The savvy guide to the Internet-TV connection

Earlier this week we ran comments from a variety of media professionals on how they use Internet TV and PC-TV devices (if any). These are real people in media businesses, so pay attention to what they are saying:

Andrew Nachison, President & CEO, iFOCOS, “a think tank and community of innovators committed to harnessing the power of media, communication and human ingenuity for the common good”: “The distinction between my computer and my TV is blurred. At home, my computer is also my TV - a Windows Media Center PC connected to cable and functioning like a TiVo. I don’t have a giant screen connected - just a standard 17-inch LCD. But I could go bigger if I wanted. So that computer might be used to watch YouTube videos; or it might be used to watch recorded television; or it might be used to watch videos from iTunes; or my own videos. Sometimes I’ll be sitting in front of the screen and using the keyboard; sometimes I’ll be sitting further away, on a couch, and using a remote.

“But that’s just one screen. I spend more of my time with my laptop, which is not used as a PVR, but which is used for YouTube, iTunes - and good old fashioned DVD’s rented from Netlix. It’s a Mac - so it can not access the Netflix video-on-demand service. I can’t wait for that to work on a Mac, and I’m pissed it doesn’t now.

“I don’t have a video iPod and I don’t crave video on my phone. In time I’m sure I’ll have it, but it’s not a big deal to me. For mobile, good email with my Blackberry and phone calls everywhere are much more important to me right now.

“A key observation: behaviors are not uniform. Everyone I know has a personalized, unique set of viewing habits.”

(Editor: Whew. Andrew knows his stuff.)

Jeffrey Gluck, Director, New Media Communications, IBM Corporate Communications (Disclaimer: these are Jeff’s personal thoughts and do not represent official IBM policy): Apple seems to have the early lead with AppleTV. As has been pointed out, it certainly has flaws. However, I have to give them some credit for taking something technically difficult - moving video from your PC to your TV - and making it easy in much the same way they have done with music, while at the same time putting into place a business model that is legal and not based on what pretty much amounts to stealing the work of others.

“On the other hand, I’m a big believer in open standards. Apple’s system is more closed than it should be, and while that certainly brings advantages, I’d rather see some agreement worldwide on the base-level technologies. I don’t see the issue as being very different from standards in other areas, including highways, nuts and bolts, or electrical power systems. Let companies compete on higher-level products and services built on open standards.

“Internet video is way too hard to deal with right now, with many different file formats and resolutions, and as bad as it is in the PC world, the issues in the mobile device arena are even worse. Eventually, the marketplace and technology will sort out the issues, but it’s going to take some time. When that happens, I, like many others, can envision a world where content can move trouble-free from your PC to your TV to your cell phone anywhere in the world.

“By the way, we’ve upgraded computers a few times and I’ve had to move iTunes music libraries to new PC’s, which is way too hard. Steve Jobs is right about digital rights management technology: It’s a real showstopper for the industry, and for people who believe in the rights of intellectual property owners. People who want to steal are doing it anyway, and all DRM technology is doing is frustrating the folks who are trying to play by the rules.

Assaf Shilo, owner of Israel Sun photo agency: I usually drag whatever I download to a Disk on Key and plug it to my NIS 150 (Ed: About $45) DVD and watch on my 42″ LCD. Quality is mostly as good as the normal HOT or YES TV (Ed: Israeli cable and satellite providers). This is where entertainment is going.”

Charles Knight, editor, AltSearchEngines.com: I’m afraid I’ve never been able to switch to ‘watching’ my PC. I’m still 100% DVD + TV.”

Mark Glaser, columnist for Mediashift, a PBS project, freelance writer: “I watch TV on my TV at the moment, and web video and video blogs on my computer. I’m not a fan of long-form video on my computer, mainly because I work on a computer most of the day.

“I’d rather chill in front of a TV than a computer, if possible, and my DVR helps me watch what I want when I want it. If there
was an easy way to get web video on my TV I might consider it, though I doubt it would look good on an HDTV.”

 Zack Miller, Vice President, Investments at Profile Investment Services, Ltd., and contributor to Israel Newsletter: “I am not a heavy user of downloaded video content (audio is a different story). What I do download, I end up burning onto a DVD and watching it on my TV.” 

There you have it, folks. Serious commentary by savvy professionals. All in all, we’ve got a long way to go before making the PC-TV connection seamless and mass market.

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I asked a group of professional contacts and friends - all of them with some high-tech, Internet or media connections whether they are watching Internet, streaming or downloaded content on their computers - and whether any of them are shifting it to their real TV’s. With few exceptions, they said no. Maybe it reflects their age - they’re not 20somethings - but their answers suggest to me we’ve got a long way to go to streaming Nirvana. Below are excerpts of their answers (with more to come).

Anne Holland, Editor, MarketingSherpa.com: “In the past nine months I’ve become a downloaded TV junkie. I don’t think of it as watching video on a computer, I think of it as watching the TV shows I want to watch when I want to watch them. Best of all, without waiting through commercials, and being able to hit “pause” at any time when I need a break.

“The only reason we still also pay for cable TV in my household is that iTunes TV doesn’t include any closed captions, which another family member requires. Currently, I buy my favorite shows with a season pass, resting easy in the knowledge I won’t miss an episode. I’ll also try out new shows and even surf iTunes looking for new shows to try. Often the first episode is free as a taster.

“I just wish some Internet entrepreneur would offer online server space so I could download my purchased shows and play them from there rather than having to download to my computer and then worry about backing them up for saving. Now I buy it and then often delete after viewing, which seems like a waste. I actually went out and bought the DVD’s of my fave iTunes TV show recently even though I’d watched them on iTunes first just because buying a pre-packed DVD was more convenient for storage and retrieval than worrying about doing it on my own….”

(Editor: Anne’s was probably the most “turned on, tuned in” answer I have received so far.)

Amy Gahran, journalist and blogger (RightConversation.com, Contentious.com, IReporter.org, E-Media Tidbits): “I subscribe to several video blogs, and yes I watch them on my computer. No, I don’t feel any desire to watch them on TV, but I’m not a TV person anyway.”

Patti Hart, Interactive Media Director, Times Union, Albany, NY: My 11-year-old watches the Disney Channel shows on our computer. It works pretty well as far as she’s concerned. She can watch the Zach and Cody and Hannah Montana when she gets computer time. However, if she had the kind of parents who would spring for a better cable TV package, she would probably prefer to watch on a TV screen.”

Tom Regan, NPR news blogger: “I watch baseball almost exclusively on my computer, thanks to the mlb.com package. I’m a Red Sox fan living in DC, so it’s the only way I can watch games. I don’t like the site’s policy of blanking out certain games - which are based on real world and not virtual world considerations. But it’s a lifesaver.

“I would watch more sports on my computer if it was available, and probably pay for it. I have no desire to watch regular TV, however, as I rarely watch it as it is. I have managed over the past several years to not see a single episode of “Survivor,” “24,” “The Apprentice” or “American Idol.” And those few shows I do enjoy - “NOVA,” “NOW” and other PBS stuff - is available on video at their sites anyway.

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