active-TV technology: Apple iTV and active-TV mentioned in Business Week

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Friday, January 12, 2007

Apple iTV and active-TV mentioned in Business Week

Active-TV Ecosystem Developers,

After promoting “big monitors attached to powerful multimedia PCs”, BusinessWeek reports that technology companies have “finally unveiled the Internet-connected TV set-top boxes that are the key weapons in their bid to control the living room”

This type of STB is also known as Hybrid. The BusinessWeek article linked below is long and does not go into STB details; but they have got the idea of a STB supporting TV-web channels.

The article refers to Apple TV, AMD (active-TV technology), Microsoft and Sony, all heading in the TV-web direction. The reporter seems to have missed the important point that the Apple, AMD and Microsoft platforms at least require some support from a networked PC (or Mac). That is, the hybrid-STB delivers the new TV-web channels, only when it is combined with an Extended-PC. Native support for TV-web channels has not yet been achieved by a low-cost STB. Also, the PC stores a lot of additional content which is consumable at the TV location.

It is also interesting that the reporter does not see the clear similarities between the Apple TV and the old Microsoft MCE Extender. Also missed, is the fact that Intel also tried the approach with ViiV. It would appear that the Extender and ViiV marketing teams did not get across the message: “familiar STB (thin-client) with TV-web channel support”. However, Apple TV and active-TV has made better progress, or got off to a better start.

more at http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2007/tc20070111_281751.htm?chan=technology_technology+index+page_today%27s+top+stories