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Verizon testing online video over TV

Dan O'Shea — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 23:24:12 -0400

The IPTV World Forum North America event last week in Chicago was a cozy little affair (maybe too cozy and little for some, but presentations were well-attended both days). Maybe potential new customers and partners were hard to come by, but one of the things FierceIPTV enjoyed about this conference was the number of service provider presentations.

One of those presentations was from Joseph Ambeault, director of consumer prodcut development, video services at Verizon. He talked a lot about Verizon's approach to using customer beta test groups to evaluate IPTV applications and concepts. One of the juicier details Ambeault mentioned was that Verizon is now beta testing online video delivery over TVs. He said "several hundred customer homes" are involved in the test, and that Verizon spent very little time instructing them, but is now monitoring where they are going and how often to access online video content.

Verizon has discussed Web video-to-FiOS TV ambitions before, but it sounds like things are really moving along. Dave Zatz of Zatz Not Funny has more details about who Verizon is working with and how they are doing it. Stay tuned.

For more:
- read this post at Zatz Not Funny

Related articles:
The TV-Web video marriage is also something TiVo and Amazon are working toward. TV-Web video report
Over-the-top video could have an impact on TV advertising. OTT video report

Apple calls TV a 'hobby'

Dan O'Shea — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 09:05:18 -0400

Apple, which reported strong quarterly earnings yesterday but also forecast lower profit margins for later this year, may still be tinkering with its Apple TV concept. An Apple official said on the earnings call that Apple TV remains a "hobby" for the company, which is not exactly what you would expect any of the entrants in the highly competitive TV/Web video distribution market to say at this point.

As companies like TiVo and Amazon are unleashing new offerings designed to compete with Apple TV, Gartner analyst Mike McGuire told BusinessWeek that Apple might be planning a second revamp of Apple TV. While TV has eluded the company's golden touch, no one else has come close to dominating the market for packaging online video over the TV.

For more:
- see this story at BusinessWeek

Related articles:
Apple initially shifted its TV strategy several months ago. Apple report
Rumors in 2007 had Apply linking up with U-verse. Apple U-verse report

TiVo, Amazon tackle TV/Web integration

Dan O'Shea — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:18:24 -0400

IPTV service providers, cable TV companies and many different kinds of set-top device and online companies are trying to figure out how to merge online video and TV content and viewing practices, and TiVo and Amazon separately announced offerings this week that take the evolution a little further. TiVo is now offering YouTube through newer TiVO hardware, and Amazon announced plans for a new online video-on-demand store.

The future evolution of set-top boxes like TiVo DVRs has been in question, but TiVo is looking to cement its place on the TV stand by tackling the online video/TV integration with a large, known player while some IPTV service providers are still approaching the integration tentatively. Meanwhile, Amazon possibly learned a few things from its unloved Unbox venture about how to more efficiently make movies and TV content available online. These moves bear watching for any TV service provider feeling pressure to incorporate online content, while wondering how such ventures from giant online retailers and well-known device companies could affect their bottom lines.

For more:
- see this post about TiVo at Wired News Blogs
- read this story about Amazon at The New York Times

Related article:
Online TV growth could affect the success of IPTV. Online TV report

NBC Universal goes for IPTV solution

Tom Burton — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 06:59:40 -0500

Israel has emerged as a development hot house for the IPTV industry with much of the encoding smarts coming from the region. NASDAQ listed Optibase is based in Israel and recently won a big vote of confidence when NBC Universal chose it IPTV solution to support a 200-channel internal video delivery system.

NBC had a traditional analog platform pushing 100 channels to its production facilities, but it was found wanting when MSNBC moved to NBC's 30 Rock New York headquarters. Because the system has been configured for 200 SD and HD channels, an MPEG4 solution was chosen to deliver the multi-cast feeds, which can now be distributed to any PC in the building. Optibase won the contract for the encoding and decoding, along with Amino for the set top boxes and Cisco for the switches. NBC Universal says it can distribute monitoring video services with far greater reach and flexibility than could have been provided by a conventional cable TV system.

For more:
- NBC Universal overhauls its IPTV distribution system Article
- Optibase Release

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Optibase's MPEG4 solution used for fire training Report
NBC Universal ankles Apple for Amazon Report

Apple seeks control of video home

Tom Burton — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 06:59:50 -0500

Apple chief Steve Jobs candidly admits the digital home market was not easy: "All of us have tried: Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, TiVo, Vudu, Netflix, Blockbuster. We've all missed. No one's succeeded yet."

Job's admission came as Apple shifted strategy, offering 1,000 videos for rent--100 in HD--through its iTunes ecommerce portal and Apple TV set top box. Jobs admitted the download for sale approach had not lived up to expectations. Apple has sold about 7 million videos and while that is more than all other download services combined, Jobs said it's below expectations.

The video rentals will cost $4.99 for new release in HD, and will have a 30 day shelf-life and once started will expire within 24 hours of usage. But the show stopper in my mind is still the relatively high cost of the Apple TV box which sells for $229 and requires an Ethernet or high speed wireless connection. Will consumers pay out such a large one off amount when around the corner Comcast is about to offer a box offering 6,000 videos--half in HD--as part of a cable subscription?

The home is the last big battleground and consumers face offerings from all the major players --Microsoft with its Internet enabled Xbox 360, Sony with similarly enabled PlayStation (plus Blu-Ray), LG which is partnering with rental house Netflix, not to mention a gaggle of set-top box developers--with internet adapter boxes as low as $100. All are jockeying for control of what many believe will be the key gateway to the home as residences and businesses move to an all IP platform. For the network providers--telco's and cable MSO's--their full-service business model assumes control of the home digital hub.

Jobs, till now, played down Apples TV strategy, famously calling Apple TV a "hobby." Now, he's hoping Apple's brand strength as a simple to use, easily integrated system, will finally win consumers over and give it leadership in a market expected to be 160 million big over the next five years.

For more:
- Apple launches new video rental service Article
- Analysts give mixed reviews Article

Related articles:
Lounge room wars erupt Report
Sony pips Microsoft Report

TiVo predicts a la carte TV

Tom Burton — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 06:59:40 -0500

Also hoping that simplicity is what consumers want is TiVo. Like Apple, it's positioning its box to be the hub for consumer video downloads from the Internet. In the music world, TiVo CEO Tom Rogers told the LA Times, "You can get any song you want, any time you want it, on any device you want it. That's what's happened in the last five, six years. It's become a la carte, on demand."

We think the same thing will happen with television, and that changes the whole notion of television convenience and ease to mean being able to go out and find any piece of content you want through your television set and being able to watch it.

No prizes for predicting on demand TV is fast coming but again it confirms how hot this space is. TiVo is a strong boutique brand in the TV space with its easy-to-use digital recorder, but has struggled as the cable companies replicated much of the DVR hard drive functionality into their set top boxes, essentially capping TiVo's growth in the DVR sector. TiVo has joined with Amazon to provide a wide choice of movies for download but, again, with so many players jostling for consumer attention it is going to be difficult for TiVo to get market strength in the way it did in the personal recording space.

For More:
-TiVo's Rogers: Watch TiVo evolve with the industry, CEO says LA Times Article

Related articles:
Voice 2.0 to open up new wholesale markets Report
Analysts say IPTV will kill TiVo Report

Jackass 2.5 movie debuts online first

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 06:59:20 -0500

Viacom's Paramount Studios and MTV New Media have announced plans to debut the latest version of the Jackass franchise, Jackass 2.5, online via Blockbuster-owned Movielink. Viacom claims that the movie is the first studio-backed film to debut online, marking what many believe to be a watershed moment for online video. However, the film is just over an hour long and features a lot of left over footage and outtakes from the previous films--hence the "2.5" designation, we assume. Unlike the typical progression of theater--video store--VOD--network television, Jackass 2.5 will launch via Movielink on Dec. 19 for free with short ads before and after the feature. Then the movie will be available via iTunes and Amazon.com for about $15 on Dec. 26, as will A DVD with 45 minutes of extras for $30. On Jan. 1, ad-supported sites like Joost will offer the film for free or parts of it for free with ads interjected. The following month sees VOD availability.

For more on the Jackass 2.5 online debut:
- read this article from the New York Times

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Editor's Corner

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 20:01:35 -0400

Apple and Amazon have brought the issue to a head: It's time to decide whether Internet television is IPTV. There's a heated discussion going on over at Wikipedia--looks like the Wikipedians want to merge the articles for "Internet Television" and "IPTV," however most of the comments urge the site not to do so. As one commentator said:

"IPTV without the Internet is a paradigm supported by (some) majors and telco operators in order to define a separate network from the Internet where video content provision and fruition are strictly controlled limiting the possibility of Internet interoperability; and
Internet Television is a paradigm of transporting video content over the Internet; and that
Internet Television and IPTV rely on base technology which (may eventually) include streaming, QoS management, set-top boxes, accounting and billing systems, interactivity support, video servers, network caches, etc."

I could disagree with some of the loaded language there, but it's the best explanation on the discussion board. Many take a longterm view and see the two converging--making the semantics of little consequence. Today, however, it's incredibly important to make the distinction because different players are involved. The players are the same ones in the Net Neutrality debate: the bus drivers and the bus owners.

There is a growing crowd in the IP video sector that sees the bus drivers, namely YouTube or Google Video (and now Apple and Amazon) trumping the IPTV services that telcos (the bus owners) are in the process of rolling out. The most compelling argument for that trend is the notion that deploying IPTV to subscribers is like tying your own noose--if you hand your subscribers 10 Mbts downstream for a data service, you better believe they'll find a way to make the video service you're hawking at $60 a month unnecessary. Telcos need to deploy IPTV services that offer applications above and beyond what cable is capable of, while leveraging the network in a way that Internet TV can't.

While this may be hype talking or too-forward-looking speculation to some, it should be duly noted that the telcos aren't just competing with the cable MSOs or the satellite TV services anymore. There's a very real threat posed by these Internet TV services. And if you're still unconvinced that Internet TV is different from IPTV, then I'll leave you with the words of another Wikipedian, which surely give echo to every message board and discussion forum on the Internet: "They are two separate types of viewing media, I work in this business. Thanks."- Brian

Metric: VOD worth $13B by 2010

Wed, 13 Sep 2006 20:01:10 -0400

According to a recent report from iSuppli, the worldwide video on demand (VOD) market will be worth $13 billion by 2010. Just out of curiosity, what's with 2010? Seems like a pivotal, watershed year judging by every report that's come out in recent memory. Anyway, iSuppli dismissed the concerns posed by Apple and Amazon and found that most of the growth in VOD will come from IPTV services. Right now, 90 percent of VOD activity comes from the cable industry, but broadband revenues will grow from $120 million to $4.5 billion by 2010(!) and IPTV revenues will also climb during that period from $13 million last year to $2.4 billion. The cable industry will still lead the pack with cable revenues growing from $930 million to $5.7 billion during that time period.

For more on iSuppli's most recent report:
- see this article from AV Interactive

Video franchising wins, Net neutrality loses

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 20:01:39 -0400

The federal video franchising bill received a thumbs-up yesterday when the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the measure by a 42-13 vote. The proposal would allow telcos to offer IPTV services by bypassing local authorities, unlike the cablecos. This is one step closer to realizing faster deployment of IPTV services, however, the measure may go to the House floor for a vote. Some Judiciary Committee members would like to review it, too. The Senate hasn't acted on the issue yet, but it plans to this summer.

On the other hand, the Net neutrality bill was defeated 34-22 and is expected to be a source of conflict in the Senate. Rivals Google, Yahoo, eBay, Microsoft and Amazon.com have forged a united front to oppose the two-tiered Internet bill, which they say will give some Web sites an unfair advantage over others and alter the Web's landscape. It will be interesting to see how the video-franchising bill and the Net neutrality bill affect the uptake of IPTV and Internet TV in the upcoming years.

To learn more about the video franchising and net-neutrality issues:
- read this article from The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)
- check out this San Francisco Chronicle article