The future of television

As college students, landline telephones are contraptions that we haven't really thought about in years.  With the rise of cell phones in the past decade, a phone attached to a wall has generally become a third or fourth option (e-mail and Facebook) in the way we communicate.  They have simply become instruments from the past.  What is happening today in the world of televised entertainment could have a similar effect on the idea of the cable company.

Similar to the cinder block sized cell phones that existed long before our smartphones changed everything, Tivo and similar DVR devices have forever altered the way we will all watch TV: commercials can now be fast-forwarded; bad shows can be deleted, and most importantly, we are not constrained by a program's airtime.  We no longer have to be patient consumers.  We no longer want to deal with M.A.S.H. marathons or any other show that we don't care for.

But while cable companies should be excited about the fact that they have changed entertainment forever, they may have shot themselves in the foot in the long run.  The cable company's innovative idea is now being taken and pushed forward into a more Internet driven product.

Taking OnDemand and DVR to the next level are devices such as Apple TV and Roku.  These devices allow you to stream a variety of different content straight to your television set.  Viewers now have complete authority over what they choose to watch.  These devices give audiences the ability to rent or buy movies and stream current or past TV shows.  And the best part? Commercials can be contained or limited.  Innovative DVRs are now starting to affect cable boxes as the cell phone once affected the landline. However, what's really important is where all of this is coming from.

Hulu.com, a popular video streaming site, has started a division of its company called Hulu plus.  Members pay $8.00 a month, and can stream full seasons of past and current shows from ABC, NBC and FOX.  Viewers can also stream content from most of basic cable's online material, which are generally a couple episodes from the newest shows.  While you can stream this straight to your Roku, it is not currently available for the Apple TV.

Netflix, unlike Hulu Plus, can be streamed from either an Apple TV or Roku. Netflix operates as a rental service that offers streamable TV shows, movies, and hardcopy rentals mailed to your door.  Netflix costs $8.00 a month for all the streamable content you'd like, and for an additional $2.00 subscribers can receive as many hardcopy rentals as they'd like. 

Rounding out the experience is iTunes for the Apple TV and Amazon instant video for the Roku.  Both are pay as you go and offer rentals for about $4.00, downloadable copies of TV series from $10.00 to $50.00 depending on quality, and movies for about $15.00. These are good for the shows you could not stream on Hulu such as AMC's Mad Men or Showtime's Californication, although both won't be offered until the season has ended..

Comparing the price of these services to the $67.75 a month that Time Warner charges for Cable in the Plymouth area (not including premium subscriptions), you could be saving a lot of money for more flexibility with your entertainment needs.  That is not to say that these services do not have a pitfall.  Sports would be hard to watch (although you can watch mlb.tv on your Roku), there would be no real news station and there are no ways to watch CBS programming except for the newest episodes.  You also need a wireless connection to get any of the services that have been mentioned.  While these services may have their advantages, they still aren't necessarily a save all just yet.  

When looking at changes in communication, it is not quite as simple as failure and success.  There were thousands of different phone and provider combinations before the idea of a cell phone caught on and changed the way we communicate.  Online streaming as a content provider is going to need to go through several different phases before it becomes practical for most of the population.  Like anything, evolution will need to run its course, and cable networks will need to adjust.  

Still, don't be surprised if one day in the future you find yourself sitting on a couch on a Wednesday night clicking through the 200 gigs of HD entertainment you have on your Roku, thinking back to the good old days when you had to sit through Cougartown just to get to Modern Family.