ABI Research - Digital Home Industry Blog Feed

Hulu as a Pay TV Service?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:22:22 EDT

Last week, the discussions around Hulu shifted, as a key executive talked about the future of the online service and the possible move to make at least part of the content available through a pay model. Based on the slow advertising sales that Hulu has seen so far, it is not a big surprise that this idea would come up. With all the discussions around consumers potentially leaving pay-TV services like cable and satellite for free online content, I think this is very good news for the pay-TV operators.

Comcast and Time Warner have been making strong moves to create their TV Everywhere services, tied into being an existing subscriber. These service ...

Netflix coming to the PlayStation 3

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:21:31 EDT

Today, Sony and Netflix announced an agreement that will bring the Netflix movie service to the PlayStation 3 game console. This follows a long line of partnerships that are putting the Netflix service in a wide variety of consumer electronics devices including game consoles, network-connected TVs, and more. Combined with the previous partnership with Microsoft Xbox 360, this now creates the availability of the service in a large installed base of game console households.

The Sony offering is available for free through Sony’s PlayStation Network, and only requires the consumer to have a membership with Netflix. This is in contrast to the service ...

Does Antipiracy = Content Protection?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:41:38 EDT

The equality seems to make sense…protect the content, stop piracy; however reality is rarely that simple or clean. Take for instance the idea of protection. By its very nature, protection entails some form of restriction and while the extent of these limitations varies, in many cases it stands counter to the general direction that content has been moving – that is towards its liberation. Does this mean protection is wrong or that content should be free? The answer, unequivocally is no.

Too often our first inclination ...

Disney’s Keychest – Does it Hold a Magic Carpet Ride to the Riches Held Within the Virtual Cloud?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:41:05 EDT

Yes I’m being facetious, but it’s not because I think the idea of Keychest is bad, but we must take this “magic cloud” (as ABI Research Digital Home Practice Director Jason Blackwell likes to call it) with a modicum of reality. Ok, enough of the Magic Kingdom references, but while there are certainly strengths and merit to this announcement (at least based on what we know so far), as in most cases there are hurdles as well.

Disney certainly has access to a wide breadth of valuable content beyond what’s directly in house (e.g. Pixar, ESPN, ABC, Marvel), so Keychest from ...

TiVo and Blockbuster

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:47:58 EDT

Though it was announced early in 2009, the partnership between TiVo and Blockbuster to deliver the latter’s OnDemand rental service has finally come to fruition this week. Broadband-connected TiVo DVR boxes can now deliver old and new film releases, with rental rates ranging from $2.99 to $3.99. Current selections will be enhanced in the coming weeks by the addition of high-definition content. Blockbuster will also begin selling TiVo DVR boxes in stores.

As the number of connected devices increases in the living rooms of homes around the world, content will be the compelling driver to get consumers to actually connect the device to the network.& ...

Business Needs a New Placeholder for Unnamed Manufactured Goods

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:10:22 EDT

What comes to the top-of-mind when you hear the word widget? Is it a small mechanical device or control? A thingamajig? Or perhaps widgets are forever ingrained into your psyche as some unnamed manufactured good used for business cases. In time however, the popular perception of the widget might take the form of another facet of its definition – namely a software program that usually performs a relatively “simple” function.

Widgets or apps are creating a paradigm shift in the electronics industry. What started large scale with Apple has spread to numerous ...

Oracle to Acquire Sun Microsystems

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:14:27 EDT

Oracle an enterprise class software provider and Sun Microsystems known for its Java technology and servers had signed an agreement in April this year to join hands. They have finally received the blessings of the US Department of Justice, which has approved the acquisition of Sun Microsystems by Oracle. Java and Solaris operating system offered by Sun were the two key pieces that attracted Oracle to go ahead with the acquisition, thus winning the deal against rival IBM which supposedly was also following this opportunity. Both the organizations offer cutting edge technology in their realm of expertise and this fusion would position Oracle as both a software and hardware provider and s ...

User Experiences and the 'Wow' Factor

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:38:15 EDT

Rovi’s announcement this week that their guide will be integrated in new Samsung televisions speaks volumes about the CE industry’s recognition that the user experience and interaction are becoming drivers for growth. In the past, user interfaces and applications like television guides were afterthoughts. The UI was typically developed in house, and the level of expertise was, in most cases, seriously lacking. Today we are seeing more emphasis on middleware and software as key purchase drivers for hardware. This is creating what I’ve often termed the ‘wow’ factor.

The ‘wow’ factor refers to the consumer r ...

Warner Music and Cisco to Deliver New Media Experience to Online User Communities

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:46:51 EDT

Initiatives taken by various technology giants are indicative of the fact that consumer preferences have evolved and they now demand access to a wide array of content and interactive services. With vendors in the digital media market constantly developing offerings, it has also raised the expectations of the media savvy consumer. Capitalizing on the opportunity this market offers, Cisco made a debut in the digital media market a few years back and positioned itself as a provider of products and solutions required to deliver rich media content to consumers. Though traditionally known for its routers and switches, the company now has an enhanced product portfolio that includes video servers, set top boxes, di ...

Netflix Game Console Exclusivity Sweetens the Xbox 360’s Content Portfolio

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:06:00 EDT

While Netflix on the 360 is old news, the public declaration that the Netflix and Microsoft partnership is in fact exclusive (in the game market) is noteworthy. Now, one might argue that this partnership is hardly “exclusive” given the other devices supported by Netflix’s streaming service. Granted, viewing this piece of information from the perspective of the total market, it may seem relatively innocuous or inconsequential (depending on your exact vantage) since Netflix’s streaming media strategy to the market thus far has largely been more of a shotgun approach.

But we would be remiss ...