The Beginning of the End for Connected?
Just been reading about the new Sony Bravia V Series TV’s (http://www.sony.co.uk/product/t32-v-series/kdl-32v5500/tab/overview/type/video) They have an integrated USB port for pictures/audio/video but, better than that, they even have a LAN input to connect the TV to your home network and stream media directly from other DLNA devices! This is pretty much what Connected does, but without the need for the DSM-330.
DivX are gonna have to pull out all the stops if they still want to compete in the media streaming market IMO.
And YES, I do appreciate that the TV’s are more expensive than a DSM-330 (although I reckon most people wouldn’t mind paying a premium for having the ability to control all of their media through just one device with one remote), and NO I don’t work for Sony!
:)
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Formats?
What kind of formats does this DLNA thing support, though? I doubt that they would have support for DivX and Xvid, among others. Tried to find information about this on the DLNA web site, no luck.
DLNA's focus in on
DLNA's focus in on interoperability of devices, I'm guessing actual format/codec support is left to the manufacturers. From my own experience, DivX and Xvid were both supported by my TV.
Perhaps Not...
I've mentioned this a few times on the forum in the past. Other manufacturers like Phillips and Samsung have already been doing this on their higher end displays for a number of years now. Sony doing the same shows that it won't be long before all displays will have integrated network and media playback capabilities (and full internet connectivity with increasing content targeted for displays available online). Where does this leave DivX (and the NMT's etc)?
Well, clearly, the most attractive market for DivX in terms of Connected is displays. Not sure of the licensing costs but displays offer a better value proposition, cost integration and overall fit. DVD/Blu-ray players, DVR's are all game, however, prices here tend to be much lower/elastic and I wonder how much Connected would add to the bottom line.
On the other hand, when television display network capabilities (with or without Connected) increase their presence within the market, this still brings in licensing revenue for DivX (in terms of DivX codec support - though we'll see if H264 really does replace it on a global scale in the long term). Furthermore, while most of us are probably gadget freaks and love the potential of technology, the majority of people still don't have a clue about networked media playback. That's beginning to change and when it does, customers will get more discerning regarding the functionality and features of media playback. Manufacturers may choose to outsource such feature development (as some of them already do) and this may leave DivX well positioned.
In all, I have a Phillips LCD I bought in 2007 with USB/Ethernet playback. It has a similar Connected type PC dependent database architecture. Granted, it plays stuff but the amount of problems and lack of functionality is extraordinary. While I may not be represenative of the market as a whole, what it did do was show me the potential of what could be and drove me to seek out better solutions. They arrived in the form of DivX Connected. Quite simply, there is no comparison.
No one is denying there are challenges ahead, particularly in today's climate. I would also like to see accelerated feature development (which will be critical in differentiating Connected from the rest of the competition - including the likes of Sony etc...). However, I still believe Connected has a very bright future.