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Microsoft: IPTV Imminent

PaidContent reports that Microsoft is pooh-poohing rumors that its IPTV project has hit technical snags, telling financial analysts that it plans to roll out internet-borne TV near the end of the year. The Redmond Behemoth said that the software is “in stabilization and ship mode. So basically it’s bug fixing, it’s getting the type of feedback from our customers and making sure that all of those are baked into the final release.”

 

The IPTV project has long been touting cable TV replacement capabilities, but Microsoft has for just as long been insisting that it’s more than that. When asked just what that je ne sais quois might be, project manager Moshe Lictman said, “IPTV is definitely not video streaming over the Internet, it’s not watching TV on your PC, although the PC may be one of the devices, it’s not delivering video over best-efforts networks.” He then spoke as though channeling a long-dead committee meeting: “So, what it is, it’s a highly competitive, 24-by-7, mission-critical type platform that delivers all the services that you would expect over a pay-TV type service: broadcast television, all forms of on-demand, including the latest generation DVR, and an electronic programming guide, as well as a whole bunch of new services that we believe will only be facilitated on an IP network.”