科技前沿:未來我們怎麼看電視(2)

'I've never seen as much innovation in television as there is right now, ' says Ulf Ewaldsson, chief technology officer at Swedish telecom-equipment giant Ericsson, which plans to step up its own TV efforts.

瑞典電信設備巨頭愛立信(Ericsson)首席技術長艾華信(Ulf Ewaldsson)說，目前電視業的創新程度是我從未見過的。愛立信計劃加大力度進軍電視業。

Propelling the activity are changes that have made the Internet a more viable delivery medium, including the growing proportion of customers with broadband service.

這背後的推動力量是使互聯網成爲一種更可行交付介質的各種變化，包括有寬帶接入服務的用戶的比例不斷上升。

Despite the developments, much is missing from Internet-based services. Popular programming, including live sports and news, is often limited to conventional carriers by licensing restrictions.

儘管有了這些進展，基於互聯網的服務仍有很多不足。包括體育賽事和新聞直播在內的頗受大衆歡迎的節目由於許可證限制，常侷限於傳統媒體。

When large video libraries are available, finding specific programs can be cumbersome -- especially with conventional remotes. Most TV services also lag the Web and mobile apps in helping discover new content.

有了大型音像資料庫後，找到具體節目可能比較麻煩，特別是用傳統遠程遙控的方式。在幫忙發現新內容方面，大多數電視服務也落後於網絡和移動應用程序。

'The phone, the laptop and the tablet have advanced so dramatically, ' says Tom Rogers, chief executive of TiVo Inc., the DVR pioneer. 'Television has been drastically left behind.'

數字硬盤錄像設備先驅TiVo Inc.的首席執行長羅傑斯(Tom Rogers)說，電話、筆記本電腦和平板電腦取得了突飛猛進的發展，電視被遠遠地落在了後面。

Tech companies trying to change that include Apple. Since 2007, it has sold an add-on box called Apple TV for streaming content, but has been mum about new TV offerings. The company has tested designs for its own televisions, executives at Apple suppliers have said.

蘋果是試圖改變這一點的科技公司之一。2007年以來，蘋果開始發售名爲Apple TV的流媒體機頂盒，但它對提供電視機新產品卻一直保持沉默。蘋果供應商高管說，蘋果已對其電視機設計進行了測試。

Apple has explored a number of new features for such a product, people familiar with the situation have said, including integrating DVR storage and its iCloud Internet syncing and data-storage service, and voice-interaction capabilities.

知情人士說，蘋果探索了電視機產品的很多新功能，包括整合數字硬盤錄像設備存儲、iCloud互聯網同步和數據存儲服務以及語音交互功能等。

Microsoft is also promoting voice recognition as it positions its game consoles and companion Kinect controller for a broad role in home entertainment. The company's Xbox One, due out this fall, allows customers to navigate to programs by speaking commands such as 'Go to ESPN, ' or 'I want to watch 'Breaking Bad.''

微軟也在推進語音識別功能，欲讓其遊戲機和kinect控制器在家庭娛樂中發揮廣泛作用。微軟定於今秋發佈Xbox One，用戶可通過口授命令來觀看具體節目，如“打開ESPN(娛樂體育節目電視網)”或“我想看《絕命毒師》(Breaking Bad)”。

One basic challenge is simply managing the growing array of content options, including movies from Netflix, Web-originated fare like YouTube, conventional live TV and video consumers have recorded.

一項基本挑戰是要管理日益增多的內容選項，包括Netflix的電影、YouTube等網絡產物、傳統直播電視節目和消費者自己錄的視頻等。

Comcast is promising search advances as well as personalization features in X2, the cable giant's name for a new entertainment operating system.

康卡斯特目前承諾，X2將在搜索方面有諸多改善，而且會配備個性化功能。X2是這個電視巨頭建立的一個新娛樂操作系統。

That software, which Comcast plans to begin rolling out by the end of the year, is designed to recommend content currently on live TV based on tracking a customer's past viewing habits as well as topics trending on Twitter and Facebook. Comcast says X2's interface can work on TVs, PCs and mobile devices, and supports voice searching capability.

康卡斯特計劃今年年底之前開始推出該軟件，它可追蹤用戶以前的瀏覽習慣並根據推特(Twitter)及Facebook上的熱點話題來推薦正在直播的節目內容。康卡斯特說，X2可與電視、個人電腦和移動設備相連，也可支持語音搜索功能。

One feature Intel has decided not to pursue for now is a camera equipped with facial-recognition software to help personalize offerings for each user in a household. Mr. Huggers says the technology didn't work well enough in the low lighting common when watching TV and raised privacy questions.

英特爾決定目前暫不追求的一個功能是配備人臉識別軟件的攝像頭，該攝像頭有助於爲家裏的每一個用戶提供個性化服務。哈格斯說，看電視時普遍是低光環境，該技術在這樣的環境下工作效果不是很好，並且會產生隱私問題。