Tablet addicts
If, like many of us, you have a partner that likes to watch the worst kind of populist, low-brow, lobotomising telly, you've probably browsed while you watch - in other words got a notebook/smartphone/tablet out in order to make the evening tolerable.
New research from Forrester (online - 919 respondents), commissioned by Cisco, has revealed that over 60 percent of people aged 16-35 in the UK watch TV and browse the Internet at the same time. Furthermore, this is the age group most likely to watch the TV on their PCs and turn it into a ‘social' experience by commenting on it and discussing it live with their mates.
Nearly half of 16-24 year olds like to chat online with friends while watching TV, with over a quarter of that age group tending to discuss what they're currently watching. This drops-off significantly among older age groups which, is probably due as much to them having other interests and responsibilities as any lack of tech awareness or not being down with the kids.
Apparently a lot of younger people ‘expressed interest' in 3D TV, whatever that means, which is taken as an indication that "...the TV market is going through the largest transformation since the move from analogue TV to digital in the 1990s."
Among the other key findings of the survey are:
- Picture quality expectations are rising, as is the proportion of consumers reporting quality issues.
- Almost half of UK consumers give up on online video if it stutters
- 22 percent would pay for improved video quality
- ISPs and content publishers are held equally responsible for quality issues
- Pressure on networks is set to increase rapidly with the uptake of media tablets
The moral of the story - unsurprisingly given this is a Cisco-sponsored study - is that everyone should invest more in networking infrastructure. "With video predicted to make up more than 91 percent of all internet traffic by 2014, it is clear that the growth of online video represents the next significant stage in the development of the Internet." said Phil Smith, boss of Cisco UK and Ireland.
"This is part of a major shift in the way content is delivered and consumed but it also represents a challenge to Internet Service Providers and media companies. The fact that consumers hold ISPs and content providers equally responsible for any drop in video quality is a clear sign that these industries need to work together to ensure that are able to deliver a consistently high quality service to consumers."
Here's Cisco and Forrester further adding to the strains on the internet by discussing the study on camera.
