[Discuss] open protocols for IP-TV

[tmetro-blu at vl.com (Tom Metro)]

Rich Braun wrote:
> Tom Metro suggested:
>> And the best way to break free of the old-world TV model that the
>> existing studios, networks, and cable companies are clinging to is to
>> reduce barriers for the new upstarts to reach our living rooms.
> 
> Go to Best Buy and take a look at their TV department.  Not much ever changes,
> thanks to the fact that Best Buy eliminated virtually all their competition...

I'm not sure the lack of local retail competition really impacts product
selection available to us. Inconvenient, sure, but I don't think you can
make the case that manufacturers are innovating less because BestBuy has
become a lazy, dominant retailer in the US. (And on tenuous ground,
according to recently released financials.)


> ...set-top boxes aka media players.
> They are all the same price, $99, unless they have local storage.

That depends on when you look. Boxee hit the market at $200 and can be
found now for $150. Google TV was $300 and eventually got marked down to
$100. Neither had local storage. Then Roku has had players for under
$100 for a while. (A bunch of "no name" players can also be found for
under $100.)


> Roku and Apple aside, the others support the Digital Living Network Alliance
> standard...
> There are now about 4 DLNA-compliant open source media server projects: 
> MythTV, MediaTomb, Rygel and Twonky. 

Also Vuze.

My understanding is that DLNA treats the DVR like a passive provider of
read-only media. If that impression is still accurate, that's a less
than satisfying way to interact with your DVR. Can you delete programs?
Is there any support for higher-level concepts, like marking a show
watched, or not? Bookmarking positions? Scheduling? Commercial skip?

It may be that this functionality can be added to DLNA, or implemented
with a protocol that operates along side DLNA, but either way there
needs to be an open protocol for remotely controlling a DVR. Something
that avoids the architecture mess that results in a MythTV client
messing with the back-end's MySQL tables.


> ...as recently as the 1990s (and even the early 2000s) we had a
> single device that could play back and record all TV content regardless
> of whether it originated on pay TV or broadcast TV.
> We called it...the VCR.
> 
> Dire Straits wrote the anthem for this concept:  "I want my MTV!"  Suppose
> they changed the lyrics to:  "I want my VCR!"  And suppose instead of
> government /being/ the problem, the government could be used to /solve/ the
> problem by imposing standards compliance.

I think you are chasing an obsolete problem. This thread started with
the question, "Is MythTV dead?" and my answer was that *all* DVRs are
dying. DVRs are past their peak with mainstream audiences.

If you are in the minority that needs the DVR-like control of your
programming, you'll just have to put up with the inconvenience that
comes with being out of the mainstream. Your best hope for an easy
solution in the future is some sort of "DVR-in-the-cloud" solution,
assuming that some company can successfully negotiates the necessary
licensing deals to avoid being sued[1] by the TV networks and the MPAA.
(The cloud music services cropping up lately provide some precedent for
this possibility.)

1. http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2006/05/6913.ars


> Those $99 media players at Best Buy are an endangered species regardless: 
> their functionality will be folded into all new TV sets within the next couple
> years.

True.

Recent stats show that consumers are actually buying TVs more frequently
than they used to. On the scale of about 3 to 5 years, similar to the
frequency of personal computer purchases. This has been attributed to
the combination of ever increasing screen sizes (buying a new, bigger TV
for the living room and moving the old one to the bedroom) and falling
prices. (Perhaps the new OLED TVs will spur another wave of upgrades.)

This will lessen the major concern about obsolescence of IP TV hardware
built-in to TVs. Plus there will be a spectrum of other solutions, from
TVs with upgradeable firmware (some have this now), to bundled and
replaceable hardware (like the latest Roku player that's the size of a
USB Flash drive). Who knows, maybe the industry might even agree on a
standard for a CableCARD-like hardware module that can be upgraded.

 -Tom

-- 
Tom Metro
Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA
"Enterprise solutions through open source."
Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/