Verizon and Cablevision Fighting Again

Even when I am not looking at the TV, the moment a certain music bed is played, I know that it is the Verizon FIOS ad regarding Cablevision's slow broadband speed. Then I look up to see a closeup of eyes moving in circles with the VO ..."Are you suffering from cable...vision." As an ad, it is memorable because of its unique music, copy, and video; but is it accurate? It seems it may have been true in March of this year but not anymore, not since Cablevision upgraded its plant. "According to Bloomberg, the suit states that the study was conducted before an upgrade of Cablevision plant boosted performance significantly. The Bethpage, N.Y.-based MSO said its average download speeds are more than 90% of advertised download speeds during peak hours and are above 100% of advertised speeds on a 24-hour basis." Yet, at this point, the ads are still running.

And while Verizon fights with one cable company, it has agreed to partner with three others as a result of a wireless transaction deal. At some point in the next three years, Comcast, Time Warner, and Bright House will be able to sell Verizon Wireless service packaged with a cable subscription.

Lastly, the fight between Verizon and Cablevision may not be as simple as it seems. It's not just about broadband speeds. Although MSG and AMC Networks are no longer owned by Cablevision, they do share a common family ownership. Lack of deals for the hi def channel of certain networks may have raised the notch for nastiness in this latest battle. And as the ad has successfully caught the consumer's attention, it simply spreads more salt into the wound between these two telecommunication giants. Who will win; perhaps, the damage is already done.

Every TV Seems To Need A Connected Box

The days of turning on a TV set and turning the knob to different channels are long over. Our kids have no idea what a UHF or VHF channel is and only use one button on the TV set for on and off. A channel is locked on to one frequency and then the work of the other box begins.

So how many different connected boxes are attached to your set? Of course there is the cable converter box offering us HD signals and perhaps even a DVR. Others love their TiVo box for recording shows and some have even gotten CableCards to access cable programming. Those that need their programming to follow them outside the home have attached a Slingbox to their set. And some have unplugged themselves from this cord but still need the connection to the web for their over the top boxes, including Roku. And with every new one you buy, is one finally unplugged? Perhaps you have added a Blu-Ray but disconnected your DVD player and your VHS player was removed years ago. And for the gamers in the family, a connection is needed for the Xbox, Wii, Playstation 3, or even a classic Atari (although I hope not).

And TV manufacturers have tried to incorporate connectivity to the web so homes can access their Hulu Plus or Netflix subscriptions through the TV directly and not through another box. But it seems there is a need for an external box whether we like it or not. Perhaps Apple should update their Apple TV box with Siri and enable it to talk to all the other boxes that connect to the TV set. Then at least we could reduce the number of remotes on our coffee table.

Can The Xbox Replace The Cable Box?

It seems today that every TV needs some type of box next to it to make it function better. In the early days, that box controlled the antenna which tried to tune in the best reception possible. Since then, the cable box has been the standard device to deliver a quantity of channels. But truthfully, the cable box has improved little in the eyes of the consumer and its clunky guide and search has hurt it. So is the Xbox the next box to take over our TV viewing?

"Beginning on Tuesday and continuing through the month, Microsoft will give a face-lift to its Xbox Live online entertainment service that will allow subscribers to watch a wide array of mainstream television programming from the Xbox 360 console." So if you subscribe to Xbox Live for its gaming interface, you can begin to choose whether you want to watch programming through its box or your cable box. Since Xbox requires an internet connection and owners likely also have a cable subscription, it may simply be redundant. What may sway users from using one device to another is in its access to guide and search. "Xbox Live users will be able to search for shows using voice commands and hand gestures, if they also have the popular Kinect peripheral for the Xbox."

Voice control via Siri is likely the next big news from Apple although it is not yet clear whether it will be in their existing Apple TV device or a newly manufactured TV set. Still where that programming comes from and how much is readily available is a big if.

In both the Apple and Xbox world, the missing component is the DVR. Will the Xbox enable shows to be copied for later use? Will Apple add a hard drive for DVR capture in their device? Is DVR still important in an on demand world? Certainly not everything is available on demand and customers still like the idea of ownership. "The Xbox is just one of many devices, including iPads and smartphones, on which cable operators and channels are making their content accessible. TiVo, for one, has announced a string of partnerships with cable operators to make its digital video recorder available to their customers. Unlike the Xbox, TiVo users get full access to all of the offerings of TiVo’s cable partners, Mr. Rogers, TiVo’s chief executive, said." But what if TiVo struck a deal to put its software in every Xbox.

In our household, the Xbox and cable box serve two different uses. The Xbox is playing video games and online chats with friends playing at the same time. The cable box for sit back viewing. While integrating the two boxes reduces the number of connections in the back of the TV set, they clearly have two different uses. And in a big household, two sets allows one to be used for gaming while the other is used for viewing shows. The Apple approach of simplifying search through voice may be more ideal for those just seeking the viewing option.

Will DVD Sales Rise From A Link With The Cloud?

When was the last time you bought a cassette tape? When CDs were created, no one tried to sell you a cassette with every CD you bought. Most likely because you were still buying a manufactured item. But with the rise of digital and now the cloud, the need for manufactured CDs and even DVDs is less and less. Yet, it seems that companies aren't ready to breakaway completely.

The rise of UltraViolet and in the UK, Blinkbox, is still being tied to the purchase of a DVD. All with the hopes of improving a dying distribution model. And while this strategy may lengthen the product life, the patient will eventually die and be buried. Such as it was for the 8 Track, the cassette, and soon the CD and DVD.

For the short run, a dual purchase makes everyone happy. "This is a fascinating link-up between atoms (DVD) and bits (streaming). The added value of the dual option could drive more plastic-disc sales at the checkouts." Ultimately, the customer no longer seeks to clutter their homes with jewel boxes of various shapes and sizes when their digital devices both store and play. The arrival of cloud based storage enables access of this same content wherever and whenever you want, although it requires that wireless access is present.

How long will this shared model last? The speed of adoption of tablets indicates that this process should only last a few more years at best. Notice that no tablet comes equipped with a DVD or CD reader; even laptops are being built without the hardware. Change is a coming and like the Laser Disc, the DVD will also become part of our history.

Sony Changing The Window On Digital Movies

Sometimes you have to just move on. While we like to hang on to old ways and old habits, change is inevitable. And when you finally give change a chance, positive things can happen. For Sony, it means no longer being rigid on the order in which a movie gets sold or rented. The DVD model is no longer the customer choice for purchase; the world is digital and so it means changing the order to move digital sales up in the pipeline.

Sony's first step in change is with it's release "Bad Teacher". By moving up digital purchases ahead of rentals and DVDs, they saw a marked increase in revenue. "More good news for Sony: It says demand for digital rentals didn’t seem to drop once they became available two weeks after digital sales started. And physical sales — still the most important source of income for the studio — don’t seem to have suffered, either." Sounds to me like a successful test and one that should be repeated with every movie release. How quickly Sony embraces this new strategy remains to be seen; for now, they seem to like to classify it as a test only.

With the rise of cloud based services from Apple and Amazon, the switch to digital will only progress more rapidly. As digital becomes the preferred distribution choice, DVD sales are destined to decrease faster. It is the inevitable results of change in consumer preference. The pace of this switch can be slowed with aggressive pricing discounts. Where once DVDs cost $20 or more, today they are in the $5 bin. And at that price they become a great stocking stuffer too.

Cable Viewing Trending Like Broadcast

The most notable thing about history is that it tends to repeat itself, whether in political conflict, economic, and yes even in media. It is a common pattern, one that seems to surprise us every time it occurs. These changes occur, both in good and bad ways, but inevitably they always happen. Nothing is constant and human patterns tend to repeat themselves.

In the media world, we have watched as technological change has caused changes in viewing pattens, from radio to TV, TV, to cable, and cable to online. And yet, we seem surprised that the upstart is taking share away from the established media. So it should be no surprise to read that cable viewership is declining and streaming is increasing. "Several factors could explain the downward ratings trend. For one thing, the number of households with DVRs has reached 43 percent, and viewers tend to record broadcast network shows more than they do cable shows. Also more people are watching shows via tablets, smartphones and computers, where Nielsen’s traditional ratings methods have struggled to keep up with changing viewing habits." Count this household as one that has adopted more DVR, on demand, and streaming to its viewing patterns.

My kids watch a ton of their shows either on DVR or on the computer. In fact, they are finding more online only programs that they are preferring to watch and enjoy. For my wife and I, the DVR is our way to watch what we want when we want. As broadcast tends to play once and repeat months later, a lot of broadcast viewing is done on the DVR. The notable exceptions are sports and news. Heck even the award shows are watched on a delayed DVR basis. Cable shows on the other hand repeat and repeat and repeat. There is less of a desire to schedule to watch and they become filler until a better choice is found. And with on demand and streaming services like Netflix, it is easier to watch a movie any time of day.

The only thing that doesn't change is the time available to watch shows. With so many alternative viewing choices, the long tail of programming choices gets longer and longer. It chips away at the bigger networks just as cable stripped viewers from broadcast. The DVR, on demand, and web streaming have changed how we as viewers watch our shows. Linear becomes less relevant and too many linear channels only continues to dilute the ratings.

Apple TV Sets Coming in 2012

The Steve Jobs' biography refers to products in the pipeline even after his death and news around an internet TV continues to spread. There is word that Apple is working with Sharp to create the screen and that the set will do for TV what the iPod did for music. "Last month, it was reported that Apple had created a prototype of an internet-connected television product that can stream content from the cloud and use voice-control via Siri, the system incorporated into Apple's new iPhone 4S."

Great for those that don't use a cable box to receive their TV content, but what will Apple do to work successfully with cable operators. The cable remote has been repeatedly chastised as too many buttons, with too few features. It is too easy to press the wrong button and mistakenly turn off the TV or switch the channel. Apple successfully took a device and made it work with 1 button and then ultimately with simple touch. Today, a number of functions are successfully launched with voice, through Siri. It is less about the TV set and more about how one accesses its features.

What else is in store and what will a Job-less Apple look like, we can only wait and see. Let's hope that innovation remains its mantra.

The DVR Is Not Dead - TiVo Posts Gains

With so much talk lately about cloud services, streaming services, and on demand viewing, it's nice to hear some encouraging news about the growth of DVR subscribers from the premier service, TiVo. In Q3, TiVo grew over 100,000 units a complete turnaround from the previous quarter when they lost more than 30,000. So what changed? "Basically, the key takeaway point is that TiVo stopped focusing heavily on retail sales and is distributing more through cable companies -- a strategy that appears to have worked." New deals with cable partners like RCN, and better relationships with DirecTV and Comcast.

So what is TiVo's next step? Perhaps a better relationship with Echostar and a discussion to integrate Slingbox technology with TiVo. A stronger push with its cable partners to increase its rollout of TiVo set top boxes with a ton of marketing promotion behind it.

So here is to TiVo. Let's hope that this first quarterly increase in four years is not an anomaly but rather the start of renewed growth for the company. A great product deserves great marketing and higher use.

Will Siri Be In Every Apple Product

Everyone that has an iPhone 4S marvels how much they enjoy using Siri. It represents a major change with how we use our phone to call up apps or get answers to our questions. Whether it is a simple search, math question, emotional response or simply a phone number, Siri continues to prove itself as useful. And as we as users become more comfortable using our voices rather than our fingers to generate commands, it represents a turning point in our interaction with technology.

"But experts say that Siri – and what it represents – might be as subtly revolutionary as the iPhone’s multi-touch screen was when unveiled in January 2007. That’s because Siri isn’t just “voice dialling” or “voice recognition” (which tries to turn speech into its text equivalent); it’s “natural language understanding” – NLU, in the lingo." So how much longer before Siri is integrated in our next iPad or laptop. When will I be able to say "Siri, open word document...type please...To Whom It May Concern..." or "Open iTunes...play Best of Playlist".

As I finish reading the Steve Job biography, I marvel at how many devices he created that never existed before and how he made us want things we never thought we would need. Siri is one more technology that in his legacy he will have successfully launched within his closed end to end architecture. Siri will become the heart of all future Apple devices, future TVs included.