"Blu-ray" articles
There were a couple of announcements today that point to an expanded role for connected TVs beyond "over-the-top" video. Instead, the connected TV can also serve as a gateway for managed video services. Companies such as Verimatrix, Clearleap, thePlatform, Cisco, Motorola, ActiveVideo Networks, Alcatel-Lucent , Nokia Siemens , and Ericsson have all made recent announcements in this area.
Now, ADB has joined the fray, offering a solution called the Virtual Gateway ....
Sony's Internet TV products were showcased its Google TV™ products on Tuesday, including both TVs and a Blu-ray Disc Player/"smart TV adapter" box (like the Logitech Revue), priced around $400 (the Revue is priced at around $300). Given consumers' hesitancy to add yet one more box into their main entertainment console, I wonder if they would be more receptive to the idea of an integrated Blu-ray Disc player/smart TV adapter compared to a stand-alone box? $400 is a big...
The connected Blu-ray player may be setting itself up nicely as a set-top box. First, there was RCDb's announcement with Clearleap regarding premium content accessibility. Now, Verimatrix with RCDb has introduced first licensable solution for securing premium video content for over-the-top (OTT) distribution to Internet connected Blu-ray players.
The joint solution highlights how broadcasters, programmers and network operators can leverage the rapidly expanding base of...
There are more indications that TV Everywhere is going to mean more than just having programs available on the computer; it's going to encompass many consumer electronics platforms. Take, for instance, the announcement yesterday from Clearleap and RCDb , where a Blu-ray player can receive premium video-on-demand content. Then, look at Cablevision's Tom Rutledge (COO), who indicated that the company is already trialing IPTV applications to bring video to Web-enabled devices such as...
This summer continues to be hot for announcements regarding connected consumer electronics and premium content services. A few weeks ago, the $9.99/month Hulu Plus service (with more than 2,000 television episodes available) generated the buzz, as it is a vailable on a variety of connected TVs and Blu-ray Players (Samsung, Sony, and VIZIO), along with two game consoles (the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) and a variety of Apple products (iPod touch, iPhone, and the iPad).
Today, the...
For at least a year or so, I've been doing my best to categorize all of the different solutions that are specially designed to bring Web content and applications to a "connected TV." I'm putting the term in quotes because there will be different ways to experience connectivity between the Internet and the display other than an embedded solution. For example:
* Connected game consoles: In the U.S., penetration of Internet-connected game consoles jumped 38% between 2008 and...
We've been pleased to have Mitch Singer from Sony Pictures and the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE) coalition speak at our recent CONNECTIONS events and speak about the potential of "digital locker" services. Roughly defined, these would be services that could authenticate and manage a wide variety of user-owned content in a virtual environment. One key element of the digital locker is widely agreed-upon digital rights management protocols, where multiple...
Blockbuster and Samsung have announced that Blockbuster OnDemand will be available on select connected HDTVs, Blu-ray players, and home theater systems starting this fall. I talked to a Los Angeles Times reporter yesterday about the deal, and was told that Samsung does plan to offer connected Blu-ray players and home theater systems with both the Netflix and the Blockbuster online services. However, today's release from Blockbuster indicates that Blockbuster OnDemand will have...
