Has internet use really reached TV viewing levels?

A research company claims that Americans now spend as much time using the Internet as they do watching TV. But rival figures vary so wildly that it’s not possible to be certain of much more than a general trend.

The headline claim comes from Forrester Research, which says the average US citizen spends 13 hours a week apiece on the two activities. That’s the first time the annual survey from the firm has found parity among the population as a whole, though younger viewers have been spending more time online than watching TV for some time now.

The New York Times notes that although streaming video is becoming far more popular, this isn’t proof that people are canceling cable services and moving to online viewing: the amount of time people spend watching TV hasn’t changed significantly. However, there has been a drop in the time spend on radio, newspapers and magazines.

I suspect there’s a simple answer for this (other than people finding more hours in the day): people are likely spending more time online, particularly on portable computers and other devices, while “watching” TV (or at least, while the TV is switched on.)

The Times also makes the intriguing philosophical point: if somebody streams video content but watches it through their TV set, are they using the Internet or watching TV?

Meanwhile paidcontent.org has pointed out that while Forrester lists 13 hours a week for average Internet use, comScore has the figure at 7 hours 24 minutes. Why the difference? Well, it appears to be because comScore measures actual use, while Forrester is a survey, with consumers reporting their online activity. And it wasn’t even a case of users being asked to track their activity: they were simply asked how many hours a week they spent on each form of media.

That makes it worth noting a study by Ball State University (PDF) that concludes “Serious caution needs to be applied in interpreting self-report data for media use. TV was substantially under-reported while online video and mobile video usage were over-reported.”

To make things even more confusing, Nielsen reports weekly Internet use as 38 hours 44 minutes for the average person.

Of course, that too could have several explanations: the figure may or may not include work usage; the sample group could leave out people who don’t use the Internet at all (thus upping the average); and there may be different interpretations of what counts as Internet usage (is somebody who downloads a large video file while they sleep still using the Internet?)

(Picture credit: Flickr user Judy Baxter)



New Mario Bros. Movie Trailer [Video]

The Game Station presents an epic gangland tale of betrayal and violence in this mock trailer for The Brothers Mario.



You’ve gone TOO FAR George Lucas! [Video]

A rather shocking game sequence from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II:

Nooooooooooooooo… that’s… that’s…. BLASPHEMY! How could Mr. Lucas approve something like this? This is an outrage!

[Via Reddit]

Autobot vs. Decepticon [Pic]

I’m not exactly sure where these cool Autobot and Decepticon signs come from, but I know that I want them!

[Source]

Lego Black Ops Stop-Motion Short [Video]

Youtube user Keshen8 inspired himself from Call of Duty: Black Ops to create this absolutely amazing stop-motion animation using Lego only. Enjoy!

[Via TechEblog]

The Sounds of Star Wars

Any Star Wars fan can mimic Darth Vader’s voice or Chewbacca’s roar with ease. But how many of them would be able to identify the lion’s roar used in the sound of the Millenium Falcon’s engine? In this aurally astonishing and visually engaging book, New York Times best-selling author J. W. Rinzler reveals the illuminating history of the sounds that make the Star Wars universe so believable, as recounted by their creator, legendary sound designer Ben Burtt. An attached sound module with an exterior speaker and headphone jack lets readers listen to more than 250 unique sound effects, and more than 300 photographs illustrate the epic’s many memorable scenes. From the first films to the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars series, The Sounds of Star Wars is Star Wars as you’ve never heard it before.

[The Sounds of Star Wars @ Amazon.com]

Most “broadband” connections are no such thing

According to the Federal Communications Commission, the majority of American “broadband” users are not actually receiving broadband speed.

That’s because the FCC currently defines broadband as requiring a download speed of at least 4Mbps and an upload speed of 1Mbps. In total, 68 percent of broadband connections in the US fall short of this speed.

The figures, which have just been published in an FCC report (PDF) but deal with the situation as of 31 December last year, were collected from internet providers across the country. (These are the actual nationwide figures, or as close to it as a government agency can collect, rather than being extrapolated from a sample group as with opinion polls and surveys.) The data covers the packages subscribers have taken up, rather than the maximum speeds on offer in any area.

The FCC found that 30% of users had a download speed of more than 6 Mbps or more, 58% had a speed between 3 and 6 Mbps, and 12% had speeds below 3Mbps. The respective figures for uploads were 12% with more than 1.5 Mbps, 39% with 768 Kbps to 1.5 Mbps, and 49% with less than 768 kbps. All the figures are based on the maximum speed of the package a subscriber is on, meaning the actual speed they get may well often be lower.

Taking the 3 Mbps downstream/768 Kbps upstream threshold, Massachussets is the most broadband heavy state, with 68% of households having such a connection, while North Carolina is at the bottom of the list at 8%.

The figures also showed that consumers still aren’t getting much competition when it comes to decent speeds. As shown in the graph above, almost one in four people live in an area where there is only one provider offering a package of at least 3Mbps download and 768 kbps upload (which is below the FCC standard for “broadband.”)

Once you raise the bar to 6Mbps download and 1.5 Mbps upload, 57% of people only have one possible provider, while 19% don’t even have the option of getting such a speed. Adding in companies who offer mobile broadband makes virtually no difference to those percentages.

And anyone who think “everyone’s got broadband” is under a misapprehension. As of the end of last year, only 60% of homes nationwide had a fixed-line (ie not mobile) internet connection with at least a 200 Kbps speed in one direction, a figure that drops to just 43% in Mississippi.