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I used to work for Kingston Interactive Television which delivers real Interactive Digital Television and true Video on Demand within a wall garden of managed content and high speed Internet Access via IP on ADSL.

The technology works and has done for years, KIT was the first to commercially launch in 1999 and like others it had been running technology trials of Video over POTS for about 6 years previously.

There is little doubt that the platform blows the competing options out the water. DSL based DTV services cost about one tenth that of pure cable system since they doesn't require a fresh dig. They are also truly interactive instead of the faked-out client side interactions of satellite systems. It also offer a realatively pain-free experience of the internet for most ordinary consumers.

The problem is the incumbents who tend to have the content deals stitched up with the studios/distubutors.

Read more here : Kingston Case Study

We use a 53Mhz Pace DSL 4000 STBwhich is also decoding the MPEG stream in software and the responsiveness of the EPG is still instantaneous.

If an STB has an EPG that is as slow as you describe it is probably because it's using a carrousel EPG, each EPG data page is broadcast round-robin and the STB is waiting for the page to come around.

There is even plenty of prior art even for a limited interpretation of the two main patent claims. We KIT have been doing this for about 5 years and we where not the first.

In one application we have aggregated news clips, they are displayed down the screen in a list and are played from the top at normal speed. When pressing fast-forward >| jumps to the start of the next clip, each pressing of >> accelerates the stream by a factor of two (2x/4x/8x/16x/32x) for each press. Another version allowed the stream to accelerate the stream by a factor of two (2x/4x/8x/16x/32x) for each second the button was kept pressed.

A telco in the UK called Kingston Communications has had this sort of service deployed for a few years now. The service is called "Kingston Interactive Television", KIT.

This service offers standard (digital) broadcast TV channels, interactive TV services such as shopping and email, video on demand etc. The STB also has an Ethernet port for connecting a home LAN and uses VoDSL to provide POTS voice.

That wouldn't be considered piracy since it's legal to record shows off the air for your own private use now. But, for 50 cents, is it really worth the bother of storing it yourself?

Especially when you think of the media cost and shelf space, it hardly seems worth the bother. I've already use this VOD service and have stopped worring about recording Movies. I just hire them for 2-3UKP when I want to watch them.

There is also another advantage for geeks using Content on Demand services, I seem to have more free time, from being able to beter organise me time. I not wasting time waiting for something to come on, or filling a gap between two programmes.

The magical "any day now" video on demand is here.

Indeed Content On Demand is the future of consumer TV and is here now.

I work on this Project which as well as subscription DTV provides a comprehensive Content on Demand service that is not just limited to Movies. It includes Local, National and Global News, Local & National Weather, What's On and Documentaries. All high quality content provided by the BBC and Commercial stations. The revenue source is subscription which starts at 9UKP (~15EURO/USD), it includes 15 broadcast DTV channels and a lot of inclusive On-Demand Content, everthing except Movies and Music. Consumers are prepared to pay for high quality content. As a user of this service since launch two years ago I'm gotten increasingly unaccepting of advert breaks.

I should perhaps point out this is not a cable tv system as such, it is delivered using IP over ADSL, to provide a point to point broadband network.

this model bypasses both TiVo's and commercial television's revenue models.

Indeed we are developing a server side PVR system which provides a number of advantages over TIVO. The amount of content that a consumer can store is essentially unlimited, certainly not limited to 35 hours of a TIVO. The consumer does not have to make preset selections, just browse the historical epg. The overall cost is much less, since there is minimal duplication of data and service costs are consequently much lower. IMHO Client side PVR is doomed.

The whole iDTV sector is starting to show real convergence between DTV and IT, and there are plenty of opportunities, you've picked young field with massive upside.

We (Kingston Interactive Television) are showing what can be acheived with IP over Broadband. Interactive Digital Television, Internet Television, and finally Video-On-Demand.

IMHO the whole Interactive Digital Television model is shifting from a broadcasting towards a VoD model.

In your shoes, VOD sounds idea, I would suggest you checkout nCube
and their Customer List. I know they include the BBC and ourselves. They are the world leader, by a considerable margin in the field of Video on Demand systems.

nCubes use Transit, a flavour of Unix designed for Video Content management.

I'd also suggest you develop your skills in RTSP(RTP),IP,MPEG.

The whole iDTV sector is starting to show real convergence between DTV and IT, and there are plenty of opportunities, you've picked young field with massive upside.

We (Kingston Interactive Television) are showing what can be acheived with IP over Broadband. Interactive Digital Television, Internet Television, and finally Video-On-Demand.

IMHO the whole Interactive Digital Television model is shifting from a broadcasting towards a VoD model.

In your shoes, VOD sounds idea, I would suggest you checkout nCube
and their Customer List. I know they include the BBC and ourselves. They are the world leader, by a considerable margin in the field of Video on Demand systems.

nCubes use Transit, a flavour of Unix designed for Video Content management.

I'd also suggest you develop your skills in RTSP(RTP),IP,MPEG.

The whole iDTV sector is starting to show real convergence between DTV and IT, and there are plenty of opportunities, you've picked young field with massive upside.

We (Kingston Interactive Television) are showing what can be acheived with IP over Broadband. Interactive Digital Television, Internet Television, and finally Video-On-Demand.

IMHO the whole Interactive Digital Television model is shifting from a broadcasting towards a VoD model.

In your shoes, VOD sounds idea, I would suggest you checkout nCube
and their Customer List. I know they include the BBC and ourselves. They are the world leader, by a considerable margin in the field of Video on Demand systems.

nCubes use Transit, a flavour of Unix designed for Video Content management.

I'd also suggest you develop your skills in RTSP(RTP),IP,MPEG.

The whole iDTV sector is starting to show real convergence between DTV and IT, and there are plenty of opportunities, you've picked young field with massive upside.

We (Kingston Interactive Television) are showing what can be acheived with IP over Broadband. Interactive Digital Television, Internet Television, and finally Video-On-Demand.

IMHO the whole Interactive Digital Television model is shifting from a broadcasting towards a VoD model.

In your shoes, VOD sounds idea, I would suggest you checkout nCube
and their Customer List. I know they include the BBC and ourselves. They are the world leader, by a considerable margin in the field of Video on Demand systems.

nCubes use Transit, a flavour of Unix designed for Video Content management.

I'd also suggest you develop your skills in RTSP(RTP),IP,MPEG.

The whole iDTV sector is starting to show real convergence between DTV and IT, and there are plenty of opportunities, you've picked young field with massive upside.

We (Kingston Interactive Television) are showing what can be acheived with IP over Broadband. Interactive Digital Television, Internet Television, and finally Video-On-Demand.

IMHO the whole Interactive Digital Television model is shifting from a broadcasting towards a VoD model.

In your shoes, VOD sounds idea, I would suggest you checkout nCube
and their Customer List. I know they include the BBC and ourselves. They are the world leader, by a considerable margin in the field of Video on Demand systems.

nCubes use Transit, a flavour of Unix designed for Video Content management.

I'd also suggest you develop your skills in RTSP(RTP),IP,MPEG.

The whole iDTV sector is starting to show real convergence between DTV and IT, and there are plenty of opportunities, you've picked young field with massive upside.

We (Kingston Interactive Television) are showing what can be acheived with IP over Broadband. Interactive Digital Television, Internet Television, and finally Video-On-Demand.

IMHO the whole Interactive Digital Television model is shifting from a broadcasting towards a VoD model.

In your shoes, VOD sounds idea, I would suggest you checkout nCube
and their Customer List. I know they include the BBC and ourselves. They are the world leader, by a considerable margin in the field of Video on Demand systems.

nCubes use Transit, a flavour of Unix designed for Video Content management.

I'd also suggest you develop your skills in RTSP(RTP),IP,MPEG.

The whole iDTV sector is starting to show real convergence between DTV and IT, and there are plenty of opportunities, you've picked young field with massive upside.

We (Kingston Interactive Television) are showing what can be acheived with IP over Broadband. Interactive Digital Television, Internet Television, and finally Video-On-Demand.

IMHO the whole Interactive Digital Television model is shifting from a broadcasting towards a VoD model.

In your shoes, VOD sounds idea, I would suggest you checkout nCube
and their Customer List. I know they include the BBC and ourselves. They are the world leader, by a considerable margin in the field of Video on Demand systems.

nCubes use Transit, a flavour of Unix designed for Video Content management.

I'd also suggest you develop your skills in RTSP(RTP),IP,MPEG.

This service (I'm the Software Architect), have launched the worlds largest Video on Demand over IP.

We have been doing this for two year now, I keep submitted links, each time we have a development, but slashdot have never seen fit to publish.

Some links:

"Kingston Interactive TV

Financial Times

Kingston Communications

Video Server Case Study

BBC joing broadband television platform

This case study reveals more details about the platform.

This service (I'm the Software Architect), have launched the worlds largest Video on Demand over IP.

We have been doing this for two year now, I keep submitted links, each time we have a development, but slashdot have never seen fit to publish.

Some links:

"Kingston Interactive TV

Financial Times

Kingston Communications

Video Server Case Study

BBC joing broadband television platform

This case study reveals more details about the platform.

I just wish TV was available via FTP.

Well CmdrTaco, as a famous sycophant once said 'your wish is my command' :)

This system (for which I'm the Software Architect) offers interactive digital TV via IP, this case study
reveals all the gory technical details of the disruptive technology that is going to bring Microsoft down, by bringing IP to every home in the developed world in the next five years.

In Kingston upon Hull, Kingston provide a 256Kbps ADSL service for £11 (~$17) through it's KIT service.

Kingston Communications is testing a technology like this that allows tv over an ADSL line, the "coming soon" page is at kitv.co.uk