Talkback
by Staff -- Multichannel News, 6/1/2009 2:00:00 AM
Web TV’s Impact Is Inside the Box
(RE: “Cuban Sees Continuing Small Role For Web Video,” May 28) To say that video on the Web has been a disappointment is a valid observation if you were hoping that people would move from their couches to their desktops. However, what Cuban fails to acknowledge is that the Web has and will continue to have a tremendous influence on advanced set-top technology. Web-enabled cable boxes, TiVo, Apple TV and other media computers attached to HDTV’s are the future of television. These devices bring Web video to the TV screen. The medium is the same — TV — but the technology is purely Web-based.
Levi C. Maaia, Vice President, Full Channel TV, Warren, R.I.
Revamping Remotes Is a Touchy Subject
(RE: “Remote Revolution,” May 26) The basic fallacy of these approaches is they all center on adding functionality to the remote control device itself. Hasn’t the success of the iPhone and iPod Touch proven that touch based user interfaces on the new class of ultra-portable devices — MIDs, Netbooks, and smart phones — are an ideal way to navigate through a user’s media library and Web-based content sources? Why put the navigation menu on the TV screen and add clutter to the viewing experience? Put the UI on an ultra-portable and sync content between the primary screen (i.e. the television) and the device. Then a user can easily search, discover and preview content while having the navigational control to also enjoy social and interactive features of TV programming. Studies already indicate 62% of TV viewers regularly “surf the Web, text, or e-mail while watching television.” Create a parallel experience between the two screens and marginalize the need for more expensive remote controls and TV-screen navigation.
Bill Correll, VP, Marketing, Eyecon Technologies, Palo Alto, Calif.
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