Connected TV Summit 2011

Videonet’s second annual Connected TV Summit took place in London this week. Attended by over 360 delegates, with representatives from across the connected TV delivery chain, it proved to be a strong industry event.

While there was very little talk of 3D TV, the leading TV manufacturers arhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gife clearly committed to increasing their connected TV offerings. According to Informa’s Senior Analyst, Giles Cottie the main driver for this is simply to keep up with the competition.

As you’d expect, Video-on-Demand remains key, as viewers enjoy the freedom of watching what they want, when they want. Ian Mecklenburgh from Virgin Media stressed that TV still remains the most important aspect of the connected TV, he also told delegates that if on-demand was a channel it would be its third most popular.

We also saw an increasing number of services for companion devices such as the iPhone and iPad as the connected home takes shape. NDS, Philips, Samsung and Sky were all talking about new projects along with Siemens showing a slick new demo using a cloud based service.

Edd Uzzell from Sony had some interesting points about connected devices, notably that demonstrating their full capabilities continues to be a challenge as the majority of retailers aren’t even ‘connected’, making it impossible to showcase the full range of benefits to consumers. As we’ve discussed on this blog before we mustn’t forget the consumer in all of this, retailers and device manufacturers need to help consumers understand how they can make the most of these new services, so they don’t get left behind in these exciting developments.

Hybrid TV over 3DTV

A recent survey from Nielsen has shown that internet connected TV is a higher priority for consumers than 3DTV. 22 per cent of those asked said that they had a broadband-enabled TV set-top box (STB) or intended to buy one, whereas only 12 per cent own or have plans to purchase a 3DTV in the next year.

This demonstrates that consumers clearly have an appetite for on-demand services, that can be accessed through walled gardens and portals on Connected TV’s and set-top boxes.

That said, it’s important to remember that 3DTV is still in the early stages, with the first 3D TV sets only available recently. Sky has already shown some of its football matches in 3D this year and with an increasing number of blockbusters being filmed in 3D, it is likely that it will continue to rise in popularity. But is there enough 3D content available to satisfy demand? As the survey shows, it is the TV content not the TV technology that consumers crave.

The Digital Age

It was reported this week that May was the first month on record that no analogue TV sets were sold in Britain. The traditional TV format is fading out, as the UK digital TV switchover in 2012 fast approaches.

The rise of Digital TV with additional channels, HD, a variety of STB functionality and the imminent arrival of 3D TV means the consumer has never had so many choices. The switch to digital also provides viewers with a wealth of new content. The number of digital TV channels available through cable, satellite, Terrestrial, IP and hybrid STBs continues to grow. Add to that the on-demand content and you’re bound to find something you want to watch!

3D TV no longer just for movies

Canal+ has confirmed plans to launch a 3D channel in France by the end of 2010. This follows the recent announcement from BSkyB for its 3D channel, Sky 3D, to launch in April.

There’s been a lot of hype surrounding 3D TV particularly at the last IBC and CES shows which both touted new 3D technology solutions. It’s great to see these technologies make the move from the exhibition floor to the sitting room and start to become a reality.

3D TV is becoming increasingly popular for consumers as well as industry enthusiasts, it’s high profile usage in hugely successful films such as Avatar and the upcoming Alice in Wonderland is helping to maintain the momentum as did the first live sports broadcast in 3D seen in the UK last month.

This announcement from Canal+ shows that 3D TV is not just a fad or for early adopters and will soon hit the mainstream. People are curious to see what it looks like on both the big and small screen. The only question is, will there be enough content available to meet this increasing demand.

Sky Broadcast 3D Sport Live

Sky ran the world’s first live 3D sports broadcast in a handful of pubs on Sunday. I wasn’t one of the lucky few to experience Arsenal play Manchester United in 3D, but the response so far seems pretty positive.

DigitalTV.net were pretty impressed. Although, they felt it was a novelty rather than the future of TV. Mainly because of the glasses – posing the question of whether you would really wear them at home?

Digital Spy was also watching the event and noted that some elements of the broadcast worked better than others. For example, the teams walking onto the pitch looked impressive, as did the 3D graphics of the team. However, at times the players looked to be “plucked up from the surface”. So, not all positive.

I’m looking forward to experiencing a 3D live broadcast soon, which could be sooner rather than later with LG’s new LD920 3D TV, but I will still need some convincing to wear those glasses…

Augmented Reality

Not so long ago, the notion of mixed reality was something that only materialised in science fiction films. However, as time passes, the virtual world and the technology surrounding it are fast evolving.

It’s clear that there’s a lot of hype around Augmented Reality (AR) and it has captured the imagination of next generation developers and manufacturers.

This is a sort of stuff that could potentially bring the interaction between technology and the human even closer.

It seems the innovation behind AR is developing fast and becoming applicable to nearly everything to do with consumer electronics and gaming. Just last week, a company called SPRXmobile revealed Layar, an augmented reality browser with 3D capabilities, as demonstrated below.

Challenging the conventional design

Just occasionally someone designs something that causes everyone else to ask "Why didn't I think of that?" - or even "Why hasn't someone thought of that before now?". This was very much my reaction when I first saw a design concept by Min-Kyu Choi of London's Royal College of Art.

The UK plug is generally considered the safest plug design in common use anywhere in the world. The use of rectangular pins, the cable exiting at the bottom (thus minimising the likelihood of the plug being yanked out by its cord), cable restraint and each plug being individually fused, are some of its key features. More recently the standard has been updated to require the phase (live) and neutral pins to have insulated bases.

However, there remain several factors about the UK plug that are sub-optimal. It is one of the largest physical plugs in the world and in particular its 3d footprint is big making it bulky and difficult to accommodate in product packaging. For anyone who has ever stood on its prongs with bare feet at 3am will contest, leaving them lying around the floor is not wise. And for anyone responsible for the forest of wiring behind their TV, UK trailing sockets are also space-consuming beasts. Mr Min-Kyu appears to have succeeded where so many before him have failed - to improve the UK plug while keeping all of its safety features and addressing the three issues I listed above. perhaps that is why people are calling him a genius.

Min-Kyu Choi's plug design - ideal for portable equipment



The design has been submitted as an entry for the James Dyson Award. Hopefully an enterprising company (maybe Choc Box?) will pick this up and turn it into a commercial product - how long before we see it and Choi on Dragon's Den?

What do you think of the design? Have you come across an innovative design concept worthy of mention? Let us know in the comments.

BSkyB prepares for 3D content

Rapid TV News has reported that BSkyB is to launch a 3D service in the near future. Sky’s chief engineer broadcast strategist, Chris Johns, has reportedly told a London conference that Sky will increasingly focus on building and delivering its own archive of 3D material as part of Sky’s “Vision of the Future”; services like the Arts Channel, sports and general entertainment will be the first to receive investment.

Sky’s decision to invest in 3D systems is driven by the burgeoning distribution demand from Hollywood, which is said to be releasing some 61 movies in 3D over the next 18 months.

Interestingly, Sky is also said to be focused on delivering everyday 3D home entertainment through simple and cost-effective technology routes without the need for newer “3D Ready” or “HD Ready” set-top boxes.