Barney Pell's Weblog

Choice is proliferating. The navigation technology is the grid, electronic
program guide. Today the grid is gridlocked. Our view is the winners will be
those companies that solve the navigation problem. 4 years ago when we
started this program, we thought what would be necessary for this revolution
to take place.

Spontaneous navigation: navigation is the untold story. Without good
navigation, the content will be orphaned. consumers might know they want
something specific (Apollo 13). Sometimes they just want to graze. Browsing
is the most spontaneous, but there's even layers of browse. Some of us go up
and down the aisles. Others use links. Still others are random.

Walt: isn't the remote control a problem?

3 things we did:
1. Create a new TV control device.
2. do something different on TV.
3. create new metadata engine to produce the services.

a new device, called the "loop" is one element of the system, replacement for the
remote. Only has 2 buttons and a wheel. Modeled after concept of a mouse,
but behaves differently. Designed to work with a wide range of platforms.
Service all the types of tools we have: dvr, program guide, music manager,
content in your home network. Literally navigate every single type of
entertainment experience you have in the home.

Front end / portal: 3d world, with 2d representations.

- options:
go shopping
watch TV
get organized
play media
get setup
play games

The Loop knows where it is in 3d. I can turn it sideways and it still
works. When you're a consumer watching TV, laying on the couch or bed or
standing, devcie needs to adapt to you.

click watch TV, new options:
live TV
on demand
many choices of networks. Move cursor.
choose Showtime
shows sub channels, e.g. Series
see each series
select "huff"
see each episode. Drill into a particular show.
can easy zoom back out and back in.
click a show and we're watching. Can pause, play etc.

get rid of buttons as have icons on the screen. Watching live TV: have mini
guide, volume, etc. Slide bar to point at a show and change channel.
Call each widget a "brick" as individual interactive elements.
to change volume I can pull up that brick.

where directory gets interesting: home movies
top picks
all movies
movie genres
high definition

genres: take you to blockbuster store, show the film covers
visually. Literally walk the aisles. For a given movie, see who it's
starring.

Recommended
(metadata licensed and our own).

Selects another film with a certain star, and it then helicopters up and over
across categories.
Can then see the soundtrack. Show spatial navigation up and over, now into
your music manager! can buy or listen. Now intermediate steps.
Literally it's a direct spontaneous navigation.
From the music app, we can build a play list, go to our music manager
directly, add a song to the list, etc.

content has 3 key forms:
delivered, service
content we own
content we create

would be nice to make this a front end to an itunes.

Unifies all your apps.

For watch TV, TV listings: can go to a show forward in time, get more info,
pulls up all the shows we can record. Now have visual directory of the shows
we are recording.
Show video cover for each show we're recording.
1 click from the recorded shows, I can see the upcoming shows.

Walt: I navigated through the program, don't care where the shows are, don't
care about the channels.

It's really popular with everybody, gives a new nav paradigm. The networks
could have recommendations, tie linear to on demand.

Play media: home video, radio, music videos, photos.
visual browser through music choice.
also can do a video play list.

photos: Visual listing is great. Albums, vacations, France, quickly show one
picture on screen, or create a slideshow as simple as point and click.
(really fast, amazing!)

The photos could be on a media center, hard disc, or out on the
network. This platform is agile, java based, interaction system is highly
modular. Will work on set top boxes, next generation media servers, even ported to
a cell phone. Anything that can host java can use this.

Dan hands over the loop to Walt and Kara for training, who will have a contest.

Left is select/zoom in.
right is zoom out.
Doesn't matter if lefty or right handed.

play games. "Whack a Walt."
would be harder to play on a standard remote control.
whole new class of games.
Very easy to use.

Dan: We believe this navigation system is as powerful to the TV as mouse and windows was
to the PC. Hillcrest labs mission has been to innovate in the TV.

Walt: What's your biz model, how to get it adopted? Don't you have to talk
somebody into putting it in a TV box or cable box?

Dan: We're a software company. There is a middleman. Today we have a tiered
approach. Go for companies that can differentiate, then go larger later.

Q: Tom Reilly, acronym media: this is very cool, but orifices don't play well. Like
Rupert Murdoch with direct TV.

Dan: if you look at this navigation system, it's as easy to apply to web-driven
content as it is service-provider driven. We don't have a real
preference. We will focus on consumer electronics companies first.

q: Assuming anything about standards for connectivity so you'll know its a
dvr etc?

We're working with standards bodies and manufacturers, and companies
promoting interconnectivity and discovery protocols. This is the nascence of
the digital home.