Ubuntu TV Finally Gets a Close-Up

Posted by timothy on Sunday January 8, 2012 @10:58PM from the it's-only-a-model dept.

Barence writes "Canonical has unveiled the first screenshots and details of Ubuntu TV. Plans for versions of the Linux distro for tablets, smartphones and TVs were unveiled last year, and now the television is — perhaps surprisingly — the first of those to arrive. 'It's a simple viewing experience for online video, both your own and routed over the internet,' Jane Silber, Canonical's CEO told PC Pro. Movie streaming services will be supported as well as live television broadcasts. Ubuntu TV will be integrated into television sets, but Canonical was unable to confirm any manufacturers. It will be released later this year."

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Re:But WHO will manufacture them? by Gordonjcp · 2012-01-08 23:39 · Score: 5, Interesting

I think you're kind of missing the point. It's up to manufacturers to pick what OS their TV runs (and yes, it feels seriously odd saying that). All digital TVs and PVRs run Linux, almost without exception - there are some weird outliers like cable boxes that run VxWorks, but they're going away.
If I can get my hands on a feature-complete environment with a pretty solid company behind it to install onto my TV, I'd be mad not to use it in favour of some half-assed homegrown thing.