Cable Tech Execs Bullish On Internet Video Set-Top [Multichannel News]
It's considered the "best new idea" of the 2009 CableLabs Technology Forum, a gathering of the cable industry's research and development consortium. Of the ten products and services presented at the forum, the Verismo Networks VuNow set-top box was judged to be the best. The VuNow allows cable subscribers with a broadband connection to watch streamed video from the Internet on their television. The VuNow also allows users to stream video using the popular BitTorrent peer-to-peer protocol.
A standard definition VuNow runs $99, and a high definition model costs $149. It appears to be similar to the popular Boxee software, which also puts streaming online video on a user's television. Boxee does not sell its own set-top hardware at this point, however. At last month's Consumer Electronics Show, several television manufacuters unveiled televisions that connected wirelessly to broadband for Internet streamed video display.
It doesn't take an award like the one conferred upon VuNow to see the emerging merger of broadband and video onto the television screen. It is interesting that even though the VuNow was released last June, it appears to have a significant advantage in ease of use compared to Boxee, which requires users to install the open-source software onto a separate computer connected to the user's television. With VuNow, it's as simple as plugging in the box.
It's not as simple as plugging in the box if you have to buy or rent the box in the first place. Most people have laptops, I don't know anyone who owns a VuNow. Seems to me that it would be easier to download a free open source piece of software with equipment that you already have, then to pay extra to get the same functionality in a separate box.
Posted by: Davis Freeberg | Tuesday, February 10, 2009 at 12:29 PM
This box renders content on TV, laptop/PC is supposed to be used for computing application. But our entertainment device is TV, and it is fun to watch online video, videos-on-demand on TV, with friends, with family.
Posted by: Johnson | Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 12:30 AM
I'm not quite getting this. Most of what you want to watch is already on TV, and devices like XBox 360 are already moving up as a Internet-based video viewer that is already Netflix-compatible.
Frankly, I think everybody should get a HDTV PC. All you need is a HDMI connection, and a good wireless keyboard/mouse pair. Heck, with the right Media Edition OS, you can make it work with a remote control alone.
Posted by: sineswiper | Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 09:29 AM