To understand why the problem of easy access to content is so difficult to solve, it is essential to first consider the major players involved in the system and where their interests lie. This research note examines the current state of the market, which companies matter now, and which matter for the future.

The post Next-generation TV remotes and interfaces appeared first on Gigaom.

While content in the living room has traditionally been viewed on different screens and delivered in different forms of media, recently things have changed significantly. The past couple of years have seen a large-scale disruption of the entire TV landscape and its delivery models.

The late ’90s and early 2000s saw the Internet and home networks start to proliferate, and there was talk of a new era, a “digital living room.” Much of it was met with skepticism — and with good reason. The slowness of early Wi-Fi networks, the lack of software standards and clunky initial product offerings from both hardware and service manufacturers more often than not resulted in consumer disappointment.

Over time, however, fundamental technology building blocks matured. Wireless networks became fast enough to handle video streaming. Software protocols such as DLNA and Bonjour began to ease the use of these technologies, while pioneers such as Microsoft (Xbox Live), Netflix and Apple (iOS devices) began to make products that would change consumer-usage behaviors.

As consumers began to look at new ways to shift media over networks in and outside the home over the past decade, slowly but surely distribution models for content began to adapt, eventually upending the content creation and distribution value chain. Physical distributors of content, be they music or video retail and rental, started to get hit hard as more content shifted to online distribution. Content creators saw their distribution windows collapse, and new forms of distribution enabled content creators to begin to sidestep the large studio decision makers. Aggregator players like Netflix and Hulu ascended, showing consumers entirely new ways to bundle and buy content.

All of this has added up to a vastly shifted entertainment business today, which has been reshaped in many ways to fit the new reality of the digital living room. That said, the way forward is going to see just as much, if not more, rapid change. The adoption of tablets, social media, new interfaces, and the changing nature of the TV itself mean the digital living room will continue on its disruptive path.

The goal of this report is to help readers understand the different technologies driving this shift. We asked analysts to identify key trends reshaping their market, to identify the key players driving this change, and to look down the road a bit and help us understand how the market sector will look. In the following pages:

• Mari Silbey breaks down how the set-top box and pay-TV providers will evolve in the age of over the top.
• Consumer tech expert Alfred Poor breaks down how new interfaces, from touchscreens on tablets and phones to the rapidly changing nature of the on-screen interface and user guides, will impact consumer behavior and media models in the future.
• Longtime media analyst Larry Gerbrandt breaks down how the shift toward over-the-top video distribution is impacting the economics of media.
• Patrick Moorhead looks at how different smart TV and app platforms are taking shape.

So enjoy, and learn. Also, let us know, in comments or email, what trends matter most, how you think the digital living room will change, and who will ultimately be counted among the winners.

The post The living room reinvented: trends, technologies and companies to watch appeared first on Gigaom.

We need more than a printed TV guide and a five-button remote to efficiently and effectively navigate this abundant new universe of programming. Fortunately, the same technology that has made it possible to create so many offerings can also provide the intelligence to help us find what we want to watch.

At this point, it’s not clear which of the emerging approaches will ultimately win, but the end result is the entertainment equivalent to a computer operating system, so the possible rewards are enormous. The interface has the potential to be even more important than the content or its distribution, which will make the owner of the interface the one who controls access to the programming.

In order to be successful, the user interface must address six essential functions: search, browse, recommend, retrieve, access control and social sharing.

There must also be a way to interact with the interface, whether through a physical device with buttons, a touchscreen or a noncontact system based on gesture or voice commands.

Some companies have created the initial iterations of a solution. The successful approach will likely take either the cooperation or the combination of companies to assemble the assets, resources and alliances required to create an effective system that is supported by all the stakeholders in the system.

The post Managing infinite choice: the new era of TV user interfaces appeared first on Gigaom.

Skype, of course, already holds a commanding lead in the computer-based voice and video communications market. This new move could make it possible for the company’s services to be available on an even broader range of devices, from automotive ones to TVs and personal electronics. The fact is that the number of network-connected devices continues to rise, and the “plugged into Skype” initiative would further strengthen the company’s already iron-like hold on this market and make it even more difficult for competitors to find a toehold.

The post SkypeKit: Skype’s Platform for CE-Based Communication appeared first on Gigaom.

Both Panasonic and LG announced that they were going to include support for Skype video communications in select models of their HDTVs, marking a major development in how people will talk with each other over distances. The fact is that consumer visual communication – video chat – is an application that is likely to sell more TVs over the next few years than 3-D.

Worldwide, corporations are increasing their use of telepresence systems to improve communications across distances and to save on travel expenses. Moreover, anytime travel is disrupted, the impact on business is unquestionable. As this report was being prepared for publication, a volcanic eruption in Iceland led to the closure of most of Europe’s airspace and demonstrated how tenuous our transportation systems can be. This event alone is sure to spark increased interest in corporate telepresence systems.

But consumers and small businesses represent the vast majority of the market for communications, and a shift from the traditional telephone systems to Internet-based solutions is expanding the potential for video communication in these markets. Skype now accounts for 12 percent of all international calls. The move to IP communications is often initiated by its lower costs, but consumers are discovering additional features and benefits, such as video chat. More than one third of all Skype calls involve video, and when you consider that the company’s call volume is measured in the tens of billions of minutes per month, a lot of video calls are being made. And that’s just with this one service.

One of the key factors boosting uptake of video communications is that a significant portion of the market already has all of the equipment it needs. Instead of having to spend $10,000 to $100,000 or more for a dedicated corporate telepresence system, most people already have what they need in their existing laptop or desktop computer. (If they don’t, they can add a webcam with a microphone for less than $50.) Meanwhile, a majority of consumers and small businesses now have broadband access to the Internet; widely available Wi-Fi service means that they still have access even when away from the home or office.

This has eliminated the “symmetrical” problem of traditional video communications, which required specialized compatible equipment at both ends of the conversation. Most of the people you know already have the requirements to accept video chat. As a result, consumer video communications is growing rapidly, and hardware manufacturers are responding to the trend. Samsung has joined LG and Panasonic in building Skype support directly into some of its HDTVs. And if recent reports are to be believed, Apple’s next version of the iPhone will have a forward-facing camera, making video chat possible on that device.

Currently, video chat is being used as a more effective replacement for the phone call. We can expect that it will take on new roles, however, as consumers and businesses become more comfortable with it as a communications tool. We’ll see extended telepresence applications become more common, such as sharing a mealtime with someone far away or having a shared open “window” into a distant office.

Opportunities abound in many areas as a result. In addition to the primary functions of providing the hardware, software and services required to support consumer video communications, the larger data streams also have implications for broadband service providers and related industries. There will also be opportunities for existing and new companies to provide new services to consumers and small businesses based on video chat communications.

The post Report: The Consumer Video Chat Market, 2010-2015 appeared first on Gigaom.

After more than 50 years of toying with 3-D movies, Hollywood appears to have finally found a way to move beyond sensational special effects and bring the technology into the mainstream of movie production. The profound success of 3-D movies at the box office also has the studios searching for ways to capitalize on their development investments. The answer: move 3-D display technology into the home.

This follows a well-established history of technology migration from the local cinema to the living room. In the beginning, it was the moving picture itself that created demand for the original broadcast television that you could watch in the comfort of your own home. The theaters have advanced a series of new technologies to maintain an appeal over the in-home entertainment choices, but eventually consumer demand results in home versions. We have seen color, multichannel audio, wide screen, and high definition images debut at the cinema, only to have them eventually show up in the home.

So it only makes sense that 3-D will be the next frontier for cinema technology migrating to the home. We’re still in the Wild West stage, however, with many unanswered questions about just what form the technology will take, from how it is created and prepared by the movie studios (and other content creators), to how it will be delivered to the home, and finally how it will be displayed and viewed. Many different players are competing at different levels of the market. There will be some big winners, and there will probably be even more losers.

Some segments are heavily invested already in the success of 3-D TV in the home. Some have some proprietary technology that they hope will become keystones in the new market, such as those that can “synthesize” 3-D content from the enormous existing catalogs of 2-D content: both movies and television programming. Others hope to turn the advent of 3-D TV to a competitive advantage in an existing, crowded market. For example, 3-D TV could help plasma recover ground that has been lost to LCD technology in the flat screen HDTV business. And newer technologies such as Blu-ray discs hope that demand for 3-D TV content will help accelerate the initially sluggish adoption of these new devices.

It is most likely that other players, who may only have limited involvement in HDTV at this point, will emerge to show major gains. One important opportunity is delivery of 3-D content over the Internet. If traditional Internet distribution channels such as Netflix or newcomers such as Hulu can offer more programming on demand at a lower cost than other distribution methods such as Blu-ray or cable and satellite services, they could become the consumer choice for 3-D content. Similar opportunities exist in markets that are not directly related to HDTV, such as still photo and digital video cameras and playback devices, which could offer consumers affordable ways to create their own 3-D content.

The post Report: 3DTV Market is Ready for Takeoff appeared first on Gigaom.

The post Why Is the Plasma HDTV Market Dying? appeared first on Gigaom.