Determining the device

For all its promise to bring a different viewing experience to the world, IPTV must deal with certain facts, among them the difficulty in determining the device consumers should use to navigate through an often-complex world of video applications.

A keyboard at first glance would be a logical option, except for the interminable fact that consumers generally don't like using keyboards when watching TV. In fact, only about 15% of all TV viewers would even consider a keyboard, according to statistics from Myrio.

"Keyboards have been available for set-tops for some time, but they're more of a nuisance than a value add," said Keith Wymbs, director of product marketing for Tut Systems.

Part of that resistance, at least in theory, comes from people's reaction to keyboards and their close association with the activity of browsing on their PCs. In the living room, users get into a slightly different mindset--often referred to as the 10-foot experience versus the 2-foot experience of an office. "People in their living rooms don't want to feel like they're in their office. Universal remotes are more valuable to the consumer," Wymbs said.

Arthur Cinader, director of media products for 2Wire, which is providing a set-top/gateway for SBC Communications' bundled satellite/DSL service, said Web browsing isn't an application for the TV.

That thought is echoed by others such as ICTV's CEO Jeff Miller, who said service providers shouldn't think of the TV as a monitor for a computer that's running inside the set-top box.

However, content providers are increasingly linking the PC and TV experience by offering additional footage, games and chat rooms linked to programming. Many also have been linking in wireless with text voting and other applications. "I think MTV is going to have plenty of reasons to drive viewers to both experiences," Miller said.

It may be of significant benefit to carriers to keep the experiences separate, giving consumers multiple options for accessing content with familiar interfaces such as remotes, keyboards and wireless handsets. To do that, most of the content must by stored in the network, said Sanjay Castelino, director of product marketing for Motive.

"Once content and applications are stored in the network, it's a matter of being able to interface into the system that has the content," he said. "That's actually easier than interfacing with content in the home."

In fact, a number of content delivery network companies and others have started to focus their effort on the process. Nine Systems, which has been delivering content to wireless devices, believes it can do the same for the IPTV world by expanding the applications linked to different content brands.

"We're able to look at this from a carrier perspective and say to the consumer that if you're coming in with a Razr handset, you can use only this set of objects," said Troy Snyder, CEO of Nine Systems. "You're getting the appropriate content for the appropriate device. In the true IPTV world, where you have the operators owning everything, the enhancement we provide is letting the content owner extend their footprint."