Is Internet video taking the place of television?

Is Internet TV Eating Into Traditional Viewing? [Multichannel News]  

Multichannel News covers a panel discussion at the Future of Television conference about whether Internet video is poised to surpass traditional television viewing. And, of course, there's a disagreement between the Internet panelists and the programming panelists. One panelist from Accenture says that their studies show that people 18-35 years of age are 60% more likely to watch video on a mobile device or the Internet rather than television. IBM's panelist contended that their online survey showed that 76% of Internet users watch online video and half of those say they watch less television as a result.

But television programmers on the panel contended that the rise of online video is complimentary to traditional television viewing. CBS's panelist said that while three quarters of Internet users view online video, television viewing is up 8% since 2000. 

I'm not so sure this is totally generational either.  Perhaps I'm not your typical 50-something TV viewer but I watch plenty of video on my Internet connection.  But given the choice, I'll always watch television on my TV.

So what do you think? Do you spend more time watching video on sites like YouTube and Hulu than you did a year ago? Do you watch less television as a result? If you had to choose between Internet video and cable television, which would you choose?

FCC Publishes 'White Spaces' Rules [Light Reading] 

Light Reading offers a summary of the white space rules approved by the FCC earlier this month. As regular readers recall, white space devices promise to deliver wireless Internet over large distances using parts of the broadcast spectrum between the digital television signals resulting from the digital television transition. Broadcasters and cable operators have raised concerns about the devices due to their propensity to interfere with television reception. 

The FCC's rules will require that the devices have signal sensing technology and geo-locating technology to avoid interference. The FCC Laboratory will test sample white space devices before they are made available to consumers, to ensure that the devices don't emit harmful interference. 

Microsoft to offer free consumer security suite [CNET News] 

Yesterday, Microsoft announced that it will be releasing a free security suite for Windows users, including a free antivirus program. Because of the constant security threats that PCs face from malware infections, this sounds like a great idea. Too few PC users have up-to-date antivirus software that would prevent these infections. But at least one journalist that covers Microsoft is questioning whether their free antivirus software raises antitrust concerns.

Hands on: Google lets you search with your voice on iPhone [ArsTechnica]

Have you downloaded the latest Google App for your iPhone? Google has integrated their voice recognition technology into their search application. Now, there's no more typing required to perform a web search. Simply speak into your iPhone what you'd like to search in Google, and your voice query is uploaded to Google, decoded, and a list of results is sent to your iPhone.

Beam me up Scotty!

Comments

[sineswiper]

Hey, Michael. If you haven't already heard about it, Google has already had their 1-800-GOOG-411 service for a while. I use it all the time in place of a phonebook, and unlike 411, it costs nothing. It's occasionally tricky to get exactly what you want for businesses with lots of locations, but you can always play with the system to get it down to a street/zip level. (For example, say the city "Chicago Illinois", then say "Walmart at North Ave" to get an exact location.)

You can also get it via SMS/texting by sending your request to GOOGL (46645), and you'll get a completely detailed text message back with street address, phone #, etc.

The GOOG411 service was originally for testing their voice recognition software, and perfecting speech-to-text with a live testbed of voices. I guess the investment is finally paying off with this Google App.

[Ryan]

Given the choice between internet video and television, I choose to sit on my couch and watch television. Currently it's more convenient for me and with the rise of DVR's, it has become even better.

Other than the occasional online video, the only reason I do watch internet videos is because I can basically watch any television show at any time of day. The downside, waiting for the video to buffer, websites down, internet slow, small screen, and lower quality video/sound.