iptv

Time Warner's iPad app is worth the effort

Time Warner Cable's new iPad app (originally detailed here) requires users to jump through several hoops of varying difficulty just to log in for the first time. In this case, at least, that persistence can pay off, as the end result is a streaming-video product that may be a new killer app for the iPad and eventually other tablets.

The difficult setup process stems from this: We're entering an era of stratification, or even fragmentation, of multimedia IPTV services and apps. It may have started with Web sites (such as BBC.co.uk) restricting what online video streams viewers could see depending on what country their IP addresses came from; now it's moved on to a series of tablet apps that play high-end content, but only if you're connecting through the right ISP.

Like ESPN on the Xbox 360 or the brand-new WatchESPN app for iOS, or the similar Optimum cable TV app, the TWCable TV app lets you tune in to a premium selection of cable TV content, as long as you're connecting through an approved ISP and, in the case of Time Warner, through an approved cable modem (the one connected with your user account).

As a Time Warner customer for at least a decade (although I was unsuccessfully hoping for some new options, such as Fios, when I moved recently), I didn't expect to have too much trouble getting the app to work. Unfortunately, signing in requires more than connecting through the Internet access point of an eligible subscriber (although, if you think about it, that hardware lockout is really all that's needed). I was asked to log in to the app with my Time Warner Cable username and password.

If you're a TWCNYC (as my local Time Warner Cable subsidiary is called) customer and you pay your bill online, you might think you already have a username and password. You would, in the Kafkaesque world of cable companies, be incorrect. You actually have a separate username and password for a payment system called PayXpress that stands apart from any other user account.

And, as a TWCNYC Internet access subscriber, you also have (but have probably never used) your included e-mail account, which is usually something@rr.com (for back when the service was called Road Runner). It's not a big deal that you've never heard of, or used, that account, because that's not the one you need, either. … Read more

Content kings control the future of IPTV

New technologies are making it easier to get high-quality video streams just about anywhere and on any device, but content owners are still calling the shots.

What this means for consumers is that the dream of cutting the paid-TV cord and getting everything you want streamed over the Net without a subscription and largely for free is a pipe dream. Content owners aren't going to let this happen anytime soon. You will still pay, and there's a chance you will pay as much as you do today--or even more.

Some over-the-top services--those that use a broadband connection to … Read more

IPTV comes to some Canadian Xbox 360 owners

Canadian telecommunication provider Telus is now offering its TV programming through Microsoft's Xbox 360.

The service, which was launched on Wednesday in neighboring provinces Alberta and British Columbia, makes use of Microsoft's Mediaroom software for delivering live TV content without the need for a coaxial connection or any special hardware.

This software is not yet built-in to the Xbox 360's system software, nor is it available through the Xbox Live Marketplace as a download. Instead, it runs off a disc supplied by Telus. Users also need to be paid Telus Optik TV subscribers to access its programming. … Read more

Next Big Thing: Life in the Cloud revisited

In 2009, CNET predicted that the Next Big Thing in 2009 would be "life in the cloud." Cloud computing was, in 2008, starting to become a major topic of discussion: would consumers trust their personal and corporate data to the cloud? Would businesses embrace the idea of offering more and more storage as we stored less and less data locally? Would enterprises re-architect their offerings and their businesses to take advantage of this revolution in cheap storage and online services? We had a fascinating conversation about the evolution of consumer data storage and entertainment, the hurdles facing cloud … Read more

Microsoft expands Xbox Live audio and video offerings

Microsoft announced a host of forthcoming media upgrades for the Xbox 360 at its E3 press conference Monday. The chief highlights: an updated video store, now using the Zune branding, that will allow instant-on 1080p video purchases of movies and TV shows; improved Netflix integration; access to Last.fm's streaming audio service; and expanded access to online video content in more countries around the world. (Disclosure: Last.fm is owned by CNET's parent company, CBS Interactive.)

For starters, the Xbox Video Marketplace will be rebranded as the Zune Marketplace. The pay-per-view movies and TV shows will be upgraded to 1080p (from their current 720p incarnations), and will be available as instant-on streams rather than "queue and view" downloads. Availability of the service will also be expanded from its current 8 countries to 18.

The Zune branding was hinted at last week when Microsoft announced the updated Zune HD portable media player. Despite indications of cross-linked functionality, the Zune HD did not make an appearance at the Xbox event, nor were any specifics on syncing between the Zune and Xbox provided.… Read more

Microsoft virtualizes IPTV suite

Microsoft is using server virtualization technology to make its Mediaroom IPTV software more palatable to smaller phone companies.

The company announced the new virtualization features in the Mediaroom software on Wednesday. The company said the added technology will reduce the amount of hardware needed to create a full IPTV offering by more than 80 percent.

This is a big deal for smaller service providers, which often can't afford the cost of running the necessary servers for the traditional Mediaroom platform. Microsoft claims that the virtualized offer can provide hundreds of TV channels and tens of thousands of videos on … Read more

Vudu service coming to Entone set-tops this year

Vudu is thinking outside the box--literally. The company's 14,000-plus movie library will soon be available on Entone set-top boxes and DVRs. A software upgrade on the Entone units will effectively add the entire functionality of the Vudu BX100, including on-demand access to HD and HDX movies.

While you may not have heard of Entone, the company supplies set-top hardware to smaller regional telephone-company-video providers. Many of those providers may have lackluster (or nonexistent) video-on-demand offerings, so Vudu's library--which includes about 1,500 high-definition movies as well--offers a worthwhile added value to consumers.

For Vudu, the deal represents … Read more

Amazon Video on Demand goes high-def

It's been a long time in coming, but Amazon Video on Demand is finally available in high-def. Owners of TiVo HD/Series 3 DVRs, the Roku Digital Video Player, the Sony Bravia Internet Video Link, and Panasonic VieraCast TVs (and, presumably, VieraCast-enabled Blu-ray players) will be the first to enjoy Amazon's content in HD (software updates to enable HD viewing on those products should be available imminently). Likewise, Windows and Mac users will also get access to HD video content via Amazon's Web site.

As with competing services, HD movie rentals will cost $3.99 to $4.… Read more

Roku to add 10 more channels by year's end

The Roku Digital Video Player may be getting as many as 10 new Internet video-on-demand channels by the end of 2009. So says Roku vice president Tim Twerdahl in an interview with U.S. News & World Report.

The Roku Player was originally a Netflix-only device, but it recently added Amazon Video On Demand. The U.S. News story reports Roku has "quietly distributed a development kit to what Twerdahl calls a few 'close, big-name' partners." More info is expected to be revealed this summer, at which time the development kit would be made available to additional programmers. … Read more

Start-up offers alternative to subscription TV

A new company called ZillionTV says it will soon introduce a new service that will enable cable and satellite subscribers to cut the cord and get subscription-free movies and TV shows right on their TVs from the Internet.

The company, which officially launched on Wednesday, has struck deals with some major Hollywood movie studios and TV networks, including Disney, 20th Century Fox Television, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures, and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution.

The plan is to offer streaming movies and TV shows directly to TVs using a broadband connection. The company has created a small piece of hardware it calls a Z-bar, which provides the connection between the TV and the Internet via an Ethernet cable or Wi-Fi. The Z-bar also acts as a receiver for the company's unique remote control, which works a lot like a laser pointer and uses sensing technology to navigate through the content menu on the TV screen.

The ZillionTV service, which is currently being beta tested, will only be offered through an Internet service provider. It will be commercially available starting in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Unlike some other Internet-to-TV services, such as Netflix's movie rental service, ZillionTV does not require a subscription. It also doesn't require users to buy an expensive box, such as Microsoft's Xbox 360, Apple's AppleTV, or even Roku's $99 digital video player. Instead, for a nominal activation fee of less than $50, users will get the Z-bar and remote. And then they will be able to view up to 15,000 titles of TV shows and movies through the service without having to sign up for a monthly subscription.… Read more