Restricted live TV to the iPad
A live-TV application and companion device will be made available to Comcast customers in two cities in the next few weeks, a spokeswoman said. The program will be called AnyPlay and will unlock iPad access to every channel included in a subscriber’s cable package.In just two months, digital will overtake film as the predominant movie projector technology in the world’s cinemas, according to a study released this week by IHS.
It will be the first time since the advent of the motion picture in 1889 that film projectors will be used to screen a minority of movies.Comcast announced plans in January to offer live TV streaming on tablets in the home “later this year,” but the company had not publicly provided an update.The blockbuster 3-D movie’s release in late 2009 sparked a rapid increase in digital projector purchases, since its three-dimensional effects couldn’t be viewed with a celluloid film projector.
Not wanting to miss out on the highest-grossing movie of all time, theaters were quick to upgrade their technology.The blockbuster 3-D movie’s release in late 2009 sparked a rapid increase in digital projector purchases, since its three-dimensional effects couldn’t be viewed with a celluloid film projector. Not wanting to miss out on the highest-grossing movie of all time, theaters were quick to upgrade their technology.
Other cable and satellite TV operators, including Time Warner Cable, DirecTV and Cablevision, already offer live video to iPads, and they all require subscribers to be within range of their home Wi-Fi networks.”The release of Avatar represented the pivotal moment for digital cinema,” said David Hancock, head of film and cinema research at IHS. “Before Avatar, digital represented only a small portion of the market. This single film has driven up demand for digital 3-D technology at the expense of traditional 35-mm celluloid.”
No major video providers have been able to offer live video outside of the home because of the way agreements with TV networks are written, Blaxland said. Only technical workarounds like Sling Media’s Slingbox, a device that connects to a cable box and broadcasts a home TV signal to a remote app, can skirt the issue.Comcast executives aren’t concerned about the in-home stipulation because most online video is watched at home anyway, according to research firm Nielsen.
