SD and STB's to go by 2020 claims David Elstein.
 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/t...cence-fee.html

In the article above regarding the licence fee, David Elstein stated that 2020 was when Standard Definition and Set Top Boxes would be going.

David Elstein is a former Executive for Sky and ITV.

I wonder how this will affect VM?

- Will TiVo become obsolete and/or cloud based?

- One good thing will be the removal of the general requirement to subscribe to the XL package to receive most non premium HD channels.

Re: SD and STB's to go by 2020 claims David Elstein.
 

Good spot. With no disrespect to Elstein, I would like to see something more formal than a quote from a speech he has given.
If it is the case, at what stage will VM and Sky start proclaiming their PVRs to be 2020 SD switch-off proof?
The future of Tivo must be cloud-based, it's more rights issues than technical issues that will stop this happening tomorrow.
I think VM and Sky would have expected HD fees to be phased out to be replaced by 3D fees but 3D has not taken off so I assume it will just be lumped in at some stage in the future.

Re: SD and STB's to go by 2020 claims David Elstein.
 

I think you're right about the pay broadcasters hopes that, as HD became the norm, 3D would become the next format that they would be able to charge for.

Re: SD and STB's to go by 2020 claims David Elstein.
 

LG have already talked about this being the way forward, however you still need an interface

Re: SD and STB's to go by 2020 claims David Elstein.
 

Sky (Now TV) , Netflix , Amazon Prime instant etc already offer a cloud based service without the requirement of a set STB meaning your free to choose from a multitude of devices which is far more flexible in my opinion.

Re: SD and STB's to go by 2020 claims David Elstein.
 

Let's not forget the work Ziggo is doing in the Netherlands. Back in November last year, Broadband TV News reported "Ziggo has been testing the CI+ 1.3 version of its Cloud TV interactivity for the past few months... Starting Wednesday, November 6, STB-less viewers can also access the additional features. It is a worldwide first to offer interactive TV over a common interface."

http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2013/...interactivity/

Re: SD and STB's to go by 2020 claims David Elstein.
 

True - but one downside is that you are then reliant on the connection and kit being used being up to scratch.

Even if VM and Sky go fully cloud based, I'd expect they would have a 'preferred' access option that they would promote so they retain some control over the experience to improve any fault resolution.

Re: SD and STB's to go by 2020 claims David Elstein.
 

They support more devices than VM will ever do, and yeah fair point they have to rely on connection when on VM that isn't always possible I suppose.

Re: SD and STB's to go by 2020 claims David Elstein.
 

Absolutely Ben you may very well be correct I'm not stating as fact , my opinion is pay TV will change and potentially offer you access to your content across a multitude of devices. I believe multiroom may eventually become a thing of the past with pay TV operators charging on number of devices for example a standard sub includes 2 devices , with further options for 4,6,8 etc.
Much of the consumer feedback I've read shows people want to access their content on their own devices as opposed to the STB the pay TV operator forces on you.

With cloud based services it allows so much more flexibility like bookmarking , profiles etc.

This is all speculation on my behalf , I guess time will tell how the future pans out.

Re: SD and STB's to go by 2020 claims David Elstein.
 

Not what I meant, but I think you knew that already.

Re: SD and STB's to go by 2020 claims David Elstein.
 

Could the current TiVo boxes be adapted via a software update to become cloud based (as they have a dedicated connection to the internet)?

If not, it would mean replacing the boxes again. Perhaps this is why LG have made no announcement about us moving over to the Horizon box- maybe BOTH will need to be replaced to keep up with technological advances??

Re: SD and STB's to go by 2020 claims David Elstein.
 

Yes. In fact, all VM boxes could be. If you can do VOD you can do cloud-based TV.

Here's one we made earlier

Re: SD and STB's to go by 2020 claims David Elstein.
 

Interesting. Would a cloud based system mean us accessing our own recordings that were recorded on a server?

If not, I guess it would in effect be VOD, but every programme would have to be recorded and kept available for a reasonable amount of time.

Re: SD and STB's to go by 2020 claims David Elstein.
 

Am I reading this correctly? By 2020 it is predicted EVERYBODY will be accessing ALL programmes via the internet? Unless there are some phenomenal improvements to broadband in the next 6 years, surely that will lead to disaster? The amount of traffic will be terrifically increased.

Re: SD and STB's to go by 2020 claims David Elstein.
 

Just google the words tivo cloud virgin and read some of the results. I'd even go a step further and say I'd be surprised if some sort of (small scale??) trial hadn't been ongoing for some time. I'm pretty sure that behind the scenes VM will be playing around with all sorts of stuff TV and internet related.

Cheers

Grim