重新思考我們看電視的方式
Rethinking How We Watch TV
(WSJ, July 30, 2013) —To understand how much television could soon change, it helps to visit an Intel Corp. division here that runs like a startup.
想知道不久後電視可能會發生多大的變化，不妨來參觀看看英特爾(Intel Corp.)的一個部門，其營運方式就像一間創立不久的公司。
Erik Huggers, a Dutch-born former British Broadcasting Corp. executive, has assembled a 350-person team with talents beyond computer chips -- including programmers, industrial designers, artists and experts in fields like video encoding. They’re creating a Web-based service that not only serves up on-demand programs but overhauls live TV.
前英國國家廣播公司(BBC)的荷蘭籍高階主管Erik Huggers組成了一個350人的團隊，其中的人才不止於研究電腦晶片的人員，還包括程式設計師、工業設計師、藝術家和影像編碼等領域的專家。這個團隊正在創建一種以網路為主的服務，而這種服務不僅可以提供隨選節目，還會令電視的現場直播產生翻天覆地的變化。
Intel’s plans include a server farm to record every piece of programming that is aired -- local, national and international -- and store it for at least three days in the “cloud.” With an Intel-designed set-top box, people won’t have to own DVRs or even plan to record programs.
英特爾的計畫包括一個伺服器群組，它可以錄下播出過的每一個節目──地方的、全國的或國際的皆然──並將其存儲在「雲端」中至少三天。安裝了英特爾設計的機上盒後，人們就不必買數位硬碟錄影設備了，甚至不用再為了要錄節目而另做安排了。
Switch on the TV set in the middle of any show, and a viewer can simply go back to the beginning. “This is live TV -- but you can rewind it,” Mr. Huggers says.
在任何節目的播出途中打開電視，使用者都可以返回到節目的開始。Huggers先生說，這是現場直播，但是你可以倒帶重複看。
Intel is just one entry in the computer industry’s growing land grab for the living room, one likely to bring voice activation, restyled remotes, new on-screen interfaces and other major changes in the way people interact with TV sets.
英特爾只是電腦行業裡眾多加入客廳地盤爭奪戰的其中一家公司。這種爭奪戰可能帶來語音啟動、重新設計的遙控器、新型螢幕介面以及人與電視機之間互動方式的其他重大改變。
Other tech giants pushing TV advances include Apple, Microsoft, Sony, and Google, which last week announced a device called Chromecast that wirelessly transfers content from mobile devices to TVs. Google and Sony have also been working on Internet-based video-delivery services, people familiar with the matter have said.
其他正在推動電視進步的科技巨頭包括蘋果、微軟、索尼和Google。Google上週公佈了一種名為「Chromecast」的設備，這種設備可以將行動裝置上的內容無線傳輸到電視中。據知情人士說，Google和索尼還一直在研製以網路為主的影像傳送服務。
Computer-industry players have been pushing new TV visions for two decades, with decidedly mixed results. Cable- and satellite-TV providers have strong positions, yet negotiations with media companies for content rights could delay new services and limit some features. On the other hand Intel vows to enter some markets by the end of the year.
20年來，電腦行業內的公司一直在為電視業開創新領域，結果明顯是好壞參半。有線電視和衛星電視提供商有著強有力的地位，不過與媒體公司就內容版權進行的談判可能令新服務的推出延遲，並限制一些功能。另一方面，英特爾則誓言將在今年年底前進入部分市場。
“I've never seen as much innovation in television as there is right now,” says Ulf Ewaldsson, chief technology officer at Swedish telecom-equipment giant Ericsson, which plans to step up its own TV efforts.
瑞典電信設備龍頭之一的Ericsson公司首席技術長Ewaldsson說，「目前電視業的創新程度是我從未見過的」。Ericsson計畫加大力道進軍電視業。
Propelling the activity are changes that have made the Internet a more viable delivery medium, including the growing proportion of customers with broadband service. Despite the developments, much is missing from Internet-based services. Popular programming, including live sports and news, is often limited to conventional carriers by licensing restrictions.
這背後的推動力量是使網際網路成為一種更可行交付介質的各種變化，包括有寬頻網路的使用者比例不斷上升。儘管有了這些進展，以網路為主的服務仍有很多不足。包括體育賽事和新聞直播在內的受歡迎節目由於發照限制，常侷限於傳統媒體。
When large video libraries are available, finding specific programs can be cumbersome -- especially with conventional remotes. Most TV services also lag the Web and mobile apps in helping discover new content.
有了大型影像資料庫後，找到具體節目可能比較麻煩，特別是用傳統遙控的方式。大多數的電視服務也在幫忙發現新內容方面，落後於網路和行動app。
“The phone, the laptop and the tablet have advanced so dramatically,” says Tom Rogers, chief executive of TiVo Inc., the DVR pioneer. “Television has been drastically left behind.”
數位硬碟錄影設備先驅TiVo的首席執行長Rogers說，「電話、筆記型電腦和平板電腦取得了突飛猛進的發展，電視被遠遠地拋落在後面」。
Tech companies trying to change that include Apple. Since 2007, it has sold an add-on box called Apple TV for streaming content, but has been mum about new TV offerings. The company has tested designs for its own televisions, executives at Apple suppliers have said.
蘋果是試圖改變這一點的科技公司之一。2007年以來，蘋果開始發售名為Apple TV的串流媒體機上盒，但它對提供電視機新產品卻一直保持沉默。蘋果供應商裡的高階主管說，蘋果已對其電視機設計進行了測試。
Apple has explored a number of new features for such a product, people familiar with the situation have said, including integrating DVR storage and its iCloud Internet syncing and data-storage service, and voice-interaction capabilities.
知情人士表示，蘋果已探索過電視機產品的很多新功能，包括整合數位硬碟錄影設備存儲、iCloud網路資料同步和資料存儲服務以及語音互動功能等。
Microsoft is also promoting voice recognition as it positions its game consoles and companion Kinect controller for a broad role in home entertainment. The company’s Xbox One, due out this fall, allows customers to navigate to programs by speaking commands such as “Go to ESPN,” or “I want to watch ‘Breaking Bad.’”
微軟也在推進語音辨識功能，並想讓其家用遊戲機和kinect控制器在家庭娛樂中發揮廣泛作用。微軟定於今秋發佈Xbox One，用戶可通過口述命令來導向不同節目，如「轉到ESPN」或是「我想要看『絕命毒師』」。
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