Volume Control
Voices From Everywhere on Cable at CES
by Staff -- Multichannel News, 1/14/2008
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“While I applaud today’s announcements, there is still one big strategic piece missing which Comcast has yet to comprehensively address: What are its plans to allow subscribers using its digital set-top boxes to seamlessly watch broadband video content as they do broadcast and cable programs?”
Will Richmond, VideoNuze http://www.videonuze.com
Comcastic Voyage Into Media’s Future“Comcast’s plan is to create a platform of its own, a one-stop shop that you can drive from your PC — checking mail, making phone calls, and watching hi-def video. That could be quite attractive to users, particularly if they don’t have easily-available alternatives.”
Susan Crawford, Public Knowledge http://www.publicknowledge.org
But Content Still Steers the Ship“On the TV, VOD has always been an attractive product, but the reason most companies do not offer huge film libraries is that no one wants them. Consumers watch the most popular movies. Having an extra 5,000 films that 1% of the subscriber base wants to see is hardly a solution. Cable is grasping at straws. It will have to come up with something beyond some extra programming which most people can get elsewhere.”
Douglas A. McIntyre, 24/7 Wall St. http://www.247wallst.com
Open Cable, but Closed Platforms“The Consumer Electronics Association has argued that tru2way would not be the truly open system that the Federal Communications Commission wants, because it would not be compatible with the technologies of non-cable video suppliers. Ahem, DirecTV and Verizon FiOS? The 'era of closed cable’ may be coming to an end, as Roberts said, but the wars between providers of television, broadband and telephone services are far from over.”
Zoë Slocum, CNET http://ces.cnet.com
