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Microsoft To Bring Cable TV To 360

Posted by timothy on from the aggregation-and-disaggregation-in-one dept.

iONiUM writes with a CNET article outlining the next step in Microsoft's plans for cable television, which he says "seems like yet another step forward in killing traditional cable companies." From the article: "[Microsoft] announced this morning that nearly 40 television content providers — including Comcast, Verizon, and HBO in the United States — will roll out programming over Xbox Live. The company also has deals lined up with providers in the U.K., Spain, Canada, Mexico, Germany, and Italy."

3 of 133 comments (clear)

  1. Killing? by MonsterTrimble · · Score: 4, Informative

    seems like yet another step forward in killing traditional cable companies

    Yet these same cable companies are the ones most likely providing you internet access. It's evolution, nothing more.

    --
    I call it 'The Aristocrats'
  2. Re:So when Fios finally come to my town... by jacksinn · · Score: 3, Insightful

    We recently ditched our DirecTV service we have had for years due to skyrocketing prices, inflexibility, and lack of time or desire to watch enough TV to justify the cost. We've been using the 360 (and PS3, AppleTV) to watch Hulu and Netflix as well as renting some movies and the transition hasn't hurt us one bit. We've talked about it for a couple years I only wish we had done it sooner. It was cool when Red State was available to rent (at $10) before it hit the theaters. I hope this is a continuing trend.

    --
    Life==Jeopardy. All the answers are right in front us - the hard part is coming up with the correct question.
  3. Re:Hmmm by green1 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I work for a telecom company that has been providing tv service to parts of canada for the past 7 years. One of the options we give our customers is the ability to use an xbox as a digital set top box, this saves them the rental fee for a normal stb, and makes for one less device on the shelf by the tv.
    The system generally works well, however there are some drawbacks, the first is boot time, stbs are somewhat "always on" and wake up near instantaneously. The xbox takes a moment to boot, and then another moment to launch our tv application. The second issue is the remote, xbox remote controls just arent as easy to use as our dedicated ones.

    For those that were asking about bandwidth, our iptv service uses its own vlan seperate from the internet service, so although both go through the same modem, the iptv doesnt count toward bandwidth caps, nor does it interfere with your download speeds on the computer