Mari and I sat in on the Sezmi webcast briefing earlier this week and we’ve been slow in covering the news… As it turns out, this gives me an opportunity to provide some clarity in response to the widespread confusion.

At a high level, Sezmi (formerly Building B) is a video service with the goal of replacing our existing cable or satellite provider (television programming), and enhancing value by providing additional content (think Internet) and new methods of interaction.

Business Model
Consumers won’t be Sezmi’s direct customers. Sezmi’s plan is to offer sidelined broadband providers, telcos, and local television franchises a platform to offer television services (including advertising) without having to roll their own solution. They haven’t announced any distribution partners yet but, with imminent trials and plans to launch by the end of the year, there’s at least one company on the hook. Obviously, Verizon (FiOS TV) and AT&T (Homezone, U-verse) are spoken for. Given the mega quadruple-play alliance dissolution and forthcoming WiMax push, Sprint’s a likely target. I also wouldn’t be surprised to hear of Sezmi going after Qwest or even an Earthlink. Though, perhaps I’m thinking too big here…

Content Distribution
Sezmi will be using a hybrid approach to receive (and in many cases, provide) content including local over-the-air broadcasts, transmission of “cable” channels via leased (or partner/reseller) airwaves (see USDTV, rip), and the Internet. Sezmi hasn’t announced which premium content providers they’ve signed, though the USA Network was featured in the webcast.

Hardware
The initial Sezmi (leased) hardware package consists of an antenna unit which includes 1 terrabyte of storage, set-top box, and remote. The long-term goal is to transform the STB into more of a thin-client with the NAS providing most of the heavy lifting – and supporting multiple STBs throughout the home.

Software
For me, the most interesting portion of the webcast was a live demo of the Sezmi interface/experience – which they’re calling “TV 2.0.” (Many screengrabs below.) In addition to the DVR functionality you’d expect, Sezmi provides some innovative new ways of integrating, organizing, and presenting content. I wouldn’t go so far as saying they bring social networking to the TV (though, that’s one of the things they’re saying), but the per-user playlist plus sharing and community rating features are overdue and appreciated.

Odds
Several folks have asked me if these guys are going to succeed. It’s difficult to handicap the odds without knowing who Sezmi’s initial partners are. Which brings up the probable point of this pre-announcement: drumming up interest on both the potential distributor/reseller side and on the content provider side. Breaking into the TV business as a new player will be difficult (and expensive), and neither building out compelling solutions nor educating customers of the added value is guaranteed against the entrenched players. At the very least, they’ll need to sign resellers with some serious muscle to have a just shot at pulling it off.

I’ve just received word that Verizon’s eagerly anticipated Q4 FiOS TV 2.0 update has started rolling out. Tampa Bay, Fort Wayne and Pittsburgh customers may have received the refreshed software as early as this morning, and all other Interactive Media Guide (IMG) regions will receive it over next several weeks. The update consists primarily of bug fixes, though some minor enhancements (including recording padding – shown above) have been implemented. Additional information should be available on Verizon’s Policy Blog in the near future.

I’m heading up to Verizon’s NJ headquarters tomorrow to check out the new FiOS TV features and fixes that are getting ready to roll, plus preview future functionality such as games and mobile handset DVR interaction.

I’m pre-posting my visit to solicit feedback for Verizon’s IMG Product Developer Manager… There’s been some concern (which Verizon is monitoring) from folks who feel the new FiOS TV interface needs improvement. So hit me with your questions and issues, and I’ll try to squeeze in as many as time permits.

I don’t read much in hard copy anymore, but I did leaf through the print version of PC World while on the beach last weekend. One article caught my attention as much for what it didn’t say as for what it did report. The piece, Early IPTV Uses Only a Little of Its Fat Pipe, missed a few critical points. And having made my own share of mistakes and errors of omission in the blogging business, I thought I’d make some amends by adding in information where I do have a little knowledge.

First, the IPTV story profiles AT&T and Verizon, but it does so without making the distinction that AT&T delivers all-IP TV, while Verizon uses RF with an IP return path. Essentially Verizon has chosen to use IP only for certain interactive services, and actually more closely emulates a cable network architecture than AT&T’s offering.

Read the rest of this entry »

There’s no denying FiOS TV 2.0 (IMG) looks pretty sharp… Though, like most new products, it does have its share of quirks and could use a bit more polish. Fortunately, Verizon isn’t sitting still and has scheduled a maintenance release for Q4:

• Scaled video while in the menus finding the next show or movie to watch.
• Better program information with richer descriptions.
• New reminder system, for future TV shows or PPV events.
• Efficient way to flip through favorite channels while hiding others.
• Better management of DVR settings and schedule.
• Expanded help topics, and more video tutorials.

In other FiOS TV 2.0 news, deployment continues and Massachusetts is up this week.

While Mari and I were preoccupied with the slick FiOS TV 2.0, all sorts of TiVo Series 3 Lite info was breaking: Engadget, ZDNet, TiVo Lovers, PVRWire. If the reported specs are largely correct, it’s not immediately obvious where TiVo is making any significant cost cuts to bring the price down. ZDNet ran with the headline that the unit is due in August, whereas most of us had assumed the Series 3 Lite would arrive this fall. If the launch window turns out to be accurate, I have to wonder when TiVo started planning this device… perhaps prior to the launch of the Series3? Curiouser and curiouser.