Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Impact of technology in entertainment
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Digital Home Convergence
Overview
As technology and entertainment converge inside the home, major players in various industries are taking different strategies in planning for the future. The concept of the “digital home” will likely take one of two forms: a closed wired entertainment network (PVRs, OnDemand) or an open wireless data network (web, email, VOIP, IPTV). The closed model is already being offered in many homes across the country, but as technology advances, the open model will become the standard. It is important to understand how both technology and entertainment are companies are strategizing to control the “digital home”.
Based on research in this report, it appears that four things are likely to occur. First, convergence of technology will create the need for standards in the digital home network. Much in the way it took some time before the Wintel model became standard, we will have to wait and see which model takes hold in home entertainment. Once a model is chosen as standard, there will be an explosion of products and services catering to that model in the market. Second, increasing competition will lead to alliances between companies in different industries. PC technology companies that have no presence in home entertainment might look to deal their way into the “digital home”. For example, Microsoft is currently striking deals with several major phone companies to provide the platform for IPTV. Many people also suspect that Apple might acquire TiVo in order to gain a presence in TV and create a service platform for video-on-demand. Third, the successful companies in the battle for the digital home will be the ones who earn customer loyalty. Consumers are reluctant to change their behaviors, especially ones like TV watching that are so entrenched. Companies need to deliver products and services reliably in order to facilitate a consumer shift to the “digital home”. Finally, major content providers will hold up the process until they see digital distribution as a way to increase their long-term profits. Home video divisions of entertainment companies are extremely profitable. They do not want to jeopardize this profitability just to be at the front of the technology curve. The infrastructure behind the “digital home” will have to be in place before the major studios choose to participate.
Hardware - PCs
Companies in the ...
... middle of paper ...
...cess is due to a combination of factors, including “pricing, infrastructure, demographics, geography, deregulation, and clear user benefits.”
Conclusion
In conclusion, we expect to observe significant convergence of technology and entertainment, which will either be in the form of a closed wired entertainment network (PVRs, OnDemand) or an open wireless data network (web, email, VOIP, IPTV). We predict that the open model will become a standard in the future. In support of our thesis, we would like to recapitulate four major trends that will likely happen in the near-term future.
1. A standard(s) will be created in the digital home network. Once a model is chosen as a standard, we can expect to see a proliferation of products and services that are compatible with that standard.
2. Increasing competition will lead to increased synergies and alliances amongst hardware, software and distribution companies.
3. The companies successful in the digital home entertainment space will be the ones who earn customer loyalty.
4. Major content providers (e.g. movie studios) will hold up the process until they see digital distribution as a way to increase their long-term profits.
B) The critical issue is that Comcast, the biggest internet and cable provider in the nation, is seeking to become even bigger in merging with Time Warner Cable, the second biggest company in the market. This merger will increase the influence Comcast has on TV channels and internet content providers, leaving consumers with fewer alternatives and will reduce competition to the amount where Comcast will control two thirds’ of the cable TV market and about 40% of ...
The case is about the introduction of Tivo, a new service that provides the TV viewer the flexibility to watch what they want when. The product is expected to change the way people watch TV by offering them the flexibility in programming, skipping commercials, pausing live TV and recording programmes for future viewing.
Since 1999 the growth of spending on DVD purchases and rentals has been incredible. According to Alexander & Associates, “Rapidly growing consumer activity and spending has built this industry into a major market phenomenon. The DVD format for enjoying pre-recorded entertainment at home is extraordinarily popular and consumers are changing their behavior to accommodate it.”
Determining the right target segment requires an analysis of the customer, company and competition (fig. 2). TiVo's customer is defined by unmet needs in the market. While TV is one of the most ensconced and ritualistic elements of contemporary American life, there are still aspects of television viewing that do not fulfill customer needs. An estimated 68% of Americans complained that they felt "widowed" by their loved one during the Fall television season because their spouses were chained to their televisions during primetime from 8pm to 11pm. Additionally, parents expressed a difficult time getting their children to do homework during key television programming times. In general, this is evidence that consumers want greater control over their television consumption habits. Analysis of the TiVo Corporation reveals their core competencies, which include proprietary software, national distribution through established retail outlets such as Best Buy, Circuit City and Sears and product co-branding with trusted electronics giants Philips and Sony.
In this case study we will gain a better understanding of TiVo, Inc. and how it has struggled to find success in a market they are known to be the innovator. At this point there are very few television viewers in North American that do not know what TiVo does for TV viewing. However, most consumers do not know the history or struggles this company has been through since creating the product in the late 1990’s. After reading this case study it is clear the creators of the TiVo were visionaries but it is also clear they were not business people too. Sadly, this might be the eventual demise of the company that clearly had the market in the palm of their hand. We will examine some of their flaws and how TiVo might regain some of the momentum to become a profitable organization.
The higher resolution of DTVs will result in better picture and sound quality, but what is of interest to the gaming industry is that the new space on the digital spectrum will allow for more interactive technologies. According to Congress, broadcasters will switch from analog broadcasts to all-digital broadcasts starting February 19, 2009. At that point, homes will become interactive audio and visual centers with opportunities for shopping, online banking, video games, video on demand and gambling. Next to mobile CE products and broadband technology, digital television is another frontier for the home gambling industry. One such model is the one designed by the cable network Spike TV. In 2006, the network announced the creation of Spike Casino, a program allowing viewers to gamble on games like roulette, craps and slot machines in real time and to interact with viewers in live chat rooms.
As advance technology of fiber-optic developed and is on the rise, everyday there is another story about entertaining movies on demand and streaming online is with ease. Those developments which let movie’s viewers sit in the comfort of their home or anywhere with access to the internet can stream instance movies with a push of a bottom. They no longer need to make a trip to the movie’s stores for movies rental and return, so that is why movie shops fail and filed for bankruptcy bring a symbolic close to the “let’s go rent a movie” era. Blockbuster LLC, formerly Blockbuster Entertainment Inc., both owned and franchised American-based giant provider of home movie and video game rental services through video rental stores, later adding movies by mail, streaming online and video on demand. Due to the peak of fiber-optic and competition from companies such as Netflix, Redbox, and GameFly, Blockbuster became the victim of digital media and filed for bankruptcy on September 23, 2010 due to significant lost in revenue.[3]
Rivalry among established firms is fierce. There are several factors that illustrate this: established market players (6.1). The product is highly standardized and the switching costs of the customers are low. Players are aggressive (6.2)
IBM says that the problem is because of the rapid expansion of information and technology we as humans cannot keep up with the increase. Access to information is becoming rampant through the creation of wireless and handheld devices. These devices need a standard of production and connection to provide the greatest effect. IBM’s solution is a computer network that is “flexible, accessible, and transparent.” (The Solution, IBM Research) The system will...
...tinue to grow in popularity with many consumers. Their reasons for embracing this technology will differ. Some will find the reason is convenience, others for content, and a growing number for the cost savings. Those who are willing to invest a little time and effort can reap the benefits of enhanced content or significant savings if they are willing to cut the cord.
The digital evolution began to transpire on November 1, 1998. Since then there have been many other forms of digital technology adopted by our society and digital television quite possibly is next. “The speedy conversion to digital technology will have profound interest benefits, permitting efficient spectrum use, optimizing the development of new technologies and services to consumers, and fostering diversity and competition(FCC).
In today’s technology boom, the new waves of doing business have transformed the way people shop and live. The same happened the way people access personal entertainment. With Internet, people can stream movie online without have to go theater, or the rental movie box.
Video Rental and Streaming has partly been of the most significant avenues of the general home entertainment industry in the United States for many years. It promotes constructive development through various channels such as Information Technology, Public Multimedia and it also has a huge impact on people’s lives and their entertainment on demand. One of the best companies which provide this high-advanced service is Netflix, Inc (Netflix). It was incorporated on August 29th in 1997 in California by Reed Hastings & Marc Randolph; listed on NASDAQ as NFLX in 2002. Netflix is the world’s largest Internet subscription service streaming television shows and movies with over 40 million members in 40 countries (Netflix, 2013).
...s to focus on gains from the internet TV status both internationally and within U.S. by focusing on internet streaming services and especially expanding and producing its own original series (Soper, T. 2013). This strategy will slowly phase out its weak performing physical media delivery service and keep Netflix ahead of competition (Stelter, B. 2013). Overall, the key issue for Netflix is to build a sustainable competitive advantage and become a market leader in the highly competitive rental TV and movie market (Rottgers, J. 2013). This is a market with a high degree of rivalry and threat of substitutes where both buyer and suppliers wield significant power. Netflix will continue achieve a sustainable advantage by differentiating themselves through customer service, growing their library of internet content and investing in innovation with suppliers and technology.
We can’t assume consumers will remain loyal if we don’t adapt and learn and you can’t assume brand strength alone will keep them or attract new consumers. The market will change and new will enter the market. I realized that the 5 D’s (Discovering, Defining, Developing, Doing, and Directing) in the marketing process is a continuous, an ongoing evaluation of the market conditions and the continued adaption. For Digital Channels, that means we must have the best feature rich products and service that our customers value. We can’t assume they will stay with us because they have for years. The moment a company becomes complacent, they become