Briefly, Verizon:
Ambeault laid the groundwork for this revelation back in 2010, when he first described Flex View to LRTV:
While those updates are interesting, what I found most compelling is that Verizon is using its network to offload some of the computing tasks required by set-tops, and that Verizon has found a way to virtualize the computing power and storage capabilities in the home.
The improved TV search function owns its speed to Verizon's servers and a very fast broadband network. From Ambeault's post: "Unlike other systems that execute the search locally on the set-top box severely limiting its capabilities, FiOS TV search employs powerful servers that are distributed throughout our network."
FiOS TV's search function looked more responsive and powerful than any other pay-TV implementation I've seen. Even if the hardware at the consumer end was a game console, a Roku Inc. set-top or an outdated set-top, the capabilities of the hardware wouldn't be limited because the network is doing the heavy lifting.
Of course, we already knew set-tops were dead:
Inside the home, Verizon has allowed consumers to have multiple DVRs, and now it has virtualized the DVRs so that there is just one big bucket of storage serving the entire house. When one DVR fills up, the network records the program to another DVR in the home, if available. The customer needn't worry what program is in what room because every set-top can access every program on every DVR.
What could come next is a powerful new vision for how we consume entertainment in the home. Verizon's engineers have found a way to make network software perform a lot of the same tasks that previously required a set-top box. With that, the carrier is allowing consumers more flexibility and proving that you need a more powerful network to handle all the virtualization, real-time computing and other tasks that lie ahead with a cloud-enabled home entertainment.
— Phil Harvey, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading
The idea of going out-of-market with subscription video services is still an interesting one to me, since Netflix has been so successful with its by-mail and video streaming product. Given the rights challenges with OTT streaming of linear channels, it would seem to make much more sense for SPs to offer VoD OTT as a new type of subscription package outside of their franchise areas.
Seems like the technical groundwork is pretty much there, or about to be there, for SPs such as VZ, Comcast and TW. But I wonder who will go first. Given the pressure on cable's video sub base, I think the cable guys probably need to pull the trigger soonest. JB