BACKGROUND AND HISTORY:
When our parents and grandparents grew up, their options were limited to a small, black & white box in the living for the entire family to share. There were, primarily, three network stations, who offered very similar packages of daytime serials, family programming, game shows and news. As with the family entertainment device which preceded it, the radio, much of the activities included the entire family gathering around on a weekly basis to watch their favorite program.
Many people of those generations vividly recall watching those events, such as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the Moon Landing, on those small devices and can tell you exactly where they were when they occurred. These iconic events are, in fact, woven into the fabric of the generation and its times.
The 1970s and 1980s brought cable organizations such as HBO, TBS, CNN, ESPN and MTV into our vernacular. In 1980, there were a scant 28 cable channels available (Timetoast.com, 2014). The proliferation of cable stations continued into the 1990s, with the number of cable options growing to 171 (Timetoast.com, 2014).
In 1999, TiVo was introduced and the way people watched television dramatically shifted once again. For then, it became possible to record programs, and save a lot of them, onto a hard drive in a small box connected to the television. It remained, however, cost-prohibitive for the average consumer until cable companies began offering digital video recording (DVR) options on their proprietary boxes in the late 2000’s.
Satellite television and subscription cable services are quickly becoming a thing of the past. We want what we want to watch and we want it now. We watch the latest episodes of our favorite shows from myriad devices, not just our 60” televisions, but our desktop computers, tablets and smartphones. This is an age of digital convenience, one in which we can stream entertainment from remote servers in the cloud in less than 10 seconds.
Current streaming devices are minus the technical complications and high cost subscriptions, formerly plaguing the digital media streaming segment. Google enters the market in July 2013, with a simple HDMI dongle device, priced at just $35, the most cost-effective device to date, the Chromecast. This small device has the potential to change the way audiences consume media.
When our parents and grandparents grew up, their options were limited to a small, black & white box in the living for the entire family to share. There were, primarily, three network stations, who offered very similar packages of daytime serials, family programming, game shows and news. As with the family entertainment device which preceded it, the radio, much of the activities included the entire family gathering around on a weekly basis to watch their favorite program.
Many people of those generations vividly recall watching those events, such as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the Moon Landing, on those small devices and can tell you exactly where they were when they occurred. These iconic events are, in fact, woven into the fabric of the generation and its times.
The 1970s and 1980s brought cable organizations such as HBO, TBS, CNN, ESPN and MTV into our vernacular. In 1980, there were a scant 28 cable channels available (Timetoast.com, 2014). The proliferation of cable stations continued into the 1990s, with the number of cable options growing to 171 (Timetoast.com, 2014).
In 1999, TiVo was introduced and the way people watched television dramatically shifted once again. For then, it became possible to record programs, and save a lot of them, onto a hard drive in a small box connected to the television. It remained, however, cost-prohibitive for the average consumer until cable companies began offering digital video recording (DVR) options on their proprietary boxes in the late 2000’s.
Satellite television and subscription cable services are quickly becoming a thing of the past. We want what we want to watch and we want it now. We watch the latest episodes of our favorite shows from myriad devices, not just our 60” televisions, but our desktop computers, tablets and smartphones. This is an age of digital convenience, one in which we can stream entertainment from remote servers in the cloud in less than 10 seconds.
Current streaming devices are minus the technical complications and high cost subscriptions, formerly plaguing the digital media streaming segment. Google enters the market in July 2013, with a simple HDMI dongle device, priced at just $35, the most cost-effective device to date, the Chromecast. This small device has the potential to change the way audiences consume media.