Microsoft + AT&T = IPTV?
A service I literally have not heard of until I stumbled upon this article is getting set to go live in select areas of the US shortly. Named IPTV its kind of like OnDemand that we have all become familiar with lately with the introduction of Digital Cable.
Whats the difference between IPTV and OnDemand you ask? … well apparently IPTV is probably going to be the most amazing and user interactive television medium introduced to consumers in the history of television to date… and I’m not talking about texting ClayAiken to 99555 to cast your vote here people.
IPTV promises to change the way people watch TV. They’ll be able to interact with television shows, choose multiple camera angles while watching sporting events, search and view movies and TV programs from an almost limitless library of digital content, share pictures and home videos, access more high-definition content, and even shop from their TVs. And with the telephone company entering as a new competitor against cable, prices on TV service[s] are expected to fall.
and now the down side.
But cutting-edge features and deep discounts in pricing could be a long time coming, because, at least initially, AT&T’s service will look a lot like what cable providers already offer. And unlike its current DSL strategy, which has slashed prices down to $12.99 for 3Mbps downloads, AT&T, which hasn’t yet published pricing for its new TV service, said it isn’t planning huge discounts out of the gate.
“We plan to be competitive with the market on pricing,” Rice said. “Just like with our other products, people will get discounts the more services they buy from us. But we have no plans to be a low-cost provider.”
AT&T’s service, called U-verse, will not look much different from what is already being offered by cable providers. Like cable, U-verse will offer a digital video recorder, video on demand, and at least one channel of high-definition content.
So they plan on being competetivly priced, offer the same features, and haven’t released pricing. As much as I love the potential of this service the ground work for it thus far seems a bit shakey and sounds as if it could go belly up unless they were to push it.
To top it all off …
Christine Heckart, general manager of marketing for Microsoft TV, said consumers just want basic TV features right now. She said that adding more interactive applications too soon could overwhelm customers.
That sounds like a easy out to me…How many times has anyone ever said “Man, with all these extra features for the same price I feel overwhelmed and shorted.. I should just give up and go back to my bunny ear antenna”?
