Analysis: How To Turn The iPod Into IPTV

Gigabit Ethernet in the last mile. Terabyte personal video recorders. Ultrawideband home networks. The list of technological breakthroughs touted by broadcasters, network operators, and consumer electronics companies goes on and on.

But their real accomplishment over the decades hasn't been more sophisticated technology, but rather the continuous improvement of the consumer experience. Thanks to the advent of terrestrial radio broadcasting, Roosevelt's fireside chats reached a large number of homes. Yet it wasn't the new-fangled technology that captured the attention of the American public; listeners were hooked because for the first time they could hear the president's own voice live.

Likewise, the appeal of the Sony Walkman wasn't its stereo technology but its ability to bring recorded music to wherever consumers wanted it. Then came the zenith of this trend with the iPod, which fundamentally changed the way in which we acquire, listen, share, and catalog recorded music.

The technologies surrounding Internet Protocol (IP)-based video, or IPTV, promise to similarly transform how we interact with both live and recorded video. IP's impact overall will be greatest on the consumer experience, making video as portable, customizable, and usable as the iPod has done for recorded music.

There are at least three different camps pursuing IP video: distributors, content owners, and new entrants. The first group is the one that owns the connection to the consumer's home and includes cable and satellite providers, as well the telcos that are beginning to roll out video services. The second are the all-important content owners, who now have the choice to bypass the distributors by making their content available directly to consumers via the Internet. The third group, the new intermediaries, is made up of companies that will bring a radically different model to the video distribution business. These include Apple, Google, Yahoo, and even Amazon, eBay, and the many others not yet anticipated.

For distributors, IP video represents both an opportunity and a threat, the same way in which iTunes was for the music industry. Television and video in some ways are going where recorded music and audio have already been. In fact, distributors should look to the recorded music industry to learn some valuable lessons about how to deal with the prospect of IP video.

One of the first lessons to be learned is that the term "television" really doesn't capture what this next-generation of video will mean for consumers or providers. Surely it will be personalized, multi-faceted, portable, customizable, virtual, useful, and entertaining in ways that are only anticipated by broadband Web-enabled PCs and handhelds. And just as clearly, someone will find a way to add value so that consumers will be willing to pay for it. But if the recent history of recorded music is any guide, those who will be best at IP video commercialization won't be television's incumbents.

Does it seem probable or just plausible that an established television broadcaster or video-capable network service provider could be blindsided by someone outside the traditional industry who has an innovative business model, an intuitive user interface, and a good pricing strategy?

Read the rest of this commentary at ExtremeVOIP.com: "Analysis: How To Turn The iPod Into IPTV"

Copyright © 2005 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in ExtremeTech.