Television-viewing tech changing fast

When I was a kid, we had five television stations broadcasting in my town: three local affiliates, one local station and one public access station. With so few programming options, it was pretty easy to remember what was on and when it was on.

In the mid-1980s, my brother shelled out some big bucks for a 6-foot satellite dish that offered close to 1,000 programming options (this was in the pre-scramble days). You could watch just about anything you could imagine — and I mean anything. When the monthly programming guide would come in the mail, its size rivaled the local phone book and it would probably take you the entire month to view all the available viewing options.

In the late 1990s, the more common 2-foot dish came on the scene, and while it didn’t provide thousands of channels, there was still plenty to watch.

I distinctly remember reading an article shortly after I subscribed to satellite service about a cable company on the East Coast that was experimenting with a new programming service being offered to a select number of its customers. It seemed so cutting edge at the time — silly now — but it was basically an on-demand service for watching movies.

The part that seems so silly now, was that this company had this huge data center filled floor-to-ceiling with video-cassette recorders (VCRs). Customers would call in and request a movie and a real-live person manning the data center would load the selected movie into one of the hundreds of VCRs, flip a routing switch that would send the video signal directly to the customer’s home, and then press play. The customer had no control over the playback other than the approximate start time of their movie.

Like I said, at the time, it seemed so cutting edge. The business model was ideal; the execution of it, not so much.

On-demand services have now become a staple of the cable and satellite programming industry and while not everyone is utilizing this service, the only thing preventing that is a phone call and an increase in monthly billing. I often wonder how long it will be before on-demand programming becomes the “norm”; when broadcast schedules and programming guides will become a thing of the past. On-demand programming has almost made the digital video recorder obsolete.

And the on-demand programming proliferation continues with streaming and Internet-TV services from over-the-top content providers, like Netflix and Hulu, that operate apart from the traditional cable service providers. With so many options in this “new space” of television programming, I want to talk about the services and the hardware required to consume the content.

Netflix really opened up this new programming space when it introduced its streaming service, Watch Instantly, in the fall of 2008. The service allows viewers to watch movies and television programming (post-season finale) via an Internet connection, on computers and a host of compatible devices.

Hulu offers a service similar to Netflix, but where the majority of Netflix’s content is movies, Hulu’s is advertising-based, network-supported television programming. Because its programming is ad-based, Hulu’s television programming is closer to true on-demand, i.e., you can watch episodes from the current programming season.

Netflix and Hulu aren’t the only services that offer on-demand-like content via the Internet. Amazon, HBO and Showtime all offer movie services; many television networks are starting to provide content portals; and don’t forget music from the likes of Pandora and Spotify.

Over-the-top content is available on a plethora of devices including computers, mobile devices and gaming consoles, but apart from the latter, bringing the content into a television has always been the shortfall of OTC as most services don’t provide any hardware. Media computers and gaming consoles were the first hardware types to allow streaming services to be consumed through the “tube,” but the hefty price tag associated with both keeps many people away.

Realizing that an underserved market existed, many third-party hardware vendors got into the game; providing low-cost, high-feature “entertainment boxes” that connect televisions with the Internet. Some of these systems are now being integrated into DVD players and televisions themselves. And many, in addition to offering streaming services, offer web-apps and other types of Internet content.

The three big names in the market right now are Google TV, Apple TV and Roku.

While all three provide roughly the same content — you’ll get Netflix and Hulu, plus an assortment of music, news and sports channels — there are some notable differences between them.

Google TV is the only one of the three that doesn’t utilize a specific piece of hardware but relies on third-party devices to supply its service. At this moment, this includes an integrated television from LG, and entertainment boxes from Sony and Vizio.

Apple and Roku both have dedicated entertainment boxes. And where Apple only has one box available, Roku has four different boxes to choose from, the primary difference being how high you want your high-definition to be.

Apple TV and Roku rely on more traditional methods of streaming content, i.e., through OTC service providers like Netflix. Google TV takes content delivery a step further by providing app-based content. This is a great feature because it allows studios, networks and local affiliates to produce and supply their own content, on their own timeline, via an application. It also allows users to use similar apps from phones and mobile devices on the TV. Apple will surely begin to open up app development for the Apple TV to offer similar functionality.

Speaking of mobile devices, all three units are controllable via a smartphone, so when you lose that remote, you can still be in control. Google and Apple also both allow you to stream content from your mobile device. Apple’s AirPlay technology allows the content being streamed from the mobile device to occur in real-time, so when you swipe, pinch or play games, it shows up on the television screen. And Roku’s “flagship” box offers some built-in motion-based gaming capability with its Nintendo Wii-like controller.

Whatever option you choose, your television watching is about to take a turn for the better — putting you in control of what you watch and when you watch it.

Michael D. Wailes is an interactive developer at Burns Marketing Communications in Johnstown. If you have questions or would like to suggest a topic for a future Geek Chic column, email him at news@ncbr.com.

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