as a remote control. Applications leveraging this to create a universal controller for TV and other devices are sure to be coming out soon.

Vizio Tablet courtesy Engadget

 

In addition, Vizio also has been promoting its VIA Plus service that provides apps on its TV for services like Netflix. And according to the Wall Street Journal, it promises to

“discuss a new video-downloading service that it calls Vizio on Demand. The services will let users start watching a movie on one device and finish watching it on another.”

That really sounds exciting and a step towards the seamless viewing that I had mentioned in my Wishlist. More goodies to come for sure from CES.

Will there be a Netflix Big Button on your next remote?

All over the blogosphere the news that Netflix had convinced several hardware partners to include a button that provides direct access to Netflix on devices that already have access to streaming Netflix built in was getting bloggers giddy. As Engadget mentions on its website:

It’s pretty obvious, Netflix Watch Instantly is a killer app for any connected TV platform at this point and one of the most used features, making access quicker and easier is a no-brainer.

Netflix on Samsung

Expect to find the Netflix logoed button on Blue-ray players, Internet enabled TVs and appliances like Roku and Boxee. With this step Netflix makes it even easier for us couch potatoes to get to their content. Great idea !

Is the Smart TV the Next Big Thing?

Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal ran a story about the new emerging trend in TVs where “manufacturers are making a full-on push with “smart TVs”— models that have built-in computer-style processors and operating software so the sets can be modified with applications just as computers and smartphones are.”

The new TVs represent a renewed effort to engage the consumer after 3D TV failed to ignite much enthusiasm. An interesting statistic from the article that caught my eye

“Twenty-one percent of the roughly 210 million TV sets sold world-wide last year had an Internet connection, according to DisplaySearch, a research firm based in Santa Clara, Calif. It forecast the portion will rise to more than 50% by 2014.”

Percent of Internet enabled TVs

With the marriage of computing horsepower and display technologies, the smart TV could provide the next platform for interesting applications that would allow seamless viewing of data, video and other forms of media from a variety of devices. Expect a number of the wishlist items from my last post would start getting addressed with some of the gadgets on display at the Consumer Electronics Show this week. It will be interesting to see the news that comes out of the show.



Five things to wish for in 2011

Image via Wikipedia

So here we are at the beginning of Decade Deux of the 21st century! Fresh media horizons, new technological landscapes to explore! I think it is an appropriate time to come up with my list of things I really wish we could address in 2011.

• Truly seamless viewing. Would like to watch TV shows and movies on different devices like Android/iPhone, iPad/Tab, PC or TV with one account and with simple set of controls. Google’s idea of using your Google account to maintain universal access to books in their Google Books product is an example of what such an approach might look like for TV/Video.
• Create communities/friends on Netflix. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could find your friends and family on Netflix? Share comments on movies you watch together? Share lists and suggestions? This is a no brainer that will seriously improve the Netflix experience. Here is a sample app that allows you to share your queue on your blog, a step in the direction. Why Netflix has not jumped on adding a social interaction component to their site beats me.
• Streaming your laptop Wirelessly to TV. There are a number of halfbaked solutions that try to address this, but the one that comes closest to what I have in mind is Intel’s Wireless Display as implemented in the Netgear Push2TV box. With it you can essentially push your laptop screen to a TV connected to this box and view what you have on your screen including streaming content from Hulu or Netflix. According to the CNET review,

“Intel Wireless Display’s biggest perk is that it can turn your TV into a second monitor, streaming content to it while you browse the Web or do other work on your laptop.”

While you cannot watch DVDs from your laptop due to HDCP copy protection, one expects most users would prefer to view them from a connected DVD device in any case. Waiting to see this become embedded in TVs and available on all laptops.

• A user friendly universal remote. A truly user friendly interface, perhaps like the one Xfinity has developed for the iPad, that allows you to browse and search for content as well as across the 800 plus channels on your cable system. I had mentioned this earlier when I wrote about this and the Netflix app for Android phones. And while we are at that, perhaps also a user friendly universal remote to control the different devices (see below).
• Get rid of the cable clutter. I am not a real TV/Video addict and I have four devices stacked up next to the HDTV and gazillion different cables connecting them to each other and to the TV. Not really sure how one does this but a simple bus that all devices can plug into might be a solution?

Well that is my list for now for 2011. I am sure the year will bring more interesting technologies and changes as the TV/Media landscape evolves. Hope you all have a great 2011 – Happy Viewing!

Sears to offer movies online, Netflix gets retail competition

Sears has teamed up with Sonic to offer their product RoxioNow online on a new website, Alphaline. Sonic is also in the process of being acquired by Rovi, formerly known as Macrovision, for $720 million. Sonic has rights to over 10,000 titles and also had bought DivX earlier this year which provides it with access to millions of DivX enabled devices.

Image via Wikipedia

Looks like Sonic and Rovi are combining to develop a platform for digital media distribution that they can provide for branded access through various partners, like Sears. RoxioNow already provides streaming video to Blockbuster and Best Buy.

The Sears offering differs from Netflix as it is a pay per use model where users can buy or rent titles online without paying a monthly fee. So the question facing consumers is whether they will want to pay for each title even if the service is built into the device or offered for free from a retailer, versus an ‘all you can eat’ model with a flat monthly fee. If the cell phone industry is an example, consumers prefer to move to a flat fee model where their costs are a known variable.

The online movie market is getting interesting as more players enter the arena. All this is sure to accelerate the demise of the traditional DVD and cable distribution model. Hopefully to the benefit of the consumer by providing cheaper and earlier access to studio releases.