Sony TVs to play online video
Cory Bergman January 7th, 2007
Wow, yet another deal revealed at CES that involves bringing internet video to TV sets. Sony’s new BRAVIA Internet Video Link, which will become available on Sony TV sets this summer, will enable viewers to access online video from companies like AOL, Yahoo and Grouper. “Consumers can also easily pause, fast forward and rewind a video using the TV’s remote control,” reads the press release. My prediction: over the next few years, as it becomes standard for home computers to play video on TV, this will have as big as impact on TV ratings as the DVR. The Sony-AOL press release follows below…
PRESS RELEASE — AOL and Sony Electronics, Inc. announced today that the companies will work together to make content from AOL Video (http://video.aol.com) available through Sony’s new BRAVIA(TM) Internet Video Link, which was unveiled this afternoon at the CES Show. This first-of-its-kind Sony feature, which will be available this summer on a majority of 2007 Sony televisions, enables consumers to access video content from the Internet via an optional module without requiring a PC.
“Working together with Sony, consumers will be able to enjoy much of the AOL Video content that they view online and watch it anytime, anywhere beyond the PC,” said Kevin Conroy, Executive Vice President, AOL. “Sony’s new BRAVIA Internet Video Link provides a rich entertainment experience and gives consumers the best of both worlds: the vast programming available through broadcast TV, plus the broad range of unique and entertaining video content that can often only be found on the Web through sites like AOL Video.”
“Content is the key to any entertainment experience and it was essential for Sony work with companies like AOL to make Internet video experience compelling,” said Randy Waynick, Senior Vice President of the Home Products Division at Sony Electronics. “Consumers now have the ability to bring the best videos of the internet to their living room to share with everyone in the family.”
Using the TV’s remote control and optional module, consumers can access the Internet and simply navigate through a series of menus to browse and play free videos from AOL(R) Video. Consumers can also easily pause, fast forward and rewind a video using the TV’s remote control. AOL Video (http://video.aol.com) offers a wide variety of licensed content and original programming including music videos, full-length television shows, user-generated videos, movie trailers, news clips, and more.
AOL and Sony will be demonstrating prototypes of AOL Video content running on the Sony BRAVIA Internet Video Link at this week’s CES Show in the Sony Electronics booth (#14200 in the Central Hall) and in the AOL booth (#CP10 in the Central Plaza).
About Sony Electronics, Inc.
Headquartered in San Diego, Sony Electronics is a leading provider of audio/video electronics and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Operations include research and development, design, engineering, manufacturing, sales, marketing, distribution and customer service. More information and digital images are available at the company’s news and information website at www.sony.com/news.
5 Comments Add your own
1. Safran | January 8th, 2007 at 7:00 am
This is the massive shift. We have been talking forever about how web video will come to the home screen. This is only the beginning. TVs with web hookups will be standard-issue. The access will go beyond AOL video and to all video.
Local stations have to note this and take action: the comfort of “people won’t watch TV on their PCs” is gone. It’s all video. It’s all on demand. And it’s all driven by the consumer. Locals must shift gears to develop more original content and more web offerings. Simply repurposing your news online is no longer an option.
You’ve heard a lot of wakeup calls in this space before. This is a wakeup screaming air siren. Paul Revere is riding past your door yelling “The web TVs are coming! The web TVs are coming!” Be a Minuteman.
2. thedetroitchannel | January 8th, 2007 at 7:48 am
i don’t know, safran… me thinks “locals” are so deep in their denial that HD will deliver them to the promised land that this “massive shift” won’t even register on their seismometer.
3. Steve Safran | January 8th, 2007 at 11:29 am
That’s a topic Warley discusses at length, too. There isn’t a single viewer that says “Oh, thank God the local news is in high-definition now! I can finally see the crags on the anchor’s face and the duct tape holding up the set!”
HD was not a consumer-driven technology. Nobody was sitting around saying “This is a good show. If only there were more scan lines, then we’d have something.” HD is great, no doubt. But since everyone has to switch to it, nobody gets a competitive advantage.
BTW, if you want to see a truly awful website - just go to the government’s site at dtv dot gov. Of all the things to have a bad site…
Web video *is* consumer driven. Therefore, those who meet the demand will differentiate their product and profit from it.
4. Gary | January 8th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
Could the cable bill just disappear? Will networks or channels or whatever they’re to be called just offer shows online for free with ads, ala ABC, etc? Maybe some shows will charge, like HBO series… I mean, who would pay to watch some fluffy I Love Fabulous Celebreality Soup program from VH1 when there are other free options to choose from?
5. Gary | January 8th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Oh, nevermind. [Slaps forehead]. We’ll just have a higher broadband bill, I suppose.
Leave a Comment
(Please keep URLs out of the comment body or the spam filter will block you.)Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed