2010 will be the year that web TV set-top-boxes start to make it into the mainstream. The recently announced Popbox priced just shy of $130 has received a lot of promising buzz, but does it deliver?
The PopBox is replacing its predecessor, the Popcorn Hour box with newer features and a sleeker interface.
Content Partners
The PopBox has partnered with a number of companies to bring a variety of video. It’ not got everything, but it’s got decent selection to keep you busy.
- Netflix – rent and buy movies instantly.
- Crunchyroll (Asain entertainment site)
- BlipTV – video clips and independent episodes
- NextNewNetworks – independent web TV shows
- Revision3 – independent web TV shows with a tech focus
- Livestation – live TV from various worldwide sources
- Internet Video Archive – archive of public domain video and old movies.
- MalaysiaKini – Malaysian videos
App Innovation Myth?
Apps were certainly big in 2010 on cell phone devices, and Popbox is trying to cash in on the app craze for the set-top-box.
It boasts over 20 apps at launch, but from what I can see some of these are simply content partners like NetFlix and Blip.tv. So I think Popbox is using the definition of apps very loosely.
That said it does give access to:
- IMDB
- Clicker – An Internet TV guide
- FunSpot – Gaming
- SHOUTcast – Web radio
- Eyecon – Media extender to stream media to other devices in the home
- Mediafly – Manage vodcasts and podcasts
- MetaChannels – A video aggregation and distribution service that enables device manufacturers and application developers to integrate the best shows on the Web into their product offerings
- Photobucket – Photo and video sharing
- PicoChannel – Share photos and videos on friends TVs.
- Swarmcast – Broadcast internet video
- Twonky – Media extender to stream media to other devices in the home
- Waterfront Entertainment: – Gaming
- WeatherBug – Control the weather outside your house. No just kidding, just get a weather report.
Apps All That?
It’s a pretty similar idea to Yahoo’s widgets for the TV. There’s certainly a good amount of options in there, but many are probably more than what the average TV watcher needs.
Sure the average viewer might like to check out a bit of web radio, play some games and check on the weather, but they won’t get into the media extenders, video broadcasting or photo sharing.
I can see tweeting from the couch being popular but most hardcore tweeters would have an iPhone or smartphone in hand, which is probably easier to write on than a remote.
I’m guessing the average techie would probably prefer to switch on their Mac, PC or iPhone to share photos, upload video, broadcast live video, tweet and manage vodcasts and podcasts, at least that’s what I’d do.
So I think a few apps may be redundant for both techies and geeks here, but at least the option is there. The shoutcast app for internet radio is certainly a gem, but I’d like to see Last.fm and Spotify in there too, hopefully they are in the works.
The apps and content that I really want to see are lacking though…
No Facebook App – coming Soon?
So with all those apps that most people won’t use, where’s the app that almost everyone would use? Facebook!
Killing hours from the comfort of your front room to browse Facebook would certainly be a hugely popular feature of PopBox, but it is not there.
PopBox told me that a Facebook app is in the works though, which will certainly make this device a lot more appealing. It will likely be available at launch.
No YouTube, No Hulu, No iTunes
When Google realized it could cash in from set-top-boxes it changed the terms and conditions for its API; set-top-boxes could no get access to the YouTube API without prior permission. As a result the Popbox predecessor, like many other internet enabled set-top-boxes, lost access to YouTube.
YouTube is apparently absent from the PopBox so it misses out on the biggest central hub for video. I’m also surprised to see that PopBox hasn’t even gone with some of the secondary video sites like Metacafe, DailyMotion, CollegeHumor and Liveleak.
A whole world of video is completely missing, making the Boxee box and Monsoon Volcano which do have YouTube access look a lot more appealing.
PopBox confirmed to me they do not intend to add YouTube functionality in the future due to the high licensing costs demanded by Google.
Of course Hulu is also missing, but that’s pretty common in the set-top-box world. You can’t expect NewsCorp to be so open to providing content to a new source of viewers without a monthly charge, on top of the advertising.
iTunes has also failed to make the list so this probably is not the device for Apple fans. But anything non-Apple is going to have trouble playing iTunes DRM music as Apple doesn’t like to share.
Hands-On with the PopBox
Jim Louderback, the CEO of Revision3 takes a hands-on look of the PopBox:
Gui & Home Network Streaming
The device itself does earn some style points, a silent black box that’s so cool it doesn’t need a fan. The video processor can handle full HD decoding at 100 megabits per second and a HDMI connection is there as expected.
With USB and SD ports you can hook up external devices for additional media, and many formats are supported.
Media Extender Functionality
Like the Apple TV the device will also allow you to watch anything stored on your home network. Like the Apple TV it has a sweet interface, if not sweeter, and better than the Apple TV its supports a wide host of video formats.
A pleasant and useful feature is when it finds a video to play it can show the DVD cover and information from the Internet Movie Database.
A downside is the interface does have some display ads which is probably why this box comes pretty cheap.
Full Spec List:
Video outputs
HDMI (1080p/720p/480p), Component video (Y/Pb/Pr)
Audio outputs
Stereo analog audio, S/PDIF optical
Video file containers
PEG1/2/4 elementary (M1V, M2V, M4V), MPEG1/2 PS (M2P, MPG, DAT, VOB), MPEG2 Transport Stream (TS, TP, TRP, M2T, M2TS, MTS), AVI, ASF, WMV,
Matroska (MKV), MOV (H.264), MP4, RMP4
Video codecs
XVID SD/HD, MPEG-1, MPEG-2 MP@HL, MPEG-4.2 ASP@L5, 720p, 1-point GMC, MPEG-4.10 (H.264), BP@L3, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], WMV9, MP@HL, SMPTE 421M (VC-1), MP@HL, AP@L3
Audio file containers
AAC, M4A, MPEG audio (MP1, MP2, MP3, MPA), WAV, WMA, FLAC, OGG
Audio codecs
Dolby Digital, DTS, WMA, WMA Pro, MPEG-1 Layer 1, 2, 3, MPEG-4 AAC-LC,
MPEG-4 HE-AAC, MPEG-4 BSAC, LPCM, FLAC, OGG Vorbis
Photo formats
JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF
PopBox RoundUp
If you look at this device simply as a media extender to get videos from your PC onto your living room TV, then it’s a good choice given the extra apps and variety of content partners to bring you some online TV content.
However, if you are looking for a full on internet TV set-top-box that gives you access to the most web TV content you can find then then PopBox is falling short until it can bring on some more content partners.
The Popbox will be available in March in the US only, for a recommended price of $129. Given the overall functionality for the price the PopBox is definitely a good deal. eBay deals will appear below once it becomes available:
No eBay items currently available.
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It may be happening slowly but people are gradually moving away from physical media to digital media. In terms of video, Netflix is in a great position, and could be an acquisition target. However, it still needs Hollywood to play ball or it’s game over for the whole venture.
Netflix The Player
Netflix has, partly by accident and partly by design, put itself in a great position to be the premier choice for video streaming.
Its core business is still DVD rentals by-mail, but its ‘Watch Instantly’ feature, which started as nothing more than an additional draw for would-be subscribers, could provide an assured future for the company.
Indeed, it could make the company an attractive acquisition target for big players such as Google and Amazon over the next few years.
Watch Instantly
Netflix’ ‘Watch Instantly’ is available on a range of devices, from the computer, obviously, to games consoles such as the PS3 and Xbox 360, the Roku box, and TVs and Blu-ray players.
Netflix has already started to push the streaming side of its business more strongly, and subscriptions that offer streaming only, with the DVD-by-mail option removed, could be close to reality.
Acquisition Target
According to Video Business, this makes Netflix a possible acquisition target. With a growing customer base (up 28 percent over the past year) and an impressive customer retention rate, both Google and Amazon could come sniffing around.
In a note to investors recently, Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Marianne Wolk wrote:
“Netflix has a video offering that users love. We see a multi-year window of opportunity for Netflix to build a larger, more significant presence in the digital video market.”
Hollywood Spanner(s)
There is one possible spanner in the works. For Netflix to truly become a streaming video behemoth it’s reliant on consistently fresh content from Hollywood movie studios. And that is far from assured.
Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos told Bloomberg:
“We have to fight against their fear that we’ll destroy the ecosystem. We’re not destroying anything. We’re creating a new opportunity.”
This is patently true, because whether the major movie studios like it or not the world is going digital. If it fails to embrace those companies making businesses from streaming then it only opens the door for piracy to reign supreme instead. And then it won’t see a penny.
]]>Further evidence, is further evidence was needed, that physical media is on its way out to be replaced by digital media. Netflix in particular is undoubtedly eyeing a streaming future, pushing its ‘Watch Instantly’ library onto users more vehemently.
Physical to Digital
The move from physical media to digital is happening rather slowly. In fact, it could be classed as a lurch currently. However, there will come a point when it speeds up and becomes all-consuming, with more companies jumping on the bandwagon rather than risk being left behind.
Netflix looks like being one of the early movers. Built on the basis of delivering DVDs-by-mail, streaming now looks like being the main focus of its attentions in years to come.
Netflix ‘Watch Instantly’
Netflix introduced its ‘Watch Instantly’ feature a few years ago. It gives subscribers instant access to a wealth of movies and TV shows, all available to stream via the Internet.
It started as a computer-only affair, but Netflix has spent the last year or so getting the Watch Instantly feature added to a range of other devices. These include the Roku box, the Xbox 360 and PS3, and even Internet-enabled Blu-ray players and televisions.
‘Watch Instantly’ Future
At the beginning of this year, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings stated that the company is likely to offer a streaming-only subscription plan in the future. And in October, it was intimated that there could be an international roll-out of ‘Watch Instantly’ offered along those lines.
Now, Netflix has changed the order of tabs on its Web site to make ‘Watch Instantly’ the first option and the most prominent, with ‘Browse DVDs’ being bumped.
Although only a small change, it has huge implications as it makes Netflix’s position clear – that it wants to encourage more of its subscribers to stream rather than rent DVDs.
And it’s no wonder, as while its mail-order business costs the company $600-$700 million annually, ‘Watch Instantly’ only costs about a nickel per movie. Which is quite a margin.
Conclusions
I don’t think Netflix is suddenly going to abandon its current business model, but it is slowly evolving it so that streaming is a bigger part of the overall strategy. How long until streaming-only subscriptions are offered? I’d certainly be interested.
[Via NewTeeVee]
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Netflix has already revolutionised the DVD rental market, and its now attempting to do the same in the online streaming sector.
You hear nothing from a company for ages and then three stories come along at once. Today has seen Netflix add Starz Play movies to its Watch Now service, open up its API, and make a promise to Mac users.
Starz Play
Netflix today announced an agreement with Starz Play that will see 2,500 movies added to its Watch Now streaming service. 1,000 choice are available from today, with 1,500 more due by the end of the year.
The Starz Play content is available to all subscribers paying $8.99 or more per month, and adds films such as Spider-Man 3, Ratatouille, and No Country For Old Men to the 15,000 titles already available.
The new content gives consumers another reason to invest in either a Roku set-top box, an LG BD300 Blu-ray/streaming hybrid, or an Xbox 360, soon to receive Netflix content through its Xbox Live service.
This new deal compliments a recent agreement which saw several new CBS, Disney and NBC TV programmes added to Netflix, including episodes of CSI, NCIS, Numbers, Jericho, Hannah Montana, and Heroes.
Netflix Developer API
Today has also seen Netflix open its developer API, a fully featured program that will enable developers to create applications and tools for Netflix subscribers.
Netflix already has a thriving community built on the ability to follow friends and recommend movies to others. The API (Application Programming Interface) will increase opportunities for users to interact.
Developers will have access to information on everything Netflix provides and be able to build apps around that. These could include expanding the social aspects of the service or improving other aspects of Netflix’ streaming business.
Netflix For Macs?
Last but not least comes news that Netflix hopes to make its ‘Watch Now’ service available on Apple Macs by the end of the year. This is something that has been a long time coming.
Netflix’ streaming service may be miles behind iTunes but the range of content and ways of accessing it is growing all the time. Netflix could soon be very competitive in the field of Web video.
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There’s a small event going on right now in Los Angeles called the E3 Media and Business Summit, which is the place where Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, as well as a host of games developers unveil plans for the next year.
Today was the first day, and Microsoft was the first of the big three to show its hand. And one of the announcements means that Xbox 360 owners will soon be getting more access to online movie downloads.
This will be coming from Netflix, the online movie rental company, which is teaming up with Microsoft to allow Netflix subscribers, who also own an Xbox 360, to have access to its extensive catalogue through their consoles.
Free To Existing Subscribers
According to Reuters, the service will be launching in the Autumn, and is likely to come as part of a software upgrade. The brilliant news is that the service will be free to Netflix subscribers who also hold Xbox 360 Live Gold memberships. Which is likely to be a fair portion of the 10 million Xbox 360 owners out there.
Xbox 360 owners will be able to access the 10,000 titles, made up of both episodes of popular television series, and movies currently available as part of the 2007 launched Netflix ‘Watch Instantly’ feature.
Rumours surrounding some kind of partnership between the two companies have been rife over recent months, but until today, nothing official had been announced.
In Addition To Roku and LG Partnerships
This latest move by Netflix follows on from earlier partnerships with Roku and LG, both of whom are creating cheap set-top-boxes with the express intent of providing a living room alternative for people to download or watch Netflix content.
We’ve spoken about the Roku box, which retails for just $100, twice in the past. First when it was launched, and then when it was announced that the makers had plans way beyond simply Netflix.
Xbox On Top, Sony To Follow?
This latest deal means Xbox 360 owners get even more online video offerings than before, with original programming already rumoured to be on the way, and a video service available through Xbox Live.
Sony has its E3 press conference on Wednesday, and it’ll be interesting to see whether Playstation 3 owners get any similar announcements. There have already been rumours of a video download service coming, so now we just need the details filling in.
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