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[Tuesday at NAB]
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IPTV Advances Get Personal
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by Jay Ankeney,
~ April 15, 2008
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TV TECHNOLOGY
The fusion between TV and video and its link to other types of devices makes this type of person-to-person communication the hottest trend in connectivity.
Today’s Super Session, “IPTV Right Now — Where We Are and What We Have Learned,” 1–2:30 p.m., will offer a global view of the technology and give attendees a peek at some real-world implementations. The session is sponsored by EDS. The keynote speaker, vice president of Microsoft’s Connected TV division, Enrique Rodriguez, will lead off the session by addressing the way TV and video experiences are becoming increasingly connected to other types of technology and to people’s personal lives.
“The combination of Internet-based broadband connectivity with powerful software that makes IP-originated program material available to everyone who wants it is changing the way we think about video communication,” Rodriguez said. “Until now, the TV has been an isolated device with limited access to sources outside of the broadcast world.
“As a result, the TV experience has fallen behind other available communication outlets in terms of person-to-person interaction and social networking features. But by interfacing the TV screen with software that can bring to it the wide spectrum of innovative intelligent two-way communication available on the Internet, new levels of personalized experience become possible.”
BRANCHING OUT
He points to this technology as the true next generation of the television experience because it can provide scenarios through which any room, any device — at any time and anywhere — can be made available for personal entertainment or education.
Before heading Microsoft TV, Rodriguez served as vice president of Xbox Partnerships, where he was a key motivator for expanding the Xbox 360 platform into non-gaming entertainment applications and services.
“These can include live or recorded content, high-definition Internet TV, music, films, photos or games,” Rodriguez said. “If you look at the potential of combining Xbox 360 with Microsoft’s Mediaroom software, which we are doing right now, the result is an IPTV platform that can bring the best of gaming and the best of digital TV together. We feel this will become a premium source for accessing the growing options of digital communications.”
There are already well over one million subscriber homes with the Microsoft Mediaroom service, and 2008 is set to be a pivotal year for IPTV in terms of becoming a significant part of the household’s central media hub.
Rodriguez said he will also discuss the impact of Microsoft Silverlight, previously called Windows Presentation Foundation Everywhere (WPF/E), a cross-platform browser for Windows and Macintosh OS for delivering the next generation of media experiences and rich interactive applications (RIAs) from the Web.
This could become a highly flexible tool that will empower broadcasters and other content providers to reach a vastly expanded audience in much more compelling ways. Silverlight enables a rich .NET development platform that runs in the browser on anyone’s home computer.
Rodriguez said he plans to also discuss computer-based experiences such as those enabled by the Windows Media Center platform, allowing people to enjoy their entire digital entertainment library on a PC or even a TV.
Rodriguez holds more than 25 U.S. patents and numerous international derivatives. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico) in 1982.
After the Rodriguez keynote address, an executive panel will be moderated by Vince Vittore, program manager for the Yankee Group’s Enabling Tech-nologies Service Provider Group. The scheduled panelists include Brian Levy, vice president and chief technology officer of the Hewlett-Packard Company Media & Entertainment; Art Hair, chief technology officer of The Walt Disney Studios; and Dan York, executive vice president, Programming, for AT&T.
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