World's First Terrestrial 3D TV Service Starts in Italy

The world's first terrestrial 3D TV service officially went live last week, following a successful trial by Italian broadcaster Mediaset.

The service, known as 3VOD, runs on Motive's Bestv set top box, offers subscribers the ability to view films from a selection of around 50 films. It was originally offered as a limited trial to subscribers from late last year.

Previously 3D TV was limited to high-bandwidth pay-tv on satellite and cable platforms. The problem with 3D TV is its very large filesizes—with two images per frame, films are literally twice the size of 2D shows.

What 3VOD does is to trickle the movie file to the Bestv set-top box throughout the day and night. The box stores the film on its hard drive. Trickling small amounts of data allows the broadcaster to extract the maximum value out of any under-used bandwidth. Typically broadcasters transmit up to seven TV channels in what is known as a “multiplex”.

Although it describes itself as video on demand, 3VOD is not a conventional VoD service like the U.S. Netflix. Instead users are able to watch from a limited set of choices. Unlike true VoD services where the files are stored on a remote server and streamed in real-time to the user, 3VOD stores the files locally on a set top box.

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Manufacturers of "smart TVs" will make their pitches at CES

After 3-D TV failed to excite consumers last year, manufacturers are betting that following the app-laden path of smartphones and tablet computers will fatten up what have been ultraslim profit margins.

For more than a decade, consumer-electronics manufacturers have been trying to marry the Internet and TV. In recent years, they've added connectors that let TV sets hook up to the Internet and, in some cases, added software that provides shortcuts to Web-based services from companies like movie-rental service Netflix Inc.

But this year, starting with product announcements at this week's Consumer Electronics Show, manufacturers are making a full-on push with "smart TVs"— models that have built-in computer-style processors and operating software so the sets can be modified with applications just as computers and smartphones are.

With no precise definition of a smart TV, manufacturers will be trying to stake out their ideas at the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas. Most companies are likely to tout connections that allow a TV to connect to a home Wi-Fi network without requiring an Ethernet cable. Many sets also will have a technical interface, known as DLNA, that allows them to screen videos and apps run from computers, smartphones and other gadgets.

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Connected TV Owners Primarily Access Netflix, Not YouTube

In the slowly growing market of Internet-connected television, 57% of owners are primarily using the functionality to access Netflix streaming.

The percentage is significant considering it surpasses by 10 percentage points (47%) the number of connected TV owners accessing YouTube, the perennial leader in online video consumption. While more users access Netflix than YouTube, YouTube was still the second most-popular service used on connected TVs. Another 54% utilize connectivity to access music and photos.

Netflix in November launched a streaming-only service domestically after announcing that a majority of its subscribers stream content versus renting physical discs.

Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis, said that until CE manufacturers and media companies increase and simplify access to entertainment content to the TV from the Internet, early adopters will navigate toward marquee brands such as Netflix, Hulu and YouTube.

"Manufacturers are underselling the Internet features of connected TVs,” Rubin said. “Broadband features unlock worlds of on-demand content; manufacturers should provide the key by integrating Wi-Fi.”

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Comcast Testing Internet TV Service

Comcast Corp. is testing a new service that knits together television and the Internet, as the U.S. cable giant goes after rivals that threaten to undermine its business.

Users can watch and search a smattering of Web video through their televisions and search across live, on-demand and recorded programming.

The service, known to participants as "Spectrum" and internally as "Xcalibur," doesn't let participants freely browse the Web, though they do have some basic connections to social networks to comment on television shows, the people familiar with the matter said.

While the test is small, it marks a significant step in the efforts of the largest TV distributor in the U.S. to adapt to the rise of Internet programming and the cohort of devices—such as Roku boxes and Apple TV—that make it easier and more convenient to watch.

Those efforts, including forays from giants like Google Inc., Microsoft Corp., and Apple Inc., haven't displaced traditional TV so far. Cable companies are quick to point out that the new players may struggle to manage the costs of delivering massive amounts of content without the infrastructure cable operators have. But they are emerging as stronger competitors as they procure more content and strike partnerships with video brands like Netflix Inc.

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