Future of Television – Video Podcast
Posted on May 23, 2011
Today’s post is a video narration of our PowerPoint forecast of the Future of Television. Since it only takes eight minutes to watch it, we provide only a brief text summary.
Download video presentation here if you don’t want to watch the stream.
First, ultimately content migrates to the Internet where it is accessed via browser-centric or app-centric devices.
Second, the socket panel available on modern flat-panel TVs is the “Trojan Horse” that prompt’s the paradigm shift.
Third, the future TV remote control units are likely to be smart-phones and tablet computers using apps such as Peel.
Fourth, eventually sponsors will demand that they only pay for TV commercials that are actually watched. This is already starting on the Internet. However, since conventional TV already has digital watermarks embedded in the audio stream, it can also be implemented in regular television via smartphones and tablet computers. The key is to augment content identification with recognition of commercials that can be made interactive.
Fifth, consumers will eventually expect constant access to the Internet cloud thereby leading to the emergence of massive high-speed unlicensed wireless networks utilizing Wi-Fi and TV Band White Spaces.
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Towerstream First Quarter Financial Results
Posted on May 19, 2011
Towerstream’s financial results merit inspection for two reasons.
First, it is one of the few publicly-traded Wireless ISPs. Consequently, it may provide insight into the potential financial performance of other operators who – being privately owned – keep their numbers to themselves.
Second, as the accompanying diagram illustrates, Towerstream is building a massive Wi-Fi network in Manhattan designed to provide Internet access for iPhones, iPads, and similar devices. Since cellular carriers now impose data limits and use restrictions on such devices, Wi-Fi offload may ultimately become a mainstream alternative that is only now incipient. If the concept is replicated in other major markets and proves successful, it could imply many years of continued growth.
Download audio narration to iPhone, iPad, and iPod — eleven minutes.
Third, Wireless ISPs may well be at a similar stage of industrial evolution as the CATV industry of forty years ago and ultimately exhibit similar financial metrics. Read more…
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How Interactive TV Ads Will Become Standard
Posted on May 17, 2011
A little under two years ago, Inside Digital Media predicted that sponsors would ultimately demand they only pay for video ads that actually get watched. (Thinking the Unthinkable About Video Ads – September 18, 2009). We reasoned the success of the cost-per-action pricing of Google AdWords would force change. Since sponsors only pay Google when viewers “click on” AdWords text, they would ultimately apply such a cost-per-action standard to banner and video ads as well.
Download audio narration to iPhone, iPad, or iPod — seven minutes.
Last week a YouTube executive provided confirmation at WPP Group’s Global Video Summit. WPP Group is a leading advertising and media management company. YouTube’s Product Manager for Video Monetization, Baljeet Singh, was a Summit guest where he forecast half of video ads by 2015 would be cost-per-view. He explained how it is starting on the Internet.
YouTube is offering “TrueView Video Ads” permitting viewers to choose the ads they want to watch. There are two options. In one, after the ad plays for five seconds, viewers get a choice to skip or watch the ad. The advertiser is not charged unless the viewer lets the ad play to completion, or for at least thirty seconds. A second option gives viewers a choice of ads to watch during regular commercial breaks. Sponsors are only charged when their ad is selected. Read more…
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Getting Reliable Wi-Fi Internet Video to Your TV
Posted on May 11, 2011
Over two years ago we posted a video showing how to connect laptop computers to TVs thereby enabling users to watch Internet Videos on the big screen. Now a number of “connected” appliances ranging from Blu-ray players to new model television sets get more publicity. But since they only enable limited over-the-top viewing, the computer-to-TV connection probably remains the most popular configuration because it imposes no restrictions.
Download audio narration to iPad, iPhone, or iPod here — three minutes.
Nonetheless, nearly all rely on home Wi-Fi networks to transport Internet Video from the router to the “connected” appliance. And therein lies the rub, as documented by a Media Post article last week. The journalist complains that Wi-Fi is simply unreliable. As he puts it, “The vagaries of Wi-Fi are a blind spot for over-the-top video…I suspect that millions of families…struggle with this…I stopped counting how many times my…AppleTV, Roku, or GoogleTV boxes seize-up as they wait for the stream to catch-up.” Read more…
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Should Apple Become a Wireless ISP?
Posted on May 5, 2011
There are four reasons that Apple may eventually launch a Wireless ISP subsidiary.
First, the market for Apple’s portable hardware cannot achieve full potential without significant improvement in Wireless Internet access. The exceptional iPhone and iPad successes are forever changing user expectations about network connectivity.
Download audio narration to iPhone, iPod, and iPad — eight minutes.
Twenty-five years ago when Sun Microsystems developed the slogan “The Network is the Computer” office workers without LANs were puzzled. But once everybody got LANs, the connotation became obvious. Instead of being independent tools, our personal computers became workstations that shared office-wide data processing assets ranging from printers to centralized storage. The network itself became our computing resource. Read more…
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Microsoft Wants in on TV Band White Spaces
Posted on May 3, 2011
Last week (April 29th) Microsoft notified the FCC it wants to be an administrator for TV Band White Spaces.
Interpreting the announcement’s significance requires an accurate comprehension of much misunderstood TV Band White Spaces. Put briefly, the FCC has reserved enough spectrum for about fifty TV channels. Since each station has a limited broadcast contour, channels can be reused in different parts of the country. To illustrate, different station owners use channel 7 in New York, Detroit, Chicago, Denver, Albuquerque, San Francisco, and San Diego without interfering with one another, owing to geographic separation. Theoretically, each city has fifty channels available, but FCC regulations require that stations not interfere with those in nearby cities. That’s why WABC can broadcast on channel 7 in New York City, but no station may use channel 7 in close-by Newark, New Jersey.
Download audio narration to iPhone, iPad, or iPod — four minutes
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Can Wireless ISPs Handle Mobile Internet Growth?
Posted on May 2, 2011
The short answer is “yes”.
It’s going to be done by constructing gigantic Mesh Wi-Fi networks using a combination of WiMax, White Spaces, and landline facilities for connecting clusters. The latest dot-11n version of Wi-Fi is a key enabling factor. Dot-11n raw data speed is 600 mb/s which is over ten times faster than the theoretical maximum for the previous dot-11g version at 54 mb/s. It will easily handle video as most any homeowner using it can verify.
Download audio narration to iPhone, iPod, or iPad here — four minutes.
Cisco Systems forecasts mobile data traffic will grow almost 40-fold from 2009 to 2014. Yet even fourth generation LTE cellular networks are only four-times faster than third generation. Thus, there’s not a shadow of doubt that cellular carriers will fail to meet subscriber needs. Read more…
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