This is admittedly a hastily written article but I felt I needed to get some thoughts down and share with the TechLore community. As we turn the calendar to start the new year, it occurs to me that 2006 just might the Year of Portable Video. I know, I say that every year but there are more viable options than ever before and consumers - having gotten comfortable with cameras in their phones, making calls over the Internet, and time-shifting TV - are finally ready to take a real look at video on the go.
I am going to cover the different portable video alternatives that are already on store shelves as well as some that are right around the corner. By the end of 2006, all of these will be available to the mainstream consumer and it is the sheer size of this list that makes me confident that this next year will indeed be the year that we look back on as the beginning of widespread acceptance, if not adoption of portable video.
Portable DVD Players
This is so obvious, it is almost too easy to overlook but there is clear that manufacturers are racing to bring the price of these devices down so far that they can begin dispensing them in grocery store coin-op machines (next to the gumballs and tattoos). The best thing about portable DVD players, of course, is that they let you leverage the growing collection of content that you are likely accumulating for your home. The bad things are that you need to drag around a rather bulky device that only serves a single purpose, doesn't sport a generous battery life, and the DVD media itself is somewhat fragile.
Video for Video Gamers
Another somewhat obvious solution has video piggybacking on the immensely popular portable video game players. Nintendo and Sony dominate the handheld gaming market and both are pushing pre-recorded video content for their mainstream players. Nintendo GameBoy/DS owners already have a choice of mostly kid-focused content including popular animated titles that extend the cartoon TV lineups. Sony has crashed onto the scene early last year with UMD-based movies and more recently, TV shows to be played back on the PSP. Despite how easy it is to criticize these players as sub-standard for a true movie-like experience, there is no denying that the formats are working and people are buying into this approach.
Portable DVRs
There devices go by many names including portable/personal media players and portable digital players, but they all share one primary purpose: to take pre-recorded TV content that was originally delivered to your house with you on the road. First TiVo and ReplayTV helped change the perception of when you could watch TV (i.e. time-shifting) and so the next obvious question was, how can I change where I watch it? The short answer is to (electronically) pack it up take it with you.
There are way too many options for "getting content off your TV" and onto these devices to discuss here but the portable DVR companies have been constantly improving the techniques for storing TV programs on what is essentially a glorified, portable hard drive and playing it back in your hand after you leave the house. These players have been around for several years but are still slightly out of reach for the tech-novice. However, the idea is sound and will soon be as familiar to commuters and vacationers as in-car navigation and text messaging.
Streaming Video to Cell Phones
By now you have probably heard of next-generation mobile phones that go beyond sharing pictures online or downloading new ringtones to allow consumers to play music on their devices. It's not an obvious extension of the cell phone like email or SMS perhaps but with the explosion in the adoption of portable MP3 players, it quickly became apparent to most users that carrying around fewer devices is preferable. Cell phone manufacturers listened and have begun to cram more features into their new models and are creating new partnerships with the music companies to offer both streaming music and music playback from files stored directly on the device.
What's next of course is video. The major carriers in the US have launched "mobile TV" campaigns that take advantage of the new high-speed data networks being rolled out across the country. Video requires much more bandwidth than audio to deliver and new handsets need to be created that can play back the content so this isn't necessarily going to be in your hands right away. But if you live in a major metropolitan area, you can already enjoy television content on your mobile.
A word of caution here. Like all new technologies, the first generation of streaming cell phone video isn't necessarily going to knock your socks off. Don't expect 150 channels of high-definition content available all the time - that's probably more like 2007!
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Video Podcasts, the iPod, and the future of Internet-Delivered TV
This is my favorite of the bunch because I think it points to a significant change in the way we will all soon be getting our television programming. As broadband Internet access is being wired into every home in the land, it becomes easier to build the business case for more complex Internet-based business models. Many companies are already exploring the idea of delivering television to your house over your Internet "pipe" instead of a cable or satellite "pipe".
You may not even see it coming but it's already on your doorstep. Web pages that play news footage, satellite weather loops, or movie trailers, for example are examples of this. The more interesting version, though, is video podcasts. The notion of the podcast has taken off ("podcast" was the official word of 2005) but the amateur state of the audio-only programming leaves a lot to be desired. So where is all this going?
In October of 2005, Apple released the next version of its beloved iPod which had one major new feature: it played back video - and more specifically, video downloaded from the Internet. In a brilliant move that combines portable hardware (the iPod), free desktop software (iTunes), and a viable online content "store", Apple gave the signal to the world that it is was not only acceptable to buy and download content to your handheld device, it was cool.
The next day, all the serious podcasters went out and bought video equipment so that they could be among the first to offer video podcasts for the hot new iPod. And that was the beginning of the revolution. For existing podcast listeners who now have the new generation of devices that support video, it is a subtle transition to step up to video podcasts, which virtually guarantees the new video format will survive, if not thrive. And so begins the next major shift in TV programming. But the interesting thing for you the reader, is that is will be ushered in by handheld devices like the iPod and its hundreds of inevitable copycats.
Anyone up for Live TV?
The one thing that's missing from the options discussed so far is live TV. DVDs, proprietary media formats, video podcasts, and even the cell phone video all fall into the category of pre-recorded content. But sometimes you just gotta have live TV. The sports fan, for example, or news junkie cannot be satiated with content or feeds that are minutes or hours old! C'MON! Well, settle down and please return to your seats because we have a solution for you too.
There is now a new category of devices that tackle this problem. Products like the Slingbox from Sling Media and Location-Free TV from Sony are extending a streaming media solution that already has a foothold in the home thanks to TiVo, Sonos, Microsoft, and others. By extending the reach of these devices outside the home to the Internet at large, consumer can now "call back" into their living rooms from a hotel, airport, or hotspot to watch live TV on their laptops, handheld game systems, and smartphones. What's more, these are two-way solutions so that the user can control the set top box or DVR from afar, just as if they were sitting on the couch with a remote in hand!
How's that for progress? No you don't have to miss the big game or settle for hotel TV programming. Think of how easy it would be to entertain the kids at Grandma's house if they could catch up on their Spongebob toons in the other room when her only TV seems stuck on the Weather Channel.
