Internet TV still lags behind VHS for watching shows
Tuesday 20 May 2008 07:37:55 by Andrew Ferguson
The humble VHS video recorder still has a place in many homes as the main way to catch up on TV that you were not around to watch when aired. A survey of 2168 Internet using adults carried out by YouGov for Redback Networks has produced a number of interesting statistics on how we all watch TV and how this is rapidly changing.
The press release reveals that some 57% of those surveyed watch 10 hours or more of on-demand or recorded TV per week. Personal Video Recorders (e.g. Sky+ and Virgin's V+) account for 22% of the material recorded and VHS machines for 27%. 11% use an on-demand TV service and a further 16% use Internet catch-up services which includes things like the BBC iPlayer.
"While the good old VHS recorder has created audience demand for time-shifted TV programmes, it is new game-changing Internet video services such as the BBC iPlayer which are reshaping how carriers upgrade their networks over time,...
This growth of video over broadband is reflected in what also we're back hearing from our service provider customers, with HTTP streaming traffic now outstripping P2P for downloading video content. Where Internet video was just about sharing content via P2P networks, it’s now moved into the mainstream with viewers able to consume time shifted content direct from content provider, placing new strains on the network and the traffic it supports."Philip Wilton, (Director of Sales and Operations, UK) Redback Networks
The survey indicated that 48% of those surveyed have watched video or TV on the Internet, with 22% of these having watched something on the Internet in the last seven days. It seems the drivers for people to watch more content online will be access to more free content, quality of picture and the ability to watch the content on a TV screen.
We may see demand for the Internet based catch-up TV services increase as the digital switchover for the terrestrial channels takes place around the UK and more people consign their video recorder to the electrical recycling pile.
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"with HTTP streaming traffic now outstripping P2P"
Good, that should shut up those on this site who maintain that anyone who needs more than a 3GB/month limit must be illegally downloading files via P2P.
^^^ LOL at the above, it should also hopefully shut the mouths of all those that claim big bandwidth users are illegal users when clearly the internet from these stats is still small scale when it comes to media viewing, listening etc. I say hopefully it should shut them up, realistically though they cant help the flawed logic
The BBC is now the new scapegoat.
Yep just you wait till it filters down to ISPs and people like the BBFC MPAA etc etc....... we will all now be deemed criminals for watching ITV online live and an American film, and have to run from the BBFC and similar when they all get together and discover we are getting content from elsewhere and their profits from sueing file sharers are on the slump... Oh and then there will of course as mentioned be all the do-gooders in here saying im breaking their internet and its speed when i grab the mrs Eastenders..... Sigh!
I expect the move to make a tv licence payable for streaming content may be used to bail out isps.
Yep chrysalis you could be right, other thing that could possibly happen in the future is ISPs block all streaming protocol and you have to pay an extra charge to have that priveledge.
Nothing will shock me, as said though the fools still fail to comprehend you just shift the traffic elsewhere, charge for TV streamed content and people will just run back to torrents, block them and people will just upload and download from things like rapidshare, they need to address the actual issue of bandwidth rather than keep trying to avoid it.
Have to say that up until last Thursday our VCR supplied the major part of our " catchup" TV.
It was getting "clunky" and only successfully recorded analogue channels so last week I bought a hard drive Freeview recorder (PVR) and that's a revelation.
I've used BBC iPlayer for some programmes that only I wanted to watch but bandwidth does bother me.