Broadcast v Internet Television Computers and Technology Area 16, Branch 116 September 17, 2020 SIR Phil Goff 1 Goal of the Presentation • Understand sources of television • Broadcast TV • Internet or Streaming TV • Limitations of each • Where we are today 2 In the Good Old Days Television was “Over the Air” • Up until 1970 TV was received by Antenna • Antennas on the roof • Rabbit ears next to the TV • Television Stations still broadcast “Over The Air” • Sutro Tower in SF • Walnut Grove near Sacramento • Walnut Creek is not a good area to use Antennas 3 Television via Cable • In Late 1970’s cable TV entered the market. • TV signal came to your house over coax cable • Set top box decoded the signal and allowed selected channels to be viewed. • There was an explosion of channels offered • In early 2000’s High Definition Television became available • My First HD TV was a 40” Sony purchased from Amazon in 2006 for $2500. 4 Broadcast Television • All programming was offered on a set schedule • We could only watch programs when they were “on” • Programs, sports, etc, didn’t repeat. See it or it was gone. • We subscribed to TV Guide to see what will be broadcast • The morning newspaper had a full guide of programming • In the 1990’s, online guides first appeared 5 Birth of the Internet • Earliest Internet was provided through phone lines – “Dial-Up” • Couldn’t make a phone call if someone was “on the internet” • Around 1990 DSL was the popular Internet data source • Neither of these sources was fast enough to carry video 6 Cable Internet • Around 2000 Cable Companies added internet delivery to their TV signal delivery • Internet speed was much faster than DSL • Internet was still just a data stream for your home computer 7 Internet Video • Beginning in 2002, programmers were able to digitize video streams. • In 2005 the first YouTube video was delivered over the internet, “Me At The Zoo” • Unless you had fast internet, you couldn’t view these videos 8 Two Technologies Converged High Speed Programmers internet came to learned how to homes via cable. digitize video streams Streaming TV is born 9 Where Are We Today? Your Cable (or Satellite) Company continues to deliver Broadcast TV signal • TV broadcast signal gives you many channels • TV signals are downloaded but no information is uploaded • Must have a set top box and coax cable connected to your TV • Delivery is “Linear” Everything is delivered at preset times 10 Video Cassette Recorders • In the 1980’s and 1990’s VCR’s (Video Cassette Recorders) were all the rage. • Could record programs and watch later • Skip commercials • Rent Movies • It was difficult to record programs – set the channel, time, etc. • Ultimately VCRs were mostly used for playing rental videos (Blockbuster) 11 Digital Video Recorders • In 2006-2010 Cable Companies began to offer DVRs (Digital Video Recorders) • Could time shift television: pause, record, replay as desired • Huge benefit to Broadcast or linear TV 12 Limitations of Broadcast TV Signals? • All programming is offered at a set time • Must use a DVR to watch at a different time • Must have a coaxial cable connected to TV to receive the signal. • Broadcast TV signals are not transmitted wirelessly! • There are some devices to transmit TV signal wirelessly but they are expensive and not widely available • AT&T tried to offer these devices but wasn’t popular 13 How Does Video on Demand Work? • Cable and Satellite offer VOD on channel numbers • Your request to watch a video is sent via the internet • You can telephone them if TV not connected to internet • The Cable Company sends the signal to you once approved • You can use your DVR to pause, save, etc. 14 How Do We Access Signals from the Internet? • Cable Company delivers an Internet signal on the same cable as their Broadcast TV signal (They call it “Over The Top”) • Internet signal connects to a modem and a router sends it wirelessly throughout your house. 15 Watching Video Signals from Internet • Internet signals are sent in “packets” of information • Your computer, laptop, TV app or device converts the signals to display on screen. • If internet speed is too slow, your screen will pause while more packets are delivered • If internet speed is faster than needed, packets will be saved on your device and displayed on screen when ready 16 Several Ways to Receive and Display Internet Signal on TV • Some DVRs have ethernet ports to connect to your router • Some TVs have a built in ethernet port to connect to your router • Some TVs even have built in wifi receivers • Modern TVs may use their built in “apps” to process and display signal • Generally TVs apps are slow to access the internet 17 Popular Ways to Receive Internet Signal • Most common wat to display internet signal is via a gadget plugged into HDMI port. • Examples are Roku, Firestick, Apple TV, etc. • These are independent of apps on your TV and offer many more options • These gadgets are quite fast and extremely flexible 18 TV from Internet Instead of Broadcast “Internet TV,” “Streaming TV” or “Online TV.” • All Television stations and much more are available via the internet • Some charge subscription fees because little or no advertising • Everyone fighting for you to watch their lineup • Don’t need a DVR since you control the timing of the delivery. 19 Advantages of Internet v Broadcast TV • Internet is interactive (upload and download) • Search Netflix channel for programs • Send info to Netflix by selecting a program • Watch it immediately, later or pause it • Internet signal can be transmitted wirelessly • Put other TVs in your house without a coax cable 20 Why Not Change to Internet TV? • We already have partially: • Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc are delivered via internet • Offerings are fractured. • Many different “channels” and many require subscription • It requires a “mindshift” • Channel numbers don’t mean anything • Online guides are different 21 Streaming TV Offerings are Overwhelming 22 Online Guide for YouTube Streaming TV Offerings are listed alphabetically. No channel numbers. Guide can be customized to your liking 23 Why Do We Keep Broadcast TV • We are satisfied with our current setup • Internet providers don’t mirror our current setup • We don’t want to deal with a new Online Guide, remote, etc. • Many people in U.S. don’t have enough internet speed to watch streaming TV 24 Problems with Internet TV • Requires good solid Internet signal from provider WAVE • 5 Mbps download for each HD TV • 25 Mbps download for 4K TV • Internet provider may have data caps • HD TV downloads 5 GB per hour watched • HD TV for 4 hrs/day for 20 days is 400GB total • 4K TV would be much more 25 What is the Future of Broadcast TV? • Broadcast TV is not dead! • Over The Air serves about 14% of population • Too many options via streaming discourages many viewers • Broadcast TV Companies are acquiring their own streaming platforms (CBS All Access, Peacock TV, etc) • Streaming TV requires additional money via subscriptions 26 Shift to Internet TV is Continuing • AT&T will sell Direct TV (satellite business) • Stopped taking orders for Uverse TV • Offers AT&T TV which is internet based • Has a proprietary set top box and remote • Looks like Broadcast TV • Costs $100/month or more depending on number of channels • More people (especially millennials) are watching TV on different devices 27 Next Month – Television Entertainment #2 • Smart TV’s and Streaming Devices • Streaming Sites • Finding Programs to Watch 28.