Trend? Moving away from satellite/cable?

[Ken S]

"Instead of feeling deprived, James said getting rid of the satellite TV service has been a huge improvement," CNET stated. "We definitely watch more TV now than we did with Dish," she said. "And because most of the shows online through services like Hulu.com don't have commercials, I can watch them much quicker too."

whole story http://economy.kansascity.com/?q=node/627

[RASCAL01]

"Instead of feeling deprived, James said getting rid of the satellite TV service has been a huge improvement," CNET stated. "We definitely watch more TV now than we did with Dish," she said. "And because most of the shows online through services like Hulu.com don't have commercials, I can watch them much quicker too."

whole story http://economy.kansascity.com/?q=node/627

I can watch tv too without commercials! That is why you have a DVR. :D

[Stuart Sweet]

I think that everyone agrees that there will be a place for direct, on-demand delivery through the internet in the future. For those lucky enough to have fast enough internet to do it in HD, and do it well, it's a great opportunity. Perhaps ten years from now we might be there.

[MIKE0616]

I think that everyone agrees that there will be a place for direct, on-demand delivery through the internet in the future. For those lucky enough to have fast enough internet to do it in HD, and do it well, it's a great opportunity. Perhaps ten years from now we might be there.

With the way that the Netflix box is working and sites like Hulu are progressing, I think your estimate is maybe 9 years or so too far in the future.

[Ken S]

With the way that the Netflix box is working and sites like Hulu are progressing, I think your estimate is maybe 9 years or so too far in the future.

I'm not sure I'd go that far, but boxes like the Roku, Vudu, Apple TV, etc. and computers now regularly coming with HDMI output make for an interesting future.

The pure TV providers like DirecTV, Dish are going to be squeezed as the content owners see themselves cutting out the middleman on the sale of their content and the connectivity folks like cable/phone are going to see their market shift to more of an IP pipeline than content delivery.

[lolaker99]

The main thing that still helps the cable/satellites is live sports. Yes you can watch some things on ESPN 360, but how many times are you going to have the"guys over" to watch the game on your computer.

[Ken S]

The main thing that still helps the cable/satellites is live sports. Yes you can watch some things on ESPN 360, but how many times are you going to have the"guys over" to watch the game on your computer.

All of the MLB EI package is available on mlb.tv. The NFL experimented with live streaming this season of some games.

You also don't have to watch on a computer...that's why they're putting HDMI jacks on computers...you can plug your TV monitor in them. Is the PQ the same as HD? No...but it's getting better all the time.

[joenhre]

As more programming becomes available in HD and the size of the content being downloaded becomes larger, wont the bandwidth caps that many of these ISPs have in place now come into play.

Do you think companies like AT&T ,Comcast, Cox, TWC etc. will eventually remove these caps?Most likely we will see more "levels" of broadband packages, with users paying more for service with higher caps.

So people may get rid of their Cable (TV) & Satellite service but they will be paying that money to their ISPs.

[phrelin]

There's no such thing as something for nothing. Your ISP will charge more for more bandwidth usage. Hulu was designed specifically to permit commercials. And Netflix charges a subscription fee, albeit relatively low. Enjoy it now, but don't expect the free lunch to last.

[jclewter79]

I just don't see IPTV taking over as a market leader for a good while. DBS brought pay television to the millions that don't live in the city limits. Until someone brings cheap very high speed internet to those same people, don't expect IPTV to overtake DBS in those areas.

[MIKE0616]

I just don't see IPTV taking over as a market leader for a good while. DBS brought pay television to the millions that don't live in the city limits. Until someone brings cheap very high speed internet to those same people, don't expect IPTV to overtake DBS in those areas.

But the majority of people live in highly populated areas, and the cable companies and other ISPs have been accused of (rightfully so) cherry-picking and the IPTV companies will follow the same logic. While critics abhor cherry-picking of dense affluent neighborhoods, it is NOT illegal, so look for it to continue (not wanting to debate whether its right or wrong as a business practice.)

For those that live in sparsely populated areas it will be a longggggggggg time before they get anything that can support IPTV, but then, I don't see OTA going away for a long time due to that reason.

[jimmyv2000]

I just don't see IPTV taking over as a market leader for a good while. DBS brought pay television to the millions that don't live in the city limits. Until someone brings cheap very high speed internet to those same people, don't expect IPTV to overtake DBS in those areas.
http://telecompetitor.com/node/963
One of my co workers is testing as of 1/7/09
Going over Tommorrow 1/10/09 to see for myself.
I havent seen my town listed as coming soon plus my stuff is underground they have the infastructure in place above ground,however there is a wire that stops and is coiled up a bit just before the pole that goes underground to my street.:)
COMING THIS SUMMER:D Maybe