By Lawrence Casiraya
INQUIRER.net
SINGAPORE–Imagine TV sets talking to one another. In the case of IPTV, Ericsson’s technology incorporates instant messaging. So you and your buddy can rave about your favorite characters while watching “Heroes.”
In this demo, the guys are showing how the technology can link up to an Internet-connected mobile phone and command the IPTV set-up box to record a show or block another user from watching a program.
That’s as on-demand as IPTV can get.
The set-up boxes come in either the one on the left that has a built-in hard drive (thus, more expensive) and the smaller one beside it that looks like an access point, which just routes content onto your TV set — granted of course, content is hosted the carrier’s network. And that’s the Kaiser Chiefs performing live; check them out as they’re one of the hottest UK bands around.
There are an estimated five million IPTV subscribers but that is expected to grow once broadband becomes faster. No wonder Ericsson just acquired this company called Tandberg that aggregates content specifically for IPTV. And yes, it recently announced a deal to host content from Turner Networks (which runs CNN, among other channels).
The only question really is whether the kind of broadband you‘re getting in your home is good enough to keep from buffering the moment Sylar makes another kill.
