Six ‘Commandments’ for connected TV

July 1st, 2010 | Leave a comment

Screen shot 2010-07-01 at 12.47.39 PM

With the Hulu and GoogleTV announcements, the promise of WebTV on the big screen seems within grasp of most TV watchers…which is basically everyone.

I’m in the market to buy a really big screen, connected with web apps so I searched on Amazon, the discount sites and made a trip to Best Buy.

Oy!

The promise is there but the mess of misinformation, lack of clarity, fear of buying proprietary hardware and overall feeling that this is still a geek’s dream, unfortunately seems still true.

I jotted down my Commandments as a guideline to help make this convergence a mass-market love fest with the least amount of pain. This is my wish list.

Six Commandments for a better connected TV world

1. Make it easy

It’s just not easy to display what you see on your laptop on your big screen TV. Even with GoogleTV, that need is not going away as to get real access, cabling to your laptop or desktop will still be necessary.

TV manufacturers are still somewhat clueless and shopping for a solution today is as confusing as home theater has been for a decade.

2. Make it multi-screen

Laptop. iPad. Smartphone. Big screen. All need to work together and share content streams from the big content cloud in the sky.

We need to be able to seamlessly move from TV to laptop to iPad to phone to watch a synced, stored, time-shifted program.

We need to be able to do different things on different screens around the same content.

3. Content is king; networks are history

The web is the metaphor for connected TV, not the other way around.

I want to watch True Blood and Entourage, not be forced to buy HBO. Being muscled to purchase network packages is TV legacy; being able to acquire content I want is the promise of the web.

I think that most of us will pay for value as long as we are in control. This is the iTunes learning. I will buy individual songs even if they add up to more than the original album…and be happy because it is my choice.

4. Search is a given

Searching for video content needs to be as simple as searching for info on the web.

We are almost ten years into the world Google powered and it is part of our nature. We demand information overload and search efficiency for video content for everything from TV shows to movies to YouTube to cam clips.

5. Community and social are essential

Friend referrals. Intelligent Facebook info streams. Checking in. Sharing.

The first screen most people use every morning to check on the day is Facebook. And we share our experience on our Facebook walls, Twitter streams, Foursquare friend lists, Disqus comments, Tumblr communities.

This needs to extend to the content we watch. If access to the open web is there, smart startups like Tunerfish are already figuring this out. Facebook will certainly play here even if FacebookTV doesn’t become a reality.

6. Every hardware purchase needs to feel good

We are going to have to buy things:

-We need to feel good about buying hardware…you know, like the iPad. Costs a bit but empowers and enriches life.

-We don’t want to worry about buying the wrong platform. The Betacam/VHS conundrum is just not acceptable as a rerun.

There are certainly other asks but this is my wish list of ‘must haves’.

This is a work in progress…what would you add?

……………………………………………………………………….

For additional blog posts on social and connected TV, please click here and here.

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  • http://www.victusspiritus.com/ Mark Essel

    Great design feature list Arnold.

    I too recently swapped up my living room display. I connected a Asus REVO running Ubuntu then swapped that out for a netflix friendly macmini (which can dual role as an iOS app system).

    I don't get HBO, but netflix has a pretty nice instant streaming and DVD collection. I cue up tv series and movies for streaming on my desktop, phone or iPad (which Michelle and I also watched netflix on while traveling).

    I use an hdmi cable and external sound

  • http://arnoldwaldstein.com awaldstein

    Hi Mark

    In order for this change to really have impact it needs to be as ubiquitous and and easy to use…as the web.

    Folks like us cable and connect and port and fuss. I want easy and powerful. I'm pretty certain my list is similar to what the mass market wants.

    Thanks for the retweet…it means a lot to me.

    Enjoy

  • http://www.victusspiritus.com/ Mark Essel

    I retweet my friends messages. My friends write meaningful messages.
    The two work out well

  • Bruce Specter

    Connected TV, like hard media, is becoming a thing of the past. Albums, tapes, CDs, film, VideoDisc, Beta, VHS, DVD, BluRay are all gap technologies. Just like the connected telephone, consumers are growing out of antiquated mediums of a bygone generation (if only we can do the same with combustion engines, another dinosaur!).

    As the major networks continue to dumb down their wares with cheaply produced productions ('reality' and it's ilk) more and more consumers are foregoing connected TV for much more cost-effective, user-defined entertainment. As cable and satellite continue to battle over who as the best content, more is certainly not better. Shopping channels outnumber true content. I checked out when MTV stopped being MTV!

    As with any birthing process, there is pain, confusion and anxiety. Prudence should reign paramount in one's quest. Being involved in the music business (sideline) I knew what to look for when continually upgrading our home theater experience. Considering what is spewing out of Hollywood these days, the theater business may soon go the way of the 8 track!

    I agree with your commandments, adding wireless into the mix.

    That's entertainment!

  • http://arnoldwaldstein.com awaldstein

    Hi Bruce

    Thanks for stopping by.

    We agree…we want a revolution of change, not an iteration of features.

  • http://twitter.com/jblackman Jeff Blackman

    Great list Arnold, I would add that the media companies need to get on board and come together to standardize their platforms. we won't get there without more ubiquitous technologies unless we're all happy spending most of our time figuring out what devices and set-ups give us the most benefit. groups like Canoe Ventures -http://www.canoe-ventures.com/about.php are step in the right direction and it's comforting to know that the cable execs are getting the idea of unity brings more consumer adoption. rising tide argument… be well.

  • http://arnoldwaldstein.com awaldstein

    Hi Jeff

    Thanks for the Canoe reference…they are new to me. Cable is in an interesting and difficult situation as this convergence happens. Hiding from the upcoming change is obviously not a workable strategy.

    What will be interesting is who claims the turf and instigates the conversation for what and how stuff will happen on the big screen. What is it an extension of? TV? WebTV? Web?

    We should talk about getting some groups talking and networking about this in NYC. I'm certain that a few thinkers could stir a lot of interesting and important conversations.

    Enjoy

  • http://twitter.com/jblackman Jeff Blackman

    There is a socialTV meet-up in NY but I am all for getting together with like minded and interested thinkers in media

  • http://twitter.com/Ovurmind Viktor Ovurmind

    Connected TV for me includes the cognitive connection. The social aspect is great but not the only transformation, the next step up in non-fiction content is already in progress with the I-Pad [aka http://periodictable.com/ipad/ ], but it is webTV that also needs remain ahead of this curve. Dynamic content makes traditional media feel lame.

    [v.o.M.]

  • http://arnoldwaldstein.com awaldstein

    Agreed!

  • http://www.buylogitechrevue.net/ buy logitech revue

    Am I the only one who sees what's really happening here with online TV?

    Do a Google search right now for “gesture recognition TV”. As you can see, they already exist – TV's controlled by our movements – that WATCH US with a CAMERA.

    Combine a GRTV with online tv (eg Google TV), and now ANYONE can hack your IP and watch you via the camera.

    1984 much?

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YZQVUSTHCB3KWLHJCGI2KV2V4I Angelina Jolliey

    The affiance is there but the blend of misinformation, abridgement of clarity, abhorrence of affairs proprietary accoutrements and all-embracing activity that this is still a geek dream, abominably seems still true.Searching for video agreeable needs to be as simple as analytic for advice on the web. Intelligent Face-book advice streams. Checking in. Sharing.

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