JamieG Analysis

On August 21, 2007, Adobe announced that the Flash player will support H.264.

As mp3 has been for Audio, h.264 can now be considered for Video.

H.264 is used in, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray-DVD, iTunes-Video, AppleTV, many iPod type products. And now it will officially be supported as the codec of choice for Adobe-Flash, the most used video viewing technology on the web today. (YouTube and all the equivalents.)

Flash also means that cross platform support for Windows, Mac and more importantly LINUX. Linux support is a very important issue of which I will go into more detail below.

The universal adoption of this codec and the ease of which it can now be brought to the end use will make it easier for Producers to create attractive online offerings. Alternatives to traditional TV offerings.

The idea of “Television 3.0″ was created by Philip Hodges. A journalist that focuses on Media and production. I encourage you to read his blog and listen to his DigitalProduction Buzz Podcast if interested. He is writing a book on this topic.

To generalise some of his points. TV3.0 is based around store and forward and RSS technologies. Subscribing to content we are interested in. There are many ideas on monetization also covered. The key to the future of TV3.0

One of the big unknowns of this new version of how we watch TV is how do we Surf or learn about content we may want to watch in a lean back environment? (Lean backas in front of a TV while lean forward as in front of a Computer) Commercials will near be extinct. Information portals of same shape of form will need to be established. A lean back, TV-remote controlled portal that answers these needs will evolve. Think of a combination of digg, delicious, a news website, all mixed into one and designed to be navigated via TV-remote.

Flash with support for H.264, and specifically LINUX support will have a huge impact on this.

Imagine a new Digital Set-top-box, build with a linux OS operating a Flash-h.264 application layer. This device can act as your media centre storing media we subscribe to via RSS. Add the feature of URLS to specific content providers as our ON-DEMAND channels. These “Channels” or enhanced website, are simply a Flash application promoting content that channel specialises in and of which we are likely to also be interested in. Then, if interested, subscribe to hi-quality RSS feeds making the content available automatically.

I focus on Linux as its OPEN, cheap (Free) and very well suited to embeded devices (Small cheap hardware). This will allow us to implement this new TV3.0 world without being beholden to any particular company (Applie and iTunes. Microsoft and Xbox, Sony and PS3) We have a choice to choose what we want to watch, not what they want us to watch.

We can go directly to the producer to obtain the content we are interested in. Reducing the middle men making it cheaper to purchase and more profitable to the producer all at the same time. Pricing will become very affordable negating the need for any for of DRM. If its only going to cost you 50cents to watch a TV show, can you be bothered trying to download torrents and all the time involved in doing so?

The technology is upon us, however the incumbent players or middle men will not move on without a fight. Request non DRM content. Take responsibility and pay for the content you favour and watch. This will only improve our viewing experience and productivity. (An hour show without commercials is only 40 mins. You just got 20min back of your life.)