Re: The future of television
 

Predicting the future is not easy.
Having said that, I was talking to a friend yesterday who gave a talk to some bankers at the Barbican in 1992 and told them that MP3s and digital photography were going to be the future.
I can’t predict what I did yesterday though…

Re: The future of television
 

Do I sense the 2022 edition of the OB goal post shift?

Re: The future of television
 

Wait ..... so ... they propose to hand over the existing TV frequencies to 5G, and then broadcast TV on those same frequencies, just called 5G now ...

LOL, you could not make this nonsense up.

Re: The future of television
 

Broadcast based on 5g offers a lot more data capacity than DVB-T2, lower latency and (I think) the possibility of building in a return path. If it were to take off (and the BBC is heavily involved in the drafting of standards for it, so it’s a distinct possibility) then the debate around linear versus on-demand becomes moot; what we end up with is a sort of convergence where the same broadcast system you use to receive linear TV immediately takes over the business of handling on-demand requests, like pressing green to wind a live programme back to the start. This approach also potentially saves a ton of data as you only get a dedicated stream as long as you’re viewing something on demand.

It’s worth noting that this knocks the “death” of linear TV way into the long grass. Whatever its interactive potential, for broadcasters the main attraction of this is that it allows them to keep broadcasting in the viewing mix for the long run.

Re: The future of television
 

People often ask why we need 5G when 4G is far enough, as they did when 4G came in WRT 3G.

It may be fast enough for what we have now but that is only because they can’t imagine what we will have in the future.

Who was it that said, when he first saw a telephone, “I can see a time when every town will have one”?

Re: The future of television
 

I don’t think anyone doubts 5G and eventual successor technologies 6G.

The scepticism comes from trying to resolve a problem that - arguably - doesn’t exist. How to efficiently broadcast linear television into the future.

This technology - if adopted - could. However there’s a number of issues - not least the transition would take years. 5G coverage isn’t at the levels of DTT and will not be for some time. In addition the high bandwidth 5G spectrum there is most demand for is up in the GHz range not the sub 700mhz range.

That said money talks but whether the MNOs are about to put their hands in their pockets to pay the eye-watering amounts seen in the 3G auctions or not remains to be seen.

Re: The future of television
 

Well, I was surprised, because I thought they’d need the bandwidth for other purposes, but what do I know?!! :erm:

Re: The future of television
 

(A reply to a post Hugh since deleted, but I’m not deleting this as it took ages to write)

First thing is, what’s being proposed is a *version* of 5g, not actual 5g as currently being rolled out for cellular data. At its most basic it would replace the current DVB-T2 standard used by Freeview. More channels in less bandwidth and lower latency, bringing the digital delay down to almost real-time.

Such a system would be delivered over the existing transmitter infrastructure, but it has the potential to be integrated with 5g cellular networks and seamlessly integrate the return path you need for interactive services.

A major benefit for our national data infrastructure is that at present, if I access BBC1 as broadcast via the iPlayer, the BBC has to send a dedicated data stream to me. If the IPTV nirvana OB believes in were to come to pass, there could potentially be several million people at a time, each receiving a dedicated stream, utilising terabytes of data, on those occasions when we do all actually want to watch linear to at the same time. Today, of course, millions of us access the same broadcast signal and the power requirement at the transmitter doesn’t change no matter how many of us there are. In a Freeview system operating on 5g broadcast, if I access the iPlayer and select a programme presently being broadcast live, the system provides me the broadcast signal, not a dedicated stream.

None of which is set in stone as things stand - the standards are not agreed and it would take a while to get hardware manufacturers on board for yet another change to the broadcast standard. But the ability to force a user onto a high-bandwidth broadcast signal, where one is available, and when they don’t actually need a dedicated IP data stream, is I suspect part of the potential prize here.

Re: The future of television
 

Thank you, Chris.

Re: The future of television
 

I suppose the question is why go to all this effort to preserve linear television in a 5G envelope if there’s no demand?

Re: The future of television
 

It will be interesting to se whether that demand still exists in 10 years' time. Habits change, sometimes over a very short period.

Re: The future of television
 

Further evidence hereof the need to aggregate content of VOD providers. Sky do seem to get it, whereas Virgin still has a long way to go. If it’s much slower, it will miss the boat altogether.

Virgin needs to become a kind of Roku with added TV channels. Hopefully also, Netflix is listening.

https://advanced-television.com/2022...nt-navigation/

[EXTRACT]

Accenture’s research also indicates that while consumers care more about the content delivered by streaming services, they find the navigation experience with the growing number of services to be increasingly frustrating. Content aggregators can address this concern by unifying access across streaming services through application software, services and data-sharing agreements. Aggregators can also foster flexibility and personalisation for viewers by serving as a single platform with curated content that enables them to select exactly what they want to watch.

Re: The future of television
 

I'm not sure I follow you OB.

Are you saying VM should do some kind of deal with Netflix, Amazon or whoever, to get their streaming services onto/into the VM packages?

Would they (VM) price this new service higher, lower or equivalent to the standard Netflix (or whoever) pricing?

Wouldn't current Netflix (etc) subscribers simply stay as they are instead of entering a new 18 month contract with VM?

Apologies if I'm way out :dunce:

Re: The future of television
 

The basic objection to that proposition hasn’t changed since the last time you brought it up. Allowing their content to be subsumed in a programme guide they don’t control represents a risk to brand recognition for companies like Netflix, and dilutes any added value they may get from operating their own distinct menu structure.

I have to say I have no issues at all with the app layout on my TV (and I don’t have a subscription with sky or VM). I know where the stuff I want to watch is and I know how each streamer goes about showcasing their new content. Netflix in particular is extremely good at pushing content it knows I’ll like into the promoted spot at the top of my menu. There’s at least a 50/50 chance that anything new appearing there is going to go onto my watch list. It’s hard to see what’s in it for Netflix if they simply allow all their material to be funnelled into a Virgin Media or Sky branded programme guide alongside their rivals.

Re: The future of television
 

I was really thinking about content aggregation as opposed to one subscription for all the streamers.

---------- Post added at 15:52 ---------- Previous post was at 15:44 ----------

The advantage of permitting viewers to bookmark all their content in one place, which was my point, is that it enables you to keep track of your viewing and it reminds you of what you have on your watchlist.

Since getting the 360 software, I have not been able to add Netflix programmes to the Virgin watchlist. This has resulted in our house watching fewer Netflix shows - not deliberately, but because out of sight is out of mind. Accessing different watchlists for different streamers is a pain for the viewer. We have watched a lot more Prime of late.

It’s not about the layout of the apps or whether you subscribe once to the whole lot - it’s about ease of access to content.