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Name: Jonathan Schuknecht
From: Colorado
Bio: Network Consultant
Area of Expertise: Technology Developer/Administrator
Topic: General, Overarching Remarks
Headline: Home Entertainment
Nutshell: All entertainment forms will be available via the Internet.
Vision:In the near future, it will be common for music, movies, and TV to be run by computers in a home, a vehicle, and with portable devices. Farther down the line, increased bandwidth will allow people to not only download complete CDs, but complete DVD movies, TV series, and TV shows. Some shows won’t even broadcast, and some music groups won’t distribute CDs, they will simply be available for download. One can store them in banks of hard drives, or burn them to CD or DVD for storage or backup. Just like one can download songs to an iPod now, they will be able to download TV shows and movies to such devices for viewing (although the small screen of a small portable device will limit it’s use). As one’s vehicle is parked nearby the home, items can be downloaded wirelessly. Bands won’t need to sign with record labels to offer their music to everyone, shows won’t need to be on one of the "big four" networks to be able to reach everyone, and the selection of music and shows won’t be limited by the business practices/tastes of what TV and record company executives select. The method of looking through and finding all of the available shows and music will also vary greatly, from "sampler" broadcast channels, to search engines, word of mouth forums and critic web sites. There will be different critics with different tastes, but the days of critics employed by movie and TV companies (which many are now) will go away.
The increased bandwidth will also allow live TV feeds of news, sports, and other events to reach more people on more devices. Some items like news updates will be sent in multiple formats, from HDTV for home viewers, to a small format that is more practical for viewing on a small cellphone screen, for example. Just like we have CC data transmitted with broadcasts, news, sports, and even TV shows will be broadcast with additional data that the viewer can decided to include or omit as he/she is watching. Additional info for a how-to show, stats during a ball game or race (like are already available now on some websites), more detail for news items. There will also be multiple video feeds with some programs, like closeups or plans on a how-to show, different views of a news event, different views of a ball game or race, all which you decide which view to watch, and choose in several ways, including how we can watch picture-in-picture now.
Just like cable and satellite have greatly expanded what is available to the TV viewer, the internet will do the same for TV, movies, and music.
Date Submitted: November 10, 2004