Charter Starts Internet Video Trials 5-10k users involved in early TV Anywhere test Tipped by zed260 
Charter is the latest cable operator to fire up their "TV Anywhere" Internet video ambitions -- a "cord cutter" retention tool that involves giving paying TV customers access to a walled garden of limited TV content. While Charter has yet to name the service yet, last week they launched a trial of their TV Everywhere incarnation involving 5,000 to 10,000 Charter subscribers in St. Louis, Missouri, Madison, Wisconsin, Chicopee, Massachusetts, and Kennewick, Washington. Charter will be running the trial for the rest of the year before deciding whether they want to take the project footprint wide.
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 | | Video Trials Good Morning – Charter has fired up a video online trial to learn more about what consumers want when it comes to online video viewing, but it’s footprint-wide. Participants are between 5.000 – 10,000 Charter customers across our entire footprint who responded to an e-mail. In the trade publication story this week, giving four communities -- both large and small -- it may have seemed as though the trial was confined to only four communities. That’s not the case. Customers were invited via e-mail to participate on a voluntary basis. The way people watch ‘TV’ – or video - is evolving, and Charter wants to be a part of that evolution – it’s all about providing choice and convenience, each compliments the other. | |
|  |  neofateCaveat DepascorPremium
join:2003-11-11
Birmingham, AL
 ·Charter
| Re: Video Trials I'm impressed with this. I knew if Cable Co's stayed with the same model they would be left behind as things evolved. Interesting..
The difference in Coax to setop, and HSI to your Television is becoming more and more blurred. Internet media has a ways to go to mature, but it is coming fast with not just broadband but broadband being commonly at speeds that will sustain high quality progressive feeds (along with leaving room for other HSI activities).
If Charter can keep an eye and be a leader in the evolution they can really take advantage of the changing field.. and be a part of the molding, instead of just following what happens.
Because it is already to the point where everything is simply a data pipe to your house -- all data is then segregated into network programming (ie: TV),.. Internet browsing,.. Gaming,.. Telephone (not so much).. and on and on. I think all of this will be integrated even more so.. where the line between going to your computer for the 'internet' and checking 'email' and such will eventually all be done at all consoles. Yes, you will be browsing any websites (legibly, easily,.. and formatted for the large screens) on your television/LCD/LED-LCD/Plasma/ etc. You will be emailing off of it (but computers aren't going away.. so that privacy will always be around should you need it).. You will be doing on-demand .. and on and on.
I think the set-top model will eventually evolve into full blown high end computers .. And at some point more into a client. Where the Cloud computing becomes a reality and graphics and performance can all be done remotely and your client is built into your television (no boxes.. etc) --
It will become all a matter of extreme data coming over the infrastructure and your Television (or whatever screen you have) will be the input device -- (Keyboards will still be around and other peripherals of some sort) -- but if you select to go to your email inbox,.. it will send that request at an extremely low latency to be as speedy or even faster than what you experience on your computer now.
If you want to play XYZ game -- You connect and are likely just billed a 'gaming packing' fee on your Charter bill, and you can play anything. It all runs remotely, not dependent on your own hardware. The tech is here for such high end graphics and processing to be virtually streamed across the internet to your end, and accepting input and relaying it back in such a way that there is no 'lag'.
So it will all come down to who has the fattest pipe? Who can handle all their customers running this kind of bandwidth. No more will the HSI pipes be quite so leniently 'shared' -- Because the data demand will be on a higher level with more consistency from each subscriber, so the available bandwidth vs the sold bandwidth will have to be more proportionate.
Also there are a million and one things we just haven't thought of yet that will be the 'future' so to speak. Again, if charter is serious about this and continues with all aspects of online/data entertainment and business/casual use -- and APPLYing it they can help mold the way video, the internet, and all things that they are used for evolve.
Sort of like the difference in watching someone else sculpt something out of clay,.. and actually getting involved yourself to make the product (which never actually ever gets made.. is in a constant state of flux).
Only thing I can see limiting in the forseeable future (ie: 10-20-30 years down the road) is how far can you reliably push Coax and the infrastructure in place as it is?
Will fiber ultimately just be more cost effective as it's bandwidth capacity is nearly unlimited and easily expandable? Or will Coax continue to evolve their systems to squeeze more and more bandwidth, that in 20 years will be at levels never thought possible.
Interesting.
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Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced. | |
| | zed260Premium
join:2007-09-30
Cleveland, TN
kudos:1 | to bad you didnt invite ppl on these forum | |
| | | gbrown
join:2006-11-30
Pelham, AL | Re: Video Trials You're not missing anything unless you like watching the weather channel or Style. There is only like 6 channels, and not single one worth watching. | |
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| | Living in the 90's Columbia Missouri. No HD and no DVR offered\available. Max HSI 3/256. Enough said. | |
| | | Not free, not anywhere Don't forget, this isn't free, or some Hulu competitor, the idea is to offer some online video to subscribers in addition to regular cable to make paying loads of cash for cable service more appealing. The problem? TV Anywhere isn't "anywhere," it's only in your desktop browser, only when you're logged in, and it's nothing you can't already see on Hulu. In fact, it's probably far less. I saw a preview of a TV Anywhere look-alike through AT&T's portal. All AT&T had was searchable list of episodes and shows you could watch... on Hulu. Clicking any link simply brought up some AT&T page with a embedded Hulu video.
TV Anywhere is funny to me, because, on one hand you have the cable execs saying that they're not losing any sleep over online video. Yet, they're investing millions into online video hoping that it appeals to their subscribers enough to keep them. Why would you create TV Anywhere if your customers weren't looking for online video as a replacement for cable? Derr!
Next step? Bandwidth caps where TV Anywhere is exempt. | |
| | | The selection is horrible Hallmark Channel?
G4?
Nick?
MTV?
Most of the selection I could already get FREE on Hulu or the channels official website! | |
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