Comments on: Intel TV service already being tested by hundreds of users

By: ModernMode

ModernMode — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 22:10:07 +0000

Why would anyone let their car insurance track their driving…..for a discount. That could work for intel. No camera = high price. Camera = discount.

By: Bob

Bob — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 23:00:57 +0000

Odd that one would not be concerned about image metadata being sent to godknowswho. Your address and IP, the image geotag, number of objects, number of animate objects, gestures, face detection, clothing elements and personal accessories identified, etc… Egads! So, you and ten friends from church decide to watch a training video on gun carry certification… Then there is the knock on the door. OR you just get a bill rated for eleven viewers of that program, which would be pretty darned bad if that is all it means.

By: Bob

Bob — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 22:51:48 +0000

If they are not selling a game station which reacts to user input as does the Kinect, then the camera will be used for verification of users who are consuming content. It is likely that they have licensed with MS, if the news about MS’s patent of the technology is true. So your bill will be predicated on the number of “user hours” rather than, or in combination with, bandwidth or channels. Bend over………. it’s commin’.

By: Sjs Wilton

Sjs Wilton — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 23:12:33 +0000

Remember the gazillions Intel wasted on Viiv…do you even remember Viiv? The notion of a company as “dumb” or “smart” is irrelevant; those are traits of individuals not companies and it’s pretty silly to anthropomorpize a complex social entity like a company.

That said, there’s an old vaudeville joke that really does seem apt here. How do you make a small fortune? Start with a large fortune.

By: Matt

Matt — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 06:47:58 +0000

A flop product waiting to be dropped into tech abyss…

Intel will be firing this Erik shortly..

By: Rich

Rich — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 19:36:54 +0000

Even if the STB manufacturer assured me I would have privacy with their STB, there are two issues: I wouldn’t trust what they said, and what does their camera do *for me* as opposed to doing something for them?

By: Jeff Spicer

Jeff Spicer — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 17:38:40 +0000

Just put a kleenex box over the camera.

By: RG

RG — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 17:17:45 +0000

Other STB manufacturers (with cameras) are looking at a camera sensors, with Image Cognition capabilities from Cognivue. This solution pre-processes the image and simply transmit the image metadata (gesture recognition, face detection, etc) back to the STB’s processor. This avenue removes the privacy concern since the actual video data is never stored or transmitted to the main processor.

By: 186k

186k — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 10:54:43 +0000

I was slightly less skeptical of Intel’s Media plans after watching the video of Erik but that was from an extremely skeptical starting point. Putting aside the camera issues, their overall approach to a virtual cable operator sounded pretty sensible but what a mountain they have to climb!

Not only do they have to get the HW & SW right to deliver this fantastic UI he was banging on about, but also sign all the channel & content deals, launch an industry leading streaming platform, build a full customer care & billing capabilities, marketing, retail distribution, etc bloody etc And for what, how many households can they reasonable expect to convert before the other pay operators just upgrade and emulate the best of what Intel launches. If consumers warm to different shaped bundles, it’s will be trivial for the others to adapt and the latest generation of cable UI are not as bad as these senior guys seem to think.

Additionally, it’s not an international play, because unfortunately much of TV is very national and all those channel deals will need to be painfully negotiated in every single country

I reckon if Intel have lots of cash to burn, they should just acquire Netflix & use their platform to launch a virtual cable operator and potentially add on some sexy device for the living room

By: Rich

Rich — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 06:18:41 +0000

Why would any user want to have the camera operating? What does it do for the *user* (not for Intel) ?

Intel may not be dumb but manufacturers have been known to intellectualize themselves into making products that the public rejects for very good reason. This whole Intel Media project sounds a little twisted to me.