What Are You Watching Tonight?
I’m pretty sure that like most people at the end of the day if I’m not reading my Kindle, most likely I’ll be settling in to watch a good TV show. There are some fantastic ones on right now, which the New York Times recently pointed out, highlighting the Sunday evening TV-watching dilemma as people struggle over which shows to save and which to sacrifice. Unfortunately, the reporter doesn’t have a cool Ceton tuner card like InfiniTV (we’re working on that) and can only record one show while watching another.
There are worse problems to have than not enough time or DVR space to catch all your TV favorites, but with the return of Mad Men and Game of Thrones to new comedies like Veep and Girls, it’s one that many of us want to address. While a lot of my friends still use the DVR that comes with their TV (e.g. Comcast), they’ve learned the hard way that something’s gotta give. Personally, I haven’t found the perfect solution, but I do know that the way we’re watching television has changed dramatically and rapidly, with more options for streaming, downloading and/or recording TV, and second-screen options that are taking it to a whole new level of interaction and personalization.
And this is not all about pleasure, as it’s an important and exciting part of our business as well. Through our work with companies in digital entertainment, we’re learning more every day about how the market is evolving and we have some very cool products to talk about.
I recently spoke with the reporter of the aforementioned NY Times story who said, “I cover TV not technology.” And while we understand beat reporters need to draw some circles around their beats, without technology there would be no TV. In fact, with good technology, TV should get even better, right?
- Take for example, our client Ceton. The company’s tuner technology is very popular with TV and home theatre fanatics who need (not just “want,” these people “need”) to record four shows at once. And Ceton delivers with its InfiniTV line. Their customers are the most passionate I’ve seen for any business. Right now, Ceton is tapping its customer base for beta testers for their cool new Ceton Companion App for Windows Media Center (yes, an app, Microsoft – that’s what people are using these days).
- Another exciting client, Dune HD is helping TV operators deliver very targeted programming to specific audiences of customers, giving them the niche programming they might not find easily on cable. Advanced media players combine music, movies, and Internet TV, all in one digital media player affordably and easily tailored by individuals. Dune HD is great for the home entertainment nerd in all of us.
- Long-time Concept client Gracenote has an Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) platform called Entourage™ that allows smartphones and tablets to instantly identify movies, TV programs and music playing on TV, and then creates paths for viewers to explore related content, such as actor filmographies and advertising brands, and link to on-demand services to stream or download content that intrigues them. The reality of interactive TV!
As many companies (including our stellar clients) are helping to transform the TV viewing experience, we as consumers are bound to see some amazing things. Not just what’s on TV, but how we consume it. So, make it a movie night with your family, butter the popcorn and get ready for the show!
Industry Insights | 
May 11, 2012 7:30 am
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