Scott Brown

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• Lifecycle Of Consumer Digital Products  in Video Insider on 09/19/2007
  

  The amazing number of digital consumer devices in the marketplace today is breathtaking, The new lifecycle is keyed toward rapid product development, even more rapid product announcement, followed closely by product availability... and then, an all too rapid journey toward product obsolescence? But what about buying a new HDTV set?

• Digital Rights Management -- Go, No Go, Or Just Behind The Curtain?  in Video Insider on 06/04/2007
  

  In the late '90s, the music industry fell victim to rampant P2P file-sharing applications that made copying and sharing music a fairly common practice. One could consider this development but the first shockwave of the digital era -- or perhaps it was simply an inevitable next step in a new not-so-obvious and not-so-welcome change in the fundamental business paradigm.

• Primordial Reorder -- Or Just A Shuffle?  in Video Insider on 04/23/2007
  

  Just when everyone thought that the major broadcasters had all bought into video-on-demand in 2006 and that VOD would be THE outlet for demand-based broadcast content, a significant ripple hit the marketplace. That ripple (the overused convergence word)... well, call it Internet TV, and it is now driven by business folks, not the technocrats. The result is the emergence of the Internet as a controlled new vessel for broadcast-level television content -- one that can maintain the primordial content-to-commercial relationship, and that continues with cross-platforming branding.

• CableCard: Whatever Happened To That?  in Video Insider on 02/09/2007
  

  I found myself sifting through a few technical rants over the weekend and came upon a reference to "CableCard," a term that was pretty hot just a year or two ago and signified big things for the future. The last time I actually saw a reference to CableCard was when I bought my high-definition set, and the somewhat corny sales guy was actually trying to suggest that CableCard was a big-selling feature. What a dope!

• Something New Under The Covers: Switched Broadcast in Video Insider on 11/27/2006
  

  The latest new technology coming down the path of change is called switched broadcast. This new bandwidth-expanding technology, hotly pursued by MSOs and telecos, makes it unnecessary to deliver hundreds of channels simultaneously to a subscriber's home. This dramatic change in distribution technology, largely invisible to the consumer, allows operators to free up valuable bandwidth behind the scenes for (what else) additional digital services.

• TV Returns To The Tale  in Video Insider on 10/09/2006
  

  There's a new energy in television today--perhaps even the emergence of a new era. Or maybe it's just simple desperation that is bringing better content to the fore, as the industry faces the new challenge of technology fragmentation, with new digital media devices ushering in portable viewing, VOD, and out-of-home viewing experiences.

• Video-On-The-Go--Or Placeshifting? in Video Insider on 09/11/2006
  

  Frequently when I'm traveling, someone will ask "how can you be watching live TV in the airport on your laptop?" or "how can you receive DirecTV satellite signals and HBO?" Slingbox is the answer.

• The Next Big Thing: Interactive Television in Video Insider on 08/07/2006
  

  Back in the late '90s, well before the infamous "dot bomb" implosion, interactive TV was the rage at almost every television-related industry show. A phalanx of technology mavericks leading recently launched companies (ripe with venture capital dollars), descended upon the MSOs and DBS companies with brash new ITV plans, new "lean forward" services, and the great promise of wealth-building potential....

• When Will VOD Really Pop? in Video Insider on 07/10/2006
  

  Good question and one that has more unpopped kernels (read as dependencies) than simple timing or technology rollout woes might suggest. It certainly has not been for lack of effort on the part of the cable Multiple System Operators, who have feverishly deployed video-on-demand capability. So why is VOD taking so long to take hold? Maybe it's because VOD already has an identity crisis and the average Joe doesn't quite get it.

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