So I finally got around to reading Brian’s article on IPTV, which tied in with something I was reading on WebmasterWorld about Dora the Explorer teaching kids to “click” on TV. Now I’ve mentioned before that I think within a few years we’re going to see an internet based TV network. Which made me start thinking how close are we to actually having “clickable TV”?
If you’ve followed any of the XBox 360 hoopla or know anything about Microsoft Vista chances are you heard about MCE or Media Center Edition. The short version is Microsoft is trying to integrate and mesh your TV and your computer as much as possible, so you think of them as a single integrated package. Now if the entertainment industry would get down from their high horses and stop being a bunch of prima donnas about DRM, we could actually do some cool stuff. Imagine going out and buying a 500 GB network storage device. You could record programs with your TV tuner equiped computer to your network mass storage device. Then you could play it back via network to any TV or wireless computer anywhere in your house. The same would hold true for your digital music files. Sure I know there are ways to do it now, but lets be honest, unless you posess some sysadmin like qualities, your never going to be able to pull it off it’s just not user friendly enough yet.
What about kicking it up to the next level, and making the TV truly interactive and “clickable”. For example say you were watching the OC you could pause it at any time and click to the attached shopping guide. It would have direct links to any music featured on the show, the clothes, and jewelry the people wore, heck maybe even the furniture they sat on and cars they drove. Oh yeah let’s not forget the OC t-shirts, baseball caps, and other related merchandise. Think of it as a digital DVD, with loads of bonus features. They could also add direct links to the web to the official show website or other online properties. For anybody in marketing and advertising this ability to track and measure this kind of data sounds like a dream come true. It would also take product placement on TV to a whole new level.
Categories:( IPTV | IPTV | mce | mce | internet.tv | internet.tv)
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It actually *is* “that easy” now…and using windows MCE 2005. You can simply use your MCE box as your main storage device (I have over 1.2TB in mine right now) and purchase Extender Boxes (been on the market for at least a couple of years) that work with MCE. You can go wired or wireless if you want (clearly a wired connection would be better). I have to say, it is pretty simple to set up. My mother couldn’t pull it off, but I think my wife-to-be could.
Jason – How do you like MCE? Looks pretty cool. So it looks like you use it as a TV screen more than an internet screen, but you can watch your videos & view photos & some limited internet stuff from your tv screen. And most web surfing you would do from your regular computer, sitting at your desk, separate from the MCE tv setup – right? I wonder if this is catching on.
But you cant stop a show and shop from it…right?
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