Live Internet Television

In an interesting twist, Hulu is experimenting with the approach initially taken and abandoned by Joost, almost as if the companies think the grass is greener on the other side.

When Joost started it was a downloadable, full-screen only, archived TV viewing application with limited content.

VCs came in, scrapped the downloadable application and went with a flash-based web player instead, echoing Hulu.

After launching its Flash-based website with a large menu of archived content, Hulu has since curtailed its plans to distribute with Boxee, and has now created a downloadable, full-screen only, archived TV viewing application.

Hulu’s best decision was to keep its meat-and-potatoes website offering, since the bulk of its viewership originates from its webpage.  Hulu’s downloadable player doesn’t offer users any advantages over its Flash-based player, in either content or functionality.  From a functionality standpoint, Hulu’s player contains the same design flaws as the Joost original.

ivi’s approach to the market is different, and we have a clear point of view about what Internet TV is and can be.

The ivi experience begins with the understanding that websites simply aren’t good live TV delivery mechanisms.  They’re great for relevant video clip delivery and archived video, as websites are easily organized thematically and are searchable.

Live TV, and alpha-state TV viewing, requires channel changing, and most importantly continuously-streamed content. ivi delivers the living room TV experience in a downloadable, stand-alone player.  Unlike the cumbersome “full-screen only” players designed by Hulu and Joost, the ivi player allows multi-tasking, because it can operate in easily customizable window sizes.  Television is coming to every Internet-connected device —  It will be powered by ivi.

Is Neilsen putting on another happy face? Image courtesy of One Super Bargain

Genius! Research that pleases everyone! Neilsen has gotten very good at this.

Via MediaPost:

In a finding that appears to defy some conventional industry thinking, new research released by Nielsen Co. indicates the so-called phenomenon of “cord-cutting” — people who replace a portion of their TV viewing with online video streaming — is real, but it also cuts both ways. Since Nielsen began simultaneously tracking TV viewing and online video usage in its national TV ratings sample earlier this year, it has found that nearly as many people have shifted some share of viewing away from online video, as have shifted toward it.

…

In fact, the overall takeaway of the Nielsen analysis should help quell the anxieties of the TV industry that online video is an imminent threat — or by that same token — and significant immediate opportunity for programmers seeking to extend their presence online.

This is an especially suspicious “takeaway,” since online video IS cutting into traditional TV in real ways that are creating real anxiety. The significant immediate opportunity is also creating anxiety as programmers try to find ways to monetize and control their properties online.

So far, we haven’t seen a lot of creativity, bravery, or innovation in a very exciting field.

With the proliferation of Adobe Flash-based sites streaming live content, including Hulu’s announcement that it is live-streaming a Dave Matthews concert and other the event-streaming done by IBM (US Open) and Microsoft (Beijing Olympics), it’s an exciting time.

Cable and satellite don’t have to fear Internet content cannibalization … yet.  There are still hurdles that have to be overcome before people will entirely abandon their cable or satellite service.  The user experience and bandwidth costs are primary among them.

At ivi we call the traditional TV user experience “alpha-state viewing.”  Users turn on their television and watch whatever is on.  We estimate that traditional television is 90-percent alpha-state viewing.  Interactive viewing and event-based viewing make up the remaining percentage.  Internet television has made strides towards increasing the user experience in interactive and event-based viewing.  However, Internet television has not yet replicated the traditional television experience of: “Let’s see what’s
on!”

Additionally, until the Internet’s transactional delivery model can be turned into a broadcast delivery model, the cost of delivering large scale, broad-appeal video is going to be both cost and bandwidth prohibitive.  The user experience is the ultimate leg up for cable and satellite providers.  Until somebody creates an “alpha-state viewing” experience for Internet TV, users won’t depart cable and satellite in the high volume contemplated in articles like this.

ivi TV was designed to overcome these hurdles. Live Internet TV will be a reality soon.

Here at the blog we don’t talk too much about ivi TV, because it’s not shipping yet (When it is, we’ll still be appropriately sparing with company-centric information, making sure we avoid making the sales pitch). That said, one of the coolest things about ivi TV will be the way you can watch TV as it airs, live on your computer desktop while doing other things. Got dual monitors? Sheer heaven! You can be at work and still catch that morning show interview or press conference, watch the market, etc.

Meebo is a company who is building some of that same sort of magic in the messaging and email realm — integrating important real-time information into your desktop life.

The web-based chat service already centralizes instant messages from AIM, Yahoo, MSN, Google Talk, Facebook, MySpace, and more. Folding in emails from different accounts across the Web is a logical next step. In fact, Meebo already tiptoed into the email arena this morning with a new feature which appeared in its Windows desktop notifier

A new “Mail” tab can now be found in preferences, allowing Meebo users to “Enable mail notifications for these accounts:” It then lists the IM accounts you’ve already signed up for on Meebo (which makes sense, since generally you use the same username and password for your email as you do for your IM within any given service such as Yahoo or Gmail/Gtalk or Facebook). When you get a new email, you get a notification pop up at the bottom of your computer screen, just like you do for new IMs. When you click on the notification, it takes you to the underlying email service.

Meebo CEO Seth Sternberg characterizes this as a “convenience feature” for desktop users: “Basically, we’re creating the same bridge between the webmail services and the desktop that we’ve already created between Meebo’s web site and the desktop.”

(Source TechCrunch)

I’ve used Meebo for a long time (since back when they posted pictures of themselves and their little office space on the IM background pane). I am interested to see if integrating gmail notifications will be useful to me. One of the cool things about Meebo already is that its browser tab flashes a notification & plays a sound when a new message is received, so you can easily juggle browsing with messaging all in one app interface.

We’re building ivi TV to be as comfortable and to have the same plays-nicely feel with everything else you’re doing while at your computer.