ubuntu-tv team mailing list archive

[Will Cooke <will.cooke@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, 2011-11-22 at 18:21 +0000, Christian Giordano wrote:

> 1) Define TV
> Despite I guess we all know which kind of features such product might
> offer (based on Google TV, Apple TV, Boxee etc....), I find quite
> interesting the fact that in certain context when we refer to TV we
> only mean standard broadcast. How many people do say "I don't watch
> TV" but they indeed watch YouTube, downloaded movies, etc...? I
> personally "watch TV" but the way how I do it definitely changed when
> I got into Sky+, now I record series automatically or book recording
> from my mobile. And if I miss something, I can watch it on the related
> On Demand applications (one for each channel) on my PS3. So,
> definitely times are changing!
> 


For sure.  In my mind when I say "TV" what I actually mean is "the big
screen in my house".  What I actually look at on that screen doesn't, I
think, really matter to me.  If we can abstract the source of the moving
pictures then I think we're on the right track.  I mean, do people care
that the video of man chasing his errant dog across a field comes from
YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, the BBC or their own home movies?  I suspect
not, but that's just my opinion.


> 2) Clear use cases
> Standard TV was introduced on the market almost 100 years ago! While
> the programs and their format evolved drastically, the way people use
> it didn't change much. After all I have been taught that humans don't
> really change so quickly. While technology is adding some interesting
> use cases, we can already start listing failures, such as:
>       * youtube on tv
>       * twitter on tv
>         
> If to watch a 1 minute youtube video you need to spend 2 minutes to
> search it, it doesn't really worth it. And also with twitter, TV
> is typically a very passive consumer product. It shouldn't ask much
> from you!
> 


That's a great point, the user shouldn't feel a burdened by watching.


> 
> I think we can already outline some clear use cases:
>       * standard TV: very passive, keeps you company when in
>         background, advertisement can play a part in it.
>       * recorded TV: don't ever miss a live show you like. This could
>         be a convenient way to have a tailored program for the user
>         without relying on On Demand deals with broadcasters.
>       * TV as big and shared display: push content from your mobile
>         devices (Airplay, and practically also Xbox, are supporting
>         this)
>         
> If you can do well these 3 things, you have good chances!


This is a really great set of use cases.  We should keep these core to
our thinking when work out what we need it to do.

Cheers, Will