While the few, hyped TV sets of CES 2010 were the 3D sets, the show marked a shift toward the new standard for an HD TV as the connected-set. There was not a single new TV set we came across that did not have a Net connection and a widget/app platform.
The app platforms taking advantage of the new Web connections were somewhat varied in their appearance, but all had a very similar, familiar style. Menus were typically dark and segmented like many digital cable menus. Most offered the ability to see what programs were upcoming, set reminders and browse content libraries while still having a smaller video screen playing content from a previous channel.
Widget platforms have become fairly standard as have the specific widgets included. Netflix, CinemaNow, Blockbuster, Pandora, Flickr, Amazon’s VOD and Picasa all tend to get top-billing. Vudu, which seems to have abandoned its own set-top boxes in terms of updates, is also finding its way to most sets from the major players like Samsung and Vizio. The one missing from the front-and-center listing is YouTube, though all sets we came across support the online video hub.
The biggest thing for the TV quite possibly was the introduction of Skype to many of the new connected sets. Panasonic and LG both introduced Skype services, showing them off during their keynote addresses at CES. Toshiba didn’t partner with Skype, but it did introduce a built-in video phone in its latest TV sets.
This creates a whole new level of connectivity and interaction with the TV, and it’s a big move in the shift to take TV from an overall passive to active experience. This new active-passive interaction balance is perhaps the biggest shift in the living room.
As widgets integrate Twitter feeds and Facebook information, interaction is on the upswing. Some newer TV channel guides have dropped a lot of their text and are now showing channels by their logos and by streamed content on the guide itself.
In a panel discussing the TV as an interactive content experience, Jaspal Bhasin, the COO of itaas said that the key to these interactions is to provide as much of a range as possible while making it easy for consumers to find relevant and interesting content. No small task by any means, but it was a sentiment echoed by broadcasters, content creators and interactive marketers.
Just like TVs, every set-top box we came across had a widget platform for Net content. From veterans Roku, Moxi and Boxee to new-comers Popbox and iGUGU, boxes are giving TV sets the ability to connect to the Web while costing under 10% of the new HD sets unveiled at the show.
The biggest advantage of the set-top box approach is that users get to try out a new Web-enabled experience that generally covers all the services that the latest TVs do. The Vudu platform is generally the big exception here, but a lot of content is covered by other available widgets – especially when Amazon VOD is included.
The one big problem that boxes have is their affinity for including Web browser-like experiences. This is generally a mix of good and bad for the consumer; it adds new content but also adds frustration when it comes to entering text via a remote. Remotes that address this issue are on their way, and many were shown at CES. There’s a very wide window of when they’ll actually hit production, though.
To highlight the problems of Web connectivity, one must look at the newcomer iGUGU. It’s a software system that runs on a laptop or can be installed in a set-top box that uses a computer to access Web content. The problem: This includes P2P networks on the Web. If everyone’s favorite Torrent site, The Pirate Bay, were to make a small tweak to its search feature, it would appear on search results from the iGUGU interface. While trying it out on the CES showroom floor, it was easy to find free torrents for not only movie previews, but also full-length movies and TV shows.
The first step for this market is getting users to plug in those Net-enabled TVs. Set-top boxes have a leg up here simply because they require the Web to function, and consumers have that understanding at the point of sale.
Net-enabled TVs still give users a ton of great content without ever being connected to the Web. Users who pick up an HD TV will pay their TV service providers for their new channels and HD content, but some believe that this gives them full access to what’s on their TV sets.
Many people on the showroom floor at CES thought that plugging a cable into their TVs did the trick because menus from telcos, cablecos and even satellite providers feel like the Web and sometimes include content originally available on the Web. They don’t always realize it has been reformatted for the TV and is stored by their service providers instead of streamed from the Net.
Another thing many panelists mentioned as the next big step for Net-enabled CE is the ability to talk to each other; many expect this to come through DLNA. The new WiGig standard was known by many, but few considered putting it into devices that were getting ready for market because of uncertainty about its abilities and about which other compelling devices were also considering it.
As these devices begin talking to each other, Bhasin’s advice to the industry rings even truer. In one panel, a speaker brought up the idea of a washer and drier that could send a scrolling “clothes are ready” message to the bottom of a TV set. What ensued was roughly 10 minutes of back-and-forth on who would like the service and who wouldn’t want the interruption, proving that IBM’s Bruce Anderson and Sony’s Mitch Singer expect and desire different things from their personal TV experiences.
Mike Harris, a GM of DivX, wasn’t interested in having his medical information available on his set, but Arlo Rose of Yahoo’s connected TV division was eager about the idea of medical monitoring via TV.
Perhaps the most important step in all of this is finding an answer to the questions Anderson posed during a panel: “Where’s the money? Or [perhaps the] real question is how much are users actually using the Net-connected TV services?”