OTT, 4K Content Driving Infrastructure, Viewing Changes

OTT, 4K Content Driving Infrastructure, Viewing Changes posted: 09/08/2015

1.7 billion were there for his birth. And as he grew, so did the technology. An entire human life recorded on an intricate network of hidden cameras, and broadcast live and unedited, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to an audience around the globe. - The Truman Show, Paramount, 1998

Netflix' Reed Hastings has warped reality TV isn't dead.

It's in the middle of a gut-wrenching change to keep pace with consumer expectations and the dizzying array of options that are emerging that they are up against.

There are shiploads of big, bad, sharp, smart 4K UHD TV sets.

And there's the cheap route to not-so-smart TV the dongles.

If you look at set sales figure (30M projected this year) and the entertainment demographics, conventional TV isn't dying it's maturing.

TV Traditionalists (boomers plus) are perfectly happy with their linear cable bundle, but after a certain amount of aging, they

Unlike 3D - which I swore 3 years ago would take over the world (didn't) - 4K content is strong everywhere.

The New Hollywood does nothing but 4K because all of the tools - cameras, systems, storage - are affordable and easy-to-use.

Hollywood and network studios aren't taking it lying down; all of their new material is in 4K.

In addition, they are having the huge vaults of SD/HD content repurposed (recycled) in 4K.

Seeing is Believing - All of the 4K UHD TV sets shown at CES this year (and that's all that was shown) had the most beautiful, most dramatic images you've seen; but since you didn't have old content on the same or adjacent screen, it was difficult to see the difference. But view the differences on a split screen and it's scary.

The new TV sets from Vizio, Samsung, Sony, LG, Panasonic and others are all smart 4K UHD sets. Great viewing quality, have a treasure trove of online OTT (over the top) viewing options and are inexpensive.

It isn't a 3D shock to the senses, it is just freakin' beautiful no matter how you watch it on your set!

Focus on Success

Set manufacturers are determined to have market leadership, so prices are ridiculously low and it is reflected in the number of sets sold WW.

Of course, the new sets put my relatively new Smart 4K set to shame because they are even smarter, even more brilliant new generation TVs.

But that's the industry (buy the new today, tomorrow they'll bring out newer).

Brilliant - Vizio has been one of the most aggressive TV set manufacturers in enhancing their position with a growing volume of 4K content for every member of the family. The key isn't just quality viewing but a broad range of content to select from.

The sets all have a few OTT 4K offering locations, which are paving the way for the demise of linear TV.

OTT services adding 4K content as quickly as possible usually in a VOD (video on demand) approach but networks and Internet options (YouTube, Yahoo Video, AOL video) are testing a very broad range of freemium and premium content approaches.

The dongle boys - Roku, Amazon, Chrome, Apple - give you today's 4K/HD fare OTT.

Everyone knows the HD stuff as a fading bridge to gotta' have content and 4K will be on all of the new channels very shortly.

And that's the rush by providers today - be the place you usually go for brilliant content and in short order it will be the first, probably the only place you look.

Grandpa won't add it because hey, he's satisfied with the cable/network fare.

Yes, we do have an Xbox by the set; and it's very good at streaming content, it's much better for online and interactive games, so it'll stay no matter what

Folks like to talk about the number of households that have cut their cable.

We didn't. They won't.

We shaved it (cutting off the TV portion and kept the iNet portion).

Both Options

Networks and stations still have to sorta' have their content in both the cable bundle and the OTT camps. But they know their future lies with the cutters and shavers.

With OTT, they don't pay for the privilege of being part of the cable bundle and both sides are struggling to work out the right financial arrangements for the new sliding scale pay per viewer payment structure.

Which is why Meryl observed, Youre not right in the head.

In the new approach, they pay (and get paid) when there's actually a viewer, either through ad revenues or per view.

Content owners and ad folks like it because they know exactly how many revenue viewers there are.

Rapid Move - Manufacturers who had the tail end of their HD production run to sell this past holiday season found it difficult to compete with 4K smart sets that were aggressively priced.

It won't be long and you'll have to scrounge to find an HD set.

There will still be buyers for the OTT dongles if you want content on your old set or you snag a cheapo smart 4K set, but their need is fading faster than your fixed program schedule and cable bundle.

The old TV model is fading because households are increasingly time-shifting shows to their schedules, not the networks/stations.

Then there are the younger generations (2 - 24) that never had a cable to shave/cut.

The big set manufacturers and service providers all showed how people could move their entertainment from the huge 4K UHD sets to their mobile devices - tablets, smartphones, and notebooks.

The whole idea is finally, you can have your entertainment your way.

With the massive amount of Big Data you're providing on your viewing habits/tastes, they'll be able to repeat Christof, I know you better than you know yourself.

Any Screen, Anywhere - If you believed all of the people in the booths at CES, there's no business like show business (O.K., and cars). Every screen

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