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We have come to expect the Internet wherever we are and whenever we want. Mary Meeker predicts that by the end of the year, we could reach 10 Billion mobile Internet devices. Yes, that’s a B.  While we still have the power of a PC in the palm of our hands, one main area has yet to be conquered–the living room.

Many have tried to create linkages into the living room, but few have succeeded. In 1988, Nintendo launched the Family Computer Network Systems. With the purchase of a special cartridge, the Famicom could interact with other terminals or a central computer to monitor and trade stocks. Unfortunately, by the time I got my NES, it only came with a pad to stomp on and gun to shoot ducks with.

Perhaps the next largest leap came from Tivo. With its emphasis on UX, they brought us the concept of time-shifting our content.  With a simple phone line, owners would be able to sync their cable stream to the programming list. However, Tivo’s glory days were short-lived.  Why pay for a Tivo if your cable operator was willing to give you a free set top box?

In the end, the thought of connecting stand alone devices is such a huge mental leap that not even excellent UX can overcome it.

However, the tides are shifting.  Over the past year, I’ve seen a multitude of new ways to connect the living room to the Internet. From simply plug-and-play devices like Roku, to elaborate Microsoft media center setups, people are realizing that the Internet isn’t just for streaming videos of cute cats playing the piano or seeing charlie biting his brother’s finger. The Internet is able to provide consumers with a lean-back 10-foot experience.

With the GoogleTV coming around the corner, and companies like Boxee that are constantly augmenting their content libraries, the Internet is finally making its way to the living room.

Last spring, my friends and I embarked on an independent study project looking at the this very space. In it, we tested the preferences of lead-users to prove/disprove hypothesis. Here are some of our findings:

• Short-Form Content (like Youtube) belongs on the computer monitor
• Most mass market consumers do not know the difference between streaming v. downloading content
• There is little room for new content platforms, new companies should seek to become embedded with CE manufacturers
• Apps for Connected TVs will provide little differentiation. Companies can only lose from not keeping up with its competitors
• Consumers want a recommendation engine for content

You can review our final presentation here:

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The following is my latest post on Digital East Asia.

We’ve covered the launch of Qiyi.com, a new video site backed byBaidu, Inc. ((ADR) NASDAQ: BIDU). The site imitates a lot of Hulu’s functionality and design, and in terms of business model Qiyi is certainly also looking at advertising. Qiyi’s CEO, Gong Yu, was recently interviewed by QQ Tech (link in Chinese), and while it’s a lengthy piece (with lots of marketing talk), Gong did share some interesting perspectives and stats. I’ll try to blend his quotes with some questions I have for the site. Click here to read more »

The movie industry is experience some better times with box offices revenues already running 8.8% ahead of 2009 figures (itself a $10B year). A huge driver has been the versioning for 3D and IMAX for tent-pole movies.  Increased traffic for 3D coupled with significant price increases (reported as much as a 26% bump) have continued to feed the hype.  This has been some positive news in terms as revenue as studios expect a 12% drop in DVD sales.

The question is how marginal traffic will making a 3D movie bring in?

With How to Train Your Dragon opening at 27% lower than Dreamwork’s Monster Vs. Aliens may indicate that new features like 3D may not necessarily trump good ole word of mouth. Indeed, the willingness to pay for a superior 3D experience for the family may not be enough to cover the $40-$60 required to take a family to the movies.

To convert a 3D movie, it takes studios an estimated $30 M, will the ROI remain? Wish three more 3D movies coming down this season’s pipeline, 3D may fast becoming the new normal.

By: Vincent Huang

Life it’s weird. Almost one month after the DMEC LA trek I’m writing this blog from LA itself.

The city of entertainment had the honor of receiving 21 MBA students (between 1st and years plus EWMBAs) between February 26th and 27th. We visited studios, digital media marketeers and record labels. An perfect mix of the entertainment industry for us.

A classical image from Warner Bros. Studios

Guided by our dear VP of careers Della Huff we started our trek in Warner Bros. at Burbank on Thursday morning. Half of the trekkers were traveling packed in a massive white van driven by Della herself. Once in WB we got some insights about the similarities and differences in career paths for MBAs in a major studio. Differently from what most people think, studios, film and TV are businesses after all. All the executives we spoke with ended up there without suspecting that they would. After an amazing studio tour with Della as our guide that included the theater where employees see exclusive premieres, an outdoor studio that resembles a city downtown and even a jungle, we enjoyed lunch in the cafeteria and drank some coffee at Central Perk. We stopped by Ellen’s parking spot and got some stuff from the WB store. Nice!

Later that day we headed to Universal City, headquarters of the newly acquired by Comcast NBC Universal. There we also talked whit three executives about their experiences in such an especial industry and with all the challenges they are facing with the Comcast deal. They put especial interest in the distribution and online challenges of films and TV in the future. Trekkers were truly interested in this subject.

We finished that day in a happy hour with Haas alumni at “Cat and Fiddle” in the middle of Sunset Blvd. Later we ended at Roscoe’s

Trekkers at Roescoe's: Waffles and Chicken

where I had by first (and probably last time) waffles and chicken (?). Bottom line, he had a great time and we have arrived to LA less than 24 hours ago. Good start. All to bed and get some rest for next day.

Friday morning was really cool. We visited Digisynd where Haas MBA alum Steve Felter is the COO. They received us incredibly: a tour showing us all the cool stuff that a multi-tiered digital studio has like high tech cameras, props, studios, etc. We had an amazing presentation with Steve about careers in entertainment followed by a talk with Digisynd’s president Rob Maigret. We even got a demonstration on how visual effects and green background work! We also learned how powerful

Steve Felter during his presentation at Digisynd

social media marketing is in conjunction with creating exclusive content. Recently purchased by Disney, Digisynd is in charge of managing and analyzing results for all of Disney’s social media pages and interactions. Check out their site and you’ll see why they are so cool.

In the afternoon an interesting a cool finish: Universal Music Group at Santa Monica. For those of you who don;t know UMG is the biggest record label in the music industry. Artists like Lady Gaga and The Who are part of their catalog. There we met with the eLabs team. They are in charge of all the digital distribution strategy of UMG (which actually is working: almost 9% increase of digital sales on 2009. Not bad for a “dying industry” isn’t it?). All trekkers were really interested during UMG executives presentations since who’s not a music consumer? Some really interesting ideas popped out in that conversations.

The trek was approaching it’s end ans I was already sad. 48 hours were not enough to get to know my classmates better (1st and 2nd

The Van on its way to Digisynd

years) and get soaked with some entertainment knowledge but it had to end at some point.

We headed to a bar in Santa Monica where we had beer and appetizers toasting for the amazing trek that was ending. We learned, we networked creating opportunities for future internships or full time jobs and, most important, we had a really good time!

I want to thank Della and all the DMEC leadership who made this 2010 Annual LA trek possible. It went smoothly, we represented Haas well and it was a great opportunity for mixing our career search and learning process in entertainment with DMEC’s social activities.

Great work guys!!!

Miguel Martinez / TV and Music Expert – DMEC

Cross posted on Miguel’s Blog

This month’s Dean’s Speaker Series brought us Bill Block, Executive Producer and Founder of QED International, a “leading worldwide motion picture financing, international sales, and production company for filmmakers, investors, and studio partners to bring quality filmed entertainment to the worldwide marketplace.”  Bill spends the next hour giving us an overview of the film industry and methods of valuing a project given estimated earnings in the box office, DVD sales, syndication, and of course, the talent attached to the movie.

We had plenty of time for Q&A during the presentation but I was lucky to have been invited to have lunch with Bill, Dean Lyons, and four other DMEC members  afterwards. It was a treat to have that opportunity to pick his brain about the future of film (3D!), exciting trends in the industry, and to hear first-hand stories and lessons learned from such a successful Hollywood businessman.