Over-the-top demand
There will be plenty of posts here about the importance of ubiquitous, interconnected, nondiscriminatory, high-speed Internet access infrastructure to America’s economic future - but let’s not forget about the demand side. The FCC’s recent update on its national broadband plan work included a section on opening up the set-top box market:
- Increasingly, the television is becoming an Internet-access device
- Delivering Internet video to the television could drive higher broadband adoption and utilization (as 99% of households have TVs, versus 79% with computers) as new apps and uses would emerge
- The convergence of television and the Internet is hindered by the lack of innovation in the set top box market
- An open market in devices will drive further innovation
- To date, CableCARD has not achieved its intended goals, in part due to poor implementation
- The FCC has the authority to help open the set top box market to greater competition and innovation
This is a big deal. Video drives demand - if people can buy nondiscriminatory cable high-speed Internet access as part of a package that allows them to use any video set-top box (or other gateway) they want, and the price is right, more people will want access. More people demanding more access will help drive more fiber to more places, and more competition in the set-top box market will help this happen.
Right now, the market for the devices that provide gateways for multichannel video program distributors isn’t very competitive. Most cable operators provide their own, and there are substantial switching costs. With standards-based video gateways, the market would explode. Big deal. Be brave.
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4 Responses to “Over-the-top demand”
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Agree. But with one question: Why do we need set top boxes at all? Can’t we strive towards an time where your Internet monitor and TV screen are one in the same with a direct connection to a fat and fast broadband pipe in back? Instead of a set-top box we would only need an online browser (remote controlled for the couch potato set) designed to accommodate access to videos on the million-channel world that is the Internet.
This is a case where the net neutrality insistence that “all packets are equal” is counter-productive. To be equal with proprietary IPTV, Internet TV packets need better than best-efforts delivery, and that costs money. Be careful what you wish for.
Re : Tim Karr’s question “Why do we need set top boxes at all?”
Part of the answer lies in the component-stereo model. Video content is delivered to one’s VDU via :
a) Screw terminals (I’ve got an old Atari 2600 game console);
b) Broadcast (DTV);
c) Co-ax (CATV and satellite);
d) RCA / HDMI (asstd. players);
e) Wi-Fi (e.g. iPod Touch); and
f) Ethernet / UTP;
g) Legacy connections such as DVI and S-video.
A set-top box makes it easier for users to get a VDU that fits their assortment of sources and components. The link below has a picture of a typical back-panel from an HDTV. Now what if the only VDU you could afford didn’t have the ferocious array of choices on the back and NONE of your existing gear was compatible ? You would be up the proverbial creek.
That’s where set-top boxes come in - to give you a choice. There are people out there who have gone off-CATV and their connection is via Ethernet. Those people use PCs, AppleTV, or game consoles to drive their VDUs.
Also, keep in mind that “set-top box” is a category bigger than “CATV adjunct”. A more accurate phase would be “VDU expander” which would reflect the presence of game consoles, DVRs, VCRs, various Ethernet gadgets, etc. Do you want to buy a new, 50″, flat-panel VDU every couple of years because the interface has changed ? Or would a reasonably priced set-top box or a software upgrade be a better deal ?
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-oUONJB4AvAj/Learn/learningcenter/home/TV-connections.html
P.S. I use “VDU” (Visual Display Unit) above instead of “TV set” because not all displays have tuners. I watch my videos and DVDs on my PC’s LCD monitor.
Re : CableCARD
Wikipedia -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CableCARD
NYTimes article, 3 July 2006 -
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/03/technology/03cable.html
A search on Google for “cablecard pcs” (aka CableCARD PCs) turned up a GearLog post from 12 May 2009 -
http://www.gearlog.com/2009/05/at_last_hackers_add_cablecard.php
NB - The above is intended for those who like to build their own systems. The less adventurous can contact a major vendor (e.g. Sony, Dell, etc.) and see what they offer in the way of a cable-ready, multi-media PC.
P.S. Caveat emptor !