Lisa Pickelsimer
Director, Video Product Development, Cox Communications

Judging by the plethora of similarly themed video products at this year's CES, we in the high-tech and video entertainment business are convinced that video/voice/data convergence, entertainment and communications home networking, and mobile video are the future. I think we're largely correct in this conviction, but only to the extent that we can figure out how to capture lasting consumer interest in the products that deliver this functionality.

Consider mobile video: It all started with the (still) niche mobile DVRs we saw at last year’s CES. Yes, early adopters bought them, and some use them regularly, but the majority of us are either unaware that these devices exist and/or are still trying to figure out whether the device’s utility justifies its cost. Then along came the video iPod. “Hmmm…I was going to buy an audio iPod anyway. Wouldn’t it be cool to have the latest U2 video to show my friends so that they will know how hip I am? Oh yeah…maybe I’ll also watch the latest episode of ‘Lost’ on that long plane ride back from the holidays. That’s probably worth an extra 50 bucks.” And so, the device sales and subsequent content downloads ensued.

But will the content downloads continue at such a frantic pace once the novelty wears off? What is the real utility of mobile video? I believe it comes down to three things: 1) entertainment for the commuter, 2) community and 3) immediate access to time-sensitive information.

The mobile DVR hits the mark on commuter entertainment (think long train/plane rides and catching up on your favorite shows in the hotel room). And it hits on community. (Imagine you’re the only one of your friends who subscribes to HBO. Save the latest episode of ‘Rome’ to your mobile DVR. Now one of your other friends has to clean her place and foot the bill for the chips and dip.) However, access to time sensitive information (i.e., world and financial news, sports scores, etc.) is a different animal altogether (i.e., DVR doesn’t add much here). This functionality is about cell phone/PDA alerts that draw you in for a short update on topics of great personal interest (this must be the case because you have elected to have these alerts interrupt whatever else you are doing, and video, unlike music or written text, commands your full attention).

So, given the utility just described, why has mobile video not already spread like audio-iPod-wildfire? For one, the devices are not standardized for content downloads (making it difficult for consumers to use and limiting from a content standpoint), and secondly, the upfront cost for these devices and their associated content currently exceeds their value to the consumer (i.e., limited use and limited content). In short, device manufacturers and content providers/distributors must work in concert to produce a lower-cost, higher-utility mobile video product that maximizes the potential of the technology.

So what about video/voice/data convergence and entertainment and communications home networking? Again, I think the challenges are ease-of-use and value proposition. I want to view my personal photos on the TV, but they are on my PC and I don’t want to have to have a PhD to be able to access them on the TV. Also, exactly why do I want my cable remote control to double as a phone? Yeah, that’s cool, but I’m not going to pay a lot for that (and may not even want it) unless you can tell me how I’ll regularly use it…with ease. What are the content and applications that are going to make me want my cable remote control to morph into a keyboard, and how is that preferable to alternative applications on my PC? These are the kinds of questions that we as cable operators and device manufacturers have to ask ourselves…and partner to develop really sound answers to. Consumers like novelty, but novelty in and of itself does not create sustainable businesses.

Tell me, what do you really want?