Posts for 'HSN'

VideoNuze readers will recall that back in Dec '08, my 2nd prediction for 2009 was that mobile video was finally going to take off. Among the drivers I identified, the main one was clearly the massive, and growing, popularity of the iPhone. But despite all of its gee-whiz capabilities, the iPhone 3G, which was then the latest one on the market, and was running the iPhone OS 2.0, still wasn't really optimized for video.

Flash forward to June '09 and the release of the iPhone OS 3.0, which is downloadable to iPhone 3G, and pre-installed on the iPhone 3GS, and we can see that Apple now has the architecture in place to fuel a massive takeoff of mobile video streaming.

Following is a deep dive explanation of why that is, based on a detailed conversation I had John Bishop, SVP of Business Development & Strategy at Inlet Technologies, an encoding company that's involved with recent iPhone video apps, an excellent new white paper from Akamai, "HTTP Streaming for iPhone Best Practices" and other research I conducted. (For those that want to get further into the weeds, note also that Akamai, Inlet and Turner Sports have an upcoming webinar on this topic.) If you're a video provider looking to capitalize on mobile video distribution, and the iPhone in particular, all of this is crucial to understand.

The most important video-related elements Apple has released are support for HTTP streaming, a new protocol for adaptive bit rate (ABR) streaming and a new iPhone media player that can handle both. In addition, a significant increase in battery life (especially important to retain phone functionality) is enabled by a hardware-based video decoder. And the iPhone supports "HSDPA," an enhanced 3G protocol AT&T is rolling out, which provides up to 7.2 megabit per second delivery, guaranteeing outstanding video quality. All of these elements, when combined with the iPhone's open (well, relatively at least) App Store and web browsing, offer video providers a breakthrough mobile video environment.

Apple's new ABR streaming protocol means a far superior user experience that obviates disruptive buffering and users having to make confusing choices like "hi res" or "low res." ABR streaming was pioneered by Move Networks. Microsoft and Adobe now each have their own ABR streaming approaches.

Importantly, because the iPhone supports H.264, video providers can use existing encoding vendors like Inlet to simply create multiple iPhone-compatible video files encoded at different bit rates that are then delivered to their CDN for iPhone distribution. No intermediary "encapsulation" step needs to be taken to support Flash for example. As the iPhone's media player auto-detects available mobile bandwidth, it continuously re-selects the optimal video file to stream. Inlet makes a key contribution in this process by doing "key frame alignment" - essentially allowing the new file being streamed to start at the same frame where the old file left off. Pretty cool stuff.

From the content provider's standpoint, iPhone-directed video can either be embedded in a web page, or as part of an app, for distribution in the iPhone's gigantic app store. The open web approach of course means it's available for all to see. On the other hand, the app route means greater control of the brand, user experience and business model (e.g. free, paid, authenticated, etc.), though it will involve time and money is needed for development.

This whole paradigm is still so new that we've only begun seeing the first iPhone video apps come to market. Examples include the updated version of MLB.com's At Bat app, the live Aug. 7th concert from Underworld, the PGA Championship app from Turner Sports and the PGA, and yesterday, the launch of the HSN "shop app." I can relate to the value of the PGA app - I was in a car on my way back to Boston on Sunday afternoon, furiously - and unsuccessfully - trying to follow the Yang-Woods showdown shot-by-shot on my Blackberry (I'm a Verizon sub, so no iPhone for me, grrrr....). If I'd had an iPhone, would I have spontaneously paid $1.99 for the PGA app so I could watch the action? In a heartbeat.

What do you think? Post a comment now.

Home Shopping Network (HSN) presents an interesting example of a strong incumbent TV-based retailer now seeking to leverage its strengths to succeed in the broadband era. I caught up with John McDevitt, VP of Advanced Services to learn how the company is adapting itself.

For those unfamiliar with HSN, it's the granddaddy of TV shopping services, generating $2B+ annual revenue, with its linear channel now carried by virtually every cable and satellite operator and telco. The Internet has significantly changed the landscape of electronic retailing for HSN, with thousands of e-commerce providers encroaching on HSN's traditional turf. Over the years HSN has continued to bolster its HSN.com web site and do significant cross promotion between on-air and online, to drive awareness and revenues.

With the mass adoption of broadband, HSN has embraced an "everywhere" strategy, comparable to many other content providers. HSN has realized that running a single linear cable channel is no longer sufficient for success. HSN wants to position itself as a credible purchase option wherever the consumer is, offering a simple, straightforward transaction opportunity. The big paradigm shift in broadband is that, while watching HSN on-air is a "destination-experience", in broadband/online, users follow a "product-focused experience." That means that often users come upon HSN not because they are already fans or intended to, but because HSN scored high in search results, particularly in price comparison services.

Delivering a strong video experience is where John sees HSN having a critical advantage given its video heritage. HSN owns all of its video, so it doesn't have any right-related issues. It has built a library of around 25,000 video clips associated with its products; it has already posted over 7,000 of these to YouTube. HSN captures every minute of its on-air experience and every single product on HSN.com has a video associated with it. As John says, shooting great video isn't trivial, between creating the sets, managing the talent and highlighting the product, but these are the things HSN is an expert in. On YouTube in particular, HSN is seeing strong viewership in its channel, with the heaviest action in the health and beauty area, and in how-to related videos.