Comments on: High hopes at Yahoo, Intel for Internet-enabled TV

Intel and Yahoo are comfortable in the realm of the PC. They hope Internet connectivity will help them conquer TV, too, and they'll show how at CES.

[Joetwopointoh]

How unfortunate that companies are putting so many eggs into the streaming video basket at the same time that broadband providers across the United states are implementing bandwidth usage CAPS and on the fly bandwidth throttling (as is the case with Comcast) in order to squeeze still more customers into their rapidly dwindling aging infrastructures

Example, use Comcast and want to try the latest and greatest HD content on Youtube? Fat chance unless you're willing to watch it buffer for 15 minutes in order to play back a 5 minute HD video clip.
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[valeriod]

The Netflix/Roku combination works really well right now. Do your seach/selection/programming on the PC and use a simple interface to navigate on your TV.

I think that evolving this model to add more functionality yet keeping the TV interface simple is the key.

You could even have an iPhone or Android app to do the seach/selection/programming in front on the TV but never on the TV itself.

[JCPayne]

I have to agree partly with Joetwopointoh. This is the wrong- time for this technology. The train long ago left the station on this.
Microsoft has tried this technology already. It was called WEBTV. and MSN TV2. It got nowhere. Further more broadband providers have been putting in place caps. Or rolling out their own offers of this. Verizon is building it into their FiOS TV. AT&T is working with 2Wire to implement Homezones or something like that. And other like DirecTV have come up with DirecTV Game Lounge and so on... Additionally there are providers that did this that have already gone belly up. GTE (The forerunner to Verizon) had something called mainStreet USA that was deployed over parts of MediaOne's cable TV network and elsewhere and it didn't quite catch on either. Alternately Apple came out with AppleTV and it has remained stagnant since rushing out of the gate. If Yahoo wants to blow the last of their money on something that wont get off the ground I say so be it. But this isn't enough of a convergence of TV and Computer to warrant writing home about.
Additionally you already have TV going past big bulky units and heading for mobile phone devices I think Yahoo is about 10-12 years too late on this it seems like something that would have died during Web 1.0.

[The_Pied_Pipes]

A few valid points here, but most of them are arguments with a point of reference lodged in the past. The fact is that speed and user experience have increased dramatically recently, and I'd wager that at some point, there will be a turning point where the expected behaviour of being online and watching TV *will* merge.

It may be hard for older consumers to imagine, because they are not typically the ones 'mutitasking' with laptops *whilst* watching TV. But if more young people come to experience watching TV whilst being online, they will one day ask 'why can't I just use one interface for all this?'

And Yahoo! and Intel are betting that that moment is coming soon. So am I.

[JCPayne]

Here's a better idea Yahoo. Take whatever money you have left. Buyup Sprint. (So that you would actually own some broadband pipeline under your belt. (e.g. a capitive audience that you can make money off of) then launch something for your customers.

[Penguinisto]

@Valeriod: This is a lot bigger than simply building a computer that you latch onto a television. NDA prevents me from saying how big (I used to work for Intel on this very project), but seriously - it's a whole different world than the days of plugging in a computer or some set-top self-contained box.

@JCPayne: You are partially right - but MSNTV and WebTV (which BTW are the same thing, and MSFT invented neither one, as they had simply bought WebTV and expanded on that). Where Microsoft failed was that the thing required a keyboard to use (and not just a simple remote control). It also failed because it came out when television resolution was simple (and grainy) NTSC/PAL (648x486), when computer monitors could already by that time show 1280x1024. HDTVs can do a lot better in the sharpness department nowadays.

Microsoft also tried something similar by combining some of WebTV's functions with DVR, calling it UltimateTV - but wound up stomping on a few of TiVO's patents and got slapped down for it.

AppleTV (and Windows MCE) are also different - Apple TV comes the closest, as it has a remote control, but it also requires a keyboard/mouse.

HTH a bit, folks (I know it probably doesn't, but...)

/P

[snarlydude]

How come you guys aren't talking about the underground HTPC phenomenon? I hacked up an old PC a few years ago running the open source Media Portal software (mostly because it will play ANYTHING) and isn't tied to ITunes like AppleTV, and it does timeshifting (a'la Tivo) and everything. Now I've finally got a proper nice Antec home theater case and a proper PC that can play and record multiple streams of 1080p.

The main problem with this is that it is a MASSIVE pain in the ass to set up a Home Theater PC to work smoothly, have a proper working remote and keyboard and be reliable. Once it does though it is heaven. I have resorted to specialty shops and vendors to help me set it up despite my pc savvy-ness just because it is such a pain in the neck. And even they aren't making seamless devices.

My point here is that the Home Theater PC is indeed a viable and very entertaining and useful consumer electronic device and has a very good future. But someone XBox, Apple, Intel, Yahoo, Slingbox? anyone needs to step up to the plate and make the ultimate EASY-TO-SETUP HTPC, and if they do it will sell like wildfire, they will OWN the living room globally and be a multi-billion dollar corporation! We're waiting. Hurry up.

Also as an aside, these current HTPCs are used by enthusiasts and people who download huge amounts of TV shows who aren't willing to be shackled by the constraints of 15 minute commercial blocks, lame or constantly switching broadcaster schedules, DRM and low quality purchaseable content online, and monopolistic cable companies who provide overpriced poor service. Give the public high-quality 1080p/720p content of the shows they like without commercials in an easy to use non-DRM purchasable format for a reasonable price and most people would gladly buy it than go through the hassle of torrents or trading files with Tivo friends....

This is 2009 practically. Where the hell is my reliable Living Room PC and flying car for that matter!! ;-)

[Penguinisto]

You mean MythTV, right? Been there, done that, beat the unholy crap out of Postgres to get it.

Get a shoebox PC, pack it with a humongous hard drive, and an HDTV video card... with Linux, you can afford to put it all together and spare enough for a wireless keyboard and mouse... costs about the same as a commercial solution, and you get the bonus of no DRM. For a few bucks more, you can add a Blu-Ray player (about $150 or so nowadays).

/P

[stanorlaski]

To me the killer HTPC app is Media Center, if only MS made it so that it had all the major TV content added (like a Hulu) it is a no brainer using your Xbox as an extender. Right now there is just not much internet content on Vista Media Center. Why can't they show these with limited ads just like Hulu does?

btw, MythTV the ultimate answer? Seriously? I have dealt with GBPvr for several years now with an Hauppauge MVP, it's better than anything else out there, but I am definitely giving it faint praise! It is only for the tinkerer.

[jonathan_bennion]

At the moment, I can only see 6 channels at once when I page down through infinite menus (out of over 1,000 channels), which is becoming existentialist...

If Yahoo's Connected TV initiative people could sell a new interface to digital cable companies for browsing TV channels, before Wiimotes replace current remote controls to accomplish same cool thing, Yahoo could score a coup.

[iBuzz]

This looks like it's just Konfabulator running on a TV. Yawn. Widgets didn't really catch on with the PC desktop (except for perhaps weather and stocks), so why do they believe TV will be any different? Do I really need this crap running on my TV and taking up screen real estate and providing distractions around the periphery of what I'm trying to watch? Guess what Yahoo... if I want to know what the weather forecast is or how my stocks are doing while I'm watching TV, I'll just pick up my iPhone.