Time Warner Cable CEO Hasn't Heard of Apple's AirPlay

[0815]

Seriously, how about we ask you questions about every product and its features across the board, and see if you know everything.

Go ahead - as long as the questions belong to the main objective of my job

...neither has my mother-in-law

Your mother in law runs a big media company ???

You still need cable to get the internet---so if you drop Cable TV they will just charge more for internet.

I don't have cable ... but I have internet (thank you Verizon/FIOS) ... (I know, I know, some areas in the US are not that lucky ... but technically there is no need for cable providers to get internet, cable providers can die and burn and internet providers would jump fast to fill the void)

 

[kiljoy616]

When are all these old farts going to die off, we really need them to just go away finally.

 

[MacFly123]

This CEO is a complete moron I'm sorry. :roll eyes:

I still don't know what airplay does or why it exists. Probably because whatever it does I have no need for.

Am I an idiot as well?

It is possible! Sorry. It is an immensely simple technology and feature to understand!

 

[ZAiPhone]

What an idiot. Love mirroring my iPad screen is stream to my Apple TV. So anything you can see and hear on your iPad is mirrored on your HDTV.

 

[s15119]

I still don't know what airplay does or why it exists. Probably because whatever it does I have no need for.

Am I an idiot as well?

Are you the CEO of a huge media conglomerate. The reason people thinks he's an idiot, is it's his job to stay in touch with these technologies. If it's not your job, I woudn't worry about it.

 

[deannnnn]

Can't wait until we can say "good riddance" to the network television providers.

That would be never. Even if people cancel TV service, the cable companies are still our internet providers, so we'll get to hate them for the rest of our lives.

 

[CalWizrd]

In all fairness, I would personally blame the CTO. The CEO can't be expected to read tech blogs, etc. The CTO should and bring it up to the CEO. Then it becomes the CEO's problem...

I have engaged in some emails back and forth with Mr. Britt, primarily geared towards my pointing out how completely awful their technology implementations are. The stuff they deliver is totally abysmal.

As to your specific post... I mentioned to Mr. Britt in one of my more venemous emails that if I were the Time Warner CTO, I would undoubtedly kill myself out of sheer embarrassment and shame.

 

[bjm2660]

That would be never. Even if people cancel TV service, the cable companies are still our internet providers, so we'll get to hate them for the rest of our lives.

good point

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

Somebody educate that idiot.

So being ignorant of every little electronic doo-hickey out there makes you an "idiot" eh?

People have no class at all anymore. Name-calling is immature. Grow up.

 

[LethalWolfe]

So being ignorant of every little electronic doo-hickey out there makes you an "idiot" eh?

People have no class at all anymore. Name-calling is immature. Grow up.

It's not about not knowing AirPlay by name. It's about being the head of a giant cable network and saying that it's still hard to get IP-based content to a TV set when newish TV sets themselves can connect directly to the Internet (not to mention how easy it is to connect a single HDMI cable to your TV from an Internet ready device such as a Blu-ray player, Roku, TV, PS3, Wii, Xbox360, Boxee, GoFlex TV, WD TV, etc.,). The ignorance is almost frightening.

One would assume (big mistake, I know) that the head of a major content delivery company would be in the know about how content delivery is changing and expanding.


Lethal

 

[johncrab]

Two words: Clueless Bastard.

 

[0815]

That would be never. Even if people cancel TV service, the cable companies are still our internet providers, so we'll get to hate them for the rest of our lives.

Are you telling us that in New York City your only option to get internet is to use a cable provider? ... Guess I am fortunate not to live in NYC and can enjoy internet service without going to a cable provider.

So being ignorant of every little electronic doo-hickey out there makes you an "idiot" eh?

People have no class at all anymore. Name-calling is immature. Grow up.

No - you are only and idiot if run a huge company and you don't know the little electronic doo-hickeys that have a huge influence on what your company does. If the little electronic doo-hickey does not effect what you do (or your company does), you don't need to know and are not an idiot if you don't know.

 

[charlituna]

I still don't know what airplay does or why it exists. Probably because whatever it does I have no need for.

Am I an idiot as well?

Not at all.

But one would expect the execs of major media companies to keep up with the various technologies that affect their business. After all, Airplay and the iTunes media store can have a major impact on tv, especially cable. Why would I pay an extra $20 a month for a network that i only watch one show (and can buy that for $50), why even keep cable at all when it's all on network websites, hulu, netflix etc at some point or again I can buy the shows I do watch. At quality levels that rival discs well enough to keep me happy

 

[highdough]

His business is cable and networks and programming. I'm sure a single feature found on some iOS devices is nowhere near the epicenter of his world. And if Apple decided tomorrow to kill AirPlay, something tells me his business would feel zero impact.

So how is this important to his business?

His business is technology, especially when it comes to anything that has to do with delivering media to consumers. A CEO who has never heard of Airplay is simply not informed, which is not good news for the company.

And I think you're missing the point. No, Airplay is not a ubiquitous technology, or even groundbreaking, but it's an important aspect in the fastest growing market that bring media to consumers (tablets, or more specifically, iPads), and Britt never having heard of it explains WHY the cable companies are lagging so far behind technologically.

Cable companies SHOULD be on the forefront of technology if they have any hope of surviving the future. This explains why they aren't. Airplay is not important right now, but it may very well be in the future.

----------

His business doesnt stop with Apple.

It doesn't stop before Apple, either. Apple makes iPads, which is dominating one of the fastest growing markets and happens to relate directly to media consumption, which is the business Time Warner is in.

 

[charlituna]

At some point I see Apple simply making AirPlay mandatory for video playing apps.

why do that when you can put the apps directly in the Apple TV which is required for AirPlay anyway

What’s Disney, Viacom, Time/Warner, et. al., going to do?

disney won't since they are basically in bed with Apple via the whole Pixar thing. They are one of the first to jump on any Apple pilot because they have total faith in the company's ideas.

TimeWarner won't matter because eventually the studios and nets will start figuring out to go digital and go directly to things like the iTunes store. they will demand rules that let them put things up online independent of US air rights etc. We'll start to see shows going up online internationally after the first airing anywhere to cut off "but it won't air in my country for another year" as an excuse for torrents etc. Eventually folks like HBO will stop their own 'waiting for the DVDs' delays for similar reasons.

Viacom is at its heart a studio collection and they will go where the money goes. Which will eventually be the same multi prong attack.

----------

You still need cable to get the internet---so if you drop Cable TV they will just charge more for internet.

they already do. Generally you are looking at about $50 for Cable and $50 for Internet and they knock like $10 off for using two services. So $90 a month.

You drop Cable and you lose that discount but you are still at $50 a month so you come out ahead. Even if they up the price another $20 you are still no worse off than before.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

It's not about not knowing AirPlay by name. It's about being the head of a giant cable network and saying that it's still hard to get IP-based content to a TV set when newish TV sets themselves can connect directly to the Internet (not to mention how easy it is to connect a single HDMI cable to your TV from an Internet ready device such as a Blu-ray player, Roku, TV, PS3, Wii, Xbox360, Boxee, GoFlex TV, WD TV, etc.,). The ignorance is almost frightening.

And are all these new TVs fully inter-compatible with each other? I know Netflix support is common, but secure content distribution among networks? Does Hulu play nice with non-supported networks? I doubt it. And what about all the people that don't have newer TVs? Do the newer cable boxes support internet content? A cable company needs to be concerned about their content delivery, not 3rd party equipment. Frankly, I think the comments against this guy are overblown without knowing the full context.

No - you are only and idiot if run a huge company and you don't know the little electronic doo-hickeys that have a huge influence on what your company does. If the little electronic doo-hickey does not effect what you do (or your company does), you don't need to know and are not an idiot if you don't know.

Like I said, I don't really care for comments by people that have to resort to name-calling to make their point.

 

[LethalWolfe]

And are all these new TVs fully inter-compatible with each other?

Why do TVs have to be 'fully inter-compatiable' w/each other? The TV has apps for Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, ESPN, YouTube, Amazon streaming, Pandora, NHL GameCenter, etc., and you just launch the app of the content you want to watch. A Samsung TV doesn't have to be able to talk w/a Westinghouse TV, they just both need to be able to talk to the app's servers.

W/that being said there is a group called DLNA which is trying to get all manufactures to adopt an open standard so that all these 'smart' entertainment devices can easily stream content/pass files between each other. If you have two DLNA certified devices they should seamlessly be able to talk to each other over the same WiFi network.

I know Netflix support is common, but secure content distribution among networks? Does Hulu play nice with non-supported networks? I doubt it.

I don't follow what you are asking. Are you referring to data networks, cable networks...?

And what about all the people that don't have newer TVs?

See my previous post. There are dozens of devices that let easily and simply let people stream IP-based content to their TVs (including sub-$100 Blu-ray players).

Do the newer cable boxes support internet content?

No idea, but cable providers Xfinity and Verizon allow their subscribers limited streaming of their content via an Xbox360 and AT&T & Microsoft had a deal going where instead of a 'cable box' from AT&T for its U-verse service you could use an Xbox360 (according to AT&T this program has been temporarily suspended pending upgrades).

A cable company needs to be concerned about their content delivery, not 3rd party equipment.

Content that used to be exclusively in the realm of cable TV is now available (legally) via other means and that trend is only going to grow. 5-10yrs from now the content delivery business is going to look much different, and much broader, than it is right now. So, is TW Cable in the cable TV business (which is a business that's headed for contraction, not growth) or are they in the content delivery business (which is expanding and involves devices that easily allow Internet-based content to get streamed to a TV)?

It's like the old adage about all the railroad owners that went under because they considered themselves to be in the railroad businesses and not in the transportation business.


Lethal

 

[AppleHater]

Cable providers will survive long as ISPs while overcharging less and less subs for the cable TV. For those CEOs, the latest tech doesn't matter because it's going to be problems for their successors, when things to actually crash and burn after years of overlooking.

 

[Crissov]

AirPlay is a technology that seamlessly moves audio and video from device to device in the Apple ecosystem.

… it's surprising that Glenn A. Britt, the chief executive of Time Warner Cable said he hadn't heard of the service, …

I don’t get it. As long as you need three to four devices (handheld, set-top box, screen and common access point) to do what one TV (connected to the Internet) should be able to do, it’s no solution at all.

It’s really about time,the Apple TV supported Channel Apps.

 

[gnasher729]

Indeed, I understand streaming from the computer or devices to an Apple TV, but I'm more interested in streaming from a device and using a computer in replacement as an Apple TV.

There's an app for that. In the app store. $14.99, I think.

 

[DocNYz]

the CEO of a company has no clue ... shocker

how else could anyone explain their 90s business models

Seriously. If it weren't for their ****ing monopolies, TWC would have died out years ago. I have never had a single company cause me more problems and actually make people's quality of life and general daily demeanor worse.

 

[dashiel]

why do that when you can put the apps directly in the Apple TV which is required for AirPlay anyway

Ease of entry for developers and consumers. AppleTV apps would necessitate a third version of the App, leveraging the current install base of these streaming apps forces the studios’ hand more because the Apps already exist and are already installed.

Just as a personal aside as an owner of every iteration of AppleTV I’ve yet to see an indication that Apple can handle 10 foot interfaces. While I love my AppleTV the UI can be best described as less bad.

TimeWarner won't matter because eventually the studios and nets will start figuring out to go digital and go directly to things like the iTunes store. they will demand rules that let them put things up online independent of US air rights etc. We'll start to see shows going up online internationally after the first airing anywhere to cut off "but it won't air in my country for another year" as an excuse for torrents etc. Eventually folks like HBO will stop their own 'waiting for the DVDs' delays for similar reasons.

Viacom is at its heart a studio collection and they will go where the money goes. Which will eventually be the same multi prong attack.

See I disagree. The movie studios want more control, not less and are terrified of ceding any of that to anyone, but especially Apple which is why we get nonsense like DIVX, UltraViolet and Walmart’s new DVD ripping service. I actually stopped doing work with studios because they’re so up their own arse. They believe their content is so special and in such demand they can do what they want (not the actual content creators mind you, those people are cool, but all the executives and bitter, failed actor/director/writers that took non-creative positions), and let’s face it with films like Transformers 3 being giant hits they’re not far off the mark.