The folks in Redmond must be happy and relieved after BT decided to enter into a commercial agreement to use Microsoft's IP-TV Edition software. The deal comes on the heels of Telstra deciding not to proceed with an IP-TV trial using Microsoft's software, while Swisscom and SBC have delayed the launch of their commercial services. BT said it will conduct IP-TV trials early next year before launching a full-blown commercial offer in the summer. It is hard not to get the idea the buzz surrounding IP-TV is running ahead of the technology. While Microsoft is working on a key part of the IP-TV equation, it is just one piece of the puzzle that also includes software, hardware, network upgrades, programming and back-office billing and provisioning systems. Until all the pieces come together and carriers can provide a fully-baked service to 100s of thousands of customers, IP-TV will not be ready for prime-time. The problem is the longer carriers wait to get into the TV business, the bigger advantage the cablecos enjoy.
Addendum: It was rightly pointed out to me that many carriers are already offering “Telco TV”, including Manitoba Telecom Services, Aliant and Sasktel. None of these carriers use Microsoft software.
Until all the pieces come together and carriers can provide a fully-baked service to 100s of thousands of customers, IP-TV will not be ready for prime-time. The problem is the longer carriers wait to get into the TV business, the bigger advantage the cablecos enjoy.
The one thing has nothing to do with the other — carriers don't need IPTV to do TV.
All over Canada, ILECs are doing TV over VDSL. The straggler is Bell, which has ExpressVu; maybe that's Central CAnadians aren't familiar with it?
Does IPTV really work well with all the HDTV, Dolby and interactive requirements of new generation Home Theatres? From what I hear it's ok with regular TV but not enough horsepower for the future. Interactive menus apparently have irritating lag. Is there truth to this?