Julian Clover looks back on the last 12 months in the world of Broadband TV News.
There is often a disconnect between the technology presented to us at trade shows and what the consumer is actually up to. As we sit in the conference halls tapping away on the tablets that have taken over from the laptops we have to remember that this is not yet the real world.
But the same could have been said of the mobile phone in the days when it looked and felt like a small brick and this is now a technology that is omnipresent.
So the tablet based services that have emerged through the year aren’t yet the future, but we are pretty close to it.
Sky Go and HBO Go are the most familiar tablet services, but we mustn’t forget to include the catch-up TV services, yes it’s the iPlayer again. What to me makes these technologies interesting is the use of Apple’s AirPlay (the old AirTunes), particularly if other consumer electronics manufacturers pick up the video licences.
As the services proliferate all the talk that the consumer is in control begins to finally happen. Except that the consumer has done it for themselves.
Over-the-top was supposed to put the consumer in charge, but hasn’t yet made an impact to match the hype. Even in the United States, where cord cutting was apparently going to bring the cable industry to its knees, OTT in the form of Netflix is still currently perceived as an extra rather than a replacement.
And next year we will finally have Netflix in Europe; though the amount of PowerPoint slides I’d seen even before the company’ official announcement could have made anyone think they were already here.
Connected TVs are becoming smart TVs, very useful for headline writers, all we need do now is to persuade the consumer to connect them up. To me it seems that the content just isn’t quite right. But what can the manufacturers behind these portals really provide that isn’t available elsewhere. I suspect Billabong TV isn’t it.
High definition is now close to being mainstream in many markets, at least in the pay-TV market. DTT is still developing here, and while the addition of HD channels over the terrestrial system are welcome, one senses the consumer has other priorities.
The jury is out on 3DTV. The hype here has disappeared, and production in the format a regular occurrence, though still news when the BBC screens the final of Strictly Come Dancing in 3D.
