V Bit Set

Will Richmond, president of Broadband Directions and publisher of VideoNuze has been on a jag lately opining that broadband video on TV is a mirage. The crux of Will’s argument, as I understand it, is that in order for the true destiny of broadband on the TV to be fulfilled consumers must be able to freely access all broadband content. While I do deal with broadband video production and distribution in my day job, I do consider myself a fairly mainstream video consumer. Will’s vision of a system with complete and open access to all broadband video content does not appeal to me.

Firstly, my TV viewing patterns are quite different from my Internet viewing habits. In front of the computer I am an active participant seeking out content and following links to other relevant content. In front of the TV the vast majority of my time is spent passively consuming content, only a small fraction of my time is spent searching for content.

Secondly, the input devices for my computer and my TV are vastly different, and I like it that way. I have no interest in attaching a keyboard to my set top or trying to incorporate a Wii inspired pointing device. Having more complex input devices would unnecessarily complicate my experience.

I do think it is possible to put together several different news items and see that we continue to make progress towards Will’s vision for broadband, perhaps more rapidly that he gives the industry credit for. The first article referenced above was primarily about Comcast taking a leadership role in bringing more broadband to the TV through their installed set top boxes. But what really interests me was the TiVo announcement that their spring software update will contain a feature allowing users to access any video content syndicated through RSS. Since TiVo software is now becoming available via Comcast set top boxes I wonder if we aren’t closer to achieving the reality Will envisions while preserving the simplistic interface and passive experience I currently enjoy.

I would like to see TiVo working on some solution for actively following references to additional video resources, both from broadband sources and from traditional programming. For example, Mythbusters regularly offers extended content via their web site and briefly references it during the episode. It would be helpful if TiVo was sensitive to this and allow the download of this content with a simple “Thumbs Up”. Perhaps Google’s recent patent application of a process for text recognition in video would be useful here.