Cable Eyes Big Technology Shifts

4/16/2014

US cable engineers are facing a lot of heavy lifting in the coming years, notes Light Reading Cable/Video Practice Leader Alan Breznick.

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Mitch Wagner 4/17/2014 | 1:46:01 PM

Re: Camp danielcawrey - "I sure wish that cable could implement big technology shifts - they are now dealing with a demographics that use a smartphone, tablet or laptop while in front of a television."

Do they? Certainly some do, and that group is very visible, making comments on shows as they play out. But are these people any more than a small but very visible minority? Are there studies?

I myself enjoy reading the live discusssion threads of TV programs on Google+ and Reddit. But I do it after the program airs. When I'm watching, I'm watching.

I do know that many people prefer to watch video on their mobile devices rather than a conventional TV. I find that difficut to comprehend -- for me, there's something lovely about the lean-back experience at the end of a long workday (THE AMERICANS tonight! And tomorrow night, FARGO!). But there have been studies showing many people do prefer to watch on mobile devices.

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Carol Wilson 4/16/2014 | 6:13:13 PM

Re: Camp Based on what I heard at this event, there are massive changes afoot but as Alan points out, they are all taxing the resources of the cable operators at the same time.

I think consumers and the tech companies that cater to them are driving the bus right now and they've got it floored when it comes to the pace of change.

Which brings me to the other conclusion from the event at which this video was shot: Cable companies are much more focused on bulking up their broadband pipes than on the video segment of their business. Many of the trends Alan mentions factor into how they will be pushing more bandwidth into consumers' homes.

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danielcawrey 4/16/2014 | 5:34:13 PM

Re: Camp I sure wish that cable could implement big technology shifts - they are now dealing with a demographics that use a smartphone, tablet or laptop while in front of a television.

That's because of cable's more static nature and the dynamic that digital devices allow users to do what they want.

I remember when Google TV tried to upend this, but it ended up being too complex of a product for the mainstream to understand.

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Mitch Wagner 4/16/2014 | 5:04:41 PM

Camp If TWC and Comcast did things very differently, that suggests it'll be an enormous job to merge their two networks.

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