by Kris_Tuttle on February 24, 2010
A couple of weeks ago I posted on the coming of Internet TV and even the ability to pre-order them on Amazon.
I received quite a bit of feedback from people that were clearly confused about what Internet TV is.
Many people for some reason think that Internet TV is some kind of an either/or decision. It might help if we called it “Internet-enabled TV” instead. One can still watch the normal cable programming along with Internet-sourced content from YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, and so on.
A feature article today in the New York Times today illustrates how important the Internet feature is to allow interaction and social connectedness.
Another key point made in the article is that by getting mixed in with Internet content viewers actually consumer *more* TV programming because their friends, colleagues or just the social world is commenting on it.
The Olympics are serving as a prime example. There is so much coverage of the Olympics that most people just don’t have the time to figure out what they want to see and remember to watch it when it is on. Media companies create “highlights” which help but they also attenuate the content.
This year people are being alerted to segments that they should see by their friends which creates burning desire where there was only mild or even no interest before.
It looks like another disruptive wave is about to hit TV programming. As we have noted here and elsewhere it’s been too-long in coming.
Related Posts:
Coming next week: Internet TV
Broadband v Cable
[Disclosure: None]
by Kris_Tuttle on February 11, 2010
So far Internet TV has been slow to get started. Part of the reason is that early efforts like Apple TV just didn’t work very well as a main entertainment system in a home.
Next week the space will get a boost as a new price/performance leader in this space, Vizio, will be shipping a new array of very nice Internet-focused TVs. By focusing on general purpose Internet attachment these devices will serve very well as what they are supposed to be (a TV) but also enable a range of new entertainment and gaming services to be delivered seamlessly and easily over IP networks.
Now instead of having to watch Cable VOD on the TV and Amazon or Netflix VOD on your computer, it will be easy to watch everything on your beautiful, large TV with a sound system and comfortable chairs.
Some have noted that the average consumer is not in a condition to buy these iTV units since they only recently went to HDTV. That may well be the case but it will only slow the take up rate, not stop it. In fact I think that we tend to underestimate how powerful the pull of a new entertainment unit like this is for most consumers. It’s not unusual for a home to have multiple TV sets and we see most incremental purchases including these new features to help “future proof” current purchases.
Vizio is also demonstrating that we are starting down the path of wireless connectivity with the TV. Most “media centers” have been put together in part to deal with the mess of connecting cables that swirl and tangle behind the multiple units that comprise the system. A number of companies have been focused on very high speed wireless methods so that the only connections needed will be power cables.
The remote provides an early example of what we expect to see in the space. This one covers the basics but in the future they will be more elaborate and functional.
With bluetooth it will be easy to add better keyboards as well as specialized devices for gaming and device networking applications.
In summary we think 2010 is the start of Internet in the living room from the iTV to the iPad it’s going to be busy. It’s also one step closer to 3D as well which may be another driver that kicks in starting in 2011.
This link can be used to view these at Amazon.com and to pre-order if you want to be the first on your block to step into what will be more entertainment without all the proprietary borders and limits.
This seems like something Dell should be leading the charge in no?
Update: And don’t forget that Google is taking YouTube to new levels with a redesign and more watchable features like live concerts. The rise of Internet TV will be very good for Google.
[Disclosures: None]
by Kris_Tuttle on February 11, 2010
I avoid talking about every technical burp and tweek we review from the major technology firms including Intel, AMD, Nvidia, and the like. (Same goes with every ebb and flow of performance ratings and twists and turns of patent disputes.)
However the recent release of Nvidia Optimus tecnology is another small reason we prefer Nvidia to companies like Intel and AMD in the computing space.
There are several pages of technical description of Optimus available (this is a good one) but we’ll net it out as an elegant way to offer a computer with the power of a discrete GPU engine that is only used when it is needed, thus saving lots of power and helping to lessen the big tradeoff between speed and power consumption which bedevils mobile computing.
The most familiar analogy is the all-wheel drive in cars. In the old days most all cars were 2WD but for a very few 4WD like the Jeep. The drive train was permanent, there was no switching. Then cars started to come with the ability to lock and unlock the 4WD feature when the car was parked and you had the time and willingness to change the hub settings on the wheels. This got better with a simple lever but in most cases you still had to stop the car.
Now 2WD/4WD systems are automatic and unless you do something to prevent it, the car senses and uses whatever drive parameters are needed to maximize performance. The same is true with hybrids that shift between battery and internal combustion engines.
You get the idea.
Similarly it has been possible to manually turn off a GPU inside a laptop but it’s complicated and requires a reboot – so nobody ever does it.
The Nvidia Optimus technology allows a GPU to turn on only when an application that leverages the power of the extra processors is invoked. At the same time it turns off when it’s not needed. So when you are reading email the GPU is off and the power consumption is minimized. When you are done and fire up a video or graphically intensive game the GPU kicks in and delivers the power needed for a great experience.
This sort of “hybrid computing” has been around for some time but what’s important about this is the implementation. An important difference this time is that incorporating the design doesn’t involve extra effort and costs on the part of the device maker. So this will become a standard feature right away. After all any laptop with a GPU and without Optimus is at a major disadvantage in terms of expected battery life which is a big factor in use.
I don’t want to make too much of it but it’s another good datapoint with respect to Nvidia maintaining the leadership in driving the GPU into the fabric of general purpose computing (which BTW is a certainty in our research view, see our other research notes on it.)
Also refer to an earlier post (Nvidia Turns the Crank) for more links.
[Disclosure: The R2 model portfolio has a long position in NVDA.]
by Kris_Tuttle on December 17, 2009
The last couple of months have been marked by a broad set of positive developments for the GPU makers, especially Nvidia and AMD. Some of the highlights have been:
Application acceleration goes mainstream. – The leading creative application providers, Adobe and Autodesk, are embracing the GPU and driving the requirement for one into space of generalized computing. This actually started with prior generations of the software but we’ll see more of this in products like Adobe Creative Suite Version 5 but even Flash will take advantage of the GPU to improve performance and the experience.
Internet video gets serious. – Video is one of the leading new applications for the Internet today and it is shifting from the short grainy YouTube content of yesterday to high definition, in some cases even 3D, content. This level of digital video demands more processing power to produce and even to view properly. Everybody want’s video, more so than even text and browsing, and it’s another good reason to have a GPU in computer, especially mobile Internet devices.
GPU in the cloud. – Until recently it wasn’t clear if GPU computing power would be available in the cloud. Given the success of generic on-demand offerings from Amazon, Google and others it seemed only matter of time before we would begin to see it. Both AMD and Nvidia are working closely with the major players and we will see GPU processors on-demand and in the cloud pervasively in 2010.
Cloud-based GPU applications are shipping. – Mental Images has announced and is providing Reality Server which represents the high end of digital image rendering in the cloud. Some companies are using it today with their own cloud servers. Application platforms like OTOY are enabling the highest end of gaming even on mobile devices like the iPhone using cloud-based GPU software and acceleration. Here is a link to a Techcrunch post on OTOY back in June of 2009. We also covered a demonstration of OTOY in our short research report on the 2009 Gilder Telecosm Conference. It’s available in the sample publications section of our website.
3D content has arrived. – The cinema industry has embraced it. Avatar is in theaters this week. A big difference today is that the cinema industry creates content in native digital form which means that content can be moved rather than redeveloped into other formats for games, short videos, images and other forms of consumer entertainment content.
Standards are emerging. – Although there is still plenty of bickering over PhysX versus OpenCL and DirectX versus others, these technologies are settling into mainstream software like applications, browsers, and operating systems. In cases were two important standards make it, it looks like they will both be supported. This makes it possible to deliver high-end graphics and 3D applications to a large market.
We expanded on the mobile 3D theme further in a report published yesterday by GigaOM called: 3-D Untethered: A Look at Mobile 3-D Technology (GigaOM Subscription).
On top of all the industry adoption Intel settled with AMD and paid them $1.25B, scrapped their Larrabee-based plans to enter the discrete GPU market and is under further FTC investigation for trying to screw Nvidia.
Put simply the industry is shifting to video, 3D, and mobile and right now this leaves Intel mostly out of the action. It’s great news for Nvidia, AMD, ARM, Imagination Technology, Qualcomm and a host of other semiconductor makers.
When it rains, it pours.
[Disclosure: The Research 2.0 model portfolio has positions in both Nvidia and Qualcomm.]