What does a smartphone have in common with a set-top box (STB)? Both focus on cloud computing, and both contribute to replacing the home PC for most consumers. A new breed of STBs, providing Web
browsing and smartphone apps with powerful cloud-based applications, is already here. Think a $300 little box with a 10" wireless iPad-like tablet display that provides full HD on demand to your
big screen, and with the wireless tablet display replacing the remote control it provides Web browsing and apps. The key to this new advanced STB category is in the wireless tablet display that links
TV-based objects to content on the tablet. The clickable TV objects provide monetization events as consumers click objects on the TV.
Never before have we had a form of true interactive
TV (clickable objects) that did not disrupt the TV video. Statistics show that users of this type of system will click objects about twice every minute, or about 40 clicks over the span of a TV show,
which is an extra 40 monetization events beyond the mid-roll commercial breaks. These new commercial monetization events take the form of Web-page-embedded advertising, with the information about the
object the user clicked on. They have highly targetable aspects that bring great value to both TV producers and Ad sponsors.
Beyond the above clicking on objects, due to the platforms
tablet display, shorter mid-roll advertising spots are provided as intros, with simultaneous loading of a full Webmpage on the tablet display as a single ad spot. In this way the sponsor gives the
consumer less-disruptive advertising, since the TV video portion of the ad is short, while the Web page may have a long-form video infomercial or some Flash widget, game or catchy animation to entice
the consumer.
The new STB platform is, without any doubt going to help content producers with monetization, help advertisers in reaching customers in a new and powerful way, and give
consumers added functionality and less disruption. It's a win/win/win. The hardware has been released to public domain to encourage unhindered adoption of the platform. The software side has
patent protection but that is provided as a shared Web service in the form of TV CMS or ad networks. So, most anyone could get in on the media revolution. The server platform also includes Web video
and smart phone video. For producers, one upload covers all platforms.