Microsoft has announced the availability of Microsoft Mediaroom, an update to and new name for Microsoft’s IPTV software platform.
Microsoft Mediaroom features several new capabilities including in-home personal music and photo sharing, dynamic picture-in-picture capabilities and digital terrestrial television support.
For developers, the new Microsoft Mediaroom Application Development toolkit provides service providers and third-party developers a tool from which to develop TV-based applications that will run under Microsoft Mediaroom.
Microsoft have run their own Q&A with Enrique Rodriguez, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft TV here for those interested. The short version is that Microsoft is getting more serious about having a presence in your lounge room. Microsoft’s IPTV platform is already being used by nine service providers worldwide, with AT&T’s U-Verse using the platform in the United States. The inclusion of home network media sharing capabilities also creates an AppleTV killer in an IPTV set top box. As IPTV services become more widely available and IPTV set-top boxes are provided to customers for free, the need for an AppleTV style system lessens; after all, people don’t need two devices that do essentially the same thing.
First
This is going to open a new dimension for Microsoft in home entertainment.
It is a given that the PC of the Future will act as both an evolved Television and Audio System and Movie Studio
Duncan, I’m sure you don’t remember, but a few weeks ago I wrote a comment complaining about your somewhat breezy writing style. I have no idea if you even read the comment (or you’ll read this one, haha), but, for what it’s worth, I like your more recent articles a lot more. More direct, to the point, and interesting, too. Keep it up! And maybe get Mike or some others to write every once in a while, too, haha — you’re a one man TechCrunch!
Erm, a new dimension, I thought it was called the Xbox…
Does look like a good move from MicroSoft
– you know they could make something revolutionary ….
and get no press ; cause Microsoft isn’t popular to love.
– to be honest, I love XP (especially since seeing vista)
I want a JoostTV
Not sure why anytime there’s a new product you guys have to think of it as a “fill-in-the-blank” killer. It’s simply just another product in a very long tail of TV-related products. BTW, Apple TV will soon let you watch YouTube videos on your TV with one click. (Not sure if people want that or not, but even AppleTV is evolving constantly).
The point is that no one product is going to “kill” or win this arena. So, why do you guys try to paint it as though there will truly be one option to rule them all? Some people will have AppleTVs and some people will have Microsoft Mediasomethingorother…
This is not going to be a field for one or two companies. There is not so much need for compatibility between users, so users are free to choose among many products. I think nobody “wins” this one. Some products will just do better than others.
Just noticed a typo on the title “Micrsoft”.
Cheers
The future is with all-ip media and solutions.
Logo looks just like the AOL logo…
This looks like something I can leverage on http://www.mediarati.com
Hmmm, I was wondering as to whether technology will soon replace the conventional TV sets at home. This is a great innovation, huh?
Not only IPTV versions of Microsfot services have been deployed worldwide but also embed Digital Tv services, in Mexico, the main cable provider has been using it for over a year now, the software is known as Microsoft Enhanced TV, i do know there are others worldwide, but don`t know the exact countries.
In the case of media room, s that it really converges the 3 MS TV experiences into one, the Enhanced TV, Media center and of course IPTV as the base of it,
On not confirmed things i have been told:
There is talk about MS having a topbox ready to launch (in case it`s needed) at the end of the year in the same vein that apple TV but at a no gain cost of 100-150 dlls along having it in designated third party top boxes, x360 and as a update pack for vista, xp would only get a version of such pack in MCE 2005 at most.
mediaroom will be able to sync with WHS.
(of course, not confirmed, but i rarely get MS scoops wrong)
oh and about the why of the logo, is the merge of a common known for dvr and media center user in the remote and a compass, the name was called as digital compass.
you can get a better idea of it going to the mediaroom site.
Here’s hoping this is a significant upgrade. I have the AT&T U-Verse service (based on current MS IPTV efforts) and it’s a disaster. The box frequently crashes and it takes about 10 minutes to restart (no kidding). The audio “pops” frequently. You can’t mark a channel as a favorite directly from the guide, you have to find it again in a separate menu. But the worst part is that when you’ve reached concurrency limits, it tells you that a program scheduled to record needs control and it cuts off whatever you’re watching! This is how I missed the last few minutes of a close NBA game trying to cancel the recording of a Seinfeld rerun. (Replay, meanwhile handed this same situation with much more grace.) Consumer appliances need great interfaces and Microsoft really seems to struggle in that department. Shame, really.