The Coming Television Revolution
The revolution is just getting started and will begin to make its mark this year. By 2010, it will begin to take off. By 2025, it will be the standard for all TV viewing. It's called Internet Protocol Television, or IPTV for short. IPTV works with a set-top box connected to any broadband interface and to a TV.
It will allow users to choose among thousands (and eventually hundreds of thousands) of hours of programming, including movies, sports, classic TV, etc., and download their selections from the internet to the hard drive of the set-top box. Initially, set-top box hard drives will be able to store up to 300 hours of programming at a time, but capacity will expand as the technology becomes more refined. Also, download times will become shorter and shorter as broadband connection speeds become faster and faster. Eventually, a two-hour movie will be fully downloadable in a couple of minutes. Once the programs are downloaded to the hard drive, they can be viewed on the connected TV at any time via a DVR-type interface provided by the set-top box.Besides the convenience of an all video-on-demand (VOD) environment, IPTV will provide a much wider range of programming than broadcast, cable, and satellite TV, or even major video chains, could ever provide.
Because the programming is available from the internet, it will be almost completely unlimited and unconstrained. Programming from all over the world will be available along with every imaginable genre of niche programming. Also, previously unreleased independent films that have been sitting on shelves for years due to the lack of a distribution source will suddenly become available to the masses via IPTV. Films that previously could not be made at all will become a reality and be available on the IPTV services. Long forgotten films and TV shows will have new life breathed into them by IPTV.
To top it all off, much of this programming will be eventually be available in high definition (HDTV)! Most IPTV platforms will be divided into "channels", but not the same kind of channels that we have grown accustomed to with traditional TV services. In this case, a "channel" is defined as a division of an IPTV service by individual content provider. Each content provider carried by a given IPTV platform will have its own guidelines for delivering programming on its channel. Some will provide their content for free to everyone who owns a given IPTV product. Some will be subscription based, i.e., everything on their channels will be available for a monthly or annual subscription.
Others will be all pay-per-view. Still others will provide a combination of all of the above. Several entrants into this market have either already debuted or plan to debut sometime this year. Among those are Akimbo (www.akimbo.com), DAVETV (www.dave.tv), TimeShifTV (www.timeshiftv.com), and VCinema (www.vcinema.com). Please see their respective websites for more details, as each one will offer a slightly different variation of IPTV technology.
In addition, a joint venture between TiVo (www.tivo.com) and NetFlix (www.netflix.com) will be starting up later this year. TiVo plans to eventually make the entire Netflix DVD library available to its customers on an on-demand basis via a broadband connection to a TiVo box and a TV. Other potential IPTV contenders will be announcing their intentions over the next year or two. One of these nascent IPTV services headquartered near my home has already started placing "help wanted" ads in my local newspaper. Within the next 20 years, all the fuss over broadcast TV indecency will become irrelevant, as there will be very little other than news and live sporting events on broadcast TV.
The major networks will shift most of their entertainment programs to IPTV to avoid all the broadcast content restrictions currently being enforced by the FCC. Eventually, broadcast TV will cease to exist. Cable and satellite services as we know them will also become extinct. Yes, there will still be cable and satellite platforms, but they, along with DSL and wireless internet services, will exist merely as conduits for bringing broadband internet into homes and offices. There won't be any more cable and satellite TV, per se.
The now 60-year-old paradigm of television schedules in which programs air at specific times on specific days of the week will pretty much be a thing of the past. Everything, except what's left of broadcast TV, will be exclusively available on demand via an IPTV platform. These developments in no way mean that all TV programming will become more risqu?. While there will be plenty of risqu? programming available to those who want it, there will an almost unlimited supply of family and religious programs available. With a veritable smorgasbord of entertainment options at your fingertips, there will be something available for all tastes.
IPTV may not turn out to be a TV utopia, but it's at least going to come close that ideal..
Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, freelance writer, and trivia buff from Hopewell, VA. He also serves as a political columnist for American Daily and operates his own website - http://www.commenterry.com - on which he posts commentaries on various subjects such as politics, technology, religion, health and well-being, personal finance, and sports. His commentaries offer a unique point of view that is not often found in mainstream media.terrymitchell@verizon.netDish Network Company History
Dish Network Company History
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Internet live streaming TV - it is realy cool
Tonight I stumbled upon something extremely cool... something I had hoped would be available
to those of us using the 700w with unlimited bandwidth... live video streaming TV.
I found it by going to an IE bookmark to windowsmedia.com -- right at the top is a link for
"Watch Live TV" (smartvideo.com) -- I clicked it and set up a free 7-day account and within
a few minutes later I was watching live streaming MSNBC TV. It wasn't that great, so I
checked out the "Settings" link buried at the bottom of the page. There it had the option to
switch it from the default "low speed" to "high speed" -- then I watched the MSNBC stream
again and *WOW* -- the video and audio were incredible!!! I even had it playing while
driving around town just to see if it would stay going...
it did... for a long time!
Unfortunately they only have a few live video streams......
Dvr > Internet live streaming TV - it is realy cool
DVR reviews
DVRs are now being used in areas like surveillance and entertainment. DVRs have managed to get a good response from the market and the future will see DVRs being employed in new areas like weather forecasting and ship to shore communication.
DVRs have carved a niche in the field of satellite television. HDDVRs with all their features have managed to attract the attention of many a couch potatoes. The futuristic feel of the product and the control that it has given to the viewer has added a new dimension to TV viewing and some are already comparing it with the transformation brought on after the onset of color television in the last century.
However, it may take a while before this technology becomes the norm and broadcasters start airing programs that are tailor made or customized to HDDVR sets. With DVR technology, the reception of signals at the viewer end is digital and now the onus has shifted to the broadcaster to provide signals of matching quality to further...
DVR reviews
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Octave Systems, Inc. New DVD Copier Dazzles
It features a new dual-layered and dual-format Pioneer drive that records speeds of up to 16X. With the dual layering, the DVD Copy Master can store up to 8.5 gigabytes of data. Octave's updated stand-alone DVD Copy Master offers efficiency and economy like no other DVD duplicator.The DVD Copy Master makes copying DVDs as easy as touching a button and requires no computer system. The DVD Copy Master functions with virtually all available formats. DVDs burn at speeds from 2X to 16X while CDs will burn at speeds up to 32X.
The 8.5 gigabyte media capacity provides enormous storage. Speed and accuracy are never in doubt with the dual-format Pioneer DVR-A08 DVD-?RW/CD-RW drive.Copies can be made directly from the DVD or from the 120 gigabyte hard drive. Copies can be made directly from a source DVD or simultaneously. Up to seven DVDs can be made at one time from the first DVD Recorder being used as the source drive or 8 can be made at one time from the hard disc drive.Making a copy...
Octave Systems, Inc. New DVD Copier Dazzles
Dvr > Octave Systems, Inc. New DVD Copier Dazzles
Octave Systems, Inc. New DVD Copier Dazzles
It features a new dual-layered and dual-format Pioneer drive that records speeds of up to 16X. With the dual layering, the DVD Copy Master can store up to 8.5 gigabytes of data. Octave's updated stand-alone DVD Copy Master offers efficiency and economy like no other DVD duplicator.The DVD Copy Master makes copying DVDs as easy as touching a button and requires no computer system. The DVD Copy Master functions with virtually all available formats. DVDs burn at speeds from 2X to 16X while CDs will burn at speeds up to 32X.
The 8.5 gigabyte media capacity provides enormous storage. Speed and accuracy are never in doubt with the dual-format Pioneer DVR-A08 DVD-?RW/CD-RW drive.Copies can be made directly from the DVD or from the 120 gigabyte hard drive. Copies can be made directly from a source DVD or simultaneously. Up to seven DVDs can be made at one time from the first DVD Recorder being used as the source drive or 8 can be made at one time from the hard disc drive.Making a copy...
Octave Systems, Inc. New DVD Copier Dazzles
Dvr > Octave Systems, Inc. New DVD Copier Dazzles
Home Theater Website Targets Common Shopping Mistakes
Many shoppers this Christmas will purchase home theater components that quickly become obsolete because of rapidly evolving new technologies. But there are ways to "future-proof" your home electronics shopping, says Wayde Robson, editor of www.hometheaterfocus.com, a leading consumer advice guide."Consumers feel frustrated and confused by what's available on the home theater market today," says Robson, "partly because they have seen how quickly products change in home electronics."Robson says there are a few basic precautions that consumers can take to make sure their home theater components remain usable for many years. Robson's annual "Christmas List" of shopping tips and traps for the holiday season can be found at: http://www.hometheaterfocus.com .Here are some of Robson's most useful suggestions:HDTV ? When looking at HDTVs, make sure you get an...
Home Theater Website Targets Common Shopping Mistakes
Dvr > Home Theater Website Targets Common Shopping Mistakes
Home Theater Website Targets Common Shopping Mistakes
Many shoppers this Christmas will purchase home theater components that quickly become obsolete because of rapidly evolving new technologies. But there are ways to "future-proof" your home electronics shopping, says Wayde Robson, editor of www.hometheaterfocus.com, a leading consumer advice guide."Consumers feel frustrated and confused by what's available on the home theater market today," says Robson, "partly because they have seen how quickly products change in home electronics."Robson says there are a few basic precautions that consumers can take to make sure their home theater components remain usable for many years. Robson's annual "Christmas List" of shopping tips and traps for the holiday season can be found at: http://www.hometheaterfocus.com .Here are some of Robson's most useful suggestions:HDTV ? When looking at HDTVs, make sure you get an...
Home Theater Website Targets Common Shopping Mistakes
Dvr > Home Theater Website Targets Common Shopping Mistakes