Why You Need to be a Digital Content Pro

Vudu, Hulu, Apple TV, Netflix, Amazon, Yahoo Widgets, Windows Media Center, in-home media servers, Pandora, Rhapsody, cable video-on-demand, YouTube …

If you think the array of digital content is dizzying to you, imagine how your clients must feel.

CE pros often wince at streaming media — or at least media that is not 1080p — but that needs to change.

Consumers who know about this stuff and want it, would no doubt be thrilled to have an expert who can guide them through the maze of digital content. Those who know nothing about it may be thrilled to learn that such options exist.

My mom doesn’t watch much TV, but she does do Netflix. When she visited me recently, she was amazed that I could watch certain Netflix movies instantly via a new Windows Media Center plug-in.

Would she pay $500 for a pro to install a $99 Roku box and hook it up to her TV? Maybe so.

I can imagine a client checklist that looks something like this:

• Who are you? (sports fanatic, movie buff, TV junkie, documentary lover, opera-goer)
• How important is video quality? (want the best and willing to pay, prefer HD for movies but TV doesn't matter, just give me something viewable and inexpensive)
• How important is audio quality? (very, not so much)
• What are your movie preferences? (newest releases ASAP, old movies, indies, just like to look around)
• Rank your priorities for streaming video (highest definition possible, variety of content, type of content, price, timeliness)
• For movie content, what are your payment preferences? (monthly fee, pay per title, free with commercials)
• For TV content, what are your preferences? (monthly fee, pay per title, free with commercials)
• How bothered are you by commercials/ads? (hate them, tolerate them if it costs less, secondary concern just give me the content)
• What are your music habits? (like to explore, have my set of favorites, brand new titles)
• Do you participate in social networking? (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr)
• Are you interested in photo slideshows on the TV? (Very much, sort of, not really)
• How much do you currently spend on digital content?

You get the picture. From the survey, you could recommend the best products, configurations and feature sets for your clients. And impress them while you're at it.

With more online content becoming available, I think more consumers will turn to experts to determine if they should buy a Blu-ray player with Netflix support built in, a TV with widgets, a separate box that does one thing or everything, or just a fancy boom box.


Digital Content is one of 6 pillars of EHX Spring 2010, Orlando, Fla.