Why watching TV on the computer will never take off

I think consumers want simplicity, economy, security, and longevity and that's just not there yet. I fear that if I make the leap and put a media center computer in my media center it's going to be obsolete in 18 months. I would also fear that a virus or some other form of malware would render my media room into a sitting-and-staring-at-a-blank-screen room. Then there's the problem of waiting for something to download so you can watch it. Most people like instant gratification, so if the bandwidth isn't there to support streaming, it's more of a frustration than a convenience. Sure, I could queue a bunch of shows and video clips to download overnight, but what am I to do in the meantime? Sleep? (tongue lodged firmly in cheek) Of course there's the intellectual property rights issue. Do I have the right to redistribute media that I've downloaded and to what extent? On the hardware side, if my video card or sound card goes on the fritz, how long will I be staring at a blank screen or at silent moving images? Gee, the days of rabbit ears were easier!

I actually have a mac in my living room. We've been watching Lost on it.

Still, the TV shows weren't intended to be watched on a TV -- they were intended to be watched on an iPod.

Computers are already in our living rooms - set top boxes are when all is said and done computers, custom made, with their own OS's and limited functionality, but still computers.

Now if you'd said Desktop PC's, then yes I would agree largely with the statement.

I do however suspect that anyone who starts selling pre made and configured MythTV boxes at an affordable price will probably do quite well, even if only locally. The problem with MythTV is that its a pita to setup and configure. Again you're going to be limited on what functions it performs, but thats kind of the point.

Having a device that can store my mp3's, can play my dvd's and perhaps downloaded content (legal or otherwise), can at a pinch do a little web browsing, is not a huge feature set, built into an appliance like box, would sell imho, provided that the interface was simple to use and the device itself was easy to start and stop.

Toshiba HD DVD players are actually P4 Linux boxes, in case anyone was wondering - it can be done. You just have to make sure it doesn't act like a computer.

It's only a matter of time before our home computer becomes our complete home entertainment system. Many telcos are developing IP TV functionality which will obviously require a computer of sorts, plus media centres are becoming a reality if not particularly common at the moment.

This is exactly what I want in my living room. A quiet PC with a large LCD flatscreen monitor that I can use to surf the 'net, watch TV and play tunes on. It's more likely than you might think

Never is quite a long time . . .

For the last several years Major League Soccer was streaming video of most of their matches online for free. Many of them were at such a high bit rate that I could watch them full screen on my 17" flat screen monitor and you would swear that it was TV.

More and more people, especially young people, do not want to be tied to a television and a TV schedule. They want their video/TV when they want it and how they want it. ESPN is already working towards being "pipeline agnostic," able to deliver their content by whatever means the consumer demands - traditional TV, mobile phone, internet TV, etc.

. . . 'never' may be sooner than you think.

I think the current generation of kids that are now using computers for really anything that they can get their hands on will end up using them more for entertainment as well as work activities.