What matters most to you in technology? Your answer may show your age. I recently purchased a new television for my home and it was interesting to hear the perspectives of my teenage children.

I was focused on size and quality of the display – both of which have advanced so significantly over the past few years. My children, on the other hand, don’t care as much about the size of the new TV. They are accustomed to using small mobile devices and regularly streaming a video on their tablet.  Their expectations are different than mine for both the quality of the video and the size of the device.

Technology has moved beyond our expectations – and even abilities. With the advancement to 4K, we actually can buy televisions that have resolutions beyond what the human eye can process. TVs have become smart – almost too smart. This is a significant milestone in technology that challenges us to consider what’s next.

Unlike much of the technology developed today, televisions did not start as a consumer product. Developed in the 1920s, most televisions served medical needs in laboratory experiments. Even in the mid-1930s, when only about 200 television sets existed, they came in various resolutions and sizes.

Quality to Convenience
Since the first RCA TV in 1948, advancements in televisions have been centered on quality. That has led to high resolution displays and made standard definition a part of history. 

Today, consumers are the major drivers of technology advancements and as younger generations make more of the buying decisions, it’s likely we will see a few pivotal shifts in the industry:

• Bigger to Smaller
  Bigger is better has been the television production mantra for a couple of decades now. That’s changing with the evolution of mobile devices. We’re becoming more accustomed to smaller screens and the preference is to have access anywhere. Younger generations would rather stream Netflix from the comfort of their favorite spot than a high definition movie on the big screen in a living room or meeting space. 
  
  At Marco, we use a formula to calculate the optimal viewing distance. Based on the sizes of most conference rooms or living rooms, televisions should stay within an optimal viewing distance for the audience. The recommended television display range when sitting 10 feet away would be 40 to 80 inches. When the screen size gets too large for the space, the human eye cannot effectively capture what’s happening on the entire screen.
  
  
• Broadband (Cable TV) to Internet
  Broadband has been a cornerstone of television technology, but its losing ground with the pervasiveness of the Internet. Younger generations watch more on YouTube than Cable television. This is already challenging the broadband industry to up its game with recording, playback and other features. Until the 1950s, broadband was exclusively live. Today, more and more people do not watch their favorite programs live. It’s more about convenience (and skipping commercials). The move to high definition also increases bandwidth requirements at home and a business. A bandwidth of 5 megabits per second is recommended when streaming an HD quality over the Internet. Expect big changes here.
  
  
• Simple to Feature Packed
  Remember when there were fewer than a dozen buttons on a remote. Now TVs are smart – they can do more than broadcast the news. Smart TVs represent a convergence of televisions and computers. They provide both broadcast and Internet capabilities. Smart TVs have become the new standard, boasting apps on everything from streaming video via YouTube and Netflix to social networking via Facebook.
  
  
• Experience Focused to Quick Access
  Young generations appreciate speed. YouTube allows users to select resolution on many of its videos. It’s common for younger generations to sacrifice the quality to gain faster access to streaming video. When they search, they want instant results and prefer easy button solutions. That one-click access becomes more challenging to offer as the features rise. Today, we can record over a hundred hours of television. But it has to be easily accessible. Figuring out how to organize information in an efficient way is key to making navigation easy and satisfying all generations.

Why does this matter? 
These are major shifts and they will have ripple effects to other technology. The last decade has been marked with the unveiling of higher quality devices. The next decade may be focused on convenience. How will that impact your business?