2012 CES: 5 Critical iTV Lessons
- Connected TVs & Partnerships: OEMs have shifted from competing on screen size to competing on features. And connected television is at or near the top of their must-have feature lists. That said, manufacturers are relying almost exclusively on partnerships to deliver connected value to viewers (see LG & Panasonic in below blog). So unless you're big enough to drive an app that will get noticed, concentrate your iTV strategy on those search and content delivery apps that cross over multiple connected TV platforms and skip the OEM song and dance.
- User Interfaces to the Rescue: OEMs are finally doing something about antiquated user interfaces. From designing remotes with mouse pads and keyboards, to enabling secondary devices to act as remotes, to incorporating motion and voice recognition technology, we'll see an increasing number of ways for viewers to more easily interact with the big screen. And tap the promise that connected TV's hold in terms of content discovery, social TV and deeper engagement in programming. Check out the demo I shot at CES of LG's Magic Motion remote below.
- Tossing Content: With programming being more readily moved from device to device [read more...]
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LG & Panasonic CES Press Events: 5 Key iTV Themes- Features trump size: Remember the screen size wars? Peace reigns. Rather CE manufacturers are going after features. Think of the transition that computers made over the past 20 years: we bought based on processor speed and hard drive size but now look for a feature set that best matches our needs. Ditto with TVs. Interactivity is high on the feature list.
- Connected TVs now in the majority: LG announced that half its models will feature both Smart TV technology and Cinema 3D while Panasonic stated that 90% of its 2012 TV line-up will be connected (branded VIERA Connect). Both trumpeted improved browser experiences, new content partners, social TV and enhanced search as key consumer benefits.
- Content drives feature usage and thus demand: Whether it's 3D programming or connected TVs, these manufacturers know that without content, a cool feature just isn't so cool. The press events were replete with content partnership announcements. [read more...]
 Myspace interactive TV screen shot from Panasonic
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T-Commerce Deployments - Overcoming Challenges and Evolving Best Practices
Here's the video of the t-commerce session I moderated at TVOT NYC Intensive courtesy of [itvt]. A deep dive into t-commerce with a great panel and hot-off-the-press demos.
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