Get Connected: The future of television?

As television and broadband networks increasingly converge on a range of connected devices, Digital Spy joins some industry experts to discuss the future of TV in the digital age.

According to analyst firm FutureSource Consulting, annual shipments of IP-connected flat panel TV sets in the UK will reach 2m by the end of this year, but increase to over 11m in 2014.

Interestingly, around 7% of people have at some stage tried to connect their TV to the internet, with many wanting to access video on-demand and catch-up services, such as BBC iPlayer, on the main screen.

Annual video streams currently account for just 2% of all viewing, but FutureSource expects that to grow to around 8% by 2013.

Richard Bullwinkle, chief evangelist at US technology firm Rovi Corporation, which is working with Google on its new TV service, said that he does not expect the growth of connected-TV to trigger a mass cancelling of television packages.

Instead, he sees the convergence of the web and traditional TV networks as offering an opportunity to enhance the home entertainment experience.

Rovi's TotalGuide solution, which is used by many operators in America, features an advanced recommendation engine for enabling viewers to discover new content.

For example, users can select a particular actor that they have enjoyed watching in a programme and then link to other shows or films that person has appeared in.

Some commentators have suggested that connected-TV is about the computer and TV screens merging together, but Bullwinkle believes that it's more about making it easier for people to consume content.

"A lot of people are trying to turn the TV into a computer. We have been trying to do that for 20 years with the media centre and stuff like that, but it never works," he said.

"I think bringing the entertainment aspects of web services to the TV is wonderful. We will watch World Cup matches on the big screen, but then catch up on highlights on other screens.

"Other things, such as local news, weather forecasts and so on, will be great on lots of devices. Connected-TV has got to have all that content in as high quality as the networks can support."

A major growth area in connected-TV is the introduction of social networking to the viewing experience. Many video on-demand and catch-up platforms, including the new version of iPlayer, are bringing socially-driven recommendations to the TV experience, and Rovi is no different.

"We certainly think that social recommendation is huge. Nobody knows me better than my close friends and my family. If I'm browsing my portal or my EPG and a message pops up saying, 'Your sister recommends this TV show'. That is valuable to me," said Bullwinkle.

"If I get a comment, 'You look great in that pink hair', then no, that's not for television, that's for personal use. But if my sister says, 'You are going to love this Terry Gilliam movie', I am going to download it.

"We employ 350 editors to write about movies on television and create metadata for users, but nobody knows me better than my family. So I think social recommendations are a huge part of how you find content in this internet-connected world."

Sony UK head of corporate and public affairs Adrian Northover-Smith said that just giving someone access to Facebook on their TV does not mean that they would want to use it.

He agreed with Bullwinkle that most people wouldn't want to have their personal interactions open on the big screen where the entire household can view them.

"Taking it one step further, would I want to sit down in front of my kid and do all my online banking? I would have thought almost certainly not," said Northover-Smith.

"So I think that we are entering an unknown world where certainly everyone agrees that the entertainment applications are going to be an enormous driver for consumers, but I have my doubts about how far it will go for overall web applications. We will see in terms of how much people are willing to share information with other members of the household."

Sony has launched its Bravia Player for IP-connected TV sets and Blu-ray players, which enables users to access a range of TV, movies and sport content streamed over broadband networks.

As Sony is also a content producer, Northover-Smith said that the Bravia Player was the perfect way for the firm to bring its films, programmes and videos directly to consumers.

He said that growing the platform is now about getting the right mix of catch-up, archive and premium content, and then making it as easy as possible for consumers to access the material.

"There will be opportunities for people who can provide the customer with a good experience," he added. "But there will also be plenty of challenges along the way."

Since it launched in 2002, British firm LoveFilm has gained 1.2m subscribers for its postal DVD rental service and has also expanded into the digital arena.

The company now offers movie streaming services over the web and on mobile devices, along with Samsung's IP-connected TV sets and Sony's Bravia Player.

LoveFilm group digital officer Lesley Mackenzie said that connected-TV offers a "massive opportunity" for the company to grow its business beyond the core DVD offering.

However, MacKenzie said that the digital service will only be successful if LoveFilm can effectively retain its branding and direct connection with consumers.

As many emerging connected platforms are using tailored electronic programming guides and user interfaces, Mackenzie said that she is concerned about how LoveFilm will be able to position itself in that environment.

"What worries me about the super EPG is losing my one-on-one relationship with my customer," said Mackenzie.

"On these platforms, someone else may decide where I come on their EPG, and I might even have to pay for a premium position. For someone else to manage my relationship with my customers slightly concerns me".

Simon Fell, chair of the Digital Television Group's (DTG) technical council and a technology consultant to Freeview, said that the "last two to three years have seen a massive growth in connected-TV".

However, Fell believes that the key broadcasting developments in converged TV and online services going forward will involve a multi-screen approach.

He said that the recent general election showed what is possible with multi-screen broadcasting, with ITV using a technology called The Worm during its historic televised election debate to gauge real-time reaction from viewers.

"You can see that happening on television, but on a separate device," said Fell.

"I think if you go into most people's homes nowadays, you will find laptops beside the sofa, along with iPads, phones, there are probably five or six screens in one room. Everybody has their own personal thing but they want to share as well. It makes sense."

Fell said that the "standard has to be right" for connected-TV services, which is why the DTG intends to publish its D-Book 7 standard for connected devices later in the year.

However, he warned that it may take a long time before the general public becomes truly accustomed to the convergence of web services and the TV.

"The public take a long time to get used to these things, but the encouraging thing is that most manufacturers are now developing connected devices and platforms," he said.

Earlier in the month, media distribution company TeliaSonera International Carrier urged companies to think smart when bringing web services to the TV screen.