Today online TV is commonplace and while it is often poorly presented, it’s becoming easier and more convenient.
TV Channel Websites
Many television channels now have websites which distribute television programs over the Internet. Miss a show? Want to catch up before the next episode airs? Check out the channel’s website and you may be able to find the show you missed. The video players used tend to be somewhat clunky and not a very good experience. They’re usable, but only on your computer, not your TV. It’s funny, because these companies are flirting with distributing via the web, but it doesn’t seem like they want to make it so good and so convenient that it detracts from traditional television watching.
The real area where television is getting TV online right is talent reality TV shows. These TV shows are getting very proactive about putting their own content on Youtube. They’ve realized the value of letting anyone get access an entertaining clip from the previous night’s show of a dance, song or stupid pet trick. If someone who watched the show points out that clip to a friend who missed it, the friend who missed it is more likely to watch the show next week. For these televised talent shows which have very short runs to build an audience, free online content is an excellent way to build buzz and sustain interest between their runs.
Subscription Services
Subscription services began by offering DVDs sent through the mail. Pay a monthly fee, and set up a list of movies you want to watch. They mail you a few DVDs. You watch them, and mail them back. As soon as they receive the old one back, they send out a new one. It is an interesting model that challenged the traditional store movie rental paradigm.
Still, if you want to watch a particular movie tonight, a mail-based service doesn’t help so much. The obvious next step would be to offer the same monthly-subscription service, but instead of mailing out DVDs and receiving them back, just deliver the content over the Internet. No waiting, no hassle. It’s even more convenient than the store rental model, as long as you’re willing to watch content on a computer, not a TV. The ideal would be to be able to watch content from the Internet right on your TV. To make that happen for the non-technically inclined, you need some sort of device to gather the content and present it on your TV with all the ease and comfort of your cable service. We call that sort of device a ’set top box’.
Set Top Box
Devices to make it easier to play content on your TV are becoming common. Starting below three figures, these devices collect video off the Internet and format it properly for your TV. Some of these device-makers have arrangements with subscription services to provide content. So, these inexpensive  convenient devices allow you to watch what you want when you want it without hassle or delay on your TV.
Internet Enabled TVs
Some new TVs that are coming out skip the set top box and build the functionality to pull video off the Internet right into the TV itself. These are TVs that can surf the web and play video content from subscription service providers.
I would be hesitant to jump into one of these TVs with Internet built in too early over concerns about upgradability. The advantage of sticking with a set-top box for now is that if the technology changes or advances, you can just buy a new box and you’ve only wasted the $100 it cost to buy the box. Buying a whole TV that includes a service that becomes obsolete becomes a very expensive proposition. Not that I’m expecting these services to fail necessarily. I would only recommend these devices for early-adopters who need the latest and greatest and can afford to gamble with such a large purchase.
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