by Jerome Rota, an svp for consumer products and services with Twonky
Recent findings from Deloitte revealed that there are now more than on billion smartphones and, as you would expect, this has completely changed the way that we consume our media content. Due to the ready availability of Wi-fi services, old favourites like the TV remote are becoming an endangered species as users look to discover content on their smartphones or tablet and enjoy content on the go. Mobile devices play a huge role in the content discovery process and the lines between mobile and TV screen have become blurred as a result. Here I’ll look at the concept of the ‘connected home’ and exactly where mobile devices fit in.
With the increased popularity and availability of cloud-based multimedia services such as, Spotify, Flickr and the BBC’s iPlayer in the UK, we expect to be able to watch video content on our smartphones and tablets as well as our TVs.
In addition to advances in technology hardware, the last 12 months has seen a plethora of new software packages and mobile apps released for consuming video content on-the-go.
Our own research at Twonky has shown that 41 per cent of people have downloaded at least one TV streaming app, such as Sky Go, Netflix, and 4oD, thus showing the pivotal role that mobile and apps now have in the TV experience.
“41 per cent of people have downloaded at least one TV streaming app”
As users engage with the second screen and continuously look to mobile to engage with TV content, TV manufacturers need to respond by enabling users to discover and create an ecosystem of devices that allows them to share content across different platforms.
Consumers are increasingly looking to have all their needs met on the go and as such we no longer want to look to one device to find media and another one to play said media.
With a connected home network in place it’s easy to share media across different mediums.
Furthermore, the experience can be opened out for everyone to enjoy media content wherever they are in the home and from whatever device is at hand.
When a connected ecosystem is in place, processes become simpler, joined up and more efficient and as a result home networks can operate more effectively.
As consumers are now using mobile devices during their TV experience, it makes sense to connect them to the TV, creating a joined up and more satisfactory experience for the end user.
Bridging your home devices so that all of your media can be shared across your home network means that the mobile device – whether smartphone or tablet, becomes the new remote control of content.
One challenge that needs to be addressed is that every manufacturer believes that their proprietary technology is strong enough to drive brand and service adoption.
As a result they try to lock users into their own ecosystem.
End users who possess devices from various manufacturers are therefore not able to connect their devices and content together.
In order to ensure that we can create a truly connected world it is imperative that we implement an ecosystem built on open architecture.
This is a system without restrictions, creating a convenient and open experience.
Author biog
Jerome Rota is a senior vice-president for consumer products and services with Twonky which is the brand given to its line of consumer software by PacketVideo. Founded back in 1998, PacketVideo is the software pioneer powering the world’s leading multimedia services on millions of home and mobile devices.
