Subject: [SAM] Jan 5 NY Times: A Venture Integrating Skype Into the Family Room

From: Rick Boivie <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 2010 14:46:12 -0500

John et al,

Regarding the article that appeared in yesterday's New York Times,

If Internet-connected TV's and family room videoconferencing takes off
(along with corporate videoconferencing) then the Internet is going to 
need something
like Xcast, SGM or SAM to efficiently handle very large numbers of small 
multicast groups.

What's the latest on the SAM RG?
and what are the prospects of progressing to an IETF WG and developing a 
standard?

Rick Boivie
IBM T. J. Watson Research Center
(still interested in Xcast & SAM but also working on other things)

A Venture Integrating Skype Into the Family Room
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/05/technology/internet/05hdtv.html?hpw

January 5, 2010
A Venture Integrating Skype Into the Family Room 
By BRAD STONE
SAN FRANCISCO ? There will soon be something new to watch on the living 
room TV: your relatives and friends in different parts of the world.
On Tuesday, Panasonic and LG Electronics, two of the top television 
makers, are to announce that they are integrating the free online calling 
service Skype into their Internet-connected high-definition televisions.
People who buy these TVs, along with an extra Web camera and microphone 
accessory designed for the living room, can conduct free, live video chats 
and phone calls from the couch.
The announcement is the first of many expected from TV manufacturers at 
the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. Television makers 
are trying to give consumers reasons to begin replacing their 
high-definition TVs that they bought only in the last few years. TV makers 
are also trotting out ever-slimmer TVs, adding Internet connections and 
preparing to introduce 3-D technology.
?This is the year when Internet-connected TVs will start to take off, and 
there is no doubt that soon every TV that ships will have built in Wi-Fi, 
webcams and microphones,? said Jonathan Rosenberg, chief technology 
strategist of Skype. ?This is our first step.?
The domestic TV market survived the recession in surprisingly good health, 
shipping 33.86 million units during 2009, up 17 percent from 2008, while 
retail sales were generally flat, according to the research firm iSuppli. 
But furious competition among manufacturers cut deeply into prices and 
profits, with the price of a 46-inch LCD TV, for example, falling under 
$1,000 for the first time. 
Internet-enabled TV sets, though they have not yet proved a hit with 
consumers, can restore some of those shrunken profits. A 50-inch plasma, 
high-definition TV with a broadband connection from LG runs about $300 
more on Amazon.com than a TV of the same size without the connection. In 
some cases, TV makers also get a slice of the revenue when customers make 
Web purchases from their TVs.
That is where Skype comes in. Until now, Web-connected TVs have accessed 
only a limited number of online services, like widgets from Yahoo that 
offer weather and news updates, or Netflix?s streaming movie service. By 
adding other services and making a television more like a PC, TV makers 
now want to change the very identity of the primary screen in the house. 
?The TV is not just a one-way entertainment device, but a two-way 
communications device and a portal into other people?s lives,? said Bob 
Perry, a senior vice president at Panasonic.
The Skype service on a TV will work much as it does on a PC, but with some 
limitations. A TV program will stop playing once a Skype call is made or 
answered; TV processors are not yet powerful enough to allow people to 
chat while they watch a show, the companies say.
Panasonic, based in Japan, and LG, based in South Korea, will sell 
specially designed Web cameras for their Skype-enabled sets, which should 
cost $100 to $200. These cameras, unlike typical webcams, are customized 
for the technically challenging environment of the living room, where 
there can be a wide range of distances between the TV and viewers.
The deals give the newly independent Skype, formerly a division of eBay, 
another valuable foothold in the home. About 520 million people around the 
world use the service to place free phone calls and have video chats with 
one another from their computers and other devices that run Skype 
software. The company makes money by charging competitive rates for people 
to call regular phone numbers and for add-on services like voice mail.
Video chatting has become an increasingly important feature of Skype. The 
company says video chats account for 34 percent of calls on the service, 
and as many as half on days like Christmas and New Year?s, when families 
seek to connect face to face. 
To further nurture this activity, Skype is also announcing on Tuesday that 
its software for Windows PCs and televisions will support high-definition 
video calling in the 720p HD format, if users have webcams that support 
the technology. 
Skype makes no money from video chats, at least for now. But Mr. Rosenberg 
of the company says that it may soon start charging for add-on services, 
like the ability to set up a video conference call for three or more 
parties.
?What we finally created with the Skype network is a community of users 
that are available via video. Having Skype on the TV is a big part of 
building that,? he said.
Not everyone believes Internet-enabled TVs, with features like Skype, are 
going to make much of a difference to consumers. Riddhi Patel, an analyst 
at iSuppli, says he thinks that innovations like LED-backlighting for 
LCDs, which can result in a picture with a crisper contrast ratio and a 
thinner screen, are what catch shoppers? eyes in stores. 
?When a consumer walks into the store, they make a purchase when they can 
instantly see the benefit of upgrading to a new TV,? Ms. Patel said.

---

From: John Buford <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 2010 15:25:16 -0500

Rick,

We are planning to deploy a testbed in 2010 to demonstrate the hybrid overlay
protocols.  This could pave the way to future standardization in a WG.

John

On Wed, Jan 6, 2010 at 2:46 PM, Rick Boivie <[email-masked]> wrote:
> (along with corporate videoconferencing) then the Internet is going to need
> something
> SAN FRANCISCO — There will soon be something new to watch on the living room
> TV: your relatives and friends in different parts of the world.
>
> On Tuesday, Panasonic and LG Electronics, two of the top television makers,
> are to announce that they are integrating the free online calling service
> Skype into their Internet-connected high-definition televisions.
>
> The announcement is the first of many expected from TV manufacturers at the
> Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. Television makers are
> trying to give consumers reasons to begin replacing their high-definition
> TVs that they bought only in the last few years. TV makers are also trotting
> out ever-slimmer TVs, adding Internet connections and preparing to introduce
> 3-D technology.
>
> “This is the year when Internet-connected TVs will start to take off, and
> webcams and microphones,” said Jonathan Rosenberg, chief technology
> strategist of Skype. “This is our first step.”
>
> high-definition TV with a broadband connection from LG runs about $300 more
> on Amazon.com than a TV of the same size without the connection. In some
> cases, TV makers also get a slice of the revenue when customers make Web
> purchases from their TVs.
>
> only a limited number of online services, like widgets from Yahoo that offer
> weather and news updates, or Netflix’s streaming movie service. By adding
> other services and making a television more like a PC, TV makers now want to
> change the very identity of the primary screen in the house.
>
> “The TV is not just a one-way entertainment device, but a two-way
> communications device and a portal into other people’s lives,” said Bob
> answered; TV processors are not yet powerful enough to allow people to chat
> while they watch a show, the companies say.
>
> Panasonic, based in Japan, and LG, based in South Korea, will sell specially
> designed Web cameras for their Skype-enabled sets, which should cost $100 to
> $200. These cameras, unlike typical webcams, are customized for the
> technically challenging environment of the living room, where there can be a
> wide range of distances between the TV and viewers.
>
> one another from their computers and other devices that run Skype software.
> The company makes money by charging competitive rates for people to call
> regular phone numbers and for add-on services like voice mail.
>
> company says video chats account for 34 percent of calls on the service, and
> as many as half on days like Christmas and New Year’s, when families seek to
> connect face to face.
>
> video calling in the 720p HD format, if users have webcams that support the
> technology.
>
> “What we finally created with the Skype network is a community of users that
> are available via video. Having Skype on the TV is a big part of building
> that,” he said.
>
> going to make much of a difference to consumers. Riddhi Patel, an analyst at
> iSuppli, says he thinks that innovations like LED-backlighting for LCDs,
> which can result in a picture with a crisper contrast ratio and a thinner
> screen, are what catch shoppers’ eyes in stores.
>
> “When a consumer walks into the store, they make a purchase when they can
> instantly see the benefit of upgrading to a new TV,” Ms. Patel said.
>
> _______________________________________________
> SAM mailing list
> [email-masked]
> http://www.irtf.org/mailman/listinfo/sam
>
>

---

From: Rick Boivie <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2010 12:38:34 -0500

Cool. 

John,
Cool.  Can you or somebody else on the list, let me know what the latest
is with solutions (hybrid or non-hybrid) involving Xcast?
Thanks.
Rick

> > (along with corporate videoconferencing) then the Internet is going to 
need
> > SAN FRANCISCO ? There will soon be something new to watch on the 
living room
> > On Tuesday, Panasonic and LG Electronics, two of the top television 
makers,
> > out ever-slimmer TVs, adding Internet connections and preparing 
tointroduce
> > high-definition TV with a broadband connection from LG runs about $300 
more
> > only a limited number of online services, like widgets from Yahoo that 
offer
> > weather and news updates, or Netflix?s streaming movie service. By 
adding
> > answered; TV processors are not yet powerful enough to allow people to 
chat
> > Panasonic, based in Japan, and LG, based in South Korea, will 
sellspecially
> > one another from their computers and other devices that run Skype 
software.
> > as many as half on days like Christmas and New Year?s, when families 
seek to
> > ?What we finally created with the Skype network is a community of 
users that
> > that,? he said.
> > screen, are what catch shoppers? eyes in stores.
> >