Telcos Getting Crazy For IPTV

I sound like a curmudgeon when I say this, but I can remember when the phone company and the cable company were two different things. Today, the distinctions aren't there anymore. The phone company is selling TV, the TV company is selling phone, and everyone's selling high-speed Internet. Now the next big thing, IPTV is picking up steam.

The Bridge: The Telcos Tilt to IPTV
All Internet Protocol All the Time Gains Favor Among Telco Triple Players

Looking at just the U.S. pay-TV market, the IP-supported U-verse TV service from AT&T is rapidly approaching the 400,000-customer mark and is aiming for 1 million customers by the end of the year. Small telcos are also embracing IPTV, using the technology as an affordable yet scalable solution that gets them into the video business.
But the United States is hardly alone in utilizing IPTV. There are nearly 10 million IPTV subscribers around the world, states one research firm. That number could grow to the tens of millions during the coming years.

Bring it on!

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Panasonic Debuts Web-Enabled Plasma Televisions

Further blurring the lines between AV and computing, if there even is a line between the two anymore.

Panasonic Ships Web-Enabled Television

CE manufacturer Panasonic got into the internet-connected HDTV game on Tuesday when it announced the availability of its new PZ850 series of Viera plasma HDTVs. Initially launched at CES in January (and reported here in The Retail BRIDGE), the Viera line's built-in connection gives users direct access to a variety of internet-based content, including sites like YouTube, Google's Picasa Web Album and Bloomberg.

I already knew that these units and ones like them are the next big thing, but seriously, how cool is that?

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As it happens, TiVo actually does have a new trick up their sleeve!

The Retail Bridge: TiVo Coming To A Computer Near You

TiVo on Wednesday announced a new partnership with German digital media developer Nero AG to integrate the TiVo user experience into Nero's next generation of PC software."This agreement provides TiVo with an opportunity to deliver its interface and differentiated feature set globally via the PC, enabling TiVo to use all avenues of mass distribution -- from consumer electronics, to cable and satellite boxes and soon, the PC," said TiVo's president and CEO Tom Rogers.

I guess this answers my question from the other day about how well prepared TiVo is to deal with IPTV and other emergent avenues of entertainment. It looks like there's still some signs of innovation there!

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