Accedo Broadband Selected by LG Electronics to keep Facebook and Twitter users connected

Accedo Broadband, the leading provider of Connected TV applications, has announced that LG Electronics selected Accedo to develop Facebook and Twitter applications for LG Smart TVs.

Facebook and Twitter for LG Smart TV are now available in over 100 countries and 30 languages on 2010 and 2011 LG Smart TVs. Facebook users can see the latest updates, photos and videos from their friends. Twitter followers can see the latest tweets and send their own updates via the onscreen keyboard.

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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What Smart TVs Need to Succeed: Three Pillars of Smart TV's

The Internet and TV are finally converging, in a way consumers seem to be responding to.
Intel is trying to brand smart TVs as something different from Internet-connected TVs - poised to be a hot item this holiday season - that have web-based features but fall short of being smart.

In Intel's world,says Wilfred Martis, a smart TV must meet the following three pillars:

Unlimited Content Access: "To do that, you need a browser." This means a smart TV shouldn't be restricted by the apps available to run on it. It should be able to grab any content that lives on the web. The only product that really does that, at the moment, sort of, is Google TV (available on some Sony products and the Logitech Revue).

Extensive Use of Apps: Martis emphasized that the architecture should be easy for app developers to use so apps would be plentiful. Again, this plays into Intel's strengths since its basic architecture is widely used and would allow easy portability of apps from one platform to a smart TV platform. "Creative developers will enhance the way users experience television," he says.

Immersive Experience: OK, this one's kind of obvious, but also one that's difficult to get right. Having used Google TV for a couple of weeks, I'm a little split on how immersive it is. But it is pretty good and the best method I've seen to integrate the web beyond the gated community of apps you will find on devices like a PS3, Roku or most Internet-connected TVs.

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CONNECTIONS 2010 Wrap Up

CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference & Showcase concluded last week following multiple sessions focused on value-added services, new platforms and distribution models, and digital media consumption. Industry leaders affirmed consumer demand for online video and proliferation of connected CE are driving the shift to multiplatform access within the home.

The conference featured keynotes from Sony, Samsung, Verizon, and Intel and research from Parks Associates, including the following insights, as noted in The Viodi View and The Urban Network:

• Annual U.S. revenues for online video from PCs and mobile devices will exceed $1.8 billion by 2014.

• Limited audience reach, the lack of a single-source measurement standard, and lack of format standards are major factors that could impact the growth of online video.

• The total addressable U.S. market for online video is approximately 170.5 million users in 2010 and will grow to 220 million by 2013.

• Consumers are still cautious in their purchasing, and according to Tricia Parks, CEO, Parks Associates, “No company can let its guard down.”

• 3D is here to stay. By 2014, one-third of homes will have a 3DTV, according to data presented by Samsung.

• Energy is moving from a commodity to a service, thanks to the ongoing expansion of the smart grid in the U.S.

• According to Cisco’s Ken Wirt, 91% of all Internet traffic by 2013 will be video bits.
  

In his CONNECTIONS™ keynote “Entertainment in a Connected World,” Mitch Singer, CTO, Sony Pictures Entertainment; President, DECE, discussed current efforts by the DECE to establish a standard for distributed content.

In his keynote “TV Technology in the New Age of Consumer Buying,” Scott Birnbaum, VP, Samsung LCD Business, detailed the evolution of the television and the trends toward thinner, more artistic and eco-friendly set designs.

In his keynote “The Connected Home: Turning SciFi into Non-Fiction,” Joseph Ambeault, Director, Product Development and Management, Video Services, Verizon, discussed the significant potential of the connected home due to the convergence of devices and services.

Wilfred Martis, General Manager, Retail CE, Digital Home Group, Intel, discussed the Era of the Smart TV, plus the need for players to act quickly in this rapidly changing market, in his keynote “Smart TVs: Ready for Primetime,” which also featured Anthony Soohoo, SVP, Entertainment, CBS Interactive.

Archived videos of the keynote addresses are available at www.parksassociates.com/connvideo.

New White Paper, Google TV - Searching for Success

Google is entering the market for smart TV at a time where there is much indecision about the ideal technology solution. The market is searching for a solution that will benefit the TV manufacturer, content owners, and advertisers.

This new white paper from Parks Associates looks at Google's strategy and the current market conditions for connected CE.

Click here to download.

Intel Keynote to discuss Smart TV at CONNECTIONS Conference

Parks Associates announced Wilfred Martis, General Manager, Retail CE, Digital Home Group, Intel Corporation, will deliver the keynote “Smart TVs: Ready for Primetime” at CONNECTIONS™ on Thursday, June 10, at 9:00 a.m.

In his keynote, Mr. Martis will discuss Smart TV, a new category of CE devices that will offer consumers an entirely new interactive TV experience. He will discuss newly announced Google TV*, based on Android*, Chrome* and the Intel® Atom™ processor CE4100, which is a premier example of a Smart TV experience that seamlessly integrates television, the Internet and personal content with search capabilities and access to virtually unlimited applications.

Mr. Martis will examine the technological, content, and business factors that have aligned to jumpstart today’s Smart TV Era. He will offer a roadmap and highlight the business strategies necessary to succeed in this rapidly moving market, which will start to show winners and losers in less than 18 months.

CONNECTIONS™ features multiple sessions on the design, business, and marketing challenges for connected CE and the growing demand for interactive entertainment. Sessions include industry-leading consumer research and executive analysis to highlight the next opportunities and future business strategies for video technologies and platforms.

For more information, visit www.connectionsus.com.