Ho Hum

A lot is being made about “video on the go” technologies at the recent CES show in Las Vegas. Several newsletters seem to view this as a big new thing worthy of shouting about. For me, it is nothing more than an interesting technology to watch- one of those long term evolutionary processes that are constantly struggling for traction. Nothing revolutionary about it at all, just the slow natural progression from VCRs to VCD players to DVD players, and now to downloadable movies off the internet.

What makes it boring to me is that the path is strewn with failed formats and standards, products that quickly become obsolete, and a sense that lately it seems to be more about marketing than real consumer demand. Yes, consumer demand is what put a VCR in every house, and demand is responsible for DVD players eclipsing VCRs finally, but the whole thing about watching videos on your cellphone or on the LCD built into your car just seems a little forced and contrived to me.

Do I really need to install a $3000 video system in my SUV so my kids don’t have to suffer through entertainment withdrawal on their 30 minute trip to school? And who is really going to spend money to subscribe to and watch “Lost in Translation” on a 1.2” cellphone screen? To be fair, what will probably happen is that people will subscribe to a mini-video service, one that sends cartoons or little funny short movies over the cellphone, or through the satellite radio system (I’m sure I’m not the only one to think of this). There are a number of producers of these mini movies working round the clock already, hoping that there is a market out there. And of course, you will get mini commercials as well, count on it.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all in favor of early adopters helping to pull the technology into the next phase, and I understand how marketing people much prefer to tout new features rather than come up with creative campaigns. But I must admit that I am going through a period where the rate of change is getting to me, along with all the people who are soooo certain that X and Y are the next great thing.

Maybe I’m still suffering from some lingering Luddite reaction to all the marketing and sales hyperbole that I experienced at CES. Maybe I should retire to the woods and clear my head for a while so when I come back to civilization I can once again be entranced by all the cool technology that is coming down the pipeline. Time to do some fly fishing.