7 ms·

Head of Time Warner Cable Unfamiliar With Apple's AirPlay

50 points by iProject 14y ago

jeffdechambeau 14y ago
cool industry bro
mikeryan 14y ago
Today we want to be on every screen. Today it’s a little bit clunky to get programming from the Internet onto the TV — not so hard to get it on your iPad This is horrifying. Outside of Airplay virtually every HDTV you buy these days is going to have an internet app platform built in. Something like a Roku is dead simple and both Verizon and Comcast/Xfinity stream IP based content via the Xbox. Getting Internet onto the big screen is painfully easy. Not understanding the threat posed by these devices isn't acceptable for the head of a major cable operator.
- ShabbyDoo 14y ago
  One might consider such comments as little more than posturing. Recall Steve Jobs explaining that the iPhone could not have apps because users would not tolerate a rogue app taking down the mobile network. However, his statements are so obviously false that he must either think his listeners are fools or be one himself.
  - Roboprog 14y ago
    My first thought was "What an idiot", but then I realized just what you said, his statements are propaganda to lull the less informed segments of the market that still cough up the bucks for ESPN (and a few other channels), not what he believes or knows (most likely). He's selling to my wife. My teenagers just plug HDMI into the computer (from the TV) and go find the shows they want. He's already lost, but it will take him 5 to 10 years to know it. To answer one person down there, yes, I had to tinker with the PC about 5 minutes (Ubuntu 10.04) to get drivers and settings correct, but HDMI works great after that. (sound, aspect ratio, it's all good!)
    - freehunter 14y ago
      I actually use my HDTV as a monitor. Sure, it's low resolution compared to some 19" monitors in its price range at only 1920x1080, but it's 42 inches and higher res than my 17" 1280x1024 monitor it replaced. With this in mind, it's trivial to load up WMP or VLC and use it as a TV as well.
  - moron 14y ago
    That's more credit than I personally am willing to give the head of a cable company at this point. If they constantly act like they have no idea what is going on, perhaps indeed they don't.
  - CamperBob2 14y ago
    Recall Steve Jobs explaining that the iPhone could not have apps because users would not tolerate a rogue app taking down the mobile network I remember thinking how offensive it was when Jobs said that and then announced the App Store only a few months later. It was obvious that they couldn't have pivoted that quickly, so Jobs must have been lying through his teeth. It was only later that I learned that the App Store infrastructure was already being built with the iPad in mind, so they could indeed have retargeted it to the iPhone almost overnight. Jobs may not have technically been lying about their intention to keep third-party apps off of the iPhone.
- koko775 14y ago
  But it is clunky. It's a threat, but it's clunky. Roku - weird platform, but improving. BrightScript has its issues, but it does support HLS and VAST for ads. Boxee - buggy. SamsungTV - horrible platform, horrible (borderline abusive) approval process. Already fragmented between 2010 and 2011 models, poor and/or outright wrong documentation. GoogleTV - possibly one of the best of the bunch, since Android is a worthwhile base, but still has a few screws loose. Others - often too small/difficult to invest heavily in making something truly good.
  - drivebyacct2 14y ago
    I'm no huge Apple fan, but this market screams for them to come in and decimate the seemingly childish current players.
  - AJ007 14y ago
    What about Apple TV? I agree, the TV based systems are "clunky", but Apple TV works perfectly, and Roku only seems to have hickups with slower internet connections. I have an answer for Time Warner's CEO -- "there was no simple way to get Internet-based video onto the television screen" -- Apple TV is easy. There is nothing about modern cable that is that easy. Last time I moved I did not reconnect my cable. I never plan on intentionally becoming a cable customer again in my life.
  - chaostheory 14y ago
    Google TV - too expensive Apple TV - not as much content as competitors
- nikcub 14y ago
  > painfully easy. It isn't taking off though. I showed my brother that he has internet built into the new TV he bought. he was interested for the novelty factor for 5 minutes and then gave it up and went back to his ipad Sales figures of apple tv's and google devices etc. also suggest that for some reason the TV -> Internet bridge devices are just not working with consumers The more I see and think about this the more I think it will be built into televisions, and that television companies suck at making software so it will be somebody new who will own the entire market (Apple).
hrayr 14y ago
What's immensely frustrating about this, is that they actively block internet content on the TV via Google TV, and yet they claim it's difficult to deliver content to the TV. I call this hypocritical.
jbenz 14y ago
I thought this was an Onion headline at first. Though if it were, it would probably read: "Company CEO Unaware of Technology Sure to Make His Company Obsolete". Alas, it seems like Time Warner won't be obsolete very soon. We can only hope.
dr_ 14y ago
There is a fine line between visionary and dunce. If he only had this insight about 5 years ago...
northbranch 14y ago
While it's easy to make fun of the guy for this, it's also a good indicator of how much work remains for products like AirPlay and Roku. The average consumer just isn't aware of the technology, and it's still relatively difficult to research and setup (compared to just calling your cable company). There's still big opportunity in this space.
- antoko 14y ago
  Granted I'm on HN so I'm probably not an "average consumer" in this regard. However new computers have HDMI outs and new TVs have HDMI ins. What exactly is the technical problem with getting internet content on a TV? It is absolutely no different than plugging in an Xbox or other console, and actually simpler than setting up a TiVo or a cable box! NOTE: I don't actually know how common HDMI outs are on store bought PCs (since I build my own) but surely it is becoming standard?
  - MatthewPhillips 14y ago
    XBoxes primary display is the television, that is not the case for PCs. PCs require an additional software layer that consumers don't know about and don't "just work" the way a set-top box does.
  - georgemcbay 14y ago
    Hooking a PC with HDMI-out to a TV isn't that hard, but now what do you do? How do you control it remotely, are you going to get up and walk over to the PC hooked up to the TV every time you want to change the "channel"? And what exactly are the "channels"? A web browser open to YouTube? Before anyone answers these rhetorical questions -- I know full well that things like USB-irda devices, XBMC with plugins to automatically torrent your favorite shows or more-likely-used-legally options like Windows Media Center exist, but there is actually quite a lot of software complexity that you are handwaving over here and you'd be surprised how close to technobabble gibberish this currently existing stuff sounds to an "average consumer". Internet as the primary means to deliver tv content is absolutely inevitable and if I were a shareholder of a cable company and the CEO of that company was completely oblivious to the move to this future, I would be concerned. OTOH we are still at least a few years off from this being a really viable option for the masses. The current solutions all have pretty serious gaps. This is a big part of the reason the idea of a true Apple iTV is continually churned on the rumor mill. For whatever you think about Apple (I'm not a huge fan), one would expect them to deliver a true end-to-end solution, which hasn't really been done yet.
tonetheman 14y ago
Meh this is not news. Unless you actively look for this you would not know it was there. Who cares.
brown9-2 14y ago
I connect an HDMI cable from my laptop to my HDTV. Would the average consumer consider that "clunky"?
- loumf 14y ago
  It depends on what you are using as a UI, but probably. If it boots into a full screen, remote-controllable app that never crashes, then it might be ok. I toyed around with Boxee for Mac on a dedicated old laptop and it was really close -- crashed too much, but if it didn't, it would be fine for a lot of consumers -- though not nearly as good as AppleTV. The advantage over AppleTV is the enormous amount of content.
- rikf 14y ago
  There are loads of internet enabled TV's on the market at the moment that in the UK at least will give you access to youtube, lovefilm (similar to netflix), BBC iPlayer and the streaming services that most channels provide. Similarly the PS3 and XBOX can do similar things. The UI's probably need some work but IP-TV is becoming a reality.
- state_machine 14y ago
  Yes. First, despite the simplification of the cables, physically connecting it can still be a challenge, for example if there's no convenient place to put a laptop within 6' of the TV. And power for the laptop there too. Second, once its connected, it's no certainty that the external display will be correctly detected or set to the correct resolution. Is the picture streched? When you hit full-screen, does it only show on the laptop? Is sound going over HDMI too? Tinkering with settings and troubleshooting a multi-monitor setup can be intimidating for the "average consumer". Even if you get everything setup, many laptops do no come with remote controls, and long HDMI cables are uncommon. I've owned or own a Roku, a TV which had USB and could play anything FFMPEG could read, a PS3 with netflix and recently an AppleTV+iPad. I'd consider myself reasonably technically inclined and have had an HDMI cable which comfortably reached my couch for quite awhile but I still use that as a last resort for content I can't play some other way.
- FaceKicker 14y ago
drcube 14y ago
"Glenn A. Britt, the company’s chief executive, said in a group interview on Friday that the challenge for digital video was that there was no simple way to get Internet-based video onto the television screen." The CEO has never heard of HDMI or VGA cables??
ShabbyDoo 14y ago
"I hate set-top boxes" I hated his company's crappy set-top box, the lack of TWC support for 3rd party boxes, and the efforts TWC made to kill the cablecard.
ktizo 14y ago
Head of Time Warner unfamiliar with arse location process involving the use of both hands.
BryanB55 14y ago
Hopefully this means that all cable companies will die soon... Ok maybe that is a bit too hopeful. But I've been looking for ways to drop my TV bill recently (directv) I pay $90 a month to watch maybe 3 channels once or twice a week. I can't think of any other consumer service I pay that much for. Unfortunately new episodes of Dexter and BreakingBad aren't easily available online yet. The Cable/Satellite TV industry is just so broken.
warmfuzzykitten 14y ago
"AirPlay also makes it easy to push pirated video available on the Web onto the television, which could lead some people to drop their cable subscriptions." Really? AirPlay only works with Apple-approved apps. E.g., it doesn't work with HBO Go. Pirated videos, there's no app for that.
- mistercow 14y ago
  > Pirated videos, there's no app for that. Torrent -> HandBrake -> iTunes -> Apple TV
  - i386 14y ago
    That process is beyond the understanding of most people. They just want to buy and click play.
    - mistercow 14y ago
      Irrelevant. The point is that getting pirated video onto the Apple TV is at most one extra step. A lot of torrents are already mp4, in which case there is no extra step.
  - warmfuzzykitten 14y ago
    The subject was AirPlay, which is a specific technology that allows users to play video on their iPhone/iPad on their TV through AppleTV. Can you rip off a video into iTunes and make AppleTV play it over wi-fi, but it's not AirPlay.
    - sdkmvx 14y ago
      AirPlay works with any video from the iPod/Music/Videos apps. One can import any video (including tormented TV shows) into iTunes and thus into these apps. It most certainly is AirPlay, although Apple would prefer people to just buy from their store.
    - mistercow 14y ago

50 points by iProject 14y ago

cool industry bro

Today we want to be on every screen. Today it’s a little bit clunky to get programming from the Internet onto the TV — not so hard to get it on your iPad This is horrifying. Outside of Airplay virtually every HDTV you buy these days is going to have an internet app platform built in. Something like a Roku is dead simple and both Verizon and Comcast/Xfinity stream IP based content via the Xbox. Getting Internet onto the big screen is painfully easy. Not understanding the threat posed by these devices isn't acceptable for the head of a major cable operator.

ShabbyDoo 14y ago
One might consider such comments as little more than posturing. Recall Steve Jobs explaining that the iPhone could not have apps because users would not tolerate a rogue app taking down the mobile network. However, his statements are so obviously false that he must either think his listeners are fools or be one himself.
- Roboprog 14y ago
  My first thought was "What an idiot", but then I realized just what you said, his statements are propaganda to lull the less informed segments of the market that still cough up the bucks for ESPN (and a few other channels), not what he believes or knows (most likely). He's selling to my wife. My teenagers just plug HDMI into the computer (from the TV) and go find the shows they want. He's already lost, but it will take him 5 to 10 years to know it. To answer one person down there, yes, I had to tinker with the PC about 5 minutes (Ubuntu 10.04) to get drivers and settings correct, but HDMI works great after that. (sound, aspect ratio, it's all good!)
  - freehunter 14y ago
    I actually use my HDTV as a monitor. Sure, it's low resolution compared to some 19" monitors in its price range at only 1920x1080, but it's 42 inches and higher res than my 17" 1280x1024 monitor it replaced. With this in mind, it's trivial to load up WMP or VLC and use it as a TV as well.
- moron 14y ago
  That's more credit than I personally am willing to give the head of a cable company at this point. If they constantly act like they have no idea what is going on, perhaps indeed they don't.
- CamperBob2 14y ago
  Recall Steve Jobs explaining that the iPhone could not have apps because users would not tolerate a rogue app taking down the mobile network I remember thinking how offensive it was when Jobs said that and then announced the App Store only a few months later. It was obvious that they couldn't have pivoted that quickly, so Jobs must have been lying through his teeth. It was only later that I learned that the App Store infrastructure was already being built with the iPad in mind, so they could indeed have retargeted it to the iPhone almost overnight. Jobs may not have technically been lying about their intention to keep third-party apps off of the iPhone.
koko775 14y ago
But it is clunky. It's a threat, but it's clunky. Roku - weird platform, but improving. BrightScript has its issues, but it does support HLS and VAST for ads. Boxee - buggy. SamsungTV - horrible platform, horrible (borderline abusive) approval process. Already fragmented between 2010 and 2011 models, poor and/or outright wrong documentation. GoogleTV - possibly one of the best of the bunch, since Android is a worthwhile base, but still has a few screws loose. Others - often too small/difficult to invest heavily in making something truly good.
- drivebyacct2 14y ago
  I'm no huge Apple fan, but this market screams for them to come in and decimate the seemingly childish current players.
- AJ007 14y ago
  What about Apple TV? I agree, the TV based systems are "clunky", but Apple TV works perfectly, and Roku only seems to have hickups with slower internet connections. I have an answer for Time Warner's CEO -- "there was no simple way to get Internet-based video onto the television screen" -- Apple TV is easy. There is nothing about modern cable that is that easy. Last time I moved I did not reconnect my cable. I never plan on intentionally becoming a cable customer again in my life.
- chaostheory 14y ago
  Google TV - too expensive Apple TV - not as much content as competitors
nikcub 14y ago
> painfully easy. It isn't taking off though. I showed my brother that he has internet built into the new TV he bought. he was interested for the novelty factor for 5 minutes and then gave it up and went back to his ipad Sales figures of apple tv's and google devices etc. also suggest that for some reason the TV -> Internet bridge devices are just not working with consumers The more I see and think about this the more I think it will be built into televisions, and that television companies suck at making software so it will be somebody new who will own the entire market (Apple).

hrayr 14y ago

What's immensely frustrating about this, is that they actively block internet content on the TV via Google TV, and yet they claim it's difficult to deliver content to the TV. I call this hypocritical.

jbenz 14y ago

I thought this was an Onion headline at first. Though if it were, it would probably read: "Company CEO Unaware of Technology Sure to Make His Company Obsolete". Alas, it seems like Time Warner won't be obsolete very soon. We can only hope.

dr_ 14y ago

There is a fine line between visionary and dunce. If he only had this insight about 5 years ago...

northbranch 14y ago

While it's easy to make fun of the guy for this, it's also a good indicator of how much work remains for products like AirPlay and Roku. The average consumer just isn't aware of the technology, and it's still relatively difficult to research and setup (compared to just calling your cable company). There's still big opportunity in this space.

antoko 14y ago
Granted I'm on HN so I'm probably not an "average consumer" in this regard. However new computers have HDMI outs and new TVs have HDMI ins. What exactly is the technical problem with getting internet content on a TV? It is absolutely no different than plugging in an Xbox or other console, and actually simpler than setting up a TiVo or a cable box! NOTE: I don't actually know how common HDMI outs are on store bought PCs (since I build my own) but surely it is becoming standard?
- MatthewPhillips 14y ago
  XBoxes primary display is the television, that is not the case for PCs. PCs require an additional software layer that consumers don't know about and don't "just work" the way a set-top box does.
- georgemcbay 14y ago
  Hooking a PC with HDMI-out to a TV isn't that hard, but now what do you do? How do you control it remotely, are you going to get up and walk over to the PC hooked up to the TV every time you want to change the "channel"? And what exactly are the "channels"? A web browser open to YouTube? Before anyone answers these rhetorical questions -- I know full well that things like USB-irda devices, XBMC with plugins to automatically torrent your favorite shows or more-likely-used-legally options like Windows Media Center exist, but there is actually quite a lot of software complexity that you are handwaving over here and you'd be surprised how close to technobabble gibberish this currently existing stuff sounds to an "average consumer". Internet as the primary means to deliver tv content is absolutely inevitable and if I were a shareholder of a cable company and the CEO of that company was completely oblivious to the move to this future, I would be concerned. OTOH we are still at least a few years off from this being a really viable option for the masses. The current solutions all have pretty serious gaps. This is a big part of the reason the idea of a true Apple iTV is continually churned on the rumor mill. For whatever you think about Apple (I'm not a huge fan), one would expect them to deliver a true end-to-end solution, which hasn't really been done yet.

tonetheman 14y ago

Meh this is not news. Unless you actively look for this you would not know it was there. Who cares.

brown9-2 14y ago

I connect an HDMI cable from my laptop to my HDTV. Would the average consumer consider that "clunky"?

loumf 14y ago
It depends on what you are using as a UI, but probably. If it boots into a full screen, remote-controllable app that never crashes, then it might be ok. I toyed around with Boxee for Mac on a dedicated old laptop and it was really close -- crashed too much, but if it didn't, it would be fine for a lot of consumers -- though not nearly as good as AppleTV. The advantage over AppleTV is the enormous amount of content.
rikf 14y ago
There are loads of internet enabled TV's on the market at the moment that in the UK at least will give you access to youtube, lovefilm (similar to netflix), BBC iPlayer and the streaming services that most channels provide. Similarly the PS3 and XBOX can do similar things. The UI's probably need some work but IP-TV is becoming a reality.
state_machine 14y ago
Yes. First, despite the simplification of the cables, physically connecting it can still be a challenge, for example if there's no convenient place to put a laptop within 6' of the TV. And power for the laptop there too. Second, once its connected, it's no certainty that the external display will be correctly detected or set to the correct resolution. Is the picture streched? When you hit full-screen, does it only show on the laptop? Is sound going over HDMI too? Tinkering with settings and troubleshooting a multi-monitor setup can be intimidating for the "average consumer". Even if you get everything setup, many laptops do no come with remote controls, and long HDMI cables are uncommon. I've owned or own a Roku, a TV which had USB and could play anything FFMPEG could read, a PS3 with netflix and recently an AppleTV+iPad. I'd consider myself reasonably technically inclined and have had an HDMI cable which comfortably reached my couch for quite awhile but I still use that as a last resort for content I can't play some other way.
FaceKicker 14y ago

drcube 14y ago

"Glenn A. Britt, the company’s chief executive, said in a group interview on Friday that the challenge for digital video was that there was no simple way to get Internet-based video onto the television screen." The CEO has never heard of HDMI or VGA cables??

ShabbyDoo 14y ago

"I hate set-top boxes" I hated his company's crappy set-top box, the lack of TWC support for 3rd party boxes, and the efforts TWC made to kill the cablecard.

ktizo 14y ago

Head of Time Warner unfamiliar with arse location process involving the use of both hands.

BryanB55 14y ago

Hopefully this means that all cable companies will die soon... Ok maybe that is a bit too hopeful. But I've been looking for ways to drop my TV bill recently (directv) I pay $90 a month to watch maybe 3 channels once or twice a week. I can't think of any other consumer service I pay that much for. Unfortunately new episodes of Dexter and BreakingBad aren't easily available online yet. The Cable/Satellite TV industry is just so broken.

warmfuzzykitten 14y ago

"AirPlay also makes it easy to push pirated video available on the Web onto the television, which could lead some people to drop their cable subscriptions." Really? AirPlay only works with Apple-approved apps. E.g., it doesn't work with HBO Go. Pirated videos, there's no app for that.

mistercow 14y ago
> Pirated videos, there's no app for that. Torrent -> HandBrake -> iTunes -> Apple TV
- i386 14y ago
  That process is beyond the understanding of most people. They just want to buy and click play.
  - mistercow 14y ago
    Irrelevant. The point is that getting pirated video onto the Apple TV is at most one extra step. A lot of torrents are already mp4, in which case there is no extra step.
- warmfuzzykitten 14y ago
  The subject was AirPlay, which is a specific technology that allows users to play video on their iPhone/iPad on their TV through AppleTV. Can you rip off a video into iTunes and make AppleTV play it over wi-fi, but it's not AirPlay.
  - sdkmvx 14y ago
    AirPlay works with any video from the iPod/Music/Videos apps. One can import any video (including tormented TV shows) into iTunes and thus into these apps. It most certainly is AirPlay, although Apple would prefer people to just buy from their store.
  - mistercow 14y ago