

The Innovation Lull - AlexMuir
http://www.alexmuir.com/2012/08/the-innovation-lull/

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PaulHoule
Often things do get developed in silence. What looks like a "lull" could be a
lot of stealth mode activity.

TV is a fascinating market that has a few challenges.

I have a TV that is hooked up to a computer and a game console. I used to have
a Blu-Ray player attached to the TV, but I hooked up a portable Blu-Ray writer
to the computer, installed some software, and removed a bulky thing that had
to be positioned awkwardly so it could see the remote control.

Blu-Ray disks aren't really "movies", they're really Java applications that
have access to a really great multimedia API. It turns out a computer is much
faster as disc loading and interactive features because cost constraints cause
standalone players to be underpowered, even expensive players.

For 5.1 sound we have an HTIB. Add it all up and people who visit our house
have a hard time figuring out what remotes to grab and what buttons to press
to do simple things.

I'd like to see a TV that has a remote control similar to the Wiimote in that
I could use it as a light wand, pointing at things on the screen.

The "multiple remote control" problem could be solved by using the back
channel that's available in HDMI. Although the PHY is standardized, the
messages aren't, so this only works if all the stuff connected to your TV
comes from the same vendor. (Samsung or Sony could make a whole suite of
products, but Apple is awfully dogmatic -- if they had any sense you could get
a Blu-Ray drive in a mac mini and then have a pretty little package that
flattens the alternatives.)

Another trouble is economic. A TV could have a ten year or more lifespan, but
the electronic package in it will be becoming obsolete in five or so,
particularly if they economize it.

The cable box is another barrier. The cable companies are going to resist
anything that makes TVoIP easy. Yet, cable delivers a huge amount of
entertainment, and a super TV will only be super if it delivers a super
experience watching cable.

As disappointing as it is, Apple could be making a very reasonable choice to
get into cable boxes, since that is the place that would be the hardest to
integrate into other systems.

