Friday May 05, 2006
The Quest For Three Screens (Part 4)
This will conclude this weeks discussion of the Three Screens.
There are many more facets to this discussion, but this is enough for
now. One example is programming the Three Screens, and what a
great position Java is in to be a big player in this quest. Today
I want to look at the strengths and challenges facing each of the
players I outlined in part 1.
First is the cable companies. From a technology perspective, I
think they have the advantage. The pipes that they have into the
home for TV, data, and voice is a clear leader. They have to
potential to completely fix the time shift issue with all content
becoming video on demand. They have the components in place to
get content from the internet onto your tv in high definition.
There are two main challenges facing cable. The first is
connecting with portable devices. In theory partnerships with
wireless providers can fix this, but it still looms. The other is
compelling, unified user experiences. They have done much work in
the set top box world, but that needs to be extended to computers and
portable devices.
Next is the Telcos. They have a very strong position in mobile
devices as well as the computer. This allows them to provide
content for those devices. This is great for some types of
content, but it is still a subset of what people want to consume.
I do believe that video content to portable devices is going to be huge
- I would have paid a few buck to get the Star Wars Episode III trailer
on my phone. However, I don't think that will be the driving
mechanism for getting content - although the ipod is a pretty
compelling argument against this position. It may happen, but it
is probably 20 years away. The telcos have challenges around
getting content to the tv. Right now they are partnering with
Satalite companies for that conduit.
Satalite companies are in a pretty tight spot. They have the
potential to be the primer provider of high definition content, but
their bandwidth is still limited. They are partnering with other
companies for the other screens, which limits their control.
Finally, there are the Internet services companies. They
certainly have the advantage when it comes to providing a venue for all
the consumer and semi-pro content out there. If you also start to
put in the branded companies (Disney/WB/CBS/...) into this category,
this allows for all content to be delivered through this channel.
They have a big challenge getting this content to the tv. Most
consumers are not comfortable with connecting their computers to their
tv.
I have mentioned the great Microsoft trojan horse, and this could be a
good thing for the Internet service folks. The XBOX 360 is a
device capable of producing high definition output. And, if you
have a PC on your home wireless network running Windows Media Center
Edition, the XBOX 360 can get content from the PC. That bridges
the gap between your PC and TV for Internet content. I have not
tried this, but if the user experience is good, Microsoft has just done
the end around for set top boxes and have control of two of your
screens.
There is another type of Internet service company that I alluded to
above - that is the brand players. You are going to see these
companies offering their own services, thus bypassing the traditional
service companies. Disney is once again a great example - Disney
Mobile, Disney Games, ABC shows on ABC.com. This starts to solve
the great organizational problem that I talked about earlier - which is
the biggest challenge for the Internet services companies.
I think that will wrap us this set of blogs. I want to move on to
some other stuff. E3 is next week, so I will focus on games next
week.
Posted at 12:48PM May 05, 2006 by dtwilleager in General |
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