Online TV May Be IPTV's First Step

An anonymous reader writes "According to the San Diego Union Tribune Time Warner Cable is letting its customers in San Diego watch live television over their hi-speed internet PCs via 'Online TV'. Time Warner's Broadband TV service (no cost above the min system requirement of cable and hi-speed modem) offers the identical '80 channels that are available with its standard cable TV service.' According to Judy Walsh, Time Warner's San Diego division president, 'It's basically like having another outlet for watching TV. It's TV on your PC. It's that simple.' Is this really the first step towards full-fledged IPTV or is this a service for dad's who can't wrestle the remote control from their kids?"

Comments

Re:What is the point or purpose of IPTV?

[overshoot]

Can someone enlighten me why IPTV matters?

IPTV forever frees the broadcasters from the shackles of fair use: with Microsoft's help, they can dictate whatever terms they like for viewing.

IPTV also frees the system manfacturers from the shackles of competing with an installed base: at any time, they can declare your particular display, computer, hard drive, etc. to be noncompliant and the system will stop working until you upgrade.

Between these two, it's a Brave New World for two business sectors which were facing market saturation and declining revenues.

Re:57 channels and nothing on ...

[AtariAmarok]

"No matter which pipe delivers it, TV is still the intellectual equivalent of raw sewage"

The same is true of books and everything else. Television is subject to Sturgeon's Law no more and no less than everything else. The "smash your television!" mentality is dangerous close to the book-burner's mentality.