Slashdot Mirror
OpenTV Like TiVo on Steroids
Davis Freeberg writes "Davis Freeberg and Thomas Hawk recently interviewed OpenTV about some of the more progressive programming that they are offering to viewers outside of North America. Specifically, they have created a PVR that allows users to not only choose from 4 - 8 video angles, but even more importantly consumers can choose what audio feed they would prefer. Recently they miked up some drunk hooligans during a rugby match in Austrailia and cable customers could choose which commentator they prefered.
Of course this functionality doesn't come without a cost. In exchange for interactive games, karaoke and multiple HDTV streams, they collect data on the viewing habits of their users and then digitally insert 30 second ads based upon the demographics of their customers. While I'm not sure if this is good or bad, I do believe that this will be the future of television advertising. While we haven't seen this type of a privacy policy introduced in the U.S. yet, I'm sure that the PVR industry has taken notice of the willingness of Aussies to give up privacy rights for the ability to time shift televison.
"
Is the drunken Australian hooligan audio feed available for all TV shows?
If I'm subscribing to their service, they already know what I'm watching because they're pushing it through the wire!
I see no harm in using that data to show ads that are relevant to the genre of programming I'm watching. To me, it seems better to advertise athletic gear and sports drinks during a football game than tampons and depends undergarments.
Context sensitive advertising seems to be the way to go as long as its not overly intrusive. They have a right to make money after all and if people aren't willing to pay with their dollars, then they'll have to pay with their eyeballs.
As TiVo becomes available only as a standalone unit as users migrate towards High Defention we will see the end of TiVo as a hardware platform and the beginning of TiVo as a patent licensing agency.
OpenTV is the NDS based system which powers the Sky+ system which our US Cousins (Brit here!) will shortly be being sold now that Mr. Murdoch has taken control of DirecTV. Sky in the UK were the marketing partner of TiVo and used the experience and knowledge gained to help develop the OpenTV platform to create Sky+ - shortly after they abandonned the TiVo exercise and left it to die.
I myself prefer TiVo over Sky+ since I have a lifetime subscription and TiVo offers much greater flexibility but I can see the time coming where TiVo are forced to offer their patents to NDS and Sky+ and its Italian, Australian and American derivatives starts to offer the same ease of use and intelligence that I have had for the last 6 years.
Matt Thompson - Actuality - Insert product here.
I have no problem with a service colleting my demographic information, as long as I understand and agree on how they use it, without any bull crap like "Terms of service may change without notice".
Using my demographics to give me more ads for computers, sci-fi shows, and other things that match my interest is a better use of my time than commercials for Massingil's latest lemon-scented douche.
Using my demongraphic information to increase my car insurance rates, on the other hand, would not make me happy.
Are you available this Friday evening?
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
As for PVR innovation, US is ion the dead end. Tell me ONE single innovative thing that has been innovated in the DVR business in the last 2 years. MPAA has scared the DVR companies into turning their DVRs into nothing but fancy digital VCRs.
What are my justifications for this comment of mine, you say? Alright. Remember Replay TV? They introduced the Commercial Advance; This technology was one which would AUTOMATICALLY detect commercial breaks for you & skip them, AUTOMATICALLY!! No more lame 30-second skip 'easter egg' of TiVo. They had Internet Video Sharing. They had absolutely best home networking for DVRs. These were the innovations which were really revolutionary in the DVR biz. Then MPAA sued the pants off Replay TV & forced them into bankuruptcy.
For all the TiVo fans out there, compare the features of Replay TV & TiVo. See. MPAA has killed innovation in the industry. Nobody wants to innovate something new in the DVR industry. Thats the reason all the DVR offerings from cable/sat providers as well as pioneers Replay & TiVo have basically stopped doing any substantial innovation.
Sad.
TiVo on steriods would be gobs of hours, enhanced sorting and archiving functions, multiple tuners, and lots of stuff the end users want.
Thisis more like TiVo after an experiment went wrong and it was mutated by gamma radiation before it killed all the scientists and escaped from the lab. I mean, look at the focus - straight from the source,
our real customers, in most cases are network operators, in the context of deals between network operators and programmers or advertisers we can certainly provide services, but we're clear who the primary customer is.
They admit they don't really give a rats ass about the people with the remote, except how they can serve their eyeballs up as a product for their "real customers". That said, in a perfect world, the multiple audio options would be nice for certain programming like football. Being able to choose your commentators would be a welcome change. Anyone who has suffered through a national College FB feed where the commentators are clearly against your team (Brent Mussberger calling any Virginia Tech game, for example) or any game where the commentator just annoys the hell out of you (John Madden for football, Dick Vitale for basketball) would realize the value in this feature. Multiple camera angles would be minimally useful, unless I could get multiple feeds of the same game, and had enough screen to watch them all.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
> Who cares if an advertising company has on record my TV viewing preferences?
And when you have over yor girlfriends parrents, and try to explain why you keep getting all these S&M, and Viagra comercials.
oh wait, this is slashdot. I mean when your parents are over, and you get X-rated, kleanex, and hand lotion adds.
First, I should point out, I am Australian.
That said, the choices when it comes to PVRs in Australia is horrible.
Choice? What choice? The first real one the Australian public has seen is 'Foxtel IQ' which was released early this year. This happens to also be the device they mention in this article.
Ask an Australian last year what a PVR was, and they would have no idea. Hell, ask them this year, and they probably still have no idea (even after Foxtel's fairly large advertising campagines).
Some of us, didn't take this entire situation sitting down, and stated importing TiVos. Thus, OzTiVo was born. For the first time, it allowed Australians experience a true PVR. although, few people then, and even now, actually know about it.
The Foxtel IQ box fails when put up against an imported TiVo in every way, except one: It can record two shows at once. Other then that, it's all bad. The sad fact is, the general public has no idea how badly they are being ripped off. It will cost you $500 for 'Foxtel IQ', which Foxtel remains ownership of, if you disconnect, they take the box back.
Their versions of 'season passes' has many problems, and often doesn't work - They have nothing like 'wish lists', they don't have TV guide data for the vast majority of free-to-air stations and it's full of copy-protection among other rubbish. Not to mention the bad UI...
I feel bad knowing how good a TiVo is, and how many people still continue to buy Foxtel IQ. It is *not* good.
Give me a TiVo any day.