Maybe some evidence to back up Chris’ claim about Media Center focus being switched back to the PC screen or advances in the platform with TV on the PC, the TV and the mobile devices:

Yesterday we posted a video of Enrique Rodriguez, Corporate VP of the Connected TV Business Group at Microsoft, sharing his thoughts on the future of television. We wanted to share another video of Enrique discussing Microsoft’s vision for connected TV and what the future might look like.



Enrique Rodriguez on Microsoft’s vision for connected TV from Microsoft Connected TV on Vimeo.

6 thoughts on “Enqrique Rodriguez: Microsoft’s Vision for Connected TV”
  1. I don’t see this as being in agreement with Chris’s post. To me, he’s saying that where in the past, the TV screen has been ignored, MS intends to include that screen in the ecosystem and make all content available across all screens in the home. Yeah, they want TV programming available on the PC screen, but also to keep that programming on the TV and add the online/networked programming to the TV screen.

  2. I dunno…. he spoke for quite a while over the three clips and managed to actually say very little. Seems like another out-of-touch MS exec, ya know, like the ones who said cablecard was gonna drive sales for vista media center.

  3. This used to be called ‘interactive TV,” which never materialized. MS seems to have an idea about this, but it really sounds like they haven’t fully developed the concept in their own mind, what they want to do with it. My fear is that the lack of fully developed concept will lead MS to fail in this endeavor.

    Media Center already does most of what they’re talking about. But do they mention that it does? Nope. Si it’s the same old mistakes from MS.

    From a business perspective, MS never capitalized even a little on Media Center, which right now is really a killer app. But who knows about it? It’s like free TiVo and iTunes and more, but MC is unknown. To me, this is evidence that MS has never had a fully developed concept for Windows and the home.

    I hope MS gets its act together. MC is awesome. But first they need to get the word out about what they have, then they need to develop it further.

  4. Oh my… people… get out of your ivy towers.. hobbyist are like 5 to 7 years ahead of the general consumer. no one is failing at anything, we are just ahead of the curve. just be patient. Stop trash talking the hand the feeds you and speculating about people failing at their jobs (unless of course you have an agenda). Go look up Organizational Change Management (or People Change Management) OCM and figure out how to CHANGE the consumer and start saying “Yes we can” vs. taking pot shots at people and products…

    My god… What a bunch of naysayers…

    go get some love would ya… ya are not helping the industry at all… BTW, the American market is a fortified hill re the networks, cable companies and content providers. Ah duh, if you know anything about strategy, charging head on into a heavily defended market place is SUICIDE. Makes for a great story but also leaves lots of dead bodies in the path. Not cool. It is much better to flank a fortified position, or just march around it. This is a big chess match going on here, and making the pawns smarter and informing them may be a better tack toward a revolution (like turning on the cable companies and throwing your Cable tuner OUT the window with the Cable service contract). Microsoft’s best chance for success is in emerging and or “off shore” (of North America) market places where the networks may be more willing to collude… just a thought. Again… be patient, be suspicious of people without patience and stop the trash talking. It is TOXIC, offensive and hurting the industry, uptake of the technology and alignment with the bigger picture.

  5. @ [email protected]:

    I assume you’ll be attending the inauguration, then?

    It’s ironic that you find folks hoping for MS to change its course regarding MCE to be in “ivy (sic) towers,” while the remedy suggested is that we seek out some very academic and intellectual approach.

    Maybe if we all just “get some love,” as you suggest, and perhaps sing “Kumbaya,” then MS will promote it’s SEVEN-YEAR-OLD Media Center product. (MCE came out quietly in 2002.)

    Aren’t we all glad we can rely on the consumers being that far behind?

    A dose of reality from the ivory tower: the CONSUMER drives sales, and therefore the economy. If MS can convince the consumer how MCE will help him, how MCE will improve his life, it will succeed. If not, it will fail. But MS hasn’t even made much of an attempt to inform the consumer about MCE at all, thus if MS does not alter it’s product PR concerning MCE, its product will fail.

  6. @ Enrique… I went dark. I was busy for the last weeks playing with Windows 7, getting raked over the coals by people that steal ideas and causing a big shit storm in the “community” and getting kicked for it. Ah did I add not making friends to that :).

    I agree and disagree. I feel bipolar on this one, though can assure that it is just a feeling ;). I now understand why Chris Lanier went linear on this topic, but also know that we techies do not help by making sweeping statements (me included) on the topic.

    So what should we do? I do not think that carpet bombing is effective (aka saying all the mce product/marketing folks are failing -the chrisL approach), nor do I think a strategic strike is the way to go (like me saying take out the leader in the group). I think someone needs to step back and connect all the dots within the ogranization and find the bad thread that has weakend the MCE fabric. What I am trying to say is that there is a complex connection of failure points all around MCE/xbox/zune which has to be carefully unwound, removed and replaced…

    OR do NOthing… Yes… NOTHING. Just keep it status quo and wait for everything fall into place. And wait for the consumer to come around. Windows 7 ironically is the “do nothing” milestone to wait for. When that pops… We are all good. IN the meantime… Just chill. Wait for the “crow’s nest” to quitely be unwound and “fixed” and just chill.

    So that is my new plan vs. standing with a torch and crowd by your side screaming “lynch them” or “take the leader out” (alla the carpet bombing or the ninja approach). I need to as some would say “cool down” or whatever. And just wait. When MSFT goes retail we are golden. Hopefully they will take the Home Depot approach to service delivery (partners) and a whole cottage industry of home IT services will sprout up around it.

    We’lll see. In the meantime. I am going to chill, get in shape (i.e. Windows 7 and new certs/training) and pick my fights very, very carefully 😉

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