the television set in our living room has been the focal point for families for generations. from grainy, unreliable black and white TV’s with tiny screens set into fine wooden cabinets, to the first magical colour sets and more channels. They provided news, safe family entertainment and for many, forged the social habits of our modern society.
But has TV had its day. Do we still need it?
Looking back, TV was a space-walk jump in technology from the simple wireless it replaced. Only the affordable motor car, which cost families about the same at the time, offered such a step change.
a new media channel for all of society
The infrastructure investment to put TV into our homes was truly staggering. Not only did TV require a radically different technology to broadcast pictures along with sound, but a whole network of TV relay masts, stores, installers and repair staff to get those early programmes from broadcaster into our living room. But like its predecessor it shared one key cost.
The license you needed to own one.
do not adjust your set – much
There’s very little domestic technology that can claim to have enjoyed pride of place for so long. The changes made to TV have been evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Black & white became colour, the screens grew bigger, a wider choice of commercial channels appeared, quality improved, but the overall infrastructure remained.
But now, the silver screen is finally losing its lustre. In the Internet age, we want more.
A revolution in watching habits
TV has always demanded our attention. TV programming was fixed to specific schedules and our lives revolved around it. But today, the viewers want to choose when to watch.
Programming is making way for content, selected from huge media silos connected via the Internet rather than through the air.
There are no channels in the original sense of the word, there are content providers. Nowadays, we’re watching far less conventional broadcasting. We’re now consuming content on demand. We choose it. Any time, any place, any device, any topic. The Internet has enabled streaming media.
so why do we need a TV set any more?
Well, we don’t. Let’s open up the box and see why not. A TV set comprises of two distinct elements. A decoder known as the tuner receives all the signals from the aerial, splitting and converting the flow of data for the display screen and sound amplifier. The viewer just checks the scheduled broadcast time for the programme, selects the TV station and sits down to watch. Get the time wrong and you miss it. Easy, but it requires your fixed attention.
Now, compare that to a streaming service.
the Internet as content provider
Streaming content doesn’t need a TV. Just connect your display device to the Internet. It can be any connectable device. A mobile phone, a tablet or a computer and yes, even a Smart TV. The choice of what, when and where is yours.
No aerial, no transmitter mast, no tuner, no broadcaster. Ironically, it can even be by wireless!
so why no specific domestic streaming systems?
That’s the question. So TV’s have a tuner and a display. Most have smart features and can connect to the Internet. They don’t need the tuner for that, at all. So a unit with Internet and no tuner should be the way to go. And without the complication of a tuner, it should even be cheaper than a TV.
But that just hasn’t happened.
a blockage upstream?
Sure, you can buy displays that are the same size as a TV. But they actually cost more than than a TV complete with tuner. What’s more, such a display will usually be meant as computer screens, so they won’t have the necessary Internet connectivity that a Smart TV has. Its a crazy situation.
Maybe there are commercial reasons for this. Maybe its just that streaming hasn’t reached the critical mass needed, or the powerful Mainstream Media (MSM) lobby is at play here. Currently, if you have a TV with a tuner, you must have a TV license, even if you just stream and never use broadcast media.
If you just streamed and had no TV, you don’t need a broadcast license. Could this be the reason?
the commercial broadcast model
The UK government collects the license fee for the BBC. The BBC is entirely funded by this money – unlike the commercial stations, such as ITV or Channel 4, or by subscription like the new streaming providers. Sky, the UK’s first streaming service uses a satellite system requiring a dish to receive its channels. That was a kind of hybrid – but even Sky added an Internet service later.
It seems strange that a 70 year old legacy broadcast TV framework could apply the brakes to the march of progress for media streaming services. Maybe we’re underestimating the power that the government gets by accessing our living rooms through TV broadcast media.
A kind of big brother thing – the government’s own propaganda service?
Maybe so – but the BBC is often criticised for an anti-government bias, but perhaps the BBC is given some leeway and its strings tugged should the government need to get a “message” out there.
Maybe 2023 will see streaming devices replace the TV in our homes. If Big Brother allows it!