Up to 75 million video clips will be sent over the Internet this year and in 2008 this will boom to a100 million, says Eric Kim, Intel senior VP and GM, Digital Home Group. He was speaking at the Intel Developers Forum, in Beijing, China.
Eighteen months ago, YouTube, the company that has largely made this possible, did not even exist. Kim believes this consumer-driven boom will push the convergence of traditional television and the Internet, as more viewers demand Internet-style convenience from the broadcast medium.
Among the consequences will be an increase in the number of broadband TV watchers worldwide, from a present estimate of 10 million to 60 million by 2010, and 97 million a year later, he added.
Television will not disappear, but will become smarter. The game console may not be as lucky, as it increasingly lacks the functionality and power of a desktop.
"TV is not going away, but younger people prefer the Internet. Today's technology does not allow for a converged experience," he said. But this will change. "What the consumer wants is control, choice, clarity and community."
The result is that businesses, even broadcasters, are embracing the Internet in an unprecedented way, Kim stated. Major US television networks are increasingly putting new programming on the Web to allow viewers to download and watch episodes at their convenience. "Web 2.0 is all about creating personal networks in ways not previously possible."
The consequence is chipmakers such as Intel contemplating means of achieving a common architecture for TV and Internet in a way that will merge the two media. Kim's presentation also gave prominence to the gaming community and the role it plays in the "extreme" computing market.
Intel will shortly release "Skull Trail", a high-end gaming chip set that may also prove useful to physicists and mathematicians. Mainstream gamers who cannot afford extreme prices can look forward to the G965 chip, which is optimised for games and digital media.
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