TiVo, switched video, Clicker and irony

Let me begin with a confession: as a passionate advocate of usability in consumer electronics, I am a long-time TiVo fan, so much so that its availability has dictated my choice of video content service. First DirecTV, then Comcast when they made available the Series 3 integrated with the cable service (although the CableCard installation was a nightmare of epic proportions...).

Over the last several days there were, however, four related news items, some of which seem tinged with irony:

• today, its judgement against EchoStar and DishTV for $200 million was upheld - unsurprisingly EchoStar plans to appeal - vindicating the value of the key innovation that TiVo provides
• a couple of days ago, TiVo announced its Series 4 devices: demonstrating the importance of 'over the top' video, its new UI integrates this seamlessly into the overall user experience

TiVo Premiere

• a few days earlier, Clicker, a service that in some ways appears inspired by TiVo, aiming to bring a TiVo-like experience to web TV garnered $11m in funding

Clicker

• the explosion in diversity of content and the growth of time-shifting and now place-shifting is forcing cable providers towards switched video, which in turn threatens TiVo's whole technical architecture because of its inability to communicate upstream

So, what does this mean? Does TiVo win the IP battle and lose the platform war? Do the innovators it inspired arise to eclipse it? Whither linear TV and OTT content?

(Parenthetically, the new UI is Flash-based, but then TiVo does control the hardware platform)

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Upon checking our blog stats, I saw an incoming link from the '3G and 4G Wireless Blog'. So I go check it out (note that the link is now to our post, not the pirated image).

I keep on hearing about OTT apps everywhere I go nowadays. I know roughly what they mean but I couldnt find a proper definition anywhere. Here is my attampt to write a bit about what OTT means.

Imagine my surprise: that image at the top of the page looks awfully familiar... Yup, back on September 11, my colleague Moe Kelley posted this:

The App Store represents a major 'over the top' incursion in mobile data. How long will it take for 'over the top' models to eat into the mobile voice market and the video market?

While we really like people reading the blog, it seems that Zahid Ghadialy just ripped off our diagram, without acknowledging its origin or providing any attribution or link through to us. I'd love to know more, but I'm nervous about visiting his website as this is what comes up when I click on it:

Zahid Ghadialy rips off content and distributes malware

I posted a comment which awaits moderation. I look forward to seeing what happens, and will keep you all posted.

How angels see mobile

James Geshwiler of Common Angels just opened for Mobile Monday here (yes, on a Wednesday) in Boston. Perhaps most interesting was how he opened, with an overview of the landscape for entrepreneurial investments in this space:

• the focus has shifted from carriers to apps and devices


• connectivity has become a commodity

This perspective is particularly interesting because it's a good leading indicator of what sort of innovation by insurgents is going to be funded. To that extent, the perception of opportunity becomes reality.

Critically, it increasingly reflects an 'over the top' perspective, in which carriers face significant challenges in remaining relevant.