Jeremy Allaire, Brightcove’s CEO, and I wrote an open letter in January 2008 to the consumer electronics industry that argued for a strategy to get Internet video to TV sets. We made the case that the best approach would be a set of open industry standards similar to the web, but geared to the unique experience of traditional TV.
Apparently the letter was lost in the mail.
Two years later, the consumer electronics industry continues to stumble forward without a real plan. We all want Internet video on our TV, so the question stands: How is it going to happen?
We are moving into a world of Internet-connected TVs (ICTV), in the form of both traditional TVs connected through a networked device (DVD player, computer, set-top box, game console, etc.) and TVs that come with their own built-in micro-computer and Internet connectivity. While most manufacturers are still fantasizing about replicating the success of Apple’s walled music Eden, the iPod/iTunes approach will fail; no single device and software system is going to win the battle for the living room. As a result, content distributors and publishers will have to find ways to get their content onto a wide range of ICTV systems.
Since the consumer electronics industry has not embraced traditional open standards, we are going to end up with the next best approach: a few default standards driven by open source efforts. These “media center platforms” (MCP) will give publishers and developers a way to build experiences and deliver content across multiple Internet-connected TVs. With any luck, the major consumer electronics manufactures will pick one or two of these software platforms and not make every experience proprietary. (Fingers crossed on this.)
The MCP market is already gaining momentum, and it creates a fresh patch of fertile ground for startups. XBMC, which was originally introduced as the Xbox Media Center, has emerged as an open source effort with decent traction. Boxee is the most high profile example of a commercialized version of XBMC. Adobe could easily resurrect Adobe Media Player as an MCP, as well. Undoubtedly there will be others as the race gains momentum.
But along with the MCP vendors, everyone else wants a slice of the new value chain, including broadband providers (e.g., Verizon), TV manufacturers (e.g., Sony), the content producers/owners (e.g., Viacom), the content aggregators (e.g., Hulu), the advertising networks and the existing social networks (e.g., Facebook). The fight is on.
The road to Internet TV nirvana is starting to come into focus, even if it still looks a little like a scene from Mad Max. As the new stack of hardware and software technologies settles into the place, the next question will be: Is there a killer app for Internet-connected TVs beyond simply delivering more TV?
Adam Berrey is the former SVP of Marketing and Strategy for Brightcove. He is currently an Entrepreneur in Residence at General Catalyst (a Boxee investor) looking for the next big thing in renewable energy, and a blogger at www.startupblender.com.
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