Intel Ditching Smart TV Business

[Guest]

It appears that Intel will be turning its back on the once-praised Google TV package.

Intel Ditching Smart TV Business : Read more

 

[ikyung]

Smart move. TVs usually last an average household 10-15years. Longest refresh cycle out of any other electronics. It will be another decade before average households replace their 1080p TVs to 2k.

 

[sgtopmobile]

SMART TV? what about ALL IN ONE TV!! can you imagine??? XBOX 360-like hardware to play games, a computer, a camera, windows/mac/linux,glass free 3D!!!!! ...... too bad apple already patented, and they will sue anyone who names it, crap i need a lawyer.....

 

[toastninja17]

Honestly...good. Intel just needs to focus on making the world's most epic processor chipsets.
I do think that the concept of a "smart tv" has the potential to catch on quicker than 3D has (or did..).
It's more function than fashion, which I think is more widely acceptable.

 

[spentshells]

I agree with toastninja intel needs to stay the center of thier own universe instead of being a minor player in someone else's

 

[billybobser]

unless a tv does more than a tv, you're not gonna buy a new one unless the old one breaks

 

[youssef 2010]

Intel doesn't quit easily. The fact that they quit the smart TV business speaks volumes about the challenges they faced. Or maybe they just compared problems to benefits and concluded that their best interest is to invest elsewhere.

 

[kyee7k]

Thanks to Apple, voice-activated TVs and toasters are the next big thing--at least IMO.

 

[alidan]

[citation][nom]ikyung[/nom]Smart move. TVs usually last an average household 10-15years. Longest refresh cycle out of any other electronics. It will be another decade before average households replace their 1080p TVs to 2k.[/citation]

for old crts maybe, but we are getting close to 5-6 years on out plazma, and it REALLY needs to be replaced.

pluss what does a smart tv do? deliver services to your tv such as 1080p video off youtube and netflix? 1080p isnt going anywhere anytime soon.

a smart tv will last a hell of allot longer than most people think. at worst, it could be a modular device that plugs into the tv, think a smartphone sized card, that way you keep the on the fly upgrade ability, and you can get more content as needed.

 

[zaho0006]

Another issue is that even if you are buying a new TV you can buy a streamer box that will typically do significantly more for much less.

I bought a 32" samsung with a WDTV live+ for under $400, where the cheapest comparable smart TV was $800.

 

[hiryu]

[citation][nom]jacekring[/nom]I bought my last flat screen about 1.5 years ago. Don't plan on replacing it for at least 8 years, unless it breaks. It's a 1080p 120hz 58" flat screen, I mean why would I buy a new one anytime soon?[/citation]
I don;t think the current TV will last that long, the more electronic stuff people put into TV means more breakable components and thus the chance of breaking one of them is higher. So the new TV probably would not last as long as before.

 

[cheepstuff]

[citation][nom]billybobser[/nom]unless a tv does more than a tv, you're not gonna buy a new one unless the old one breaks[/citation]

Historically, TVs have changed little from year to year. If "smart TVs" became popular, it would be conceivable to see a consumer industry that turns around quickly similarly to the phone and computer industries. Intel, after having experimented with being involved in that industry, has probably decided that it is not profitable enough to be worth development.
That does not necessarily mean that the industry is a flop, Intel most likely decided to leave because it is primarily concerned with the mobile market. They want to rally as many extra resources as possible to outperform ARM and to gain a dominant position in that industry.

 

[waethorn]

This is the same outcome as all of Intel's side projects. Somebody name one side project by Intel (ie. anything other that CPU's) that was actually successful.

 

[eddieroolz]

TV in general is not as active and vibrant as it used to be in my opinion. There are people like me that still use our 10-year old tube TV simply because it gets the job done and I don't watch more than 5 hours a week.

 

[darkavenger123]

[citation][nom]sgtopmobile[/nom]SMART TV? what about ALL IN ONE TV!! can you imagine??? XBOX 360-like hardware to play games, a computer, a camera, windows/mac/linux,glass free 3D!!!!! ...... too bad apple already patented, and they will sue anyone who names it, crap i need a lawyer.....[/citation]
Actually, in the 80's, they already have Nintendo's All-in-One with console and TV....it didn't sell. Anyway, smartTV is a lot of nonsens. My standard TV + wdtv live is alreay some sorta smart TV....or you plug in your HTPC...immediately makes your Smart TV looks like a moron...and yeah, i just bought a new 40" FullHD LCD TV....definitely no reason to replace this for at least 6 - 7 years if it's not broken.

 

[de5_Roy]

i guess no one wanted to buy something with an overpriced intel chip with we're-not-evil-but-we-want-to-control-your-life google in it. people already have ultrabooks to worry about!
intel could learn something from this.
arm could use their smartphone chips in these smart tvs if they haven't done it already.

 

[brothermist]

The way that article reads to me is "why spend all the time and money on a market where most consumers purchase only 1 or 2 units at $1000 over 10 years when there is a market that consumers purchase a new unit at $300-$500 every year?" The "oh, wow, a new one... I have to have it!" mentality of tablet and smartphone users isnt going to cross over to the TV world. Most people switch to new "better" phones every 1-2 years, regardless of whether their current phone is still 100% operational or not. So even at a lower price point there is a lot more money to be made. I can see the tablet market going the same route. Makes sense to go where the money is.

 

[DavidC1]

They are NOT ditching Smart TV. To make it clear, "they" is Intel.

http://venturebeat.com/2011/10/12/intel-confirms-it-will-drop-smart-tv-initiative-to-focus-on-smartphones-tablets-and-thin-laptops/

Intel will still make chips for the consumer electronics market, focused only on gateway and internet protocol set-top boxes.

What do you think IP Settop boxes are? It's like what Comcast and other major TV cable service providers offer as an extension to their service. BTW, Comcast is using older Intel chips for testing on future products. Intel is again, NOT out of Smart TV. They are actually gaining traction in Europe.

What they are out of is things like what Google TV tried to do. Mini version of an HTPC with limited operating systems and features.

This is the same outcome as all of Intel's side projects. Somebody name one side project by Intel (ie. anything other that CPU's) that was actually successful...

Networking, which no one here seems to know because they are doing well in the server market.

SSD, which they jump started, and is respected for reliability.

Side projects and "skunkwork projects" create one thing. They trigger a new market that wasn't there before. Research drives innovation and Intel is one of the biggest contributors to it.

 

[richaard_steeven]

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-google-tv-smart-tv-hdtv,13856.html

 

[richaard_steeven]

Intel is new in smart TV making, if it has to come on front of smart TV market then it has to beat big giant of smart TVs like LG which is well known for better smart interface.