Here's the feedback we gathered so far:
So let's go into some more details to ensure we're all on the same page when talking about ipTV!
Yes ipTV means SmartTVs like Samsung, Philips, LG, Panasonic or Sony BUT it also means a LOT more then that!
It would be foolish to limit the discussion to only the SmartTvs and forget all about Connected Devices or simply Connected TV's. Basically every device which is out there and can connect to the internet and is NOT a desktop, Laptop, Notebook, tablet or Mobile would be left out of the discussion.
Here's our view on all these devices:
1. SmartTVs (which have built-in browsers and native apps) - give out a "near" Desktop experience BUT only because websites COULD work on them, it doesn't actually mean that the experience is user-friendly
2. GoogleTV (although considered by the most people a smartTV, we choose to look at it separately simply because it can run direct in TV on a mediaclient or a HDMI or USB-Stick connected to the TV-Set.)
3. Consoles (this is where all the Playstation 3, XBox, Wii and Wii U find their place)
4. Set-Top Boxes provided by the Cablenetworks
5. Miniconsoles (this is where we count all the Playstion Vita, Nintendo 3DS and other Consoles that can be used with a browser like application - we count them as Connected Devices not as a Connected TV)
6. Bluray-Players - a lot of new Bluray Players built the last years have Browser like applications (not Browsers) - or Livefeatures like Bluray-Live where you can connect direct to Internetsites
7. Satellite Receivers - Standards like HBBTV, DSMCC, MHP allow you to use your satellite receiver to start applications and use built-in browsers with defined (reduced) HTML,CSS,JS Standards in a "Browser-like" environment directly on your TV screen
8. MediaControlers - with Browserlike applications and native applications like (boxee, xbmc, plex,...)
9. Closed ipTV Media apps/hardware - like Roku, AppleTV, adult related ones like fyreTV, CamStick, ... the most of the time they are used to present only one service some have additionally the possibility to act like standard media clients and some have a browser that is free to use other services too but a lot are simply closed for one service
10. Storagesystems like Netgear ... - some of them are equipped with special browserflike features or apps
Now for the good questions:
Who is actually using a BlueRay Player or a Satelite Reciever to browse the internet?
a) Someone who has only a Mobile or a TV Set to surf the internet because they cant afford a computer - I personally know a lot of people who only use their mobile or their connected Device to use the internet
b) Someone who likes to sit on the couch instead of a computer chair
c) Someone that plays games on a console surfs on it too, as these Game-consoles can be looked at as a computer replacement at times
A lot of people that tell you at the moment that their site works on these devices are a little bit like they would tell you "I have a car" BUT what they actually mean is: they have the licence plate with wheels but no doors, no window, no roof and no seats, no radio and sometimes no engine. Until now we havent found any site that worked without any sort of problems on these devices
One simple example you can try out for yourself is to sit 3-5 meters away from the screen, open a website and you will very soon notice that you cant read all those small fonts and cant even recognize the images loaded. The most "browserlike" Apps on these devices are simply overwhelmed or overloaded by the structure of a normal website built for Desktop usage.
Remember some some years ago when somebody told you his site works on Internet Explorer you would have asked which version of the IE it is, because in 3 out of 4 failed to work?
With these devices its nearly the same, as some have exactly the same underlying software but it behaves differently because the Devicebuilders have changed the software behavior and settings itself. As an example a lot of the HBBTV devices use a special Opera Version - its always the same version but on every Device the results of the same site are different.
Some don't even give you event handlers for mouse or key-inputs so you have to use device specific features or your links, Ads, Logins as other things simply won't work.
We use in our Research and Development Department around 128 different devices at the moment and on every one the results of the same website are always different.
So you may ask yourself - "If it is all that complicated why should I care?"
There are 4 simple answers:
1. You have that kind of traffic already but most of the time you simply don't know it because even google analytics doesn't analyze the traffic that way so you can see it
2. It's the strongest growing Internet Market
3. 38% of all US households now have at least one TV set connected to the internet via a video game system, a BluRay Player, Apple TV or Roku set-top box, and/or the TV set itself
4. TV - is one of the only things people reserve time for. You don't normally say: "Today I will sit 3 hours infront of the Computer!" but you do so for sitting infront of the TV - so its fixed time every day
Here are also some Numbers to ponder upon:
- The average person in the US uses the TV for 5 hours and 11 minutes a day (study as of 15.7.2012)
- 99% of all households in the US have at least one TV set
You can do the math yourself, I think.