Buyers of this year’s most advanced TVs might notice a curious new feature: a jack that connects the sets directly to the Internet.
For now, the capabilities are modest. Viewers can’t surf the Web as they can on their computers, but they can use their remote controls to receive updated local weather forecasts, personalized stock quotes, on-demand access to a handful of TV shows such as “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and thousands of YouTube videos.
But the Web connections eventually could upend the way TV programs have been distributed. The goal one day is to replace every set-top device — cable boxes, TiVos, media center computers, stereos and game consoles — so all you need is a TV set that does it all, via the Internet.
As broadband grows faster, TVs become more powerful and entertainment companies put more content online, viewers might be able to call up any show, movie, song or amateur video without needing local TV stations or cable subscriptions.
“An Internet connection gives consumers the opportunity to define the experience they want on their TVs,” said Randy Waynick, senior vice president of marketing for Sony Electronics, which has signed deals to bring content from CBS Interactive, Yahoo, Sports Illustrated and others to its Web-enabled Bravia sets. “This is TV at your schedule.”
If that scenario seems a little futuristic, it is. Much would have to change before viewers receive whatever they want, whenever they want it. For one thing, the Internet isn’t sturdy enough yet to deliver high-definition videos to jumbo-sized TVs. For another, TV sets don’t have the computing power to process big video streams.
Also crucial is figuring out the navigation system: How do you let viewers find what they want on the Internet? Those wireless keyboards that let hotel guests surf the Web on their TVs haven’t caught on.
“I don’t think there’s a replacement for sitting on your couch with a remote control and watching live linear television,” said Dan Fawcett, president of Fox Digital Media.
Manufacturers such as Sony, Sharp Electronics and Panasonic Consumer Electronics see a Web connection as a competitive edge.
But it’s also a foothold in the future of TV. Millions of Americans are planning to purchase sets ahead of the national transition to an all-digital broadcast in February 2009, when TV stations will abandon their analog frequencies. Households that still tune in to free, over-the-air TV will need a new TV or digital converter box to watch shows.
“The Internet is the new ether,” said Paul Liao, chief technical officer for Panasonic. “First you had broadcasting over the air. Then you had cable, and then satellite. Now fiber optics are bringing programming to the TV.”
TV makers face competition from Apple, Microsoft and TiVo, which are among the many companies trying to connect the PC with the TV.
Few consumers have embraced these attempts. That’s because people don’t want to buy another box to connect to their TV sets, said George Kliavkoff, NBC Universal’s chief digital officer. He said that left three viable players: set-top boxes from cable and satellite providers, video-game consoles and the TVs themselves.
“I don’t know who wins, but I think those are the only folks who have a chance,” Kliavkoff said. “It brings the ability to have unlimited channel capacity, personalized channels — a celestial video jukebox in the sky.”
