The Future of TV

Media Consumption

The internet has transformed into the most powerful tool for the broadcast industry. A lot of the innovation in internet TV has been found in electronics that plug into television sets, like Apple TV and Google's Chromecast, however many people find it difficult to utilise these 'set-top-boxes' along side their traditional Sky/ cable box. People generally find it cumbersome to switch between devices for live and on demand TV, so a system that incorporates streaming services like Netflix and Hulu would be beneficial to many television watchers. In a sense, Netflix is becoming like a TV channel, however its non existent air time, meaning everything can be watched on demand, makes it different to regular channels. This on demand technology could be considered a model for what other networks may end up like. TV sitcoms and dramas limit viewers to watch one or two episodes a week, whereas on demand technology enables consumers to watch an entire series in a day, this 'binge watching' style of media consumption makes it easier to hook viewers on a series as once one episode is over the next one is all ready loading up. Change in media consumption is a gradual process, however, with millennials replacing the baby boomers as the largest segment of TV consumers, the switch to streaming TV services has grown greatly. There is more pressure for TV companies to offer cheaper, customisable content for the tech-savvy audience due to the convenience of on demand viewing. 

Future Technology

Today, television plays as it always has however there has bee a development of relevant second screen apps. The future of television could be taking the content from the second screen and incorporating it into the television through on screen overlays, this would enable users to interact with the directly with the TV. Though, the second screen could also be used to aid the original TV with interfaces such as a smart remote. This would mean the users would have access to the remote regardless of their location enabling them to control their TV whilst on the go. 

TV subscriptions are currently sold to households, however the onset of on demand technology suggests that soon TV subscriptions will be sold to individuals, offering them a personalised service. A personalised subscription service would allow for more flexible pricing, a personalised choice of content, interface and possibly advertising. Recommendations and personalisations are becoming a vital part of viewer consumption, as people are always looking for something new to indulge in and recommendations based on their personalised data collection are a great way to find new options, supporting the idea that personalised TV subscriptions are going to be crucial in the future. 

4K or Ultra high definition TV (UHD) is a new form of television display technology, the image quality is supposed to be so good that it appears as if it is three dimensional. The difference between 3D and 4K television is that 4K does not require the user to wear 3D glasses to view the quality display, which is likely to be a much more successful as it is far less of a gimmick.

Current Innovations

Toshiba Twitter TV

This 105-inch television is large enough to include a Twitter panel. This enables users to watch TV whilst simultaneously scrolling through their twitter feed as well as being able to view weather reports and news headlines. 

Haier Modular TV

This TV feeds of the users fitness metrics from their smart band, the TV incorporates a range of health monitoring features such as blood pressure, weight, sleep cycle and steps taken daily. The TV has an integrated camera which will advise the user on the optimal viewing position, and will alarm users if they are too close, have poor posture or have been watching for too long. The TV will automatically adjust brightness levels according to ambient lighting making for the ultimate viewing experience.

Samsung Smart TV

The Samsung Smart TV features an interactive menu which is the hub of the interface, giving users easy access to their smart content such as applications, photos, video, web browsers etc. Users can opt to indulge in the Samsung Smart Home theatre which enables the wonder of Smart TV to be accessible on any television system.

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