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TELEVISIONARY

wildly more mobile or
massively immersive —
what will TV be in 2033?

SWIPE FOR MORE
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Imagine changing channels with the wave of your hand. Talking to your TV to schedule a DVR recording. Watching the morning news in the mirror while you shave. These scenarios might sound like something from a sci-fi movie, but they’re on their way. We sat down with televisionary GW Shaw to find out how AT&T is helping shape the future of TV.

The integration we currently see on your mobile device is coming to your mirrors, your walls, your cars, your watch. It’s taking TV outside the traditional experience, and delivering it wherever you want it to be.

Today, TV fans are more likely to be commuters than couch potatoes. Thanks to laptops, tablets, and smartphones, we have the kind of freedom the universal remote only hinted at. Not only can we enjoy the widescreen, High-Definition luxuries of the living room, we can also watch the game at the corner café, catch the news on the bus ride to work, and see movies on long flights home.

So where could this mobile integration take us? Shaw sees more and more on-the-go content consumption in the years ahead. “With our U-verse app for tablet or smartphone, your mobile device actually has become your remote control,” says Shaw. “In the future, viewers can use the app to access additional content about the shows they’re watching. The fact that AT&T has a 100% IP network means we can make that integration better than anyone.”

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GW Shaw, Assistant Vice President of Product Marketing Management, AT&T U-verse

Not only will you be controlling your TV from your mobile device, but also using your voice or using gestures.

So if the tracks have been built, who will drive the train? According to Shaw, pioneering directors will be the driving force for innovation as they pursue new ways to engage the audience. Soon those

kinds of visionaries may be teaming up with content distributors to take viewers beyond the boundaries of traditional cinema and into a more immersive experience. Imagine scenes unfolding in 360-degree panoramic views or incorporating multisensory techniques now used in 4D theme parks. Future filmmakers may finally bring virtual reality home without the awkward goggles.

Another exciting possibility Shaw sees on the horizon is touch-sensitive specialty glass that enables people to display video on their bedroom wall or interact with computer content displayed on countertops, automotive panels, and almost any surface you could imagine—not only in homes, but in offices, airports, retail spaces, and more. “The glass [will be] the conductor for the video,” Shaw explains. “I think that that’s a really interesting objective. Not only is it interesting, but I think it’s achievable.”

And with the success of live broadcasted talent shows and shared videos, it’s easy to see how social networking will personalize the viewing experience and shape TV content going forward. But how will we connect the dots between voting from your phone and participating in the creative process? How will we reach the “outer limits of interaction”?

“Already, there are apps that are amazing,” Shaw says. “One of my favorites is the Twonky Beam® app

that lets you search videos on the Internet and then throw them to your television so you can watch the videos on your TV screen. We are at a place now where we’re launching lots of new apps every year. There’s a lot of cool stuff that we continue to get out there.” It’s this explosion of app development that Shaw sees as the signal that incredible interactivity is on the way — not only to your phone or TV, but to appliances all around you.

So how close are we to receiving recipes on our refrigerators with recommendations based on whatever food is fresh inside? How long until we can step inside the storylines of our favorite shows and twist the plot as we please? How many years until we have the truly mind-blowing kind of interactivity that delivers on the promise of two-way TV? Stay tuned. It could be closer than you think.