IPTV coming soon to an Xbox 360 near you
By George Gardner
At the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on January 7, Microsoft announced a solution that would bring together the Xbox 360 gaming console and the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition software platform; now, It is being reported that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 running as an IPTV box will be demonstrated in London for the first time in Europe on March 5th.
“We are delivering on our promise to drive innovation and enable new connected entertainment experiences for consumers in a way that only Microsoft can,” said Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division.
IPTV on Xbox 360 is expected by Microsoft to be available to consumers by the holiday season 2007 and will be offered by providers that use the IPTV Edition software platform to deploy TV services over broadband networks.
Microsoft TV supports a full range of services including interactive program guides, digital video recording, high-definition TV, on-demand programming and Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) services.
The integration of the Xbox 360 with IPTV is intended to deliver a unique entertainment experience such as instant channel zapping, a flashy yet responsive user interface, video on demand with branded video-on-demand storefronts, and digital video recording.
Xbox Live, the largest online gaming social network, will be perfectly integrated into the IPTV experience, providing consumers with voice chat, sending and receiving text and voice messages, and accessing Xbox LiveMarketplace, all while watching TV.
“You can take live media, on-demand media, across an IP network and put it into the home on a high-definition television, and you can do multiple streams of that content without having to have multiple tuners in the set-top box. You really can produce an amazing TV experience,” Bach added, “Both Xbox 360 and Microsoft TV IPTV Edition by themselves deliver unique and exciting entertainment experiences today, but IPTV on Xbox 360 is truly a solution that is greater than the sum of its parts and will enable even more exciting experiences to delight consumers, service providers, content providers and game developers alike.”
Among telecommunications service providers, those on board with the IPTV Edition include AT&T in the United States, BT Group PLC in the United Kingdom, Deutsche Telekom in Germany, T-Online in France, and Swisscom in Switzerland; all of which will be available on the Xbox 360 come years end.
Related:
Entry was posted
on Sunday, February 25th, 2007 at 5:18 am
under
Read more entries by George Gardner.
Stumble It!
February 25th, 2007
It looks like the Xbox is going to increase its lead over the PS3 and Wii. Microsoft is positioning the Xbox as a real home entertainmennt centre, not just a toy like the Wii, or a try hard like the PS3.
February 25th, 2007
I find that most people (everyday consumers) right now have difficulty wrapping their brains around the significance of this development. It will change TV as we all know it. Microsoft will dominate with the most stable and widely used IPTV delivery platform in existence for many decades to come. Forget the HD-DVD/BluRay format wars. Digital Distribution combined with solid Digital Rights Management will provide more HD Content and Variety to the end user that any physical delivery medium could ever hope to. Sony’s high spec PS3 will eventually become the Little Engine that Just Couldn’t.