New Technology TV

In the past, attempts to combine televisions and computers have largely ended in failure. In general those attempts have involved using the television screen in the living room as a computer screen. The idea would be that people would do work on their computers and surf the Internet as well as watch television and play video games all from the comfort of their couches or their favorite chairs. Unfortunately for the computer manufacturers who have tried to make this work- and of course the people who would enjoy having the above options- most of the computer systems that were designed with this type of scenario in mind failed miserably. Yet, for some reason, the computer industry has continued to try to make this strategy work.
There are some more recent changes in television technology and how people are using it and distributing it that may finally lead to a marriage of computer and television technology. The primary basis for this change is the increasing popularity of high speed broad band Internet connections and an increasing amount of video- in the form of network television shows and Hollywood movies along with amateur videos- being made available on the Internet. The increased availability of quality video on the Internet could give consumers the added motivation to add their PC's to their home entertainment centers that's been lacking in the past.

There are also a number of companies who are trying to make it easier and more cost effective to offer video content on line. One example of a large company that's taken an interest in on line video is Cisco Systems which has recently taken an interest in the increasing trend of watching movie trailers and television shows on line. Cisco recently bought a small start up company- Arroyo Video Solutions- which specializes in writing software that makes it easier for server computers to store and send video in digital form. The acquisition of Arroyo Video Solutions is a good compliment to Cisco's other business ventures which produce various kinds of networking products including switches and routers. The 2003 acquisition of Linksys which provides networking equipment like wireless routers, wireless cards, and Ethernet cards to home computer users rounds out Cisco's ability to provide the hardware and software needed for downloads of video over broadband Internet connections.

Another major factor that may bring about the merger of computers with television technology is the increase in the amount of high quality mainstream video content being offered on the web. While amateur videos are available on the Internet for free, when most people sit down to watch television, they want a consistency of quality which isn't always delivered through amateur video sites. High quality video content is coming from several different sources now. For example, CBS is broadcasting the "Evening News with Katie Couric" live over the Internet at the same time as on normal television. This particular program subjects its on line viewers to advertisements, but will be delivered for free. America Online is also getting into the Internet video Business, only it will require you to pay a fee before you download a television show or movie. One aspect of AOL's on line video store that's definitely positive is the fact that its video content can be burned onto a DVD which makes it much more flexible as far as where people will watch it.

All of these developments promise to speed the blending of television and computer technology. Especially as more video content is made available on line and it becomes easier to download.