Pay Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain

 It's pretty obvious that TV has changed by leaps and bounds. From the days when you would have to get up from the sofa and change the channel to just channel surfing up and down the "dial" in a linear way to content that you personalize from both broadcast TV and internet content you subscribe to.

Today, the TV you watch and interact with is a sophisticated ecosystem made up of a melange of technology including middleware, meta data, content discovery and content rights management technology that converges in your set top box, which in itself is a smarter piece of hardware than your TV.  But you, the consumer never actually see what goes on behind the TV curtain and you probably never will see it or even care about it. You just want the best picture quality with the operator that gives you the best options for access to your content.

Here are two companies that say your TV is about to change and get truly personal. It's not that this isn't happening around the industry. But the fact that back end IPTV technology providers like Orca Interactive and Viaccess are making videos to show their customers  - aka the operators  - that they can do a lot more to deliver a personalized TV experience to the consumer, signals a change. This says something about how TV has changed, and will continue to change in unexpected ways. The battle for the living room is just beginning.

Enjoy.