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A wave of new technologies that link home computers to televisions could threaten traditional TV distribution methods as consumer interest in online video entertainment continues to grow.
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, electronics manufacturers from Sony to start-ups such as Sling Media unveiled a raft of new products to allow consumers to play internet videos or media files stored on PCs on their TV screens.
Bridging that PC-to-TV gap would open up distribution potential for media content providers, but would challenge traditional distribution channels and strategies, such as cable TV's video on demand services.
"There are a lot of companies looking to bypass cable," said Bob Greene, executive vice-president of Liberty Media Holding Starz Entertainment network. "I think it is something they should be concerned about."
At the Consumer Electronics Show, Sony said it planned to sell TVs with modules that let viewers pipe in content on PCs and internet programming. Viacom , Starz Entertainment's subscription broadband video service and film studio Lions Gate Entertainment signed deals to let users of Microsoft's new Vista operating system send PC-based content to TVs and video game consoles.
And two-year-old Sling Media, which made its name selling a device that allowed cable TV shows to be viewed on laptops and cellphones, launched a prototype of a gadget that connects all PC-based media to TV screens. The device would allow viewers to clip and share live TV broadcasts over the internet.
But consumers are unwilling to pay more for a device that lets them view PC content on TV screens, according to a poll of 5000 US homes by Forrester Research.
Also, the bandwidth constraints of broadband services essentially rule out any downloading or streaming of high-definition programmes.
"Whether it's a good thing to do remains unknown," said Glenn Britt, chief executive of Time Warner Cable. "Just because we could do things doesn't means it's good for consumers, or that it's good for us."
Britt compared the trend in linking broadband internet video to TVs to the wireless industry's fascination with creating new systems to digital television services. He added: "Why is that so wonderful? We have over the air systems that will cover digital."
Distributors such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable, the top two US cable companies, have touted video on demand as the differentiating factor to help them to fight rival satellite TV services. Video on demand lets digital cable subscribers click and watch movies and shows instantaneously, much like stored programming on digital video recorders.
While the buzz around online video has eclipsed video on demand, it is not necessarily bad news for cable operators and telephone companies as they stand to profit from demand for broadband connections.
Also, one media executive said, some big cable operators had conceded they needed to craft a response to the growing trend in watching PC-based internet videos on big screens.
On a panel discussion, Chase Carey, chief executive of No 1 US satellite TV provider DirecTV Group, said he saw more opportunities than challenges.
"I think it's good for us. Consumers want to access videos when they want, how they want. It's an opportunity for us to differentiate ... It's not a threat to a core business."
- REUTERS
