To understand how much television could soon change, it helps to visit an Intel Corp. division here that runs like a startup.
想弄清不久后电视可能会发生多大的变化,不妨参观一下英特尔(Intel Corp.)位于加州圣克拉拉的一个部门,这个部门的运营方式颇似初创公司。Erik Huggers, a Dutch-born former British Broadcasting Corp. executive, has assembled a 350-person team with talents beyond computer chips -- including programmers, industrial designers, artists and experts in fields like video encoding. They're creating a Web-based service that not only serves up on-demand programs but overhauls live TV.
出生于荷兰的前英国广播公司(British Broadcasting Corp.)高管哈格斯(Erik Huggers)组建了一个有350人的团队,其中的人才远不止研究电脑芯片的人员,还包括程序员、工业设计师、艺术家和视频编码等领域的专家。这个团队正在创建一种基于网络的服务,这种服务不仅可以提供点播节目,还会令直播电视发生翻天覆地的变化。Intel's plans include a server farm to record every piece of programming that is aired -- local, national and international -- and store it for at least three days in the 'cloud.' With an Intel-designed set-top box, people won't have to own DVRs or even plan to record programs.
英特尔的计划包括一个服务器群,它可以录下播出的每一个节目(地方的、全国的或国际的),并将其存储在“云”中至少三天。安装了英特尔设计的机顶盒后,人们就不必买数字硬盘录像设备了,甚至不用再为录节目做安排了。
Switch on the TV set in the middle of any show, and a viewer can simply go back to the beginning. 'This is live TV -- but you can rewind it, ' Mr. Huggers says.
在任何节目的中间打开电视,用户都可以返回到节目的开始。哈格斯说,这就是直播电视,但你可以倒回去看。Intel is just one entry in the computer industry's growing land grab for the living room, one likely to bring voice activation, restyled remotes, new on-screen interfaces and other major changes in the way people interact with TV sets.
英特尔只是电脑行业众多加入起居室地盘争夺战的公司之一。这种争夺战可能带来语音激活、新式遥控器、新型屏幕界面以及人与电视机之间互动方式的其他重大改变。Other tech giants pushing TV advances include Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Sony Corp. and Google Inc., which last week announced a device called Chromecast that wirelessly transfers content from mobile devices to TVs. Google and Sony have also been working on Internet-based video-delivery services, people familiar with the matter have said.
其他正在推动电视进步的科技巨头包括苹果(Apple Inc.)、微软(Microsoft Corp.)、索尼(Sony Corp.)和谷歌(Google Inc.)。谷歌上周公布了一种名为“Chromecast”的设备,这种设备可以将移动设备上的内容无线传输到电视上。据知情人士说,谷歌和索尼还一直在研制基于互联网的视频交付服务。Computer-industry players have been pushing new TV visions for 20 years, with decidedly mixed results. Cable- and satellite-TV providers have strong positions, with big players like Comcast Corp. preparing major upgrades of their own.
20年来,电脑行业内的公司一直在为电视业开创新领域,结果明显是好坏参半。有线电视和卫星电视提供商有着强有力的地位,康卡斯特(Comcast Corp.)等大公司也在准备进行重大升级。Negotiations with media companies for content rights could delay new services and limit some features, though Intel vows to enter some markets by the end of the year.
与媒体公司就内容版权进行的谈判可能令新服务的推出延迟,并限制一些功能,不过英特尔誓言将在今年年底前进入部分市场。