Microsoft and SBC Team Up on IPTV

rdurell writes "Microsoft is once again trying to get into the television market. This time they are teaming up with SBC Communications in a $400M deal to deliver television via IPTV through SBC's network. According to the article, Microsoft has spent $20B in its attempts to break into the market."

Comments

Oh goodie

[grasshoppa]

SBC AND MS? Jee, hold me back.

Two of my favorite companies teaming up to bring me reality ( which, as near as I can figure, is populated by models. I wish I lived in reality ) TV, complete with watching habit tracking software and security flubs.

And should I have I have any problems, I can call SBC's amazing tech support. Maybe I'll get Dan, or David, or Gloria, all of whom english is a second language. Overpaid phone jocky being the first.

More power to them

[Quickfry]

Why not throw lots of money trying to get into another market? It worked with the xbox. Maybe they'll have to get someone to make the best damn show ever exclusively for their... IPTV network..

Tonight on MSTV

[Anonymous Coward]

Just what we need: the blue show of death.

Looks in favor of MS

[nerd256]

If they can get the backing for their technology by a by a company such as SBC, with such an infrastructure, I'm afraid it could grab hold of it. Think MS and IBM in the time of MS-DOS and OS/2. And IPTV looks like a promising market, if some company with mega-capital doesn't follow Microsoft, we could see a growing monopoly. Too bad I don't have billions to throw around, otherwise I'd invest heavily here.

I for one do not welcome our new TV overlords. Remember, CRTs are already equipped with electron guns.

Some more ideas for Microsoft industries

[nebaz]

Electrical Power -- they could have computers only run under Windows Mills Power

Fashion -- Paris Spring Collection of Bill Gates' sweaters

Fiction -- wait, they already to that...("innovative?")

Film Making -- all digital films, but an EULA flash at the beginning of the movie

Power Tools -- wait, this is a conflict of interest, and would actually be useful

Agriculture -- They've already got lots of fertilizer, especially of the bovine variety

Pharmacuticals -- Given their track record of anti-virus protection in cyberspace, expect this to be a real winner

Re:Oh cool

[datafr0g]

It gives the "Blue Screen" special effect an entirely different meaning...

I can hear it now..

[BitwiseX]

"Honey! Turn the TV off! I'm trying to download the lastest Linux Distro!"

... Since 1993?

[FiReaNGeL]

They invested 20 billions since 1993? I was on a 28.8k at this time (like 95% of internet users I suppose)... how could they think of delivering video feeds? Even with my current cable connection, video need to "buffer" for 20-30 seconds (and we're not even talking of Real(Choppy)Video). And with download quotas most ISP are enforcing, I can't see my net connection replace my TV... the infrastructure just isn't there (yet). According to the article :

"A major hurdle for SBC, however, is how to increase the speed of its network to deliver the television and Internet services it promises. SBC will have to increase its current connection speeds by seven-fold, which may make the company's goal of providing television programming within a year difficult to achieve. The projections are going to look completely ridiculous by the time we get to the end of 2005, said Albert Lin, an industry analyst at American Technology Research, an equity investment firm."

I wonder is the projections will look completely ridiculous because they'll reach their goal... or not. With Verizon digging holes everywhere, I can't see this happening this soon :)

IPTV?

[enderwig]

Man, what a great acronym

IPFreely?
IPU?
IPUP WeAllP!

For a golden night, showered with passion, it's IPTV!

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Red vs. Blue

[ebooher]

Maybe they'll have to get someone to make the best damn show ever exclusively for their... IPTV network

Well .... they kind of already have a killer show that is exclusively an Internet program. Though it is available on DVD. I know many, many people dislike all that is the Microsoft Borg, but I laughed so hard at Red vs. Blue that it kind of questions sanity.

While I know that Red vs. Blue isn't offically a truly sanctioned Microsoft product, do you think they didn't at least give a nod to the rabid lawyers to keep from destroying it in it's entirety? Also, since they are such big Halo (and by Proxy Microsoft) fans anyway, do you really think they'd give the rights to stream it as a TV program to anyone else?

Heck, I'm interested in this right now, as I'm currently an SBC DSL subscriber, if it gets me away from my evil and bastardized cable company. I may be clinically insane, but at one point last year I was talking to VC about starting my own cable company for just my subdivision and maybe the one next to it. That's how mad I was at them.

However, reality eventually set it ..... man do you know how expensive gear to decode then re-encode TV broadcast from air and sat is right now? Not to mention license fees for all the stations you want to offer on the network. I would have been, like, the UPN Cable Company because that was the only channel I think I could have even begged into throwing me a bone to be on the network.

So sad, so sad. TV started out free, paid for by advertising, with which I was very very fine. You want me to watch a soap commercial to laugh at Gilligan? Hey, fine, no problem. Now, I pay more for freaking TV than I do for internet access, telephone service, trash service, property taxes, housing and groceries combined!

This has officially degenerated into a rant. I apologize and will end it now. Thank you for your optical time.

Not as silly as it sounds

[Lancaibheal]

My first instinct is to scoff and laugh at this, but then again, I scoffed and laughed when I heard that Microsoft would be developing a gaming console.

Lets face it, Microsoft have a lot of cash lying about, and they're not stupid - if they want it badly enough, they'll get in on the market. Which isn't entirely a bad thing, competition is a good thing, as long as they behave.

Plus, with another TV provider, maybe there'll finally be something decent on to watch.

Connection?

[Realistic_Dragon]

Does this have anything to do with that new Sewage To The House initiative?

There are times I'm glad I don't watch TV, and with the prospect of the future of TV being controlled by Microsoft's shitty DVR products now is one of them. That and who the fuck would pay $80+ a month to pointlessly chew up 5 hours of their life _every day_? I'm not suggestuing you do anything radical like go outside, but something even slightly interactive might be a good start.

Re:Interesting

[DJ XpL0iT]

I think cable companies only care about selling content. Anything that allows them to do that more efficiently is going to be adopted by the entire market. Will they care that MS is marketing a PVR? Only if it becomes a selling point that compels consumers to switch from their cable co. to the other one

I think that Microsoft's goal is as it has been since they started with the x-box....It's not just 'a computer on every desk' now....it's 'a computer on everything that has a flat surface - running Windows xxxx of course'.

Remember kids - this is really just about building another licensing stream of revenue, by pushing a standard until they become the default provider, which means they can sell licenses for XPMCE (or whatever the cutdown blackbox version is) to every single TV component manufacturer (sony, LG, Panasonic, Teac, Sharp, /etc /etc /etc.

Windows - it's not just for iPaqs anymore!

Confused for a second...

[aduzik]

I'm from Iowa, and here, IPTV = Iowa Public Television. I was very confused when I first read this headline! Microsoft is about the only thing that could make Iowa Public TV worse.