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The Internet TV Conundrum
December 14, 2007

It seems that for now consumers are content to keep Internet content on the computer.

Until their TVs come Internet ready at an affordable price, consumers are going to keep to their same behavior patterns. For my peer group, it means renting or buying a DVD when they want to watch a movie or ordering pay-per-view on demand through their cable company.

People that I know (might) purchase content on iTunes to hear on their iPod or watch on their computer. They won't try to stream it to the TV. To them, the two experiences are completely different.

Online content providers are still waiting on an industry standard Internet to TV solution though. But many are staking out positions in the portable media space -- assuming that handheld media players will soon replace portable DVD players.

CinemaNow for instance is embedding its movie service on handheld. They are building a platform specific to each device, from the 4-inch screen on the Samsung P2Player, to a separate Windows Media Center edition website.

"The content is uniquely customized through each device. That same way iTunes works with iPod, we're working to make CinemaNow to work with their hardware," said CEO Curt Marvis, who is also frustrated about the Internet to TV gap.

SanDisk too has a portable solution, the TakeTV flash drive which plugs into a TV connected cradle and an online content platform, called Fanfare. This week, the company announced that NBC has signed on to deliver day-old episodes. And CinemaNow is talking with SanDisk about getting on Fanfare, Marvis said.

The problem with these portable devices, highlighted this week by the Wall Street Journal, is that they appeal to early adapters only. Everyone else seems content to either watch short videos on their computer or watch TV shows and DVDs on their TV set.

My friends, for instance, are busy professionals. They don't own handheld media players. They don't know about media extenders. If they see anything on demand, it will come through the cable-service. And many have a cable-provided DVRs to skip through commercials on TV.

They don't get too flummoxed when their TIVO Series 2 doesn't work with the new high definition television. They just move it to the old Magnovox in the bedroom and leave the DVD player back in the living room, where it belongs.

Posted by Ned Randolph on December 14, 2007 | Comments (0)