Technology matchmakers have been trying to bring internet and television together for over 10 years. Their first date ended up as an utter disappointment. Technology companies under the leadership of Microsoft’s attempt of this, named Web TV, ended up in the annals of history as a product not many remember, and does who do try to forget. It should have been foreseen that the first try of bringing together internet and television, two entities of different worlds, would fail. Them working together depends not on installing hardware which can access the internet in the television, but on changing how television works from the remote control to the content by thinking about proper usage scenarios.
“It is not an exaggeration to say that IPTV has brought with it a troublesome era for television manufacturers.”
Television manufacturers focused on hardware at first. TV chip suppliers added physical internet access properties to their structure. This first step was crucial, but far from sufficient. Reaching a server online was the first step, but the second and harder part was viewing the content of that server. Internet browsing software which required less resources (cpu, ram, etc.) were developed. This created a considerable amount of market in our day. The second step was creating content presentation designs which could be viewed from3 metersin a television rather than from50 centimetersin a PC. Including widgets and portals, content organization suitable for television became a new specialty. Television broadcasts started being received from an internet server by standard protocols rather than tuning to a specific frequency from the antenna or the satellite. This approach forced the telecom companies to enter television broadcasting, internet infrastructure to optimize for video transfer and television/set-top box manufacturers to change both in hardware and software.
It is not an exaggeration to say that IPTV has brought with it a troublesome era for television manufacturers. Television manufacturers are generally hardware-based, but IPTV requirements compel them to increase software development in a disproportional manner. Working processes which are hardware-based by nature are forcefully shifting to software. With software taking up most of the project development process, the variety of properties, usage ergonomics and creativity rise. The industry which had heavy standards in the past is entering a process in which change is easier and competition increases in favor of the consumer. In many products the content and television are being marketed together. In this new world where similar developments can be seen in the gaming industry, content comes from a much larger source than the limited broadcasters. Since television manufacturers are plenty, the end products supporting different video formats, upgradable software, maintaining security on the internet and many functions need to be easy to use.
As great as they look together on first sight, it clearly is hard for internet and television to come together and have a healthy relationship. However many hardships were overcome in the last 10 years. In my opinion, it is time to reap what was sown.
