Monday, January 07, 2008

Gadgets Complete Web and TV Integration

Content is content is content -- that's the word out of CES as gadget makers unveil products that make Web video and TV content available anywhere in the home.

Taking on Apple TV and Microsoft in this space are TiVo, Sling Media, Cisco and Archos. Once the technology evolves the next opportunity is creating the interactive ads that will pay for all of these services. Web surfing from sofa will be one of the biggest shifts of the next 2 years, and marketers had better be prepared.


I've been waiting for 18 months for DVRs to integrate RSS feeds so that web content could be easily saved and watched on a TiVo, and the company has finally done it. To quote Stephen Colbert, I CALLED IT!

TiVo has updated its software so that RSS feeds can be instantly added to the Now Playinglist. The webs has officially arrived on TV, and several others are right in line with TiVo.

The ARCHOS TV+ is a "WiFi DVR that lets you surf the Web; stream music, photos and more from a computer to your TV using a home network; download movies wirelessly from the Internet; and record up to 700 hours of TV programming."

The $250 box ($350 for the 700 hour version) includes plug-ins so that you can watch Flash video (so YouTube is a go), DVD movies saved on a PC, CinemaNow downloaded movies and video podcasts. There device includes a program guide and keyboard.

Cisco has 3 new set-top boxes that similarly share content between TVs and PCs. The 8500HDC DVR, which will be available through cable companies, will allow user generated video and TV content to be shared with TVs and PCs and portable devices. It also includes recording High Definition content and instant messaging from the TV, a technology that has been toyed with but not mastered for years.

Sling Media has upgraded its Sling Catcher with new software for sharing TV and PC content wirelesslythroughout the house. The EchoStar company is also offering an external hard drive for $40, which will greatly expand the storage capacity and flexibility of its DVR system.

One of these products will be at the top of my Christmas list this year.

By John Gartner at 10:13 AM | Comments (1)

(1) Thoughts on Gadgets Complete Web and TV Integration

I've never seen the sling catcher before, I think I saw the SlingBox. But we're in the UK so we have different things. It's very annoying how you can get much better stuff in america!

How do you promote your blog by the way? I have a blog and am struggling to get visitors to it. I came across RaSof, do you think it's any good?

Comments by Robert Lloyd : Tuesday, January 08, 2008 at 05:58 AM

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