• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, July 5, 2013

TV set manufacturer Samsung has agreed to buy over-the-top TV service Boxee, which also has a cloud-DVR service. Other services like Aereo have similar DVR storage devices. Even cable operators like Cablevision have toyed with taking more electronic boxes out of the living room by selling so-called “network” DVR.

Time-shifting technologies on digital platforms like Netflix and Hulu are a given. Consumers don’t need to buy separate “boxes” to go along with their laptops or desktops.

The likes of TV distributors have been most responsible for less cluttered living room entertainment areas. Now TV set manufacturers are getting into the act.

For consumers, TV sets are the mother ship of all media devices. Future sets with DVR technology may put a different spin on consumer product sales. Will they act more like laptops and tablets, which also have growing TV app capabilities? And what will be the effect on traditional TV/video distributors?

At this year’s NCTA show, hosts of cable equipment makers showed slimmed down set-top boxes.

Consumers can still go to Best Buy for a separate TiVo unit to get what they feel is a superior product and consumer interface. Then they just add the functions they want for their own TV-entertainment experience.

Years ago, manufacturers made TV sets with VCR and DVD included.  If the consumer needed two or three screens at the same time, plenty of sets had picture-in-picture technology.

Consumers cheer when they can more efficiently present their TV/entertainment devices. We may not, in fact, recognize where some “devices” are. All this is of interest to TV distributors and services, who also gain an advantage: fewer service calls on equipment for sure, but possibly higher service fees from consumers.